Week 24 - 08/04/14 - All Together Now...

Collaboration is a powerful tool. In 1990, the band " The Farm " produced a song "All Together Now". It's lyrics spoke of the remarkable events surrounding the trenches of World War I, when sworn enemies lay down their arms to exchange gifts and play a game of football. Coming together for something, no matter how small our role may initially seem, can ultimately achieve so much more than the sum of it's parts. I can't imagine that any of those men, kicking a ball around a muddy no-man's land, would have thought that 100 years later it would be being talked about!

My peculiar mind wandered to this event in history as we discussed the benefits of collaboration in meeting the learner's needs.

It's true, that at times we will need to offer " Pastoral care" - caring for the physical, intellectual, emotional and social needs of a student ( PIES - yes, another acronym ). But, if we don't want to burn out, have a break down, and actually meet the needs of each student... Don't try to do it all yourself. Even if you feel that you have some experience in a matter, ask yourself, "is a tutor blundering through a potentially sensitive issue with his size twelve clodhoppers, really going to help?" As we went on to discuss, numerous professional bodies are available to offer advice and have tricky situations referred to them. We are Tutors, facilitators not Oracles of limitless knowledge!

So who can help?

Learning Support :

• Collaborate with this department - familiarise yourself with the interview at enrolment.
• They will also have reports relating to SLD's ( Specific Learning Difficulties ) from the student's previous educational establishments.
• Will have advice and information on referrals for SLD's

 Drugs Counsellor:

• Can offer seminars, tutorials and general advice to colleges - students and tutors.
• May be supporting students already through CADAS ( Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Awareness Service )
• Consent will be needed before any specifics can be discussed with an advisor about a student.

FOYER federation :

• Offers temporary accommodation to young homeless people.
• Offers supported accommodation.

Police :

• Deal with any antisocial behaviour, vandalism, domestic incidents or other criminal activity.
• Often offer tutorials on numerous issues - road safety, drugs and violence.
• Reassure students that they can always call the police.

Interpreter :

• Can arrange and advice on one to one support.
• invaluable in matters relating to learning support and mediation.
• Will often have advice on other language related issues.

Doctor :

• Point of reference for advice on numerous medical issues - physical and mental.
• Consent will be needed for any student specific issues.

Work Experience :

• Necessary for vocational placements.
• CBEC - is a non profit making organisation that can assist.

Inspira :

• Careers advisers - formally Connexions.

Social Services :

• Contact to report or gain advice on any of the following.
• Neglect and abuse.
• Parental issues.
• Illegal activity - often a softer approach than initially contacting the police.
• Probation issues.
• Housing
• any other areas for concern.

Of course this hasn't covered all the bodies that can help, but they are certainly most of the main ones I will come across.

Afterwards we were teamed up to look at several case studies. We were directed to ask the following questions and put into practice some of the things we had learnt -  

How would I respond? 

Who could I refer to? 

What are my professional boundaries?

BSL mini course - 31/03/14

Monday 3pm - 4pm

Week 2 and the class has got even larger. For the first time in my brief teaching career, I found myself having to pause, wait for the realisation in the student's minds that I had stopped, and then make a small point about the increased volume and the need to pay close attention. I don't believe they are being disrespectful or misbehaving... Much of the chatter came from discussions about what they were learning and from what they had found out for themselves. That is something to commend and I would like to think that I did. 

I have found that this particular group is moving along very quickly. For some of them they seem to be genuinely excited by what they are learning and have plenty of questions to ask. It's very evident that the students that are progressing the best are those that have applied themselves to learning the alphabet, something I asked them to do prior to the course starting. It's a sound base for me to build upon, especially as it's only a brief course. I'll be encouraging that again.

Already I have spotted that they all seem to gravitate towards the same people, although during the conversation pieces, I was able to use individuals from different groups to work together. Perhaps breaking up these peer groups will bring greater control to the direction that some of the conversations can take, away from the matter at hand.

Areas for improvement :

Look at using more types of groups during some class exercises. Try to encourage some of the quieter students to show of their abilities.

In preparation for the classes after the Easter break - weeks 3-6 - build in more uses of technology that exists - for example " Mobile sign" a tablet app that helps learn additional vocabulary.

BSL mini course - 24/03/14

Monday 3pm - 4pm

After really enjoying the last series of classes. I was very happy to start this new one. It has given me an opportunity to iron out a few glitches, such as the lesson plan - see above. I have also been able to scrap my old powerpoint and move all my visual tools into Prezi. I find Prezi far easier to use, especially when it comes to video and internet links, for example rather than just tell the class about the " fingerspelling challenge" I was able to embed the link and show it in class.

The class is larger than any other I have yet experienced in college - 20+ students. Keeping an eye on so many students, some of them having a small chat amongst themselves which then tends to spread like some verbal contagion, or others sneaking out the phone for a crafty text, is certainly going to test my class behavioural management skills.

What's nice, is to have at least one student that has some knowledge already, although she is a little hesitant to share at the moment. The class is entirely made up of young ladies, some that seem very keen to have a share, some that don't want to contribute at all and a small minority that presently seem disinterested. It is early days, I remember from previous classes, some that seemed switched off at first came storming through at the end.

I did experience a very new and unusual inclusion issue this first week. I went ahead with getting to know the class by asking each in turn to try and sign their own names... It's a little ice breaker and when I can read them and repeat back their name, it builds a little self confidence. I came to the  final student, it was very noticeable as the colour drained from her face, and I wondered why? So I made my way over to her, only to realise that she was attempting to sign her name with great difficulty as she had a disabled hand. Commendably, she bravely pressed on and I was able to successfully read her name.

I felt awful, as I had put her in a potentially embarrassing situation. Particularly as she doesn't know me and I don't know her or how she gets on with her fellow students. In conversation with my tutors afterwards, it became evident that really I should have been informed prior to starting the class. Still, I was very aware that I didn't want her to feel as though she couldn't enjoy and benefit from the course. Thankfully a discreet conversation later and a plan is now in place.

Areas for improvement:

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate... Remember that preparation isn't just about what I'm going to share. It's also about with whom I'm going to share it.

Week 23 - 25/03/14 - It's good to be different...

This week started with a review of the previous week's material - legislation. Tamara seemed to think that the previous week's class had been overly teacher led and boring to the extreme, I certainly didn't think that was true. While much emphasis is often placed on having exciting, active, laugh a minute classes, at times it's good to get back to some old fashioned sitting with my pen in hand, listening to the tutor as they reveal facts and figures, then frantically scribble down what I remember. In fact it took me back to my old History classes in school, nothing is quite like a spot of nostalgia. 

Of course, we are all different, hence the need for differentiation, as we went on to discuss

the need for teachers to monitor their own approach to teaching so it doesn't just mimic the style they personally prefer - see previous blog

So why are we revisiting Differentiation?

Well, in a few weeks we will have another mini teach session in class, and Tamara is wanting to see a lesson that showcases inclusive practice and differentiation.

We engaged in a four group carousel exercise, discussing and ultimately reporting back on the following activities:

• Stretch and Support.
• Equality and Diversity.
• Active learning.
• Reasonable adjustments. 

some notes from the exercises