TeachMeetChester
#TeachMeetEP March 2018
On Thursday 15th March 2018, around 30 people attended the third TeachMeet at St Bernard's RC Primary School in Ellesmere Port. We had a varied list of presenters lined up to share ideas for enhancing and transforming teaching and learning. Some resources from their presentations are below. The #teachmeetchester team thank all who participated in the TeachMeet, especially Andy Moor and his team from St Bernard's. Comments and feedback about the presentations and the TeachMeet as a whole can be found on Twitter - search using the #teachmeetep hashtag.
The TeachMeet began with a presentation by Sean Dick, from Chester Zoo Learning, about key conservation issues and the excellent free resources the zoo provides for teaching and learning about them. Issues included the illegal trade in animal products and habitat destruction because of palm oil production. The presentation was delivered with passion using animations, images and video - and it was seven minutes long exactly! Thanks, Sean.
Next up was Alex Clewett (@OKComputing), from North Wales School Effectiveness & Improvement Service, who talked about 'Bringing Coding to Life' through the use of cheap devices for physical computing, including Raspberry Pi, Crumble and BBC micro:bit. He showed some examples of Crumble projects and also highlighted the approach taken by BBC's 'The Big Life Fix' where programmers and inventors solve real-life problems and create life-changing devices. He ended with a video of Crumble-based 'Robot Wars', making the point that 'robots' on the BBC show are actually just radio-controlled devices - not really 'robots' at all!
Liz Montgomery from the Grosvenor Museum in Chester (@cwacmuseums) gave an engaging and detailed presentation about the new 'Natural Cheshire' gallery at the museum. She outlined the habitats and themes on which the new displays are based and ways in which the Natural History Gallery can be used for teaching and learning, especially for early years children.
Lorelly Wilson, from 'Chemistry with Cabbage', gave memorable demonstrations of scientific principles and ideas, using everyday objects and materials. I doubt any audience member will forget the dissolving polystyrene or the demonstration of pressure using a bottle of fizzy water and a pin! The numbers she introduced were mind boggling, yet presented with flair and humour, bringing the concept of molecules to life. Thanks, Lorelly!
Neil Sledge (@sledgen), from Wirral NUT, followed Lorelly with a presentation crammed full of ideas for developing global learning. He highlighted some key ideas in relation to global citizenship and key websites and organisations offering inspiration and resources for teaching and learning, including 'Show Racism The Red Card', 'Fair Trade Schools' and 'The World's Largest Lesson'.
Anne Buckley, from Inspiring Science (@inspiring_sci), continued the practical science theme, started by Lorelly, with a presentation entitled 'Take one plastic bottle: some ideas for primary science using plastic bottles'. With the current focus on plastics recycling, this was a timely reminder of how plastic bottles can be re-used for a huge range of primary science activities, models and experiments, from lava lamps to stomp rockets to model lungs. Inspiring, indeed!
Sarah Longshaw, Science Learning Partnership Lead for Cheshire and Stockport, concluded the science theme of the TeachMeet with a short talk about the support for STEM learning that is provided by SLP, including CPD, newsletters and online resources.
Phil Nottingham (@trysomeicytea) concluded the TeachMeet with one of his amazing and innovative ideas; this time about the classroom use of cloud-connected Rocket Book digital notebooks. Looking like an ordinary paper and pen notebook, a Rocket Book can upload sketches and notes to cloud services, such as DropBox. Phil showed that the devices can be hacked to upload children's written work and even drawings, using a cardboard frame and a QR code.
Andy Moor
Raffle winner
Chester Zoo's Raffle prize
Finally, Andy Moor (@amoor4ed), Principal of St Bernard's, finished the event by thanking all who had presented and attended. He also reminded the audience about the 'More In Common' Conference to be held in April, focusing on refugees and how social justice can be put at the heart of the curriculum.
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Raffle prizes for the TeachMeet were generously provided by Twinkl, TTS, Neil Sledge and Chester Zoo.
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All photos on this page by Barbara Pickford.
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See the Home page for full list of #teachmeetchester sponsors & supporters.
TeachMeetEP Presenters