In the pages of this blog, you will find pictures, notes and observations from my visits at each school. These notes reflect observations of what I saw in the classrooms and at the schools. I was unable to blog each day. Initially I tried this, but due to some loading issues, my posts were not loading properly to the site.
Although the focus of my trip was on technology, I was not able to see a lot of technology in the schools.The National Curriculum in the UK, recently adopted a technology curriculum that has students focusing on E-Safety and it also has a focus on students learning coding skills. What I learned from many of the schools, is that although they are implementing these lessons, it is still a learning process and in some of the schools, they are still waiting for technology to become more available.
The Studio, in Liverpool had by far the most technology of any of the schools. This is because the primary focus of this school is the creative arts and technology fields. Although I didn't get a chance to get into classrooms here, I did observe a large number of computers, cameras and other equipment available to students for use during project based learning experiences. From what I gathered, this school provides opportunities for students to work in the community with companies in the technology and creative arts fields. Liverpool is a technological hub and provides a great learning environment for students to get hands on experiences. One of the great things that I learned while at this school, that I shared with my own students, is that some the students at The Studio, are designing video games. This was very intriguing for third graders in America, who love video games. The students were very shocked that they were created by kids who were not much older than themselves and really enjoyed exploring them.
I think the connections made on this trip and the information that I gathered from being in the classrooms was really great. I saw many practices that I am excited to share with my colleagues at school in a few weeks at our staff meeting. I am hopeful that I can continue some of the connections I made while visiting these schools and get our students corresponding and sharing learnings.
I was very impressed with the amount of "marking" that teachers do at these schools. Although we collect data regularly, it is nothing to the extent that the teachers in the UK do. Marking 90 books a night with feedback, extensions or practice items, is a huge task. Student work in my school is collected and data is collected to inform instruction for the next day and groupings that may need to be formed. I think the great thing about the teachers writing to students each night is the open dialogue it creates and how much it promotes writing for students. Students also develop a reflective practice and are more in tune with what they are learning. Although the kids were very much the same in the UK and you get a very similar feel in many of the schools, this experience opened up my eyes to a different way of teaching and gave me some ideas of how I can improve my practice, and perhaps impact the practices of my school.
