Steve Gullick Lecture

Guest lecturer: Steve Gullick

The role of governors and school policy

               Being a school governor is something that can be extremly rewarding. Anyone can become a governor- no qualifications are needed, you could be a teacher a parent or simply a society member looking for a way to contribute to education and make a difference.   School governors are in every school in England and Wales (not Scotland) there are approximately twenty in each school, usually including people from different backgrounds including staff representatives, parents, or even businesses who care for the schools success. Governors are responsible for many things, including promoting a high standard of educational achievement, and setting targets for pupil accomplishment at key stage 1, 2 and 3. They are also in charge of setting broad aims for the school e.g. uniform and times of teaching. Other duties include appointing staff and setting policies and objectives for the school.  Budget is also controlled by the Governors of the school.

          Governors are volunteers and therefore are not paid, which is something that has been question many times.  Argument for governors being paid, include the fact that, being a governor is a job which is challenging. Governors are put under pressure as they have many roles within the school.  However there are plenty of arguments against paying governors including the fact that pay could attract the wrong type of person, “Governance attracts individuals who are keen to put something back into their community” (Owen, 2009)  moreover it is not as easy as merely beginning to pay governors for their time, other question surround the debate including, where would the money come from? How much would they be paid? Currently to become a school governor there is usually an election, however if an LEA would like to become a governor the council picks. The head of the school picks if a teacher wants to become a governor and parents elect parents. However if governors are paid, would non-professionals be able to be part of the governing body? This brings me to the second question which has cause conflict. Should governors be experts on education or should they be local to the school e.g. parents, because they have a stake in the school doing well? I believe governors should be experts, perhaps parents care more however they can still care for the school and not be a governor, they can still contribute to the school in other ways. The way I look at it, employing an expert is the best way of caring for the school; governors play a big part in the wellbeing of individuals, their happiness and future. In my opinion an expert on education is the schools best chance of succeeding. As mention earlier being a governor is a big responsibility Owen explains:

 “It is no use the government telling governing bodies to recruit a better social-economic and ethnic mix of volunteers if the material that has to be dealt with is so weighty, complex and difficult to grasp” (2009)

Reference List

Owen, J. (2009, march 17). To be paid or not to be paid? Retrieved march 6, 2012, from the guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/17/school-governors-volunteers

Owen, J. (2009, november 10). We need to get it right on governors – for the sake of our children. Retrieved march 05, 2012, from the guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2009/nov/10/school-governors-warwick-university

• Glogster A glogster is...
         WEB 2.0 platform that easily allows users to upload photos, videos, text, audio and other exciting resources to create a unique online, interactive poster."
• Something NEW and CREATIVE that makes learning fun by engaging students.
• its EASY
• it allows teamwork, and lets users publsih their work and share their creations.
• it integrates core subjects such as maths, history and art.
• it helps develop key skills and is a safe effective way to learn.

• Glogster for students is...
• FUN for learning- encurages independance
• It allows students to express themsleves creatively
• motivates students to explore less interesting topics

Multiple intellegence

The theory of Multiple Intelligences was Howard Gardner's (1983) concept that everyone has more than one ability and that a basic IQ test is not a true reflection on a pupils full potential. The idea for education was that learners could learn through different ways for example a bodily- kinesthetic learner may not enjoy sitting down reading a book- and possibly learn less, Howard Gardner proposed that every child has different abilities and learn in different ways. His theory had a list of eight intelligences:-

1. Verbal-Linguistic (Word smart)
2. Bodily-Kinesthetic (Body smart)
3. Logical-Mathematical (Number smart)
4. Musical-Rhythmic (Music smart)
5. Visual-Spatial (Picture smart)
6. Naturalistic (Nature smart)
7. Interpersonal (People smart)
8. Intrapersnal (Myself smart)

Technology can help enhance childrens abilities to learn. In a society that is forever adapting, technology is the most modern way to address Multiple Intellegences. By using a computer each intellegence is suited for:-

• Verbal Linguistic learners enjoy words and have excellent oral skills, and use language to express their ideas. For technology the teacher could set up computers with a word proecessing document with lines that are incomplete (e.g "i am" "i want" "i like") the learners then have to complete the phrase. Linguistic learners will enjoys this as they have the opportunity to express themselves using ther verbal skills

• Bodily-kinesthetic learners enjoy to learn through movement and are very aware of their body and wll achieve the most from video produvtion (e.g windows movie maker) and will benefit from field trips.

• Logical-Mathematic intellegence invoves solving mathematical problems and analyzing problems logically. Students with these skills enjoy being presented with a problem to solve. Interactive whiteboards are excellent for these learners as visualization can strengthen their mathematical understanding.

• Musical-Rhythmic learners are extremly musical and express themselves in this way they are capable of composing and understanding musical paterns and tones. Interactive books and audio recordings work well for musica learners as well as technologies such as software programs that synthesizes music into waves. This involves using critical thinking skills as well as stimulating the learners visual and auditory learning styles as they are able to break down and rebuild melodies.

• Visual-Spatial enjoy visualizing graphics and imagining details mentally. to maximise their potential video projects and paint programme will satisfy their drive. Research allows them to find quotes and pictures that they can then share with others using a presentation software.

• Naturalistic intellegence involves being at one with the environment and nature. Recording project (e.g how a flower grows and changes over time) allow learners to explore the natural world whilst at the same time using technology.

• Interpersonal learners are very aware of others and are interested in how they interact, others desites and motivations. A task for interpersonal learners would be an online survey whee thay can study peoples answers and then graff the results.

• Intrapersonal intellegence is quite the opposite they enjoy being themseves and are very intact with their feelings, fears and motivations. learners are very self awae and therefoe a blog is the best as it allows them to wxpress their thoughts and feelings.

Integrated Instruction:Multiple intellegences and technology
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Catch Up!

Last weeks lesson was all about different ways to express yourself through different fonts and we had the chance to use different websites to be very creative. My favourite website was tagxedo because you could write loads of words, e.g lists of your favourite places, your favourite things, anything and it would present them in an unique way, you could change the shape the colour and the font to make your finished project look really cool.  A differnt website we looked at was wordle which srabbled sentences and made the text different. (wordle) my wordle. Text-image.com was another website which i didnt realy like however it was very unique and different to other websites.

Technology in the classroom

During the week of the fifth of December i went on placement in a Primary school to observe how pupils are taught and how they react to the teaching, i also had mathematical tasks to observe and an ICT task. The ICT task was take a look at the use of technology in the classroom, what they use, how they use it and if it helps in anyway. I choose to go to Sofrydd primary chool as it was local and i was placed into the reception class which also included nursery children in the afternoon. On first impressions, ICT was rather minimilistic however the children were only aged 3-5 so it wasnt suprising that rather than computers and whiteboards, paintings of their own work covered the walls. Something i did find interesting was in the quiet room there was a large white board, and one lesson the teacher used it to read a story to the class. The computer would read and turn the pages and you could pick the voice you wanted and the speed in which it read. I didnt however see any other uses for it in the time i was there. Children did take a trip to the computer room one day and used semetry to draw a picture of a christmas tree and clicked print themsleves to then make it into a christmas card. In the actual classroom there was only one computer but the children were free to go on the page that was selected for them, which enabled them to learn and paint and have fun .