Minds Wide Open | Education
Minds Wide Open
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24.01.2022 Michelle 21st century teaching wants children to learn how to think outside "the box" yet some still require children to color inside the lines Mark Love the story but as a former Art Teacher I have to point out that many kids come to be frustrated with what they do on their own and truly appreciate the liberation that comes from finding out how to do something better! What's at stake is developmental appropriateness, what the goals are, and assessing the impact of the activi...ty on the student... let's not romanticize this, too! THAT'S not being child-centric EITHER!!! Beth There are a lot if abstract artist that are famous who did not follow the "directions". Children need to be creative and it is the whole PROCESS and not the PRODUCT that is important. Not all trees are green not all pottery is round, not all teacher's ideas are everyone else's. Learning to follow directions is a process of it's own through critical thinking asking open ended questions and giving guidance. Lorraine The story Willow by Denise Brennan-Nelson deals beautifully with this issue. It really made me think twice about the comments I made about kids artwork https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42o8JuaEAZc https://www.facebook.com//a.5263314508701/1218302571672995
22.01.2022 FYI Sydney and Central Coast teachers An education provider is looking for enthusiastic teachers interested in getting involved in their holiday workshops in mid to late January at Epping and Erina. These workshops provide primary-age children with engaging and fun activities that also extend their knowledge and imagination. The workshops are designed to help children develop teamwork, flexibility, persistence and inspire their creativity. Your supervisor will provide you with the lesson plans for the activities and they will be on hand to assist. All resources are supplied. $500 per day. For more information and the contact details go to the workshop provider’s website - https://www.thynk.com.au/team1.html
22.01.2022 Bradfield Oration: Primary school students’ ideas on what Sydney needs I haven’t met many school teachers who read the Telegraph so just in case you missed this delightful story about students coming up with amazing innovative ideas here it is. Well done to Year 6 students at Seaforth Public School - and kudos to their teacher Lisa Carlton for giving them this opportunity to be creative. Thank you for allowing them to practise and develop their skills for the future!... See Daily Telegraph story for a close up of the student’s ideas. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au//7eb60a18690de0d6252dee1 James Phelps
17.01.2022 When this dad found playgrounds didn't work for his disabled daughter, he build ones everyone could enjoy.
13.01.2022 DOUBLE THE BREAKS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY? OPINIONS Thalassophile... It is absolutely imperative that kids with ADHD have these breaks, I’ve been trying to convey this message to schools for years. All kids will benefit and so will the whole school and learning Bring it to your principal !! Erin I love this idea. I want to know as a casual teacher, whether we could implement this at schools we work at. Even if the schools don't already do it, could we just take our classes out for 10 minutes by ourselves? Sue As an IM teacher with 30 minute lessons, this would totally do my head in! Claudia I am sick of the world always being compared to Finland's education system. It's like comparing apples with oranges. All countries are different in their geography, culture, government and financial management. Trying to emulate a country which is vastly different to ours does not mean their model is a one size fits all. aghhh.... From what I understand they don't do exams in Finland so then how can they be rated number one? How do they determine what is the best education https://www.smh.com.au//two-schools-have-doubled-their-pla
11.01.2022 BOOK WEEK (17 - 23 August) SUPER IDEAS YOU CAN LEARN ANYWHERE ANYTIME WITH A BOOK... Why not take a leaf out of Wheeler Heights Public School‘s book.... Each year Book Week celebrates reading and its impact on the lives of children. This year the Children's Book Council of Australia have chosen the theme "Reading is My Secret Power". If you are a Minds Wide Open school then you probably already utilise our K-6 Captain Disposition program to teach your students the Seven Superpowers for Learning. Why not take a leaf out of Wheeler Heights Public School‘s book and make Captain Disposition your Book Week mascot this year? The librarian has created a life-size cardboard Captain Disposition (see first picture) to remind students to use their superpowers for learning... and reading. This year their slogan is: Be a Ubiquitous Learner - learn anywhere anytime with a book! ANIMATION VIDEO HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQJVptEWN0E See Captain Disposition pictures attached which you can use to promote the power of reading this coming Book Week. Happy Book Week everyone! Full Captain Disposition SONG here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSyPoEjLYiA&t=4s Full Captain Disposition DANCE here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ash5pQP4IqU
10.01.2022 FREE PD. Last chance to enrol! Sydney Metro is providing free professional development and teaching resources for STEM, Arts and Humanities teachers. The training and resources provided can be utilised by teachers within a subject area or in a co-curricular context. This course aims to support teachers as they seek to engage their students in deeper learning through real-world problem solving and equip them with tools to create innovative solutions and manage projects.... The Metro Minds Teacher Professional Development Workshop will be held at Bankstown on Friday 26 March 2021, 1:00pm to 4:15pm. https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-professional-devel Also, public schools may be eligible for teacher release REIMBURSEMENTS to cover their casual teacher costs (terms and conditions apply). You can find more information about the Metro Minds STEAM Challenge and its resources: https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-steam-challenge Please share this post with colleagues who might be interested. Regards James Phelps
07.01.2022 Three high schools and 21 primary schools are overcoming high levels of disadvantage, a new study has found. "There is evidence that most students who are below academic benchmarks in a range of subjects in year 8 do not catch up by the end of high school, and students who are below benchmarks in year 4 do not catch up by year 8, especially for schools in lower socio-economic areas," the study finds. Studies have found that disadvantage is one of the main factors in determini...ng student outcomes, followed by prior achievement. https://www.smh.com.au//only-three-australian-high-schools
06.01.2022 One person’s trash is Veena Sahajwalla’s treasure. The Aussie inventor and engineer is transforming the way we recycle, turning tyres into steel and old clothes into designer tiles. Watch full episode The Tipping Point: https://ab.co/2Mqt461
05.01.2022 BOOK WEEK (17 - 23 August) MORE SUPER IDEAS ... Kudos to Wheeler Heights Public School for their Book Week slogan: ‘Take a risk. Read a book!’ Why not use this year’s Book Week as an opportunity for students to have a digital detox? What if you were to dare your students to ditch their devices for one week and replace them with books? Most kids like to be challenged and many kids will take up a challenge if it’s offered to them. To help you launch the challenge here’s a cool music video about not being controlled by the technology we use. Primary students love listening to and singing along with this song. (Don’t want to be) Raised by Robots https://youtu.be/sAZWPnhWy5c Lyrics version at LBM.school (CCT.education) login required https://lbm.school/res-lyrics-videos/raised-by-robots
05.01.2022 Heads up to teachers in Sydney’s Inner West and South West areas! Free professional learning opportunity offered by Sydney Metro as part of its FastTracking the Future Education Program. Start the school year with free PD, a resources pack and lots of ideas to engage your students more in their learning.... Are you a Science, Arts, Technology or Humanities teacher looking to collaborate with colleagues across learning areas? Are you a Design and Technology teacher looking for new ways to motivate your Year 7-10 students in 2021? The Metro Minds Teacher Professional Development Workshop for 7-10 teachers will be held twice in Term 1 2021 at Bankstown. Teachers have the option to attend on: Friday 19 February 2021, 1:00pm to 4:15pm or Friday 26 March 2021, 9:00am to 12:15pm The three-hour PL session will cover: How to run a cross-curricular project with Stages 4 and 5 students Scaffolds, strategies and teaching tools to run a design or problem-based project, either within a single learning area or across learning areas Ways to engage and equip students to apply and practise their subject area skills and knowledge in real-world situations How schools can effectively utilise the teaching resources pack provided by Sydney Metro for the 2021 Metro Minds STEAM Challenge This is a free professional development workshop for Stage 4/5 teachers whose school is within 5 kilometres of Sydney Metro’s City & Southwest and West alignments and are interested in entering Sydney Metro’s schools competition - Metro Minds STEAM Challenge. You can secure a spot early by registering your interest here. (Places are limited.) https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-pd-teachers-worksh Also, public schools may be eligible for one of 15 teacher release REIMBURSEMENTS offered by Sydney Metro to cover their casual teacher costs. (terms and conditions apply) For more information about the Metro Minds STEAM Challenge and its resources: https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-steam-challenge Please forward this post to colleagues who might be interested. Regards and good luck to all teachers as you launch into a new year of teaching and learning. James Phelps
04.01.2022 Well done Grose View Public School! Super powerful effort from staff and students!
03.01.2022 Are you looking for a Thursday-Friday K-6 teaching position in 2020? There is a classroom Music RFF role going at a DoE school in the Epping-Ryde district. The successful applicant would work in collaboration with the current Mon-Wed music teacher to deliver the whole school K-6 Music program. If you are a qualified primary teacher with musical skills or maybe a specialist high school music teacher with primary experience (NESA accredited) and you are interested in the position message me and I will forward contact details of the principal. (Experience with managing school choirs would be an advantage.)
