After a year out of the teachmeet scene - caused by a move to a new school, a car crash and chronic toothache to name but a few excuses, I have finally re-found the time to get involved with the twittersphere are more importantly the tweechers who are guaranteed to inspire...and I am so pleased I have.
Attending @Goldfishbowlmm 's English teachmeet has left me inspired. It always amazes me how spending 2 hours in a room of such talented people can leave you so many ideas that I wouldn't know how to find the time to implement them all - it probably won't stop me from trying though!
Here are just a few of the highlights:
@HuntingEnglish reminded us that it takes 10000 hours to become an expert - so why not prompt students to practise skills over and over by giving them a visual. Using small circles to represent each attempt, students will be aided to understand that skill acquisition is an ongoing process. Offer them space for reflection around the side and they will also realise just how far they have come. Genius!
One thought provoking approach came from @amsammons who introduced taxonomy of errors (inspired by @kevbartle). By pre-empting the errors that students will make when attempting a skill, it was clear that teachers will develop their own understanding of the skills whilst providing effective feedback in a minimal manner. An excellent tool for all concerned - read http://bit.ly/14Jcxao and follow @kevbartle for more.
@funkypedagogy lived up to her tag in an inspiring overview of slam poetry. Her presentation highlighted that students can engage with literature by being reminded that it is ultimately about them. The poetry shared was inspirational and demonstrated how speaking and listening truly is a core strand of the curriculum (a sore point at the moment - I know!) I am sure that slam will gradually trend throughout West Yorkshire and strongly urge you to get in touch if you would like to be a part.
If you have ever had trouble selling a context lesson, or ensuring that your students pay attention to key information then you could try embedding the information amongst a mass of lies (courtesy of @Englishalewis).
@lisajaneashes livened up an already entertaining morning with her thought bombs. Her adapted play-centre balls (painted black with a hole in the top and a bit of glitter for extra sparkle) - showed that we can drip feed nuggests of information, encourage collaboration and genuine discussion between students and have a bit of fun at the same time.
In fact, there were so many good ideas that I can't even begin to summarise them - particularly the insights offered by @goldfishbowlmm and @Xris32 who changed my perspective on vocabulary and sentence structures. Thank you fellas!
My point is, on being given the opportunity to attend teachmeets, I often hear people say "That would be nice - I simply don't have the time!" and in the past year I've been guilty of it myself. But, it is false economy. Yes there are books to mark and lessons to plan but nothing increases the pace of the mundane tasks more than being excited to get to the good stuff. Furthermore, you will probably attack it with a little more understanding each time. Thank you for a thoroughly worthwhile day to all mentionned above and all those who I haven't had time to mention (@c_j_read @miss_tiggr @Gwenelope @kerrypulleyn @beetlebug1) - I guarantee you have have made an impact on my classroom and the students will be thankful.
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