Our most recent conference
Posted by admin on July 20, 2011
On March 13th, the sun shone down on Inglewood Manor near Chester as 65 primary school managers/teachers from six Local Authorities, representatives from the PNS and from Chester University, including some primary Post-graduate students, gathered for our conference. Mick Waters opened the day with an inspiring presentation in which he made delegates think about what learning means and should mean to primary age children. The conference consisted of two seminars, two workshops and two workshop seminars. These focussed on creative planning; assessment for learning; using drama to promote inclusion and using drama to inspire writing; ways of developing a ‘Mantle of the Expert’ approach for learning; and how a playing, talking and thinking to learning can engage children in writing.
Feedback included:
Play-talk-think-write Boxes: Great session-very practical with clear research base and structure to use with children. Janet Fitzgerald (Headteacher)
Drama for involving all children in their learning: This was an excellent session which provided a wide range of activities to use with children and students. Very well presented and firmly rooted in current classroom practice. Jeanne Broadbent (Senior Lecturer )
Drama to inspire writing: Fantastic ideas to use in any context. A most enjoyable session that illustrated how valuable drama can be in developing writing. Sharon Spurdle (Core Curriculum Leader)
Assessment: Thought provoking session which really made me think about my own/school’s planning and how we formulate success criteria. Sarah Ratcliffe (English Subject Leader)
‘Mantle of the Expert’: Really valuable explanations and examples of cross-curricular planning and experience of how to this would happen in class. Good resources. Andrea Cameron (PGCE) [Mantle of the Expert was developed by Dorothy Heathcote – see booklist in conference pack]
Planning for Learning: This session met its stated aims. It was well structured with a good balance between input and opportunity to discuss the key ideas with a range of colleagues. The style of delivery was good and met my needs as a learner. It gave me food for thought with some actions to develop in relation to my role. Gail Webb