#OnlyLearning

I've enjoyed giving some thought lately to potential applications of AI in teacher education. Today, I experimented with ChatGPT in generating exemplar lesson plans and the results were mixed, but no lesser than one might expect from student teachers in their first foray into lesson planning. My initial thoughts were that this might be a useful tool for creating new examples of lessons to help model lesson structures and, moreover, offer students an opportunity to evaluate various plans, identifying the merits and shortfalls therein. There is also scope to use AI to help students/teachers get to grips with how they might embed technologies in their lesson plans: The Bing AI bot was perhaps more helpful in supporting teacher development by focusing on useful resources and a range of suggested activity ideas: I'm keen to keep the conversation around this going, so please let me know your thoughts.

Below is a blog post written by ChatGPT on Digital Citizenshi p on 10/03/2023.  Digital Citizenship Education: What it is and Why it Matters In today’s digital age, children and young people are growing up in a world that is more connected and online than ever before. They have access to an enormous amount of information, tools, and platforms that can help them learn, create, and communicate with others. However, this also means that they are exposed to a range of digital risks and challenges that can have serious consequences for their well-being, privacy, and reputation. This is where digital citizenship education comes in. Digital citizenship education is a term used to describe the process of teaching and learning about the responsible use of technology, the Internet, and social media. It aims to equip children and young people with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to navigate the digital world safely, responsibly, and ethically. Why is digital citizenship educat...

Have you ever taken a moment to consider what you share online?  What about all those photographs of your children? Have you even asked your child if they are happy with you sending their digital likeness into the ether, at a time when an ever-greater number of tools are being launched, and used, with minimal thought for their longer term impact. The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child was written a long time before we had any reason to worry about online presence - after all the the UNCRC came into action in 1992, a year before  CERN  placed its World Wide Web technology in the public domain and gave birth to the phenomenon of online communication. Yet the UNCRC has incredible relevance for our children, especially given omnipresent online access and these new AI   tools : Article 3  - The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children. Article 8  - Every child has the right to an id...

 Why can't my pupils follow simple instructions By  Adam Boxer lead practitioner at The Totteridge Academy, London, on why pupils find it hard to follow simple instructions. [The following is a lightly edited lift from Adam's original blog  post] As soon as you are a few words in the noise starts to build as students pack away, put on coats, push their chairs in and talk to each other. Why? It’s not a difficult class and you’ve had good command of the group…so why does this always seem to happen? One of the most powerful techniques I use is Means of Participation (MOP) [read more in  Lee Donaghy’s blog ]. MOP is about how you communicate to students how they are supposed to participate in your lesson. Phrases like:           " …by putting your hand up…”           “…just think about the answer for me” establish the means by which your students will participate. It’s a powerful technique but it isn’t enough. ...

Challenging the Extrovert Ideal in the Classroom Without proffering cliches and stereotypes, the introverts in your class will likely prefer to reflect and think deeply. In the classroom setting, this can mean having a preference to work independently.  Introverts may prefer planning, enjoy brainstorming and considering all sides of something in their mind before taking the next step. They often prefer discussing things with one other person rather than in a large group.  Constantly being told to “speak up” and work with others during can cause stress or anxiety.  When you are designing tasks for your learners, remember that it may be focused, independent learning tasks in which some will shine brightest. There are links to resources and some great prompts in this article to help you plan for the introverts in your lessons. Here's Jamie Thom , author of    A Quiet Education: Challenging the extrovert ideal in our schools  discussing both why an...

Cognitive Load Theory - an introduction by GCSEPod In the late 1980s, John  Sweller  developed a theory about the demands placed on the human memory when we are learning something new. This he named Cognitive Load Theory. Dylan  Wiliam  subsequently commented that it was the ‘single most important thing that teachers should know’.  The theory details three different types of cognitive load, one of which is ‘extraneous load’, that is how the learning is presented to the learner.  Sweller  suggested that there are ways of reducing the extraneous load, thereby increasing the likelihood of the learning being assimilated by the learner.  Strategies such  as  reducing redundant text on a power point  or  using worked examples   to aid learning, are now increasingly being used by teachers, and have themselves attracted further research into their efficacy.  Text source:   https://www.gcsepod.com/   , i mages source...

[ P.S. An abridged version of this post was published in TES magazine 22nd December 2022  ] Safe spaces in which Scottish Educators can discuss, debate, share our thoughts, enquiries and practice are few and far between these days. Barely have we had we chance to draw breath post-Covid (no pun intended), but we find we are already diving into a period of National Discussion , examining the findings of a slew of reports and a flurry of thought papers (among them opportunities to redefine the place of the Four Capacities and of IDL in our schools).  In such a time of flux, we would benefit from a safe place to share and explore ideas,  but our options are instead reducing. The Future is behind us Could relics from our recent past be our best shot at establishing grassroots opportunities to collaborate, share and discuss - as Pedagoo provided for a while - regardless of our geographic or digital locale, so that we might optimise this season of reform and renewal? ...