With the exam crush looming ever closer (especially for my lovely IB class) and the need to consolidate learning that has taken place over the last year/two years, I often neglect the fact that I also need to reflect and learn about my subject. Two upcoming events this year should help me stay on the path of classroom refinement/enlightenment…
Next month Doug Belshaw and I are going to give an address and two workshops on History and ICT to Turkish History educators as part of the European Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO) which is funded by the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The way how History is taught in Turkey is being rethought and there is a desire to incorporate/develop more innovative methods; our role is to suggest how this can be done using examples of work in the UK. Doug and I will stress in our presentation that ICT is more than an ‘add water and stir’ approach and that it should support the work in the classroom rather than become the determining factor. This may seem pretty obvious but I sometimes lose sight when I come across a new/exciting tool and articipating in the conference reminds me to keep asking questions about what I do in the classroom and what direction my school is heading in.
The second event is the TeachMeet Doug and I are organising at the Schools History Project (SHP) conference in July (we are also presenting a workshop at the main event). This conference is THE conference for History educators and sessions are always informative with ideas that you can take away and use on the first day back in school. If you haven’t come across a TeachMeet before, it is a fantastic way to share teaching ideas through volunteers giving two or seven minute presentations in an informal and supportive atmosphere. This video made by BrainPop UK for another TeachMeet will help:
My experience of the TeachMeet at BETT was fantastic and I found out some really useful tips that were too ‘small’ for a seminar but very practical which stimulated much discussion at dinner and this is what we hope to achieve with the SHP version. We are currently looking for volunteers for the SHP TeachMeet so if you are intending to go and want to share your ideas and get involved in the conversation about teaching and learning in History, please get in contact via the TeachMeet page or Twitter (me or Doug Belshaw). Details on the conference can also be found on the schoolhistory.co.uk site. The outcomes of both of these events will now doubt appear on these pages and I look forward to creating exciting (or crazy depending on which student you ask) activities for my students as a result of the conversations!
Collaboration FTW!