Deep learning and Molluscs!

A good day today.  The fifth South Dartmoor Deep Learning Day of the year so far: A day off timetable for all year groups to experience other forms of learning.  Today for me consisted of being part of the Heart Start group.  Teaching Year 9's basic life support and CPR.  A really 'fun' but serious learning episode that was enjoyed by all.  Putting the 'deep learning' into a real life context (i.e. what to do if you do find someone in a life threatening situation) definitely makes the learners' think and react.  They can see a use and purpose for the learning taking place. One student actually said "Oh my god! I might have to actually do this one day".

I had no issues with the content being taught and it was never questioned by the pupils.  I had no behaviour issues, no 'silly' questions: It was a day of "Deep Learning".  

I didn't have much free time with only 20 minutes for lunch and 2 short breaks in the morning and afternoon but because the day went so well I didn't mind and none of the kids moaned either. Why can't other 'normal' teaching days be like this? 

So what can we do to create this sort of 'learning atmosphere' and make it take place each and every lesson?  How can I as an ICT teacher convince pupils that Databases are delightful, Spreadsheets are serious and Control is cool?  Do I need to question my teaching methods and techniques?  I have changed and modified the schemes of work.  Control, for example, now consists of game programming and using Spreadsheets to forecast the profits to be made from selling the next blockbuster game. Databases though I still, no matter how I try, make interesting! (answers on a postcard please).

So the questionable food.  The food at school is fabulous! Trouble is with my short breaks/lunch I didn't really get any today.  So on the way home with my lift sharing colleague Mr T (No not the one from the A-Team!) but my good friend from the Art department I decided food was in desperate need.  Calling into the petrol station I purchased a Cornish Pasty: Best thing was the lady was going round with the reduction stickers!  One Hot Cornish Pasty for 25p!

Pasty now consumed I thought, rather than dump/hide the lovely box (yes it came in a box!) in Mr T's car, I decided to read what was in aforementioned Pasty.  I was pleasantly surprised. No artificial additives or colouring but two things did draw my attention:

1. Remove window before recycling!

So did that mean I have to remove Mr T's passenger door glass before I throw the box out of the window! Or that the little bit of plastic you could see the Pasty through was not recyclable? 

2. Was much more shocking!

OK. I don't suffer from any allergies that I know but Crustaceans; Fish; Molluscs! In a Cornish Pasty!  Surely it would have been easier to tell people "If you do suffer from any allergy please don't eat this product"

That's it! Pupils have an allergy to learning. They aren't allergic to everything but some things really do make them bad!  So we need to be careful. Yes they might not become ill through education but it might just put them off the second course. Is there a way we can be selective in what goes into our 'lesson recipes' that will allow the allergy prone to prosper?

I will think of this Pasty every lesson I teach.  Why don't pupils like learning this? Why didn't they understand that? Perhaps Databases are Mollusc's!

 

Comments

[Anne]

You have just answered your own question about databases - creating a database about snails, slugs, clams, oysters, mussels, squids, octopuses, and nautiluses. Kids would love it, especially the boys (oh thats not pc!). You could even take them to the beach to find the Molluscs!