July
Welcome to the Alite newsletter, July
2001
This month we bring you some thoughts on recent research
in London and how it has been interpreted. There are some
ideas for making learning stick, and some good news about
the importance of sleep in the learning process. As usual,
there's some fun stuff just to make you smile.
The future is female?
Alistair Smith has just completed his contribution to
a BBC television programme which looks at how boys and
girls learn. The programme, entitled The Future is Female,
is part of the BBC's 4X4 Series. It goes out on the prime-time
7.30 evening slot on BBC 1 on July 23rd.
Alistair worked with John Williams of the UK high IQ organisation
MENSA to devise and interpret tests which show differences
in the performances of boys and girls. Alistair then went
with presenter Sally Magnusson to Horsenden School in Ealing
to oversee and comment on the tests. The tests looked at
a number of different factors, including physical agility
for six year olds, pattern discrimination and shape identification;
there were also tests to do with predictions.
Expectation shapes performance
Research suggests that tests designed to challenge the
top 10% of nine and 13 year olds could be used to spot
bright youngsters in inner-city areas. The "world class
tests" - designed by the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority (QCA) and available on the internet from September
- test a high-flying pupil's mathematical and problem solving
ability.
Now researchers at the Able Children's Education Centre
at Brunel University, Twickenham, have found a selection
of children from a deprived area did better in problem-solving
than their peers from "a leafy suburb".
Five nine-year-old pupils, from some of the worst-performing
primary schools in Lambeth, south London, were chosen to
sit the tests on the basis of their potential ability,
rather than their performance in written tests.
"We had to rely on behavioural indicators, such as an
ability to reason," co-director of the education centre,
Dr Valsa Koshy said. The five scored 134 points, in comparison
to the suburban pupils' 119 points.
"It's a remarkable finding, bearing in mind the type of
children they are and being from inner city areas, they
are not likely to be picked for anything," Dr Koshy said.
But they had such a high level of problem solving ability! "The
innate ability must be there - a lack of teachers or opportunities
will not irradiate talent," she said.
In the maths tests, though, the inner-city pupils did
not score as well, trailing 50 points behind the suburban
pupils' score of 157.
Dr Koshy believes bright pupils from deprived areas should
not be selected and labelled by how they perform in traditional
tests. "We need a way of identifying these pupils which
does not rely only on closed tests in English and maths
and problem solving could play a major role here.
"The problem solving parts of the world class tests should
be used for the identification of bright children where
they may not do so well in traditional tests. My initial
hypothesis from that small selection is that the tests
have a useful role to play in talent spotting - but more
research is needed,"
Dr Koshy explained. Dr Koshy said she was encouraged by
the research, but also felt guilty about the low expectations
she had had of the pupils. "I thought they'd never do it.
But I had to learn a lesson - that it was important to
start with an open mind." The Able Children's Education
Centre hopes to expand on the research carried out so far,
to establish if a larger selection of children would produce
similar results.
Alistair Smith commented that his team of consultants
are out in schools and colleges throughout the year and
are constantly pushing the view that expectation shapes
performance. What Dr Koshy describes as 'astonishing' we
would describe as part of the everyday experience of teachers
working in the most challenging circumstances. What is
astonishing is that it has taken so long for some leading
educationalists to acknowledge that most tests we have
inherited simply measure the ability to do well in similar
tests. Change the test, change the outcome.
Making science stick
You've followed the accelerated learning cycle, ensuring
you've connected the learning, given the big picture, and
described the outcomes. Your next challenge is how to input
the material so that it sticks
The use of humour and whacky, out-of-the-ordinary approaches
are two great ways to make the content of a lesson memorable.
We love Suffering Scientists by Nick Arnold. This is a
great book which uses humour to deliver sound content on
astronomy, chemistry, biology and physics. The book was
on the shortlist for the £10,000 Aventis prize for science
books, awarded this year to Michael Allaby's Dorling Kindersley
Guide to Weather. The shortlist included books on depression,
jellyfish, quarks, genes, artificial life and a 19th Century
Russian chemist - a fascinating collection of titles!
Your brain learns while you sleep
If you are looking forward to a rest over the summer
holidays, here's some good news!
Scientists working in Britain and Belgium say they've
discovered what appears to be one of the most important
functions of sleep. They found that, during sleep, the
parts of the human brain responsible for learning continue
to process new information.
Volunteers were given new tasks to learn, while their
brains were observed with an electronic scanner. When the
same scanner was used after the volunteers had fallen asleep
to examine their brain's use of glucose and oxygen, it
found that the same areas were busily working to store
the new techniques in the memory. The research may help
to explain why lack of sleep makes it difficult to concentrate
or learn new tasks. Interrupted sleep can cut across phases
which are being used for learning and memory consolidation.
Just for fun!
Think you want to be a teacher? Take this test first.
Part Two: July 2001
1. Have a friend search the country to find dull museum
related to obscure aspect of history with lots of hiding
places. There must be no guide or attached interpretation
centre or safe space for eating packed lunch. The friend
must tell you 24 hours before that you must take two bus
loads of 14 year olds for 5 hour period to said dull museum.
2. Go out into remote area. Shout at top of voice as long
as possible. Once throat begins to hurt, stop and have
half a cup of tea with powdered milk. Rush around holding
tea for a bit before putting down and forgetting where
you put it. Go back to shouting at top of voice and repeat.
3. Put chewing gum straight onto elbows of best jacket.
Think you want to be a parent? Take this test first.
Part Two: July 2001
1. Take crayons - the oil based variety - and break them.
Put the broken bits down behind the chair covers and in
your bed.
2. Go to a toy store and buy the most expensive educational
toys. Play with the box for two hours.
3. Enter war zone as under-cover agent. Get caught. Experience
bright lights shined into face at irregular intervals throughout
the night. Have no sleep worth speaking of. Speak gibberish.
Promise anything if allowed to go back to bed
Creative Writing, Creative Thinking workshops
When Steve Bowkett was thirteen, his French teacher sent
him to the Naughty Corner and told him to 'do something
constructive'. He started to write for his own amusement,
and is now (although no longer residing in the Naughty
Corner) a widely-published author of books for adults and
children. Steve was a full-time classroom teacher for 18
years, and is passionate about brain-based learning and
accelerated learning techniques. Alite is delighted to
be able to offer his Creative Writing, Creative Thinking
workshops to schools throughout the UK. Steve's workshops
are inspiring and engaging, leaving children highly motivated
to write their own stories and poems.
If you would like to learn more about the workshops, please
contact Melanie on 01628 810700, or email office@alite.co.uk
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