The teaching team value the importance of student feedback. Students are asked to submit feedback on the Communication Unit they have been taught and their comments are noted below.
What were you hoping to gain from this Unit?
To complete the Unit and improve my analytical comments.
To learn how to communicate in a professional capacity.
An opportunity to communicate in teams.
To gain confidence.
To know how to analyze and interpret reports.
Develop presentation and minuting skills.
Improve my punctuation and enhance my timekeeping.
To learn things to help me at University.
To gain more knowledge into the art of professional communication.
Development of business communication skills.
Each outcome was great as they covered different areas and I enjoyed all of them.
I wanted to improve my written work.
I wanted to pass and brush up my skills from school.
A pass in Int 2 Comms in order to pass my SVQ 2 Beauty Therapy.
I wanted to become more confident to speak in front of an audience and understand how to evaluate things better.
To enhance my skills in writing, reading and listening.
To improve my verbal and written skills.
To find out whether my communication skills are proficient enough.
I was hoping to gain more experience talking in front of people as that is not my strongest point.
I had no expectations as such, other than doing my best and doing well.
A good sustainability project that might lead onto going to Rome or Poland!
To what extent did the Unit fulfil these expectations?
I have found that I did a lot better than I first suspected.
Surpassed my expectations due to the fact that prior to the class I expected a boring course, however instead I was met with an interesting and fun experience.
Very much so. The teacher explains things and puts lots of materials on D2L.
This was the most enjoyable unit I am taking on my HNC course, thank you.
Very much so and the feedback and understanding of the teacher was a big factor in this.
I thought it would mostly be English work but I see it is different than that.
I always look forward to coming to class.
I feel more skilled in delivering presentations now.
I liked that all the assessments were something to do with sports or exercise which made the assessments a bit more relevant than I thought they were going to be.
My spelling isn't great but I have got better by taking this unit.
At first I didn't think I would have a clue but have really surprised myself at what I can manage.
Totally. You not only get great support from the teacher but from pupils in the class too, it's great!
Greatly. I can now speak in front of a class and the teacher really helped me believe in my ability.
There were enough assessments and feedback to realise that my skills are actually quite good.
This was much better than I first thought on paper. Thank you!
100%.
What is the best aspect of the Unit?
The teacher (numerous times this was mentioned).
Writing an effective report.
The report was fun as it made my research skills better.
Feedback was positive and detailed.
The teacher is helpful, friendly and teaches very well.
The motivation from the lecturer really intrigues you and makes for a pleasant place to learn in.
Presentations, meetings and writing a formal report.
This was a fun class to come to.
Me passing all the outcomes!
Writing a report I was really interested in.
The amount of information and help given.
Lots of materials were handed out and this helped me as it helps me to cross-reference to give me a starting point.
The writing experience and learning how to create minutes.
Class discussions about real life cases of debt as a theme. This helped me understand all the subjects when we discussed them as a group.
The info that is put on D2L is really helpful.
I like the group discussions.
The meeting was excellent as I learned a new skill that I will use in working life afterwards.
I like that there isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer to most of the questions as long as you give detailed explanations.
I feel our teacher is one of only a few lecturers who do all they can to help you and puts lots of work and encouraging messages on D2L for you.
I like the flexibility of the assessments in the unit.
Oral presentation delivery on a sports related topic.
I liked hearing others give presentations and was allowed to ask questions and get involved with the subjects.
The atmosphere in the class was great.
Sport Matters is fun and different and you can debate current sporting issues.
Learning about arguments in sport through our presentations was good.
The sporting and communication knowledge of the teacher was impressive.
Presentations on Beauty Therapy related subjects were great. I gained confidence from watching the other girls too.
I learned how to use PowerPoint for the first time and found it to be really helpful and easy.
I enjoyed researching things and being out my comfort zone, e.g. presentations as I don't like being in front of crowds but did really well in the end.
I enjoyed making a presentation to do with Beauty and asking questions to other members of the class. I feel I learned a great deal from this, although it was very scary when the teacher told us we were starting with talks!
The help and guidance has been very helpful throughout the teaching of the unit.
Listening to presentations where I found out stuff I didn't know before.
The lecturer gives really good feedback and gives work back quickly. Whenever he is e mailed he always gives a prompt response so my expectations have definitely been fulfilled.
That I could study energy in my project.
I liked the way the class felt relaxed and comfortable. If I was unsure I wouldn't have a problem asking my teacher.
The research proposal (sustainability). The connection with the rerport and talk is inspired!
I loved the way it was taught and it wasn't at all stressful.
It was taken very seriously but there is no doubt that learning can be fun and in our science class we really worked well together.
Class dicsussions about the wide range of subjects covered was really good. Everybody got a chance to have their say which I liked a lot.
Is there anything about the Unit you would like to see changed?
More teaching materials.
A break in the class.
Handouts could have been printed out rather than put on D2L.
Not all the PCs in MB 1.23 were working which meant that some people had to go and work in the Learning Centre.
I think the presentations should have been delivered in two small groups rather than the whole class.
I'd like more groupwork and the laptops in 126 aren't very good.
Please keep the same lecturer for the Science group next year.
Don't change anything. It was really well done.
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Thursday, 24 November 2011
HN Events students - having fun, being assessed, applying skills, fundraising and addressing the CfE agenda!
I was lucky enough to teach both the HN Events groups in 2010-11 and bonded with both classes very well. It was also the first time that I had worked with Caroline Patterson and June Wigfield, the brains behind the Events Programme.
My role was to teach and assess one of our HN Communication Units called Analysing and Presenting Complex Communication (APCC). This involved the students reading, analysing and evaluating a complex report (on the 2012 Summer Olympics Impact Study), writing a report (on a major event) and organising and contributing to a formal meeting to discuss their findings. These are all skills invaluable to their learning and it was imperative that meetings were held prior to delivery (please see curriculum planning meeting notes below) and to be in regular contact with both tutors throughout the semester. This worked well and both classes achieved 100% pass rates for the subject.
My role was to teach and assess one of our HN Communication Units called Analysing and Presenting Complex Communication (APCC). This involved the students reading, analysing and evaluating a complex report (on the 2012 Summer Olympics Impact Study), writing a report (on a major event) and organising and contributing to a formal meeting to discuss their findings. These are all skills invaluable to their learning and it was imperative that meetings were held prior to delivery (please see curriculum planning meeting notes below) and to be in regular contact with both tutors throughout the semester. This worked well and both classes achieved 100% pass rates for the subject.
Some months after I had finished teaching these cohorts, they were ready to be assessed for their group project, which was part of the Events Application Unit.
Students assembled into groups and developed their skills in negotiation, diplomacy, written and spoken communication, evaluation, analysis, financial acumen, organisation, employer and customer awareness to name but a few.
Students assembled into groups and developed their skills in negotiation, diplomacy, written and spoken communication, evaluation, analysis, financial acumen, organisation, employer and customer awareness to name but a few.
What struck me was the fact that the students really were working together and in many cases those students who were not being assessed came along to show their support to their peers. Not only were the students planning, running, advertising and reflecting on their event, they were being assessed by Caroline and June. It was impressive to see students applying a myriad of skills at the various events and they clearly saw the importance of learning and developing such skills for their future.
The events that the students successfully ran in 2011 were a race night, a Bond themed evening, a comedy show and a battle of the bands event. For 2012 events that have been agreed on are a murder mystery event held at Edinburgh Zoo, a rock concert, a stand-up comedy night and a burlesque evening. A great deal of money for charity was raised through these events.
Addressing Curriculum for Excellence – the four capacities
The purpose of the curriculum is encapsulated in the four capacities - to enable each young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor. There is no doubt that both the Communication and Events Application Units were successful in addressing all four capacities. In particular students were able to evidence their levels of enthusiasm, motivation, application of communication skills, creative thought, ambition, assessing risk, respect, making informed choices and decisions, enterprising attitude, communicating effectively in different settings.
The events that the students successfully ran in 2011 were a race night, a Bond themed evening, a comedy show and a battle of the bands event. For 2012 events that have been agreed on are a murder mystery event held at Edinburgh Zoo, a rock concert, a stand-up comedy night and a burlesque evening. A great deal of money for charity was raised through these events.
Addressing Curriculum for Excellence – the four capacities
The purpose of the curriculum is encapsulated in the four capacities - to enable each young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor. There is no doubt that both the Communication and Events Application Units were successful in addressing all four capacities. In particular students were able to evidence their levels of enthusiasm, motivation, application of communication skills, creative thought, ambition, assessing risk, respect, making informed choices and decisions, enterprising attitude, communicating effectively in different settings.
For some visual evidence of past events, please see below. As you will see, the staff were involved in the events and had a wonderful time.
Client contact and the third lecturer
Sometimes Higher National Programmes of Study do not include HN Communication Units within their framework. However, communication skills are still crucial to the development of the learner’s vocational expertise. In the second semester of this academic session, Media and Audio Visual and Communication lecturers got together to discuss and implement some initiatives to help develop students’ communication skills within a vocational context.
Communication is clearly an important part of interpersonal interaction and, of course, teamwork is all about interpersonal interaction. Open communication is a fundamental part of effective teamwork in so far as it allows team members to understand each other’s point of view, to share ideas, to express feelings and to articulate plans.
Gail English, Carol Fyfe and Mark Hetherington met to discuss ways that would benefit their HN students and came up with a proposal that was successfully delivered.
Mark has experience of working with clients in a previous role as Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Communication Programme at Napier University. This involved students working on a variety of ‘live projects’ dealing with clients within the Communication industry. Central to the Graded Units in question, is that the students secure a project, which is linked to a ‘live’ client brief. This is then fleshed out into a proposal which alongside the client brief is central to the project. Technically, you could say in the ‘real world’ the client brief is in fact a legal document and must be treated with due respect.
It was important that the students were realistic about the potential limitations of their project and it was reinforced that the learners should always be mindful of work needing to be completed for other aspects of their Programme of Study. It was therefore important that the students did not fall into the trap of the client making too many demands on them as students. The concept of professionalism really was the watchword for this session. Mark drew up a series of slides that would help the students recognise the importance of how to deal with a client professionally and structured his talk around the following areas:
1. Client meetings and client contact
2. Client relationship
3. The first meeting
4. Being professional throughout the duration of the project.
Mark, Carol and Gail were keen to draw out the issue of transferring the student’s knowledge into the ‘real world’ and introducing a new lecturer for this session worked well. Mark was able to underscore the issues covered by Carol and Gail in previous classes, reinforcing the pivotal nature of positive client relationships. Some of the issues covered in the session, which was peppered with some light humour and anecdotal commentary, centred around a classroom setting where students were able to communicate their thoughts in an atmosphere conducive to expressing and allaying any potential fears, hopes, ambitions. Questions were encouraged and as a result the session doubled as a confidence builder, providing a catalyst, prodding even the most nervous learners into action!
The importance of recording and collating meaningful evidence to the relevance of listening skills were covered and feedback was uniformly positive from the learners. Students felt the session was very helpful to them, they understood the relevance of the discussion, could make connections easily with reference to applying theory to practice and that their creative input could be credited by using a meaningful recording system.
Communication is clearly an important part of interpersonal interaction and, of course, teamwork is all about interpersonal interaction. Open communication is a fundamental part of effective teamwork in so far as it allows team members to understand each other’s point of view, to share ideas, to express feelings and to articulate plans.
Gail English, Carol Fyfe and Mark Hetherington met to discuss ways that would benefit their HN students and came up with a proposal that was successfully delivered.
Mark has experience of working with clients in a previous role as Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Communication Programme at Napier University. This involved students working on a variety of ‘live projects’ dealing with clients within the Communication industry. Central to the Graded Units in question, is that the students secure a project, which is linked to a ‘live’ client brief. This is then fleshed out into a proposal which alongside the client brief is central to the project. Technically, you could say in the ‘real world’ the client brief is in fact a legal document and must be treated with due respect.
It was important that the students were realistic about the potential limitations of their project and it was reinforced that the learners should always be mindful of work needing to be completed for other aspects of their Programme of Study. It was therefore important that the students did not fall into the trap of the client making too many demands on them as students. The concept of professionalism really was the watchword for this session. Mark drew up a series of slides that would help the students recognise the importance of how to deal with a client professionally and structured his talk around the following areas:
1. Client meetings and client contact
2. Client relationship
3. The first meeting
4. Being professional throughout the duration of the project.
Mark, Carol and Gail were keen to draw out the issue of transferring the student’s knowledge into the ‘real world’ and introducing a new lecturer for this session worked well. Mark was able to underscore the issues covered by Carol and Gail in previous classes, reinforcing the pivotal nature of positive client relationships. Some of the issues covered in the session, which was peppered with some light humour and anecdotal commentary, centred around a classroom setting where students were able to communicate their thoughts in an atmosphere conducive to expressing and allaying any potential fears, hopes, ambitions. Questions were encouraged and as a result the session doubled as a confidence builder, providing a catalyst, prodding even the most nervous learners into action!
The importance of recording and collating meaningful evidence to the relevance of listening skills were covered and feedback was uniformly positive from the learners. Students felt the session was very helpful to them, they understood the relevance of the discussion, could make connections easily with reference to applying theory to practice and that their creative input could be credited by using a meaningful recording system.
Healthy eating, communication, ICT and general well-being
Having watched Jamie Oliver's School Dinners programme, students research information about healthy eating and then create leaflets using Microsoft Publisher. When they've finished this, they devise a questionnaire which is used to gather information on the eating habits of fellow students and staff. The information is then compiled into a report that includes comments from the students based on their awareness of healthy eating issues. This activity not only helps to develop communication and ICT skills, but also clearly links with the issue of health and well-being. An example of one of the leaflets produced by the students is seen below.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Graded Unit pitches - where three heads are better than two!
Carol Fyfe and Gail English are currently team teaching the Year 2 Graded Unit for the AVT course - a course unique to the Media and Audio Visual Section at Stevenson College. Several years of hard work have gone into the fine tuning of this delivery and their last external SQA verification declared them to be at the ‘cutting edge' of delivery and a centre of excellence for the delivery of Audio Visual Technology.
However – there is always room for improvement and Communication will take centre stage as part of our continuing strategy of essential skills delivery for the Graded Unit. A Previous successful collaboration focused in on in the need to place the client at the centre of any working brief and the on -going professional communication associated with this. The resulting power point presentation has become an integral part of the GU delivery and we hope to recreate this success by embedding vocationally relevant strategies and tactics associated with oral presentation skills and the ‘pitch’ into the GU calendar.
The 'pitch' will be filmed – offering further opportunities for reflective practice, peer and tutor assessment, problem solving, self-management, self awareness and improvement, joined up thinking and participative working, to name but a few.
It is anticipated that the workshop will add value to preparation for the Graded unit and augment the essential and key skills required to become a successful employee within the Creative industries.
However – there is always room for improvement and Communication will take centre stage as part of our continuing strategy of essential skills delivery for the Graded Unit. A Previous successful collaboration focused in on in the need to place the client at the centre of any working brief and the on -going professional communication associated with this. The resulting power point presentation has become an integral part of the GU delivery and we hope to recreate this success by embedding vocationally relevant strategies and tactics associated with oral presentation skills and the ‘pitch’ into the GU calendar.
The 'pitch' will be filmed – offering further opportunities for reflective practice, peer and tutor assessment, problem solving, self-management, self awareness and improvement, joined up thinking and participative working, to name but a few.
The AV students are required to present / pitch the proposal for their Graded Unit project towards the end of November as part of the Planning Stage.
Despite the fact it is expected that GU2 level students would automatically pay heed to oral presentation techniques - the enormity of the GU task somehow takes precedence and the content of the pitch becomes the total focus.
As future Creative Industries professionals the art of the pitch may well be an integral part of their job and could mean the difference between winning or losing valuable work.
Mark will observe the presentations in 2011-12 offering constructive feedback and in 2012-13 he will deliver a workshop on oral presentation techniques. This workshop will be tailored to the Graded Unit brief and will cover areas such as:
- Addressing nerves
- How to use visuals
- Content
- Research and rehearsal
- Pitching at an appropriate level
- Discourse
- Factors that contribute to effective and ineffective presentation delivery
It is anticipated that the workshop will add value to preparation for the Graded unit and augment the essential and key skills required to become a successful employee within the Creative industries.
One of the major benefits associated with an awareness of good presentation technique is clearer thinking and reflective practice. These are also essential skills associated with production. Students who are ideas focused are apt to (initially) present woolly not fully considered proposals and oral presentation skills strategies will encourage them to focus and at the end of the day reach a usable brief much more quickly. It is also one means of complying with the reasonable assistance rule within the GU.
In this instance the learners will be imposing order and logical process naturally - sharpening their thinking and saving valuable time. This way we get two for the price of one, hopefully - a handy refresher course and a more lucid presentation of their original ideas. The refresh on Oral Presentation skills will transfer to the linked Work Experience Unit where they are looking at interview techniques , presenting their talent and skills to potential employers face to face and through their show reels in whatever medium they feel is correct for them.
The CITV 2 students also have to present re their show reel medium and content for their Graded Unit and both classes come together for Work Experience so perhaps the opportunity for the AVT second years to transfer knowledge which will help the CITV 2's with their presentation skills.
There is no doubt that this collegiate approach to teaching and assessment adds value to the learning of the students and it is worth noting that the balance of a team involves having people whose experience, skills, perspectives, interests and contributions complement one another, rather than duplicate or counteract each other. Bringing in an expert from another area of the College (or outwith a lecturing team) can be highly beneficial. Learners may not know the lecturer, so they will not have any preconceptions about the person delivering the session and may feel comfortable communicating with a ‘guest speaker’.
The slides below show the likely content of the workshop.
In this instance the learners will be imposing order and logical process naturally - sharpening their thinking and saving valuable time. This way we get two for the price of one, hopefully - a handy refresher course and a more lucid presentation of their original ideas. The refresh on Oral Presentation skills will transfer to the linked Work Experience Unit where they are looking at interview techniques , presenting their talent and skills to potential employers face to face and through their show reels in whatever medium they feel is correct for them.
The CITV 2 students also have to present re their show reel medium and content for their Graded Unit and both classes come together for Work Experience so perhaps the opportunity for the AVT second years to transfer knowledge which will help the CITV 2's with their presentation skills.
There is no doubt that this collegiate approach to teaching and assessment adds value to the learning of the students and it is worth noting that the balance of a team involves having people whose experience, skills, perspectives, interests and contributions complement one another, rather than duplicate or counteract each other. Bringing in an expert from another area of the College (or outwith a lecturing team) can be highly beneficial. Learners may not know the lecturer, so they will not have any preconceptions about the person delivering the session and may feel comfortable communicating with a ‘guest speaker’.
The slides below show the likely content of the workshop.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Energy Saving Event (27/10/11)
Energy Saving Event
Joyce's Science Access class held their Energy Saving Event in the foyer on Wednesday 27 October. They were just back from the October week’s holiday, one or two were absent, students were tired, and (human) energy was low. However, they decided the show must go on.
At 9.30, they started setting up equipment and display boards, and were ready for action by 11am. At first things were quiet, but soon we were in full swing. They announced our presence, asked other students to share their energy-saving ideas, and generally drew attention to the fact that this was Energy Saving Week. About 100 students shared their ideas but many more were aware of the event and stopped to look at the displays.
The Science students did themselves proud. They organised themselves into shifts, enjoyed talking with other students, took photographs, and were visibly growing in confidence as the event wore on.
The following week, in class, Joyce gathered all the energy-saving ideas together and chose the best. One student agreed to type up all the ideas for publicity purposes later. They then reflected, as a group, on the whole process from planning to execution. What had gone well? What hadn’t gone so well? What might we have done better? What did we learn? This became a participatory engagement exercise in itself.
Students were then in a good position to write up a report about the whole event – just as they might for a funding body. These reports will count as their formal written assessment for Communication, and Joyce can already tell from the first few that the quality is excellent.
Joyce's Science Access class held their Energy Saving Event in the foyer on Wednesday 27 October. They were just back from the October week’s holiday, one or two were absent, students were tired, and (human) energy was low. However, they decided the show must go on.
At 9.30, they started setting up equipment and display boards, and were ready for action by 11am. At first things were quiet, but soon we were in full swing. They announced our presence, asked other students to share their energy-saving ideas, and generally drew attention to the fact that this was Energy Saving Week. About 100 students shared their ideas but many more were aware of the event and stopped to look at the displays.
The Science students did themselves proud. They organised themselves into shifts, enjoyed talking with other students, took photographs, and were visibly growing in confidence as the event wore on.
The following week, in class, Joyce gathered all the energy-saving ideas together and chose the best. One student agreed to type up all the ideas for publicity purposes later. They then reflected, as a group, on the whole process from planning to execution. What had gone well? What hadn’t gone so well? What might we have done better? What did we learn? This became a participatory engagement exercise in itself.
Students were then in a good position to write up a report about the whole event – just as they might for a funding body. These reports will count as their formal written assessment for Communication, and Joyce can already tell from the first few that the quality is excellent.
Friday, 11 November 2011
Danish Sizzler or Scots Wha Hae!
One of the members of the team, Stephen, was recently given the opportunity to do a session with a group of visiting Danish students on… pretty much anything he wanted. They were working with the Business department and Hamish (Section Head) wanted to give them a few sessions for interest and enjoyment on Scottish culture, and asked if he would do something related to literature. Having only an hour and a half, he decided to focus on short poems and explore language and cultural identity, and spent the 90 minutes trying to convince them that Scots is a language in its own right, not a dialect of English. Stephen started by showing them the beginning of Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen – a film in which the language is so challenging that when it was shown in England they had to subtitle the first 15 minutes – and asked them why it was so difficult to understand. They came up with the usual answers – the accents are very thick, they are speaking very fast etc. Which interestingly enough is the same difficulty that a Spanish speaker has understanding Catalan – or a Danish speaker has understanding Norwegian and Swedish. Scandinavians are, for this very reason, the perfect target group for such a discussion because they have an innate understanding that closely related languages can be very similar but still distinct. And a distinct language gives a distinct culture, as they explored through discussion of Liz Lochhead’s ‘Kidspoem\Bairnsang’ and translating Hugh MacDiarmid’s ‘Wheesht, wheesht’ into English. By the end, Stephen had about half of them convinced.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Travel and Tourism integrated Core Skills Project
John McLachlan (Numeracy), Jacqui Bower (IT) and Margaret Montgomery (Communication) are currently running an integrated Core Skills project for students who are studying Travel Tourism.
Each student has to prepare an itinerary, brochure and presentation for a group of ten foreign visitors travelling from a college in another part of the world. Each task involves all three Core Skills. For example, to prepare a useful itinerary each student has to analyse reports about visitor behaviour and collate the statistics and trends uncovered in pie charts and graphs. This clearly involves numerical skills. At the same time, the itinerary has to be incorporated into a brochure aimed at the visitors, meaning the development of written communication and IT skills.
The team feel the project is also giving the students employability skills as they are working with VisitScotland reports the contents of which are relevant to many jobs in the tourist industry.
Student feedback has not yet been formally gathered but the class tutor, Nina Boyd, reports that the students all see the relevance of the Core Skill work they are doing to their vocational area and can also see how the Core Skill areas of Communication, Numeracy and IT often complement each other in the workplace.
The project will culminate in each student presenting the itinerary they have created. As such, they will explain the structure and content of the scehdule they have put together by referring to the research they have done. They will also present a budget breakdown (each student is working to a sum of £600-£800 per visitor for all costs except travel). As this presentation will involve all the Core Skills, all the project tutors will be present at this, as well as the vocational tutor.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Collaborative approaches to our Sustainable Solutions Project
‘Sustainable Solutions’ is a two year education and culture project sponsored by the EU Comenius programme. It commenced in August 2010 and the Partnership consists of nine colleges/schools located in seven EU countries. Stevenson developed the concept for the Project and is the co-ordinating Partner. The aim of the Project is to devise models for embedding education for environmental sustainability into the existing curriculum. Students are encouraged to investigate environmental problems and come up with sustainable solutions. What follows are the minutes I wrote up from a recent partnership meeting in Rome. My thanks must go to my travelling companions Kirsty and John who helped make this trip a memorable one. The project is an excellent way of discussing the wide variety of excellent teaching and learning happening all over Europe and illustrates how a collaborative approach to the subject of sustainability can yield brilliant results.
Minutes of SusSol Partnership meeting
Minutes of SusSol Partnership meeting
IPSIA Carlo Cattaneo, Rome, Italy (19-23 October 2011)
Thursday 20th October 2011
Sinead Kellett (Marriotts School, Stevenage, England) opened the meeting by showing attendees a wonderful video made by her Drama students on the topic of ‘the sustainable global environment’ where her older students were teaching the younger students about sustainability by performing a series of short informative sketches.
John O’Neill and Marzia Zabbatino welcomed all delegates to the meeting and gave an overview of the programme of cultural and educational activities proposed for the visit.
The co-ordinators from the partner colleges delivered presentations which detailed the following information:
John O’Neill (Stevenson College, Edinburgh, Scotland)
· Summarised SCE participation.
· Embedding skills to facilitate projects.
· Student targets.
· Showed SCE and EU SusSol websites.
· Information from projects communicated via college website and in-house newsletter (SCEne.)
Maurice Schoffelen (Stedelijk College Eindhoven, Netherlands)
· Outlined the ‘It’s not easy being green’ interdisciplinary project.
· Students were involved in projects designing different types of windmills as a wind efficient energy source.
· Problems were addressed with learners encouraged to ‘think outside the box.’
· This was a good example of different departments working together.
· A You Tube video highlighting the possibilities for solar bottle lights was shown.
Tomas Diaz Gomez (Instituto de Educacion Secundaria Abyla, Ceuta, Spain)
· Detailed information about recycling and environmental issues, giving an overview of different topics covered.
· The sustainability of beaches in Ceuta, analysis of mobile consumerism and other aspects were discussed.
· The importance of working productively with colleagues was presented.
· Different modes of assessment such as essays and educational videos were used to increase students’ awareness of sustainable problems.
Joanna Omachel (Zespol Szkol Elektronicznych i Ogolnoksztalcacych, Przemysl, Poland)
· Gave information about the ‘Clear up the world’ event on September 20th.
· Visit to an ecological farm was presented.
· PowerPoint presentations about the dangers to the environment and a list of pros and cons concerning the issue of how to be eco-friendly were constructed.
· Results of a partner meeting with Stevenson College was discussed, including a visit to a bird sanctuary and a discussion (in English) about the advantages and disadvantages of zoos.
· A blog created to showcase the work done in European projects was shown.
Heather Bullen (Marriotts School, Stevenage, England)
· Details of the ‘your community and sustainability’ project were given.
· The issues of solving global warming and doing something by the students were communicated using a colourful mind map.
· Pathways to poor health were reviewed as was an extended school map of ‘is there a place for sustainability?’
· A final thought was offered – a school does not become ‘green’ by conserving energy, collecting batteries or sorting waste. The crucial factor must be what the pupils are learning from participating in such activities.
Marianne Herzog (Schulheim Schloss Kasteln, Switzerland)
· Details of the short student made film ‘The Princess of Littering Castle’ were explained.
· The premise that this institution is free to create a curriculum of study was raised.
· Sustainability issues were clarified in terms of student work, such as heating of the castle and wooden heating efficiencies.
· Recycling of litter in terms of project work was illustrated.
Marzia Zabbatino (IPSIA Carlo Cattaneo, Rome, Italy)
· This institute’s focus is on technical aspects: sustainability and sustainable energy.
· Collaborative approaches with colleagues from English, Thermohydraulics, Maths, I.T and Mechanics were clarified.
· Classes were divided into groups and produced group projects about issues such as heat pumps, solar power, solar water heaters, heating swimming pools, heating systems of vehicles with liquid cooled engines and the meaning of sustainability.
· Meaningful evaluations were shown and these included the co-operation of students, improving IT skills and the challenges of using English.
Friday 20th October 2011
Arrangements for partnership meeting to Zespol Szkol Elektronicznych i Ogolnoksztalcacych, Przemysl, Poland
· Joanna and John clarified the arrangements for the meeting in 2012 as follows: 10/4 delegates to travel to Krakow for overnight stay, 11/4 sightseeing in Krakow and travel to Przemysl in the evening, 12 and 13/4 meeting business, 14/4 cultural activities, 15/4 travel to Krakow (depending on flight times for various partners).
· Joanna will source costs for hotels, train travel, possible trip to Ukraine (it was reinforced that students will require passports for entry to Ukraine, but visas are not required.)
· John noted Joanna’s industry in organising this trip.
Proposal for future Comenius project (Heather and Marianne)
· The title of this project is entitled ‘Good Food, Good Mood’ with the focus on fewer food miles, more food smiles.
· Delegates were invited to join the project and it was highlighted that new partners from Germany, Turkey, Sweden, France, Slovenia and Romania had expressed interest in possible collaborations.
· The planning meeting will take place at Schloss Kasteln, near Zurich from Wednesday 25th January until Sunday 29th January 2012.
· Funding can be claimed from national agencies for attendance at the preliminary meeting.
· The deadline for colleagues to confirm participation is 15th November 2011.
Presentations from lecturer delegates outlining student project work
Mark Hetherington (Stevenson College, Edinburgh, Scotland)
· An overview of how the SusSol project was used as a vehicle to develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills was given.
· Working examples were given to clarify how communication skills underpin almost all personal, social, learning, and working activity.
· The importance of clear planning and how a strong collegiate approach can enhance learner engagement was outlined. This included communication with the Communication Lecturer from the 2010-11 session, lead Lecturers in Science and the Head Librarian.
· Vocationally relevant examples of formative and summative assessment were distributed in a handout.
Kirsty Nicholson (Stevenson College, Edinburgh, Scotland)
· Sustainable solutions within the HND Tourism curriculum were analysed.
· The aims of the unit were clearly outlined, namely to examine and analyse the concept of sustainability and its application within tourism planning and development, comment on the positive and negative impacts arising from tourism development and put forward sustainable solutions.
· The concept and application of a paperless class with paperless assessments was explained.
· The importance of students being able to recognise and discuss global issues and problems due to unsustainable development practices was clarified.
Matthias Hugli (Schule Kuttigen, Switzerland)
· A project entitled ‘Rubbish in the City’ involving kindergarten, primary and secondary school pupils was described.
· Other topics of sustainability research by students included desertification and how to save energy in everyday life.
· It was explained how the students take all the rubbish they find in the city and build an artwork distillation to demonstrate to citizens what has been thrown away.
· Students are keen to explore relationships between disasters like Fukushima and our daily use of energy.
Nikos van de Klundert (Stedelijk College Eindhoven, Netherlands)
· Activities in years one and two were communicated to delegates including successful student trips to Stevenage, London and Ceuta.
· The results of the SusSol (mini) Science Fair were also used for the 3TTO Science Fair for all bilingual 3rd classes, which took place in April.
· Again, the importance of a collaborative approach was highlighted, including working with teachers of various vocational areas.
· Dissemination of information was showcased using the following methods: SusSol (mini) Science information booklet, SusSol (mini) Science Fair projects, school website and newspaper.
· Future plans include running a science fair held in the evening time so more teachers and parents are able to see the results of the project, producing a signpost to all the participating schools in Europe, placed centrally in the auditorium where the Science Fair will be held.
Tomas Diaz Gomez (Instituto de Educacion Secundaria Abyla, Ceuta, Spain)
· The students’ study of different aspects of Ceuta’s beaches and their sustainability was discussed.
· An inter-disciplinary approach was used between lecturers in subjects such as Geography, History, Economics and English.
· Research projects have included work on wide ranging topics, such as discussions on sustainable habits, conclusions about consumerism, preservation of the environment and a visit to a workshop in Granada.
· The onus on the work of the institute is ‘learning from our environment.’
Martin Greenacre and Sinead Kellett (Marriotts School, Stevenage, England)
· An understanding of how sustainable Marriotts School is and how they relate to the local, national and international pattern was broken down.
· Energy usage has been a research topic for the students and staff at Marriotts, including questions such as: How do we use Energy? Do we switch off appliances? Do we waste electricity?
· ‘Opening Minds’ is a theme explored at this school in an attempt to understand an Ecological Footprint, how it is measured, where it varies around the world and how it can be reduced.
· Students have carried out research with surveys and questionnaires.
· There is no fixed curriculum at Lonsdale School (for students with learning difficulties) and an innovative project between the two schools was highlighted. This was demonstrated using a short drama clip outlining a project on the sustainable world.
· The video showed how students were using scripts to teach each other about the issue of sustainability in a creative way.
Dissemination, communication and evaluation activities
John concluded the meetings with the following action points:
· Delegates to use the ‘shared treasure’ function on respective institutional websites where possible.
· An improved evaluation questionnaire to be discussed and devised at the next partner meeting in 2012.
· Maintain collegiate approaches with COMENIUS colleagues.
· Links to innovative practice to be linked to respective websites and on the SusSol hub.
The advent of a new project, provisionally entitled Good Food, Good Mood was initiated by colleagues from England and Switzerland, and this will be explored further and formalised at a meeting in Zurich in February 2012.
John thanked all delegates for their contribution and enthusiasm and in particular representatives from the host institute in Rome.
Mark Hetherington, 23/10/11.
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