Eureka!!

Another moment another time and I would be old and grey. It is finally operational again. That is the Death Star of a blog called det168.

Horray!!!!!!

2day

This is me today in the cafe bar

Thursday 15th January 2009 – On My Sick Bed, but I’m with you

Just a thank you Ros, I’m very sick and have been since last week, but I’m now in my bed and feeling very, very, very, guilty about missing teaching club once more. Don’t think you would appreciate my contributions though???

Anyway just to comment that John and I appear to be on the same track regarding looking at ways of integrating e-learning communities within the RSAMD environment. I am currently working on how to integrate this idea into the Musicworks programme at Sighthill, but as discussed in previous blogs, this is a grey area which will be extremely difficult to do owing to finance, strategic environment, etc. However, I will remain ever positive about it and continue with my plan to activate this theme in my learning and teaching practice.

I am currently unwell as you now know, but I am working and reflecting on what I am going to do on Saturday with my students regarding the up-and-coming ABRSM theory exams which four of them will undertake? I thought about giving each of them a topic of discussion e.g. scales, Italian terms and signs, etc, and having each of them, as per the Terry Mayes concept, teach the younger children what their subject is, pass on the info and talk about your next door neighbours. Although I think additional flashcards will be in order to back up their theories of what the subject content is.

I think we will also have quizzes and questionnaires as to what they think they should be learning versus what the RSAMD stipulates they should study. At present, Musicworks states that each child should participate in one instrument e.g. fiddle, whistle, boudhran, chanter, etc, singing, musicianship (very large topic including everything and anything) and group work. The children are also divided into two groups – the older children and the new starts.

Is this conducive to their individual and collective learning processes?? Or should we try to integrate them more?? So that they begin to ‘feed’ off each other as a resource and also to develop the concept of student centred learning?

Also, a key part of the organisational change needed to move learning and teaching practice forward is consideration of the processes that support learning and teaching. Both our organisational structures and administrative processes have grown incrementally over time and the underpinning processes sometimes seem designed to meet the needs of internal fiefdoms rather than serving the needs of the learner.

Most of us recognise that some of these processes could be improved but it is often difficult to know how to tackle the issues or indeed what to tackle first. The problem is neatly summed up in a quote from AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh:

“Here I am, coming down the stairs, bump, bump, bump, on the back of my head. It is, as far as I know, the only way- Maybe there is a better way. If only I could stop bumping for a moment and think of it.”