School Science Summit
Posted by: mimanifesto on: May 6, 2009
I was invited to take part in the Scottish Government School Science Summit earlier this week. Thought-provoking questions, some great discussions, and very good to see all stakeholders engaging in the debate on a change agenda for science. Interesting speech from Fiona Hyslop and some great stuff from Jack Jackson. And great to network, and catch up with some old friends 
Check the LTS blog for a fuller precis…
http://ltsblogs.org.uk/glowscotland/2009/05/05/schools-science-summit-2009/
One thing did make me think a little though. When Sir Andrew Cubie showed the ‘Wordle’ pictures based on the discussions we had around the three ‘Big Issues’ up for debate on Tuesday, I was very surprised and not a little disappointed, I have to say, to notice what I believe to be a glaring omission on each of the three…
Have a look and see if you spot it as well…
1. CPD
2. Pupil’s learning
3. Teacher training
Whilst you might expect to see the word ‘Teacher/s’ writ fairly large, I’m disappointed at the almost total lack of what I consider should have been the biggest word in all three…
Over to you…
4 Responses to "School Science Summit"
May 7, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Yes – I was flabergasted to see the lack of any prominance to ‘Learning’
Surely we are at the stage when we need to be shifting away from the almost ego-centrist dominance implicit in the use of the word, ‘teaching’ (certainly in the way it’s been understood for the past century, anyway) towards a more learner-centred approach..where everything revolves around and enhances the learning ?
Or is that too much to ask ?
Jaye
May 19, 2009 at 7:14 pm
I respect your sentiments but I think that all that wordle does is represent the frequency with which certain words appear in selected text . This does not necessarily correlate with the importance attached to those words.
I would be very cautious about inferring anything of significance from wordle alone.
To me it is very appealing visually but cannot be used for serious analysis.
May 21, 2009 at 6:20 pm
@ Sorry Roddy, but I have to disagree. The frequency of the words relates directly to the discussion in the rooms. The fact that ‘Learning’ does not appear prominently gives me grave cause for concern. The discussions focussed very much on the teaching rather than the learning which needs to take place and to me represents somewhat of a ’stuck’ system (scots education). What we need, IMO are change agents to ‘unstick’ the system and mve it forward, as ACfE should do, rather than just re-jigging the existing system as many of the discussion threads appear to highlight.
Wordle is very useful in illustrating the state of play as it stands..
Jaye
May 7, 2009 at 9:59 am
Learning?
Glow?
aCfE?