Something thats been on my todo list for a long time is to write up some lesson plans for how to use some of our resources. I’ve now taken it off my list - not because I’ve done it but because I don’t intend to for the foreseeable at least.
It was towards the bottom of my list anyway, mostly because I wasn’t sure how much value they’d actually have - afterall each resource already has a written guide on how to use it. The lesson plans would have been more along the lines of helping people see how the use of the resources fit within whatever curriculum they were using it within. But having seen some of the teaching resources my wife has had available during her teaching practices I now thinking writing lesson plans would in some ways be supportive of something I’m in principal against - the accreditation culture. Continue Reading »
Last week myself and Becky traveled (for ages) to Essex, and worked in a weird place called Witham. The hotel was actually in a place called Kelvedon, so after a 6 hour train journey we arrived at a small village with ducks and a few local pubs, only to find out they have no taxis or manners for that matter. Northerners are definitely the friendlier sort! Anyway, this meant we had a 45 minute walk with laptops, cameras, equipment and clothes uphill, along strange streets and across the A12, only to learn that Kelvedon is weirder than we first thought! (Have you ever felt that everyone you meet are just actors, and your being filmed? Truman show me thinks!)
However, we were working with 7 very normal teenagers who were a pleasure to work with. The aim of the first 2 days was to equip the volunteers with the sessions and facilitation skills they needed in order to run their own course for the following 2days. We did a range of activities from storytelling to session structures, ensuring they not only knew the sessions, but could deliver and support them too. One thing I found difficult was judging how much responsibility we actually give the volunteers. On one hand you don’t want to pressure them with running and planning sessions on their first time, but on the other if they’re enthusiastic and competent to do it- why not?! I think we all went on a mad journey the first two days, from confidence and enthusiasm to last minute nerves and session planning. This reminded of the feelings i used to get in my early stages in volunteering- when your keen but not fully sure if your good enough, if i ask a question will they doubt me, I’m i saying the right thing etc etc. And of course the nerves- which I still get now which is definitely a good thing!
Of course the plan changed immediately the next day due to times and group sizes, so luckily we expected this and didn’t have to rely on our original plans. “Always have a back up plan!”I believe the volunteers couldn’t have done a better job, the energy they demonstrated was amazing, and considering the long days we had they were still smiling at the end! It was also great to see the guys actually taking on board the skills we explored the first few days, and asking questions and using their initiative. There was never a point where they had run out of things to do! They worked very hard and made us proud, so thanks to:
Rachel, Arron, Stu (hya son), Chelsea, Joe, Sax and Dan.
I’ve just got back from the Social Innovation Camp where I took along the idea of ‘Personal Development Reports’. The good news is this now has a better name - ‘On The Up!’. The even better news is we have a team of people all keen to get the idea up & running. We’re going to get a blog set up in the near future so I’ll delay getting the detail of what we came up with until thats up & running and I’ll get a copy of the presentation we used in the final ‘pitch’ online too.
The final ‘pitch’ was to a panel of judges for the opportunity to win £2,000 (£1k for the runner-up). We didn’t win (or run-up) and I think its fair to say the judges were distinctly underwhelmed with our effort! Maybe this was because what we’re aiming to achieve is a bit too involved to get across in a 5 minute presentation and that people were hoping to see something that felt more finished - but it was never going to be Continue Reading »
I’ve done quite a bit more on this but I’ve stopped myself because I’m sure other people will be wanting some flexibility and opportunities to be creative over the weekend - so hopefully I’ve now got a clear brief but not too rigid to allow for some further innovation.
You can read the brief in the attached pdf. The first page gives an overview of the purpose of the Personal Development Report concept, and this is followed by some ‘case studies’ illustrating how different people might use the system. I had quite a few further examples but I think this is enough to give people a picture.
So now its a case of taking along these ideas tomorrow and hoping that there will be a few people interested in developing the idea further. If so I think one of the interesting debates will be about which model to use for sustainability and I think there are several opportunities towards this (but I’ll save the discussion for the weekend!).
So fingers crossed that I’m lucky enough to meet up with some enthusiastic talented people (well I’m sure I will but lets hope they want to work on this idea!). Personally I can see all sorts of potential and there is a strong need for a system like especially if we can make the use of what technology has to offer now. I can also see a system like this paving the way for many similar ones by various award schemes etc.
Thanks to everyone thats contributed and made suggestions towards the Personal Development Reports idea that I’m taking along to the Social Innovation Camp this weekend in the hope that some people there will help to make the idea a reality.
In between work stuff I’ve been trying to pull thoughts together so that I can go along with a nice clear brief. Unfortunately somehow losing most of the work I’d managed today I need to start all over so in between frustration and brain overload I’ve just wasted a bit of time redoing the soft skills drawn up so far - this time though I’ve redone them as ‘negative soft skills’ - just for fun so don’t worry that we’ll be incorporating these into the system (although it is a little tempting!). Heres the list…. Continue Reading »
