Holistic Learning

'Share A Book at Lunchtime' session was on "Holistik Öğrenme" by Aydın Arıtan and presented by his daughter, Ayşegül Arıtan(Grade 12)We had quite a good turnout and Ayşegül gave us a concise idea about holistic learning. For some of the students it was a new word and probably one that they won't forget easily.The layout of the book fits the topic appropriately, with a focus on graphics and 'flash' boxes at the top of each page giving a very brief summary of the page. This caught the eye of students. After the session it was good to see some students keen to look at the book in more detail.Come early if you want to borrow it!

Survivors Session 2: January 5th, 2012

Topic: Plagiarism using ICT (Information and communication Technologies) and The internet
Mizan was the presenter and Sema was the facilitator. Mizan brought a text related to the subject from The Social Science Magazine 2007/1. Three Levels of Text Protocol has been used. George Duvoisin was our guest.
We, as teachers, assign students to choose a project topic and expect them to search and present it in an efficient way. The common complaint was that the students google it and copy paste the information they find in an ordinary way.

Mazal: Students should be encouraged to have projects that need creativity and student based contribution. Plus, student interest is essential.
Pınar: Reference section should be more detailed.
Özer: Expecting creativity from the students is quite imaginary considering the fact that most of the information is under a click on the internet accessing so easily and copying it in a second. Thus, it does not contribute anything to their knowledge. There are even websites which provide ready projects.
Sevda: The process of preparing a project should be fun and interesting, so the student mustn’t focus on the result or on the grade.
Sırma: A student should be aware of how to start searching, where to find the necessary information and what is expected from them. Thus, they should start doing projects at early ages. Even the teachers should be trained for information literacy.
Sema: We have been using a project diary with the student having at least 4 meetings. The student has the chance to be orientated and correct their mistakes or fulfill the criteria. It really works well.
Conclusion
· Project diary is a good way to lead the students.
· Students should have more lessons of reading and comprehension at early ages.
· More work should be done and encouraged to improve the creativity of the students.

Grades 4&5 English Teachers

We have a new group, welcome Grades 4-5 English Teachers

Grades 1,2&3 English Teachers

We have a new group, welcome Grades 1,2&3 English Teachers

Kindergarten and Grade 1 English Teachers

We have a new group, welcome Kindergarten and Grade 1 English Teachers

Prep&Grade 9 English Teachers

We have a new group, welcome Prep&Grade 9 English Teachers

Grades 10-11-12 English Teachers

We have a new group, welcome Grades 10-11-12 English Teachers

The Bald and the Beauties Session 2 : Dec 19, 2011

The Bald and the beauties met on the 19th December for their second meeting of this year. Jenny was the presenter and Bev was the facilitator. Joseph, Bev, Canan, Jenny and Gökçe were present at the meeting. The Consultancy Protocol was used. All members participated in the discussion equally and made valuable contributions, although it could’ve been better if time hadn’t been limited. Topic discussed: Is home reading useful?The meeting was held in two parts, first being 2010-2011 Academic Year or so called ‘Trial &Error’ session, and the second being 2011-2012 Academic Year. Throughout the meeting we discussed the specific problems of Grade 9 home reading situation.
In the first section we examined, analyzed and commented on previous year’s plan and students’ production. (Book Titles: ‘I am David’ by Anne Holmes & ‘Red Sky’ by Elizabeth Laird)In the second part of the meeting, the following points were discussed. (based on the novel ‘Across the Barricades’ by Joan Lingard)1. Timing & Weekly schedule Only 2 hpw + all sorts of descriptive writing, all sorts of formal letters, assessing good and bad points, a narrative, all sorts of essays, a survey report and a film review !!!
2. How to fit it in
‘Hey, I thought this was a Writing course!’
3. Assignments
Why? What ?How often?
4. Deadlines
Whose responsibility: Teacher’s? Students’?
5. Checking Assignments
When? Where? And then what?
6. Copying from peers/ Plagiarism
How can we get students to make better use of technology?
7. The choice of material
Boys? Girls? Genre? Length? Pacing? Theme?
8. Production ‘’It seems that I am doing more work than my students are!!!’
Conclusions It was agreed that ‘Reading’ in a ‘Writing’ class and trying to fit something that doesn’t belong into your class is tricky. We all agreed that students reading one book for a year will grow bored with it. We all shared experiences of having to make sure that the students are reading the book at all.
Suggestions
· Match the book / story / topics with the writing units to be more practical and save time.
· Do not spend a whole year on one book and finish it and be done with it.
· Ask the students to analyze not what they read but what they write about what they read.
· From time to time switch to differentiated texts.
· Ask students to read smaller sized portions.
· Let the students choose their own texts.
· Do the tasks on a monthly basis so that students stay interested and focused.
Evaluation of the protocol: It was suitable for the issue discussed.

Jenny Chavush

Busy Bees Session 2

Our group met on 5 February and our question was:
How appropriate are the following teaching methods for students in Grade 4?
Team work
Story Line
Problem Based
Esra led the session, using the Consultancy Protocol and I did my best to facilitate.
Esra gave us a very detailed overview of the work being carried out in 4th Grade, so detailed in fact that we felt overloaded with information!
Clarifying questions were:
Q: How often do you carry out projects using the above methods?
A: Can vary from class to class.
Q: How long does such a project take?
A: It varies.
Q: Do you carry out pre and post evaluation of the project?
A: Yes.

Probing Questions:
Q: How do you prepare the project?
A: Teachers work as a team.
Q: How do students react to working at different stations in the classroom?
A: Very well as gradually they are choosing where to work and judging the level at which they will be comfortable within the project.
Q: You spoke about the 'Instructions/Guidelines' which students and teachers decide upon? How do the students get on with these and what does it lead to?
A: They learn to question what they are learning and assess themselves in the process which leads to autonomous learning.

Group Discussion: The group felt that they needed a concise summary of the techniques used and it would be a good idea to be present in class for first-hand observation.

Esra promised to give us a summary in chart form.

Breakfast at Shreya's

Breakfast at Shreya's
Having breakfast with Shreya's class in Kindergarten is a memorable occasion.The kids are lined up with their chef hats (made by Shreya out of sheets), ready to serve their friends. Some are busy, laying the tables and some are asking their friends what they would like to eat and drink. Some are helping themselves, spearing carrots on to their plates and sometimes having trouble with the olives which roll around so much!
Once everyone is settled, breakfast is eaten and some songs are sung. It seems such a positive way to start the day.
When it comes to clearing up everyone is very active,putting leftovers in the bin, stacking their plates and literally scrubbing the tables and the floors with all their might.In total it's a real-life experience in English and independence.

Busy Bees Meeting 2

Hey there, Busy Bees! Don't forget, we're meeting on Thursday, 5 January!