PricingHelp Upload Home 

An article last week on the BBC Education site made me smile. It describes the trouble MPs at a recent UK Children’s Committee had in getting someone to define what ‘personalised learning’ was:

Professor David Hargreaves, probably the country’s leading authority on personalised learning, said he had struggled for the past four years to define it but had now concluded that it was “a total waste of time trying to find a definition”. He suggested it was more helpful to see it as a constant challenge rather than a particular state a school could ever say it had reached.

Another leading expert, Mick Waters, from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, was asked if he could help out with a definition of “personalised” education. He neatly side-stepped the challenge, saying “unless I am pressed, I don’t use the word”.

Personalised learning is a great ideal – tailoring education to how individual pupils learn best. However, pursued ab absurdum it would mean everyone having a personal tutor. In the real world of classes of 30+, that means juggling the needs of a few individuals with particular needs (dyslexics, fast learners etc) with the needs of the majority. Wait.. isn’t that what every teacher does in every class?? Which is why the journalist quoted comes to the conclusion that personalised learning hasn’t lived up to the hype; nobody knows how to define it and so nobody knows how it is going to change things.

However, we recognise this is an ongoing issue for teachers with very mixed ability classes, and at Teachable we try to do our bit. Firstly, files can be tagged by SEN, Foundation, Higher and Advanced to encourage contributors to submit series of graded worksheets or activities. A good example is one on English Grammar – Suffixes. Secondly, we try to encourage different styles of lesson for the same topic. So that pupils that respond better to punchy Powerpoints (check out Henry Cordy-McKenna’s contributions) can be taught differently from those that respond better to practical activities (see Lisa Biddulph’s contributions).

We’re working on ways to make our resources more searchable by type of activity (visual, listening exercise, practical / kinastetic) so they can be matched to personal learning styles. If you’ve got good ideas how we could do this we’re always happy to hear from you at feedback (at) teachable.net.

There’s a real buzz around what the real reason is for the weird jelly formations people are finding on grassland in the UK. It’s a mystery that a team of researchers from the BBC Radio Scotland ‘Out of Doors’ programme have made their aim to try and get to the bottom of. Suggestions of what these weird jelly-like globules are include something that prey has coughed up, ‘star snot’ – the remains of fallen stars, or a new type of funghi, perhaps as a result of global warming, as some people on the forums have suggested.

Lots of people have differing views on what these weird organisms actually are but Jody Bourton with the help of his friend and wildlife guru Brett Westwood, believes he has the answer. Read his article on star slime ‘My slimeball mystery’

Have a look at the evidence of these jelly organisms and see what you think,







So is this all to do with global warming? And even if it isn’t, could it be a useful starting point for a science investigation? How would we find out if it is animal, vegetable or mineral? What other tests could help determine what it is? Could it be ‘the remnants of fallen stars’? And why not?

If you make this into a topical lesson, do let us know.

Teachable is primarily a community organisation aimed at rewarding teachers for sharing their most useful teaching materials. You’ll be pleased to hear we are doing just that.

We’ve just done the quarterly calculations, and we have 15 ‘super-contributors’ whose files have been downloaded over 100 times on Teachable.net.

The top 5 contributors have all earned over £500 from their files so far, and will earn hundreds of further pounds (or credits) as we grow.

We want YOU to join them, and from now on we are going to keep you more informed about what kind of contributions we most need. We will post a monthly update on what is most needed, and some subject specific guidance.

Generally we have two simple tests for contributed files:

1. Would they save another teacher more than an hour of preparation time (even if they do have to be adapted a little?)
2. (If they are paid-for) Would you pay for these files? Are they polished enough?

Perhaps the best way of finding out what our members like is to look at the top most popular files so far:
1. States of Matter (contributor: Simon Ball)

2. Generating Electricity (contributor: Barnaby Grimble)

3. Investigating Current (contributor: Joanne Holloway)

4. Digestive Enzymes (contributor: Abigail Laing)

5. ‘Nothing’s Changed’ – Tatamkhulu Africa (Teachable Team)

6. Heat Transfer – Fun Quiz Game (contributor: Henry Cordy)

You can also still take advantage of our Buried Treasure competition.

Happy Contributing!

Guest Contributor: Kelly Kilpatrick

If you talk to many parents about their children’s eating habits, you will soon come to the realisation that kids are very picky when it comes what they like to eat. Promoting healthy eating habits is a challenge many parents face on a daily basis; however, there is something teachers can do to help parents promote healthy eating habits.

Firstly, you might want to see some of our food related ideas on Teachable. Healthy eating and a guide to food groups are just two ideas.

Secondly, read the following list of tips and suggestions to help students make good eating habits part of their daily routine:

1. Turn it into a game or challenge. This doesn’t mean that you encourage your children to play with their food. Rather, look at as a way to entice them. Challenge your students to try new things and send a sheet home for parents to sign when children meet this challenge.

2. Relate different foods to their favorite characters or shows. Calling foods by different names can increase the chances of your children eating different things and liking what they eat. For example, if your students watch Dragon Tales, call the vegetables or fruits that you want them to eat dragon berries. If he or she likes SpongeBob, refer to a chicken breast as a crabby patty.

3. Use dips to your advantage. Sure, many dips aren’t that great for you, but it is easy to go online and find recipes for tasty, healthy alternative dips and make them at home. Using low-fat sour cream and spices, or plain yogurt to create dips is a great tasting, healthier alternative to mayonnaise-based dips. Organic ketchup is affordable and tastes great as well. Peanut butter and hummus are also great dips and can be paired with many fruits and vegetables. A list of great dips can be sent home with children so their parents can make them at home.

4. Have them help prepare the food. Getting kids involved in the preparation of the meal can mean the difference between eating the food and pushing it aside. Pride in what they have done is a great motivator that helps many kids to try new things. Send easy recipes that parents and kids can work on together.

5. Make fun shapes with their food. Cutting a chicken breast into the shape of a star or making and interesting pattern or face with the entrée and sides can make the meal more appealing and interesting to kids. A little extra work in the presentation of the food on the part of parents can really motivate children to clean their plate. This idea can easily be easily shared with parents so that they are able to help their kids work on this at home

6. Keep an eye on portions. Children shouldn’t be over-served, but many parents don’t know always know what size portions they should serve their children. Send home informational sheets to create a partnership between yourself and parents in order to encourage healthy eating habits outside of school.
Of course, these are all suggestions that we as teachers can make to parents; it is important however, not to overstep your bounds. Sending information home and encouraging kids to keep a log of which healthy eating habits they have been practicing can be a great idea for a project or extra credit.

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com