When we struggle, we get smarter!

A key message in the excellent TED presentation is 'when we struggle, we get smarter'.  I couldn't agree more!

To find out how to get really good at something, spend 18 minutes listening to what Daniel Coyle has to say.

Should we get children learning maths concepts earlier in life?

This article from The New Zealand Herald highlights what is happening in an Auckland kindergarten, where children are being exposed to mathematics concepts in their pre-school education.  The article starts:

'They had their annual Christmas party at the Lakeview Private Kindergarten on Wednesday.

Among the pint-sized participants were the 4-year-old graduates of the phonics, reading and writing class: the literacy programme designed to make them school-ready. Children who complete this course generally start in the top reading group when they move on to primary school, says owner/manager Michelle Tod-Bosch'.

To read the article in full, click here.

Boxing to improve educational outcomes

Here's an article to demonstrate that I practice what I preach; the importance of health and fitness to improve educational outcomes, in this case, through boxing.  The article starts:

'Pumping iron and boxing clever is helping turn a squad of Lakeview School pupils into classroom champs.

Deputy principal Tim Nelson said eight teacher-nominated Year 8 boys started training at Wai Weight private gymnasium in Masterton at the start of last term'.


Click here to read the article in full.

New Zealand ranks 8th in education outcomes

Check out this article re educational outcomes achieved by developed countries.  The ranking list was in a study called The Learning Curve, published by Pearson and carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit'.

The two leading countries, Finland and South Korea, share these common factors:

• High-quality teachers
• valued accountability
• a moral mission that underlay education efforts. 

To read the article, click here.

The iPod Touch Class

Check out this article.  It's about the iPod Touch class that I have set up at Lakeview School.   The article starts:

'At the start Term 2, Year 5 and 6 students in Room 3 at Lakeview School were given an iPod Touch to use in class. Here Tim Nelson explains the thinking behind the initiative and the outcomes so far'.

If I can do it, anyone can!

Education through gaming

Check out this article re engaging children in education through gaming. The article starts:

'New Zealand's school curriculum needs to take a lesson from video games to get kids more engaged in learning, according to Deputy Prime Minister Bill English'.

To read the article in full, click here.

Using Twitter and iPods to teach Mandarin

Here's an idea that I have just started using as a means of using Twitter to teach Mandarin on an iPod Touch.  It's pretty simple, but I think it will prove to be very successful.

1. Set up your own Twitter account
2. Get your class to set up their own Twitter accounts and have them follow you.
3. Create your own of find a You Tube video of a language concept you would like covered.  Tweet the video with a learning intention.
4. Students are to listen to and practice the language concept.
5. Students to record themselves on an app (we use iTalk) and email the file to me for assessment.
6. I listen to the recordings and email back feedback.

As soon as one student sends in a recording I can tweet the next lesson, meaning that the children can learn at their own pace, not having to wait for their peers to catch up.