Learning and Methodology
At Glenlee we follow the Scottish Curriculum, 'Curriculum for Excellence (CFE).
CfE provides outcomes and experiences which we use to structure all teaching and learning experiences. It is a framework for learning for all children and young people (aged 3-18 years) in Scotland. CfE aims to provide young people with experiences which will enable them to develop skills, knowledge and attributes which will help theme flourish in life. In short, CfE aims to enable young people to be:
- successful learners
- confident individuals
- responsible citizens
- effective contributors These are known as the four capacities.
Expressive Arts
Health and Well Being
Languages
Mathematics
Religious and Moral Education
Sciences
Social Studies
Technologies
Within each subject area there are Experiences and Outcomes i.e statements of learning. For the purposes of the primary schools these are split into: Early Level (Nursery-P1), First Level (P2-P4) and Second Level (P4-P7). However, their is no 'ceiling' to learning, this means some pupils may explore Experiences and Outcomes in the next level. In the Secondary pupils develop their learning based on outcomes in the Third and Fourth Level.
Visit Education Scotland to look at some of the Experiences and Outcomes.
Pupils at Glenlee will be provided with opportunities to learn discretely within these subject areas however they will also be encouraged to make connections in their learning across the subject areas.
Learn more about Curriculum for Excellence here.
Teaching Methods
In Glenlee we use a variety of teaching methods, these include:
Active Learning
As the name suggests 'active learning' fully engages the pupil in their learning, they are not expected to sit back and take in information delivered by the teacher, they are provided with tasks which will provide opportunities for them to challenge their thinking, problem solve, explore concepts and construct their learning for themselves. Find out more about Active Learning here.
Creativity
Creativity and Active Learning almost go hand in hand, by providing active learning tasks which encourage pupils to: make connections between different concepts and curricular areas, problem solve and explore ideas we are encouraging them to use their creative brain. In Glenlee we use 'closed questions' i.e questions with a 'yes' or 'no' answer sparingly, instead we pose open question to pupils i.e 'what if.........?', 'what might happen if....?', 'how might you....?' .
Find out more about Creativity here.
Co-operative and Collaborative Learning
At Glenlee we do not expect out classrooms to be quiet, when entering our classrooms you should be immediately caught up in the 'buzz' as pupils work with each other as they learn. We provide opportunities for pupils to work together to solve problems, analyse new concepts, question theories and plan their learning paths and investigations. Find out more about Co-operative and Collaborative Learning here.
Digital Technology in Education
ICT plays a large part in our pupils' route to learning. Each class have a weekly time allocation in the ICT Suite, at this time they will learn a variety of specific ICT skills. They will then develop these skills further as they are integrated into learning in other curricular areas i.e Science- pupils may be asked to undertake an investigation into a Conservation issue, they may use a graphing program to display experiment results. Classes have the opportunity to use Notebooks and ipads in the classroom to further digital learning across the curriculum. Find out more about ICT in Education here.
Outdoor Learning
In addition to one hour of P.E indoors pupils are taken outdoors for an hour of physical activity every week. Teachers also capitalise on opportunities to take learning outside i.e when measuring for maths pupils may undertake a problem solving task in the playground, to consolidate spelling pupils may run 'relay spelling races.' Taking 'the classroom' outdoors brings learning alive for pupils! As we progress on our Eco journey opportunities to learn outdoors will arise naturally. Our playground has been developed to include a bouldering wall and a wild garden area. We are contiunally developing our strategies for outdoor learning across the stages. We have secured funding from Tesco Bags of Help in partnership with Groundwork and will be enhancing our playground learning zone progressively. Find out more about Outdoor Learning here.
