TylerPidgeonAOLE1142018

Finance and money Children need to develop a good mathematical understanding in order to function effectively as members of society (Mooney et al, 2014, p.1). Money is an important aspect in everyone’s life and children need to be exposed to it at school. Nowadays, society handles physical money less and less, due to paying by card, online banking and mobile therefor children do not usually see or handle coins and notes as much as they used to. We need to equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to manage their money (Drabble, 2014). The national literacy and numeracy framework (LNF) has been developed to help achieve our aims that the children of Wales are able to develop excellent literacy and numeracy skills during their time in school (Welsh Government, 2013). Under the second numeracy strand in the framework, ‘using number skills’, incorporates the use of managing money. The Framework (2013) states that learners in Key Stage 2, Year 2 are able to: · ...

Multimodality It is important that we give young children the opportunities to learn in different ways. The traditional ways of reading through a textbook to learn has been developed immensely and the purpose of education has changed. Education is focusing more on the child’s holistic development and how they can develop their skills for when they leave education. We, as upcoming practitioners, need to give children the resources and skills they need to prosper in the future. Teaching all students using one method is not effective as every individual is different. The focus on exams and tests has declined, although assessments demonstrate the child’s understanding of the work they are being taught, society has now understood that there needs to be a shift from what the child is learning to how they are learning and developing skills through education. Multimodality is a theory which looks at how people communicate and interact with each other, not just through writing but also thr...

Problem Solving and Reasoning When thinking of maths in primary education, we usually think about numbers and equations, however, we should be thinking about the skills behind these equations and encourage children to understand that those ‘boring’ and ‘long; problem solving questions can be used in everyday situations. It is important that those who teach children are clear in their minds that mathematics is more than just a collection of skills, concepts and principles (Haylock and Cockburn, 2013). The future of education is changing, and we need to be able to teach children the skills and abilities they need in a changing world. Education is focusing more on the child’s development and ensuring that develop the skills needed for the future. The ability to solve complex word problems will be a key skill required for the future (Donaldson, 2015). There is a growing focus and aim to teach children skills that they will need to use in everyday life; not just for a test or exam a...

Online Safety The use of the internet and other communication technologies can greatly enhance the education and life experience of young people. The internet can open up new opportunities for young people, it can enhance creativity and contribute to the educational aims of fostering e-skills and digital competence (Rangeulov, 2010).   The increasing influence of technology has also been felt by the education sector with recent global curriculum reform placing computing and technology at the heart of the curriculum (Pathak, 2012). The UK ‘refers to e-safety to the way young people are taught about risks online, how they can protect themselves and to whom they should report worrying activity.’ (Barnard-Wills, 2012, p. 240) We as upcoming practitioners need to consider e-safety in our planning and preparation of using ICT in the classroom.   Although ICT is a benefit to young children and introducing new technologies can be incorporating other skills which is benefic...

Digital Technology in Education Nowadays, more and more digital technologies are used in education. Technology has been changing the way of teaching and makes the class become more flexible and interactive. These changes are enabling educators to have a more diverse set of pedagogical approaches to support their learners, which means that they can be more inclusive in their teaching methods (Association for Computing Machinery-Digital Library, 2018). In the late 1990s and early 2000s access to technology in most schools was limited to occasional use of computer labs and a single computer for the teacher in the classroom, supported perhaps by a television and tape recorders and players. Few teachers were interested in utilising technology to enhance their teaching (McClanahan, 2017). Digital devices such as tablets, laptops and smartphones now support a diversity of informal learning practices at home, work and on the move (Selwyn and Facer, 2014). Practitioners need to be aware ...

What are the benefits of storytelling in the primary classroom?   “The telling of a story is such a universal part of human connection and learning that it may as well be that ‘story’ is one of the most basic ways that the human brain structures and relates human experience.” (Eder, Cajete and Natural Child Project; 2010, p. 7). Everything that humans do, and experience revolves around some kind of story. Through storytelling, children learn about the importance of cooperation and respecting all people regardless of their physical size or social status. In addition, storytelling helps to further strengthen a sense of community by bringing adults and children of different ages together. The psychological influence of television and various other forms of mass media in modern life is partly due to the fact that these are vehicles for storytelling (Eder, Cajete and Natural Child Project; 2010).   Even before, when our ancestors first tried to understand the world around...

What should be the purposes and priorities for the new curriculum? For the new curriculum I believe the Welsh language should be considered a priority for education. Welsh being a part of the national curriculum of Wales is important for the nation’s cultural identity. Although it is not as popular globally as Spanish or French it is still useful for young children as well as adults to understand the language of their country. A survey by the Office of National Statistics show that there are currently 814,700 people who are able to speak the language (29.3% of the population), the Welsh Government have created a plan to increase this number to 1 million by 2050 (Welsh Government, 2015).   The minister for the Welsh Language, Alan Davies, admits the plan is an ‘ambitious’ one, however making Welsh a priority for the new curriculum will be crucial for the Welsh Government to reach their goal. Through the establishment of S4C, the Welsh Language Act and compulsory Welsh Lang...