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News
News update from Dave Vizard – April 2005:
April
saw the running of another new course, Developing The
Independent Learner. This course was developed because
schools and colleges were finding that students were lacking
in the necessary skills to work independently and could not
research or plan their work and were unable to manage their
time effectively. This course aimed to give staff the skills
to develop students’ ability to study independently.
Much of the month has been
taken up by lecturing at the University of Plymouth with
Learning Support Assistants/Teaching Assistants at Level 1
and 2 on the Foundation Degree Courses in Behaviour
Management and Emotional Literacy.
The
beginning of May will bring another new course on Behaviour
Management for PRU staff. My first dates in May will take me
to Liverpool, Birmingham, London and back to Hull. This will
be my fourth visit to a Hull College where I am working with
support staff and developing behaviour management strategies
with them.
Increasing the intake of zinc and iron in the diet can
improve students’ behaviour and their ability to learn. A
piece of research in a Young Offenders Institution found
that when intake of zinc and iron was increased and combined
with a reduction in sugars and other items then there was a
61% reduction in anti-social behaviour. Also a daily
supplement of zinc can boost classroom performance with
students having a better attention span and improved memory.
20mg of zinc was given 5 days a week and after 3 months
significant improvements were noted. School food has been
found to have lower than daily recommended levels of zinc
and iron.
Zinc
is found in a range of foods including nuts, seeds, red
meat, shellfish and whole grains. A superb pack called ‘Food
In Schools Toolkit’ is available free from
www.foodinschools.org. The pack and CD contain
information on developing a whole school food policy,
healthier breakfast clubs and tuck shops, water provision,
healthier vending, healthier lunchboxes, dining room
environment and healthier cookery clubs. The resources are
bright and colourful and excellently presented. It is packed
with good ideas and lots of useful contacts and websites.
Some
interesting facts on health of schoolchildren:
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Children eat only 2 of the 5 recommended portions of fruit
and vegetables a day:
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8%
of 8-16 year olds have nothing to eat before school
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12% of 15-16 year olds have nothing to eat before school
-
3
out of 10 boys and 4 out of 10 girls are not meeting the
recommended amount of daily physical activity
-
Average salt intake is up to 50% higher than recommended
levels
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16.6% of males and 16.7% of females in 2-15 age group
are obese
Changes in diet can improve behaviour. According to Tonight
With Trevor McDonald, just a month after starting a healthy
diet disruptive pupils at a special school began to calm
down. They were able to concentrate better, were more
sociable and had increased energy levels and displayed
increased levels of self-confidence.
Mr
Holford from the Brain Bio Centre said that ‘These kids were
digging their own graves with a knife and fork….We’re seeing
outrageous imbalances in brain chemistry caused by the kinds
of foods that sadly millions of kids are eating, and no-one
is doing anything about it’.
Secret
Filming By Supply Teacher
Secret
Filming By Supply Teacher Gives High Profile To Appalling
State Of Discipline In Some Schools
A Five
television programme called ‘Classroom Chaos’ recently
showed just how appalling behaviour can be from even the
youngest students in a secondary school. Students were
caught on film threatening the supply teacher. The programme
also showed students screaming, swearing, hitting each
other, running over tables and using mobiles whilst the
supply teacher was trying to teach. This programme showed
just how difficult work is for a supply teacher.
Students are mimicking the aggression and violence displayed
in modern films according to Lord Putnam. Young students can
easily get hold of copies of unsuitable films on DVD, via
the Internet or easily gain access to movie channels.
Violent video games are also easily accessible. The effect
of this is to desensitise youngsters – so it is difficult
for them to determine what is right and wrong. Parents
should take more responsibility for what their children
watch.
Students at a school in Hampshire will be taught in
mixed-age classes according to their ability rather than
age. Each subject will assess students and they will be
placed in one of five levels. The levels are access, entry
and levels 1 to 3. Level 3 is equivalent to A Level. Tutor
groups have been renamed Learning Groups. This system means
students can progress at their own rate and could easily
take GCSE and A Level at younger ages.
Texting and e-mailing can have an effect on your brain.
Constant distractions by the ‘always on’ technology can
disturb sleep, cause a loss in concentration as the brain is
in a state of readiness to respond to a beep of the mobile
phone or an e-mail arriving. Researchers found that sending
and receiving messages can temporarily knock 10 points off
your IQ. People need to learn ways to use this technology
responsibly – in dead time
Research has shown that students laugh on average 400 times
a day whilst adults laugh only 15 times. The importance of
laughter in learning has been recently highlighted. Some
classrooms have joke boards in them because researchers
suggest that the process of getting a joke has a similar
thinking process to when we take on new learning. Scientists
have discovered that happier people produce fewer
stress-inducing chemicals such as cortisol. They are
likelier to have long term good health and are less likely
to suffer from heart disease. Happier people are healthier
mentally and physically. The research was reported in the
online journal – Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences by Professor Andrew Steptoe.
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