acts newsletter 06 april 2010

ACTS Newsletter April 2010

1

N e w s l e t t e r Welcome ACTS Conference 2010

Michael Russell’s replies

Charitable Status

AGM10

Supporter Membership

Stirling Lunch

Teachers as Researchers

Take 4 Chartered Teachers…

Book review

Maths, Creativity and Twitter

Edutalkr takes to the air

Upcoming events

New Discussion Forum on Glow Group

Join ACTS

Contact ACTS


2

Welcome to the April 2010 edition of the ACTS Newsletter.

“Mr Watson…come here…I want to see you.” What must Mr Watson have felt like, in 1875,

hearing his employer’s voice transmitted by electricity for the very first time? He could not

possibly have been aware of the impact the invention and development of the telephone

would have on the world, and yet surely he felt a tingle of pioneering excitement?

I felt something of this pioneer’s tingle when contributing, last week, along with others on a

panel, to the first broadcast through the Edutalkr project. This project, the brainchild of David

Noble, uses ipadio, an application which allows you to broadcast from any phone to the

Internet live. More in this newsletter.

I have grown accustomed to the tingle I get from Twitter. I read Tweets nearly every day to

extend my professional knowledge, and it still excites me. In this newsletter, you can read a

creative response to the kind of links that Twitter makes possible.

Communication is such an important aspect of our work as educators; it was no surprise that

many of those who attended the ACTS Winter Conference commented on how much they

appreciated the opportunity for professional dialogue. The video conference links were also

appreciated by those who could not attend in any other way. Read about the conference,

Michael Russell’s responses to written questions and a report of the AGM.

Most people will receive this newsletter by email. You are welcome to print it out to give to

colleagues who may be interested. Reading about four teachers’ experiences of the

Chartered Teacher programme may encourage and inspire some of them.

Once again, if you have items that you feel would interest other members, please feel free to

contribute, however briefly. A book review or a short description of your reflections on parts of

your practice – all would be gratefully received.


3

ACTS Conference 2010

The Association of Chartered Teachers Scotland conference took place in the tranquil surroundings of Stirling Management

Centre on Saturday 6th February 2010.

Entitled “Chartered Teachers engaging with new practice, research

and policy”, the conference attracted a mix of accredited Chartered

Teachers and those who are at various stages of the programme.

After a very lively and tuneful introduction from the young players of

the Session Extra group from Stirling, Keith Brown, Minister for Skills

and Lifelong Learning, opened the conference. Participants were

then treated to thought-provoking talks from Frank Crawford (HMIe),

on Learning Together, the Future of Learning Networks; Walter

Humes (University of West of Scotland) on Releasing the Creative

Potential of Teachers; and Jenny Reeves (University of Stirling) on

Research and the Chartered Teacher. Each talk was followed by a range of workshops

following the themes of the conference. Some participants were

able to join the conference remotely by video conference link

through Glow and Flashmeeting, and some parts of the

conference were broadcast live through the TV link on the ACTS

website and have been reviewed since the event.

The excellent lunch provided both refreshment and the opportunity to exchange opinions and

experiences.

Participants responded with enthusiasm to the quality of this event.

“a great, stimulating day…has given me a fresh lift.”

“…a really productive and positive ethos to the day”

“…a high quality Conference”


4

You are now able to view the keynote speeches, and the content of many of the workshops

through the ACTS website http://acts.edublogs.org

ACTS is very grateful for the financial contributions of The Scottish Government, the

University of West of Scotland, the Educational Institute of Scotland and Learning and

Teaching Scotland in support of this event.

Michael Russell MSP Cabinet Secretary for Education and Life Long Learning.

Unfortunately the Cabinet Secretary was ill and could not attend the Conference. We were

pleased to welcome Keith Brown, Minister for Skills and Life Long Learning, who spoke in his

place. However, Mr Russell has kindly provided answers to these questions submitted by

members.

Question 1. In the current financial climate, how does the SNP Government

intend to fund the implementation of CfE?

Question 8. Could the minister tell us what the plans are for supporting

funding for the education sector in terms of new build schools and rolling

out the Curriculum for Excellence and the high Quality CPD required for

teachers to ensure that Scotland's Educational provision is not just fit for

purpose but once again becomes-second to none?

In relation to general funding of local authorities for education the Scottish Government is currently

providing local government in Scotland with a total package of funding amounting to £35.0 billion for

the period 2008-11. This represents a £4 billion (or 12.9%) increase over the period 2005-2008.

Furthermore, local authorities plan to spend more on education in 2009-10 than they did in 2008-09.

They report estimated net revenue education budgets for 2009-10 that are, at the Scotland level, 4.1%

higher than those they set for 2008-09.

In relation to Curriculum for Excellence we have put in place or are putting in place the following

resources and initiatives:

• An additional implementation year.

• Announced in January 2010 a further in-service day in support of the three additional in-service days

previously announced to supplement teachers' annual 35 hours CPO time and 5 in-service days.

http://acts.edublogs.org/


5

• Invested £4m in 100 extra teachers to provide support for implementation to every school in every

local authority area.

• An on-line National Assessment Resource will be available from autumn 2010 to support teachers in

their professional judgements.

• Events to support teachers - around 1,000 early years and primary school teachers attended 5

Scottish Government regional events in October. Frequent national, regional and local CfE events

organised by our partner organisations, such as HMIE.

• The Scottish Government are hosting 5 events across Scotland in March 2010 to support staff in

implementing the skills agenda outlined in Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for learning, skills for life

and skills for work.

• Invested £3m in 2005-06; £7.3m in 2006-07; £8.1m in 2007-08, £3.8m in 2008-09 and £15.3m in

2009-10 to prepare for curriculum for excellence.

• Invested £47.5 million in Glow (2005-12), the only example in the world of a national education

platform connecting every school in the country.

• Funded the implementation partnership led by the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland

to co-ordinate local implementation by local authorities.

• Funded Scotland's colleges to consider local implementation and professional development on

behalf of the college sector.

With regard to the school estate the Scottish Government have in the past 3 months announced

support for £700m worth of school building projects, which 35 new or refurbished schools benefitting

over 18,000 pupils. This is in addition to the 260 new or refurbished school projects which have been

completed since May 2007 benefitting over 110,000 pupils in schools which are able deliver the

modern curriculum.

In addition, we have already substantially increased capital resources available to authorities under

the terms of the concordat signed with CoSLA. In total, local authority capital funding will amount to

£2.0 billion over the two year period 2008-10, a significant increase over the previous years. The

annual increases mean that the 2008-09 figures are £82 million (or 9.5%) higher than in 2007-08 and

the 2009-10 figures are £99 million (10.5%) higher than in 2008-09. It is for authorities to decide on

and justify decisions as to how they prioritise investment.

Question 2. This session, the Scottish Government has funded a hundred extra teachers

across Scotland to assist with the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. Will this

funding be repeated again next session?

This was one-off funding for the school year 2009/10 only. However, as indicated in the response to

question 1 the Scottish Government have or are investing in a range of initiatives to assist with the

implementation of Curriculum for Excellence.


6

Question 3. Glow and the Curriculum for Excellence are closely linked. What intentions

does the Scottish Government have to enable access to good internet connections for all

learners across Scotland so that they can have equal access to all the benefits of these

initiatives?

The Scottish Government recognises the importance ICT plays in supporting the curriculum and

enabling the young people in Scotland to develop new skills and competencies that are necessary for

employment, education, self development and participation in society.

In terms of investment in educational lCT, Scotland is adopting a more strategic approach, one based

on sustainability, innovation and collaboration. We have invested heavily in Glow (the world's first

national education platform) and this can be accessed from any location; schools, libraries, hospitals

or home - anywhere with a normal internet connection. This flexibility allows learners access to Glow

at any time.

The Scottish Government provides local authorities with high speed broadband access to Glow via the

Interconnect network which forms the connection between the Glow servers and the local internet

provision. Beyond this point, access remains the responsibility of the local authorities and is governed

by their individual levels of IT service.

Pathfinder

Pathfinder is a broadband connectivity project for parts of the public sector in the Highlands & Islands

and the South of Scotland. The two Pathfinder projects have used an aggregated approach to provide

high-capacity/-bandwidth broadband access to schools, libraries, prisons, museums, and Local

Authorities' Council Offices and other public sector

sites throughout rural areas in the PF regions.

The Scottish Government has allocated a combined total of £90m between the two Pathfinder

projects; £63m to Pathfinder North (PN) in the Highlands & Islands, and £27m to Pathfinder South

(PS) in the South of Scotland.

The roll-out of PN in Argyll & Bute, Highlands & Islands, Moray, Shetland Islands and Orkney Islands

Councils began in March 2007 and was completed in December 2009. It now connects 805 sites. The

roll-out of PS in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway Councils began in November 2006

and was completed in December 2008. It now connects 384 sites.

Question 4. Two years ago. at the Chartered Teacher conference in Edinburgh. I asked

the then Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelonq Leaming. Fiona Hvslop MSP how

HMIE would view Chartered Teachers and. unfortunately. I wasn't provided with a clear

answer. As I recall, Ms Hyslop explained that this was something that was not clear at that


7

point and would be addressed in the future. So. almost two years on. I am still left wondering

what happens to Chartered Teachers when HMI come to call. Are Chartered Teachers

themselves inspected or is it how the school utilises the skills of CTs that is the focus?

HMIE do not single out any group of teachers for specific attention during an inspection. However, in

our consideration of leadership, they would look at the extent to which it is distributed and focused on

learning across the school, and how the school capitalises on the expertise of staff. This is in line with

the expectations set out in The Revised Standard for Chartered Teacher, which states that "Chartered

Teachers are expected to be at the forefront of critically engaging with practice and to take a leading

role in its development and implementation of change in current and future educational initiatives".

HMIE's findings of the role of Chartered Teachers are set out in our publication Learning together:

Improving teaching, improving learning (pages 27-30) which was published in 2009.

Question 7. My school is having the benefit of a visit from HMle in a couple of weeks time.

What will the Inspectors be expecting to see as evidence of the added value I give to the

school as a Chartered Teacher?

Operational matters in relation to how HMIE undertakes inspections is, of course, a matter for them.

However, the Scottish Government would expect that HMIE would be looking at whether the full

contribution of all members of staff is directed towards achieving the best outcomes for children. That

will, of course, include Chartered Teachers, who have excellent skills and relevant experience to offer.

Question 5. 'What mechanisms will the government put in place to ensure Chartered Teachers

are supported in continuing to develop their area of expertise within the working day.'

Chartered Teachers have the same rights and responsibilities as other teachers to make the best use

of the 35 hours per year contractual time for CPO to continue to develop their skills and experience.

That should take account of personal development, needs arising from the school improvement plan

and national priorities. We expect Chartered Teachers to work with their line managers and senior

management to identify, through professional review and development, how best they can continue to

develop their skills and how that can be made best use of within the school. Those discussions need

to take place in the context of the revised Standard for Chartered Teacher, and the associated Code

of Practice. As these new documents bed in the Scottish Government will be interested in feedback

from the range of stakeholders on how useful they are.

Question 9. Would the Minster agree that a simple means of positively raising the profile

of Chartered Teachers in Scottish schools, increasing awareness amongst parents of the

important Chartered Teacher role and promoting Chartered Teachers in the delivery of CfE


8

would be for staff lists in school, as a matter of course, to indicate CT status in much the

same way as currently PTs, DTs and NQTs are identified?

The Scottish Government is committed to promoting the Chartered Teacher programme and

heightening awareness of them. This certainly sounds a simple and effective way to achieve this.

Question 6(a). In view of the continuing rise in the number of pupils in Scotland for whom

English is not a first language, will there be any extra money available to local authorities

to train English as an additional language teachers and to hire more EAL teachers?

There are no plans to provide specific funding for EAL training. Under the Concordat, the Scottish

Government is investing record levels of funding in local government to enable education authorities

to respond appropriately to their own local needs and priorities. This includes providing for pupils for

whom English is an additional language. It is for local authorities to recruit, train and deploy their EAL

teachers. We would encourage local authorities to use their specialist EAL teachers to develop the

capacity of all of their schools and front line staff in meeting the demands of pupils for whom English is

an additional language.

Question 6(b). As Polish is now one of the most widely spoken languages after English,

are there any plans to develop a Higher Polish exam similar to the one that has been

developed in Urdu?

SQA has no plans to develop a Higher in Polish. They currently offer units (as opposed to full courses)

at Access 3, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2 and Higher in Polish for Work Purposes. Advanced Higher

units in Polish for Work Purposes may also be developed in future.

ACTS thanks the Cabinet Secretary for providing these responses


9

ACTS and Charitable Status

After a good deal of hard work and implementing advice

from OSCR, ACTS is now a registered Scottish charity..

As well as the benefits this affords us in terms of our

ability to reclaim VAT, it also allows members who are tax payers to use the Gift Aid option so

that the association can benefit more from the subscriptions of its members, as it means we

can add 28p for every £1. Forms will be sent to all members shortly.

ACTS has 5 trustees. These are Annie McSeveney, Christine MacGregor, Dorothy Coe,

Juliette Daly and Mickie Milne.

The trustees undertake to fulfil 4 general and 5 specific duties. These are:

General

Charity trustees must act in the interests of the charity.

Charity trustees must operate in a manner consistent with the charity’s purpose.

Charity trustees must act with care and diligence.

Charity trustees must comply with the Act and other legislation.

Specific

Charity trustees must give OSCR the information it needs for the Scottish

Charity Register.

Charity trustees must report to OSCR by filling in an annual return and

sending OSCR the charity’s accounts each year.

Charity trustees must make sure that the charity keeps a record of the money it

gets in and the money it spends and arrange for preparation and examination of

accounts

Charity trustees must make sure that anyone who raises funds for the charity

has an agreement that says how much they will get paid to do it.

Charity trustees must make sure that the charity’s details are on all the charity’s

paperwork, like letters and invoices.

Images from OSCR website www.oscr.org.uk/


10

ACTS AGM10

The 2010 AGM, our 2nd, took place after the conference in Stirling on 6th February 2010.

Annie summarised ACTS’ activities over the year.

The accounts were presented, and a new committee

was elected, comprising

Office bearers

Chair Annie McSeveney

Vice Chair David Noble

Treasurer Christine MacGregor

Secretary Dorothy Coe

Committee

Sarinder Bhopal, Helen Celnik, Juliette Daly, Karen

Farrell, Lucy Hare, Fearghal Kelly, Duncan Mackay,

Paddy Miller, Mickie Milne, Sheila Waddell, Julie

Wilson

Rob Mckay and Kathleen Thom were co-opted to a

subcommittee based in Aberdeen.

Former committee members Rosemary Newlands,

Heather E Cameron and Jeanette Forbes were

thanked for their hard work for ACTS.

Some minor amendments to the constitution were

approved, to bring it into line with the requirements of

the Office of the Scottish Charities Register.

Members agreed to change to an annual date for

subscription renewal, with a reduced fee for those

joining part way through the year.


11

A new category of membership, “Supporter”, was proposed and this was adopted after

discussion at a specially convened meeting on 27th March 2010.

Supporter membership

Chartered teachers who are no longer registered with the GTCS - perhaps they have retired,

or are taking time out of teaching for one reason or another - are still welcome to remain in

ACTS, so long as they are still following the principles in the Code of Conduct. They can

attend meetings, and receive the newsletter, but they won’t be able to vote or to serve on the

committee. The annual subscription will be £15.

ACTS Lunch

Chartered Teachers always were a sociable bunch and in fact ACTS arose partly out of the

desire of the initial groups of Chartered Teachers to extend and develop professionally the

social links already set up through some very enjoyable lunches. ACTS was delighted to

organise a lunch on 27th March at the River House in Stirling. This was attended by about 15

Chartered Teachers who enjoyed a relaxed event in pleasant surroundings. ACTS intend to

organise regular opportunities for Chartered Teachers to meet informally in this way.

Teachers as Researchers

Look out for information which will be sent to you about this event in Aberdeen on 18th

September 2010

The aims of the event are:

• to provide an opportunity for teachers researchers to discuss their research with peers;

• to develop support networks amongst teacher researchers.

It is expected that this event will follow the format of some others with a research focus. Small

groups of teachers at different stages in their research from “just thinking about it” to “nearly

there” will get together to ask questions and share experiences of all the aspects of action

research.

Information will be sent to all members shortly.


12

Take 4 Chartered Teachers….

by Jeanette Forbes, Chartered Teacher, working at Crieff High School.

Everyone on the route to Chartered Teacher status will be making their unique journey to

professionalism. The following responses to Jeanette’s questions reveal different ways in

which individuals tackle the challenges of the CT path.

Martin Blacklaws Roberta McFarland Fiona Anderson Sharon Robertson

Unfortunately, no picture of Roberta was available.

is a PE Teacher with Perth & Kinross Council and has 27 years service behind him - more than a life sentence! He has been following the CT Programme on a fully tutored/modular route through the University of Edinburgh. The Programme leads to CT Status and a Masters Degree

is a Support for Learning teacher, en route to CT status via the modular programme. She came into teaching when she was forty two years old – a late developer – after having had a career in business and travel. Her first teaching posts were in FE colleges but she gravitated towards secondary

qualified from St. Andrews University with a Master of Arts (Honours) in Geography and International Relations in 1993. She immediately did her Teacher training post graduate in Secondary Geography and spent her first year as a teacher in the supply army. Her first teaching post was a Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) teacher in Peterhead Academy and, having been promoted to Assistant Principal teacher there, she temporarily changed careers to the business world before

is an English and Media Studies teacher who has just completed the CT Programme, the results of which will be communicated in March. Sharon has been a teacher for ten years. Her first post was at Crieff High where she is still based. She came to teaching late having worked as Accounts Executive at HarperCollins


13

(M.Teach). He has completed five modules to date.

schools after a few years. She moved to Scotland five years ago and feels she has had a steep learning curve adapting to the Scottish education system.

coming back to teaching, where she has been a Support for Learning teacher at Crieff High for 5 years.

Manufacturers.

Why did you choose this particular route? I chose the tutored route as – given my length of service, combined with student and probationer teacher contacts over the years – I want to re-design my teaching to be more in-keeping with current pedagogy.

I am doing the CT via the modular route, distance learning with UWS. I am doing it this way because I feel that I want to learn new things, not go over past glories. Also I can choose which modules I study from a varied menu to suit my particular interest and CPD needs.

Initially I chose to do the Masters modular route. A personal challenge to gain another degree and get a chance to study academic writing which I had not really done since leaving University. The programme run by Aberdeen University was excellent and very well supported and I really enjoyed it. Having discussed the different routes with other teachers at the Summer school, I decided that maybe I did have the ability and enough evidence to go for the full claim. The current financial climate has meant hard decisions and the Masters route just became too expensive in comparison. It was a tough decision to take on the challenge of ‘going it alone’ and attempting the full claim, but supportive colleagues at my place of work and the support group we were able to establish with SMT backing persuaded me that I should try. I aim to submit this year, so the decision is not yet proven to be a good one, and it remains to be seen whether I will gain CT status.

I decided to travel the Accredited Charter Teacher route, mainly because a colleague persuaded me it was time for me to progress. I did not want to go the modular way as it would take too long.

What proved to be the most difficult aspect of the journey to Chartered Teacher status? I couldn’t say I’ve had a negative reaction to any aspect to date?

Setting up a regular pattern for study – it is easy to procrastinate;

The most difficult aspect as with all teaching today is time. I think I have found this especially difficult trying to juggle a full time

The most difficult aspect is the waiting. You are always waiting, to find out if


14

Most problematic is the logistic of getting to tutorials and seminars in Edinburgh on a week day for 5.00pm!

learning how to search for resources – when I did my first Masters there was no internet.

job and small children with study time. You have to be very disciplined with your daily time management every day for a considerable time in order to complete the work required to the standard required. You need to remember that you are working to a postgraduate study level and the presentation, analysis, language and organisation needs to be at this level. Again a challenge, but one faced by students gearing up from Standard Grade to Higher and so on.

you can go ahead, waiting for colleagues to write testimonials for you, waiting on Authenticity Statements, waiting to hear from your tutor, waiting to hear if you have passed, waiting to have a nervous breakdown….

What have you most enjoyed about the journey? I have thoroughly enjoyed and been motivated by the wide range of teaching professionals and students with whom I have mixed in each of the modules. This has been a particularly enjoyable and enriching experience.

This sounds a bit cheesy but I have enjoyed learning new things via the modules. It has made me a more rounded teacher and I now have greater understanding of some of the difficulties the pupils I work with have to overcome.

Definitely the academic research. I loved the International relations aspect of my degree and tend to find politics endlessly interesting, therefore the study into the political manipulations and purpose of a national education system was fascinating. Making myself find the time to research my subject and become more informed generally in aspects of my work has been interesting. Finding the confidence to deliver CPD to peers and accept criticism from colleagues and students was also constructive in improving working practice for my students. I have also enjoyed this as I can see the benefits and always aim to make things better.

I have enjoyed reflecting critically on my teaching styles and methods. I have enjoyed hearing and reading what others think about me.

What do you consider to be your greatest quality as a teacher? My greatest quality – at least in my opinion (!) – is tenacity, determination to produce and promote high standards.

Empathy – I don’t mean being “pally” with pupils but trying to see things through their eyes, being aware that their world is very different from mine, their lives

My ability to get on with others of all ages and find solutions to help students learn. Also my strong sense of fairness.

Communication skills and really liking children!


15

revolve around electronic gadgets while I have trouble setting the clock on my oven! Education is a two way process.

What advice would you give those teachers considering embarking on the CT route? Do it! (1) Be prepared to

work very hard for a long period of time. The twelve modules can take six years to complete if you do two per year.

(2) Be open to new learning methods and experiences.

Make sure you are prepared for the amount of study required and the level of academic writing required. Make sure you have up to date readings – More than 10 years old and it is probably out of date! Organisation and self discipline is key – leave the hoovering for someone else. And enjoy it!

I would advise all teachers to embark on this route if they feel they have become complacent. It is important to know you are good at what you do!

In what way do you see the CT Programme having a positive influence on learning and teaching in Scottish schools? If approached with a mentality of life-long learning and professional development, I would strongly advocate the contribution that CT programmes make to the promotion and support of learning and teaching in Scotland

Lending support to colleagues in the following ways: (1) being up to date with current practice in CFE, AiFL etc as this can be a valuable source of information; (2) supporting and advising teachers with small scale research projects within their departments or co-ordinate across the school; (3) being able to use newly acquired knowledge in specific areas to deliver CPD to small groups (4) being able to develop learning community within school and across the council area so that experiences are shared etc

Chartered Teachers become up to date with current policies and practice locally, nationally and internationally. CT’s are definitely more reflective and evaluative of their work and Learning and Teaching. CT’s are more confident to contribute to many aspects of school life and may be more interested to contribute to wider educational issues. CT’s are well read and can empathise with and support students experiencing study difficulties. CT’s are enthusiastic about trying new things and can encourage others to move forward. I think someone who would take on the journey to CT status is a personality who is driven by personal challenge and is the type who would be aiming to constantly update and improve their learning and teaching practice anyway. These are teachers who are dedicated to their jobs and to the students they support.


16

Andrew Wright, Critical religious education, multiculturalism and the pursuit of truth,

A Book Review by Antony Luby

This Review first appeared in Education Today 59(1) 2009, p26.

Andrew Wright, Critical religious education, multiculturalism and the pursuit of truth,

Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 290 pages, hardback, £75 (ISBN 978-0-7083-2057-0)

A compelling argument is presented by Wright who poses the reasonable question ‘What is

the role of truth with regard to religious education?’ Some influential religious educators see

truth as having no part to play in religious education but this position is untenable. Is truth

avoided in mathematics? In history? In science? Is RE to be concerned with half-truths?

Clearly not. If a religious community makes a claim such as ‘Jesus was resurrected’ then

pupils have every right to ask ‘Is this true? What is the evidence for such a claim?’ To deny

them the right to ask such questions and to examine evidence concerning such a claim is

anti-educational.

Wright sets a four-part agenda for an educational approach to the study of religion that

incorporates truth at its heart. In the first part he argues that religion is concerned to discover

the truth about the ‘ultimate order of things’ so that one may live a truthful life. This search for

truth and truthfulness he maintains is best pursued within a politically liberal society that

“enables adherents of various religious and secular traditions to pursue contested visions of

the good life in an atmosphere of mutual respect and support” (p51). Unfortunately, so Wright

contends, our primarily ‘comprehensive liberal’ UK society promotes freedom and tolerance

to become whatever one wishes at the expense of criticality. It is reminiscent of the scene in

the Matrix film in which Neo is given the choice of taking either the ‘blue pill’ or the ‘red pill.’ If

he selects the blue pill (comprehensive liberalism) then he is free to believe whatever he

wants; but if he chooses the red pill then he will begin a journey to discover the truth (political

liberalism). Modern-day RE gives no such choice to pupils today – only the blue pill is on

offer.


17

In the second part Wright identifies and analyses three main streams to religious education –

classical, liberal and critical. From classical religious education we learn that RE must be

holistic, formative and engaged with the truth of the ultimate order-of-things. However, the

liberal religious education of modern-day RE has ‘effectively turned its back on classical

religious education’ by suppressing questions of truth in case they conflict with freedom and

tolerance. Simply put, it is better to have a tolerant society in which people are free to pursue

their own ideas of the truth than to have a society in which people are free to seek and

understand the truth. Wright acknowledges that such an approach may raise fears of social

intolerance but he argues that critical religious education is a means by which to allay such

fears about the well-being of society:

‘Has the pursuit of truth in religious education anything positive to contribute to the

liberal desire to promote social harmony? The answer is not immediately obvious.

Possibly a simple description of the beliefs of religious communities is all that is

required to achieve this end. Indeed, the rigorous exploration and evaluation of such

beliefs may only serve to highlight fundamental differences between different traditions

and hence run the risk of generating social tensions. My suggestion is that, on the

contrary, a religious education committed to the meticulous pursuit of truth is far more

likely to promote a harmonious society than one merely concerned to describe diverse

truth claims’ (p111).

Wright believes that such an evaluative approach is necessary as it is by pupils learning to

discriminate between situations in which tolerance is appropriate and those in which it is not

that social harmony is best promoted.

The third part of this book is the most challenging to read and yet, at times, the most

enjoyable as Wright gives a masterly overview of a heuristic conceptual framework for critical

religious education. He examines four dimensions of religious truth – ontological, semantic,

hermeneutic and epistemological. In so doing, an ‘unapologetic’ Wright, who is clearly in his

element, delves deeply into the world of religious education. By contrast though, the fourth

part on the pedagogy of learning, which is the most accessible to read, is also the most

disappointing. His discussion of the Variation Theory of Learning (VTL) is interesting but this

section fails to excite the classroom practitioner. Although his argument may be correct that

VTL can encompass a wide variety of approaches to learning and teaching, if he is to win


18

‘hearts and minds in the classroom’ then Wright needs to put more ‘flesh on the bones’ by

illustrating more fully with examples drawn from classroom practice.

This potentially ground-breaking book is marred by the excessive number of typographical

errors (a rushed job for the 2008 research assessment exercise perhaps?) Hopefully, a

paperback edition will be produced at a price to bring it within the budget of RE departments

– for it is thought provoking, refreshing, intellectually challenging and a ‘must read’ for all

practitioners of religious education.


19

Maths is Beautiful

by Dorothy Coe

Maths is Beautiful

A bar somewhere in Scotland at the end of the second sunny day of the year. A group of

teachers round the table.

Stephanie pushed the Guardian newspaper across the table. “Have you seen this today?”

she asked, excitement in her voice. Dot scanned the article and then sighed.

“The ten greatest mathematicians? There's something wrong with me. I just can't get excited

about the achievements of these apparently great minds. Look at this one – guy called Tao

gets a prize for finding out that you can find sequences of primes of any length in which every

number in the sequence is a fixed distance apart. Um. Good.”

“If we forget that maths underpins science, nature and the whole world we live in, we'll be in

trouble. It's all exciting!” suggested Stephanie, while Nick spluttered and banged his glass

down on the table, almost spilling the contents.

“Are you kidding? Euler and Gauss must be two of the greatest ever minds in history!” he said

loudly.

Dot looked incredulous. “So tell me something they found out that will excite me,” she

challenged.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/apr/11/the-10-best-mathematicians

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Tao

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Euler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss


20

Nick picked up the paper, gesticulating wildly as he talked “Gauss gave us the basis for

models of how the universe works from the petals on a flower to variations in star cluster to

finance. Euler, complex numbers, without which no electronics nor even a.c. power. His

maths give you the light you read by. He discovered the square root of negative numbers,

Gauss, curved space-time - both new dimensions - literally - of thought.”

He looked around the table. “A fine argument, well made,” said Stephanie with an admiring

smile. Robert sitting sleepily in the corner raised his glass in approval.

Dot raised her own glass and one eyebrow “Good with the light thing - that's persuasive.

Square root of negative numbers though. Why would that affect me?”

Stephanie nodded “You make a fair point - it's our biggest barrier to teaching and learning

sometimes…’but Miss, Whyyyyy?’ Have a look at this video as a start” She scribbled down a

web address.

Nick searched for an apt analogy “It's like when your language isn't enough to express an

idea, so you resort to painting and music to make your point.”

Robert stirred once more. He swirled his whisky gently round the glass, and spoke with

reverence. “It's more than just important. It's… beautiful.”

Dot nodded vigorously “I liked that and I can understand that analogy, Nick. I wish,” she

added wistfully, “I wish I could see numbers as beautiful.”

Kenny leaned over from the next table “I'm with Dot on the maths. I once watched a

programme though about a guy who could remember pi by visualising it as a landscape…”

Nick looked sympathetic “Dot, you don't need to have all the maths to get it: just listen to

people who have the math and the passion like Richard Feynman.”

http://www.teachers.tv/videos/3499


21

The musician who’d been playing soothing airs in the corner put down his fiddle and joined

them. “JS Bach did,” he said simply.

Dot looked doubtful. “JS Bach created some music that stirs the soul. Numbers themselves

don't do that.”

“It's not the numbers, so much.” Nick waved his arms again. “It's the beauty of the universe.

When you get it, even the striking of a match is an amazing thing...”

The violin player continued “Bach’s music was maths and maths is music. Literally.”

Dot was not convinced. “Some of it is, Gordon yes. But not the best stuff.”

Gordon pointed to the strings on his violin “Music is sound waves and frequencies. Chords

are combinations of these and so on.”

Nick nodded vigorously “The relationships are the textures and the rhythm of the music. The

numbers are the score on the page.”

Dot frowned “But I don't need to know that in order to create beautiful sounds, or an

emotional response. Maybe maths describes phenomena in a way that appeals to one kind of

mind?” she suggested

Nick nodded again “I think it adds depth of understanding. Feynman again, asserting that the

scientist can appreciate a flower no less than an artist.

Dot couldn’t help pointing out glumly “The "maths" we do in school isn't like this though.”

Nick grimaced. “It is when I do it,” he asserted. “A suggestion for your kids is to get them

solving puzzles: shapes, patterns, connecting ideas, words, sequences. For fun. That’s

maths”


22

Dot smiled. “I understand that maths learning is not linear, so would you say that playing with

numbers is as important as playing with language?”

Nick responded, “Both are symbols of something else. Connections and connectedness.

That's not just maths, that's knowledge.”

With this profound thought, we leave them and ponder how to reconcile this inspiring and

lively concept of maths with the pressures of everyday teaching, and the HMIE requirement

for evidence of pace and challenge through test results.

Of course this conversation could not really have taken place in one cosy bar, as Stephanie is

in Thurso, Nick is in Edinburgh, Gordon the violin player and Kenny are in Glasgow, Robert

(who had his mandolin beside him but was too tired to play it) is in North Berwick and Dot is

in the Scottish Borders. North, South, East and West mean nothing to Twitter however, and

140 characters mean everything.

Thanks to @sdisbury (Stephanie), @cullaloe (Nick), @gbrown057 (Gordon), @Kenny73

(Kenny), @jonesieboy (Robert)

Patterns in Nature http://www.teachers.tv/videos/3499

Maths is not linear http://prezi.com/aww2hjfyil0u/math-is-not-linear/

The 10 best mathematicians http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/apr/11/the-10-best-

mathematicians

This post produced the following responses on Twitter

@mvass the wonder of twitter…going to re-think how I teach maths,

too!

@ddblane Lovely use of Twitter and the creative imagination

@cullaloe a brilliant example of how powerful is a Twitter PLN.

@krysiaS the power of an online community indeed. (not the best at

maths but find symmetry amazing)

@parslad My favourite blog post of the year:

http://prezi.com/aww2hjfyil0u/math-is-not-linear/

http://www.teachers.tv/videos/3499

http://prezi.com/aww2hjfyil0u/math-is-not-linear/




23

New Discussion Forum on the Chartered Teacher Glow Group

There’s a new Discussion Forum on the Chartered Teacher Glow Group. It’s much more

user-friendly than the previous version. Give it a try! If you have a Glow username, but are

not yet a member of the Chartered Teacher Glow Group, simply find the link on the National

Site list and request membership.

Edutalkr debates hit the airwaves

The first Edutalkr debate took place on 22nd April. It was a live broadcast, using ipadio,

featuring a panel of educationists including Andrew Brown, Ewan McIntosh, Jaye Richards,

Katie Barrowman, Allan Hamilton and Dorothy Coe, who all took part using phone

technology. It was chaired by David Noble. The areas for discussion were formulated by

consensus on a wiki, and for the broadcast everyone used a phone, or Skype to engage in

the discussion


24

The topic was Glow, and questions considered included “Is Glow fit for purpose?” and “What

needs to happen for Glow to become indispensable to teachers?” The lively and professional

discussion makes interesting listening.

You can listen again to the broadcast here: http://ipad.io/IpX

The second show takes place on Thursday, 10th June 2010 from 8.15 - 9.00pm. The focus of

the discussion will be 'out of school learning'. Find out more and make your own suggestions

at http://edutalkr.pbworks.com/FrontPage

Upcoming Events of interest

2010 Scottish Teacher Education Committee (STEC) Conference Developing and Delivering Curriculum for Excellence Through Partnership When? 26th April 2010 Where? University of Strathclyde Conference SCSSA SELMAS Conference 2010 Leading Scottish Education When? 21 May 2010 Where? Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh

Join ACTS

Join by completing the form below and returning it to:

ACTS, 6 Monar Court, Dalgety Bay, DUNFERMLINE, KY11 9XJ,

AND either:

Making a BACS payment to

Association of Chartered Teachers Scotland.

Sort Code 80-06-55. Account Number 06033226

Or: Sending a cheque to the address above

If you are a taxpayer, ticking the Gift Aid box will allow ACTS to claim back 28p for every £.

http://ipad.io/IpX


25

View the ACTS Blog at


Contact ACTS at

[email protected]

The views expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributors and

do not represent ACTS, or any other organisation.

MEMBERSHIP FORM

Name

Address

Email:

o I wish to become a member of the Association of Chartered Teachers Scotland.

o I am a full Chartered Teacher (£25)

o I am following the CT Programme, having completed at least Module 1 (£15)

o I am a Chartered Teacher no longer registered with the GTCS but continuing to follow the

Code of Conduct (£15)

o I have made /will make a BACS payment

o I have enclosed a cheque o Please treat this payment as a Gift Aid donation and all future payments that I make from

the date of this declaration as Gift Aid donations.


mailto:[email protected]

acts newsletter 06 april 2010

Documents

acts winter conference

teachers experiences

video conference links

creative potential of

chartered teacher programme

twitter edutalkr

lifelong learning

new practice