January 2022 Professional Development and Personal Growth - Advanced Reading Comprehension

Texts or text-links are sent to participants before each session for prior review. This is a "Knowledge and Understanding" programme, with the addition of Language acquisition and development; participants are asked about the text's "explicit meaning" and any Language questions they may have. The Guided Discussion format also allows for Advanced Speaking Practice.

January 2022 Professional Development and Personal Growth - Active Learning

Active Learning is a student-centred approach to teaching and learning in which the student is actively engaged with the materials, topics, skills and outcomes. In mnay respects, it it she opposite of a traditional teacher-centred, top-down, direct or passive approach. Each of these sessions considers one aspect of Active Learning and how it might look in a classroom. 

Although the target audience here are Primary teachers, all teachers should follow an Active Learning approach and so would find these sessions valuable.

Plug-and-play reading comprehension : Vaccines

A plug-and-play lesson involving Reading Comprehension, Use of English, vocabulary acquisition and development, speaking and listening and writing. For use with High School, college and adult learners at B2 and above levels in an EFL programme, or for Middle School and above in an E2L or bilingual programme. Based on a 90-minute lesson.

Coming soon - more Active Learning

Active Learning : Tabletop Science

Cambridge Primary Science should not be a subject, but a student's exploration of the world around him/her while s/he develops scientific inquiry and learns how to follow scientific practice. Science should be incorporated into daily activities and into the regular classroom; a laboratory and specialist equipment are not required; this science can be done on the top of a table.

Active Learning : Purposeful Play

Play for young(er) chidren is seen as "a good thing". It is often described as the child's "work" and "play-based" programmes abound. However play is frequently misunderstood and mis-applied, and it can have no educational value which is where purposeful play comes in. This session considers one view of Developmentally Appropriate play and how it can appear as an effective learning and teaching strategy.

Cambridge Primary English Lesson Planning, a model

English in Cambridge Primary is not as much of a subject as it is a collection of receptive and productive skills; the "what" comes from other subject areas. So when teaching Art or Mathematics or Music or Science, the Cambridge Primary teacher must plan with language acquisition and development in mind.

Active Learning Mathematics : Fractions

From a young age, the Early Years (or PK - K), children are well aware of things in parts, also known as "fractions", and teachers should take advantage of this awareness to further develop these essential concepts of number relationships. 

Active Learning Mathematics : Numbers 1 - 31

This session is rooted in the Philosophies and Practices of Active Learning and of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, and provides plug-and-play, tried and true activities for teaching numbers 1 - 31. Although the examples given relate to teaching Mathematics in English, they are appropriate for programmes in other languages. Lower Primary (G1 - 4) teachers will also find this useful.

Planning and Running English Week

English teachers are often tasked with running "English Day" or "English Week" with little or no guidance, while even those with experience look for support and new ideas. These sessions provide a road-map to a successful English Week (or Day) and ideas you can incorporate into yours.