Active Assessment: a creative approach to thinking, learning and assessment in the following courses; Science, Maths, English and across the curriculum

Are you committed to the idea of assessment for learning, but unsure of how to put it into practice? Do you want assessment to influence the way your pupils think and learn? This course is about making it happen in the classroom, and is a continuation of our highly successful Active Assessment Project. The course is highly interactive and engaging, emphasising pupil thinking and talking through a comprehensive range of quick and simple but effective strategies. Active Assessment resources are available at a discounted cost as part of the course.

"When I used the Active Assessment strategies, it got more pupils thinking more of the time."

Do you want to use strategies that make your life easier, lessons more enjoyable, and learning more creative and engaging? This interactive course offers an answer. Concept Cartoons are an accessible and motivating approach to teaching and learning in science and mathematics. The course illustrates why, when and how to use Concept Cartoons, and is a continuation of our highly successful Concept Cartoons in Science Education Project. Concept Cartoon resources are available at a discounted cost as part of the course.

"When I used the Concept Cartoons I couldn't stop them learning."

click here for more imformation about Concept Cartoons

Are you looking for new ideas and fresh approaches to teaching science with young children? This creative workshop will give you plenty of inspiration. It relates to the Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum, but it's much more than that. It's about helping children to observe more carefully and think more creatively about their world.

"I was so enthused I went back to school feeling ready to do exciting science with my class and with the rest of the staff too."

Are you interested in an exciting and innovative way of developing your practice in science or maths? This hands-on course demonstrates how puppets can provide an engaging stimulus and promote dialogic teaching in science or maths. It builds on our research in the highly successful Puppets Promoting Engagement and Talk Project, and enables you to become confident in using puppets yourself. It is suitable for all age ranges (not just KS1) and teachers working with pupils with SEN, providing an ideal way for specialist secondary schools to link with their partner primary schools. Puppets and other resources are available at a discounted cost as part of the course.

"A brilliant course. I have to get my colleagues to come to this."

click here for more imformation about our PUPPETS

Why not let them eat cake? This innovative course takes a thinking approach to healthy eating, using interactive teaching and learning strategies to challenge some of the typical assumptions in this topic. Building on extensive research, it links science, nutrition and history in a cross-curricular topic, meeting the requirements of the primary strategy and the new KS3 curriculum. Innovative support material includes fictional video clips, extracts of unique 1930's food diaries and a wealth of original resources to challenge and develop pupils' ideas. Rational Food Project resources are available at a discounted cost as part of the course.

"It's the first time I have seen a class really engaged with talking about healthy eating."

Are you sitting comfortably?  Ricky, Nana, Jasmin and Benny will get you off your seat.  These animated stories create challenging problems for children to solve.  They help children to think more, talk more and enjoy science more. Spellbound Science and other resources are available at a discounted cost as part of the course.

“Fantastic!  Wonderful ideas to work on.”

Do you view pupil talk as a problem or as a starting point for learning? This course recognises the value of pupil talk, and sets out some of the connections between talking, thinking and learning. It builds on recent research into dialogic teaching and argument, and links with current national strategies, including the new KS3 curriculum. It offers a range of creative ways to get pupils engaged in lessons, promote their thinking and enhance their learning.

"This is the first course I have been on where I can't wait to get back to school to try things out."

Are you looking for new ways of inspiring your trainee teachers? Don't you wish that somebody would come up with something really innovative? Well here it is. This interactive and engaging course, designed specifically for trainee teachers, helps them to make more sense of teaching and learning in science or maths. It offers them a range of simple, accessible strategies to get pupils thinking, talking and sharing their ideas. It builds on recent research into dialogic teaching and assessment for learning, and links with current national strategies. The course draws on two of our highly successful projects, Active Assessment and Concept Cartoons. Active Assessment and Concept Cartoons resources are available at discounted cost to trainee teachers as part of the course.

Get young children looking, thinking and talking with this innovative resource. The course offers a range of inspiring ideas to stimulate young children and uses Active Assessment strategies to get them to interact and communicate. The course is normally run by Gaynor Weavers. Made you look, made you think, made you talk resources are available at a discounted cost as part of the course.

Have fun with Science! This innovative approach to science enquiry helps pupils to revise and consolidate science enquiry skills through a set of interactive games. The course is normally run by Anne Goldsworthy or Bob Ponchaud. Science Enquiry Games resources are available at a discounted cost as part of the course.

15th
September 2008

Active Assessment Workshop
Bedfordshire. Part of Bedfordshire Primary Science Conference

Lynda Homer
l.homer@herts.ac.uk

1st
October 2008

Concept Cartoons Mathematics Workshop
Penrith, Cumbria. Part of Cumbria County Council Mathematics Conference

Emma Hill
emma.hill@cumbriacc.gov.uk

4th
October 2008

Active Assessment Workshop
Didsbury, Manchester. An ASE Course

Joyce Porter
j.a.porter@ljmu.ac.uk

11th
October 2008

Active Assessment & Spellbound Science Workshops
Leicester. Part of ASE regional conference

Tanya Dempster
tanyadempster@hotmail.com

14th
October 2008

Active Assessment Workshop
Liverpool. ASE Course

John Myers
jmyers114@hotmail.com

6th
November 2008

Creative Ways to Engage Learners in Science Workshop
Eden Project, Cornwall. Part of Botanic Gardens Education Network conference

Ann Walford
a.walford@kew.org

10th
November 2008

Active Assessment Workshop
Didsbury, Manchester. An SLC course

Debbie Eccles
debbie.eccles@primarilyscience.co.uk

13th
November 2008

Quality Science, Teaching and Learning - Keynote & workshop
Chorley, Lancashire. As part of Lancashire Primary Science Conference

Rachael Webb
rachael.webb@le.lancsngfl.ac.uk

13th
November 2008

Active Assessment in Secondary Education workshop
Southampton. An SLC course

Janice Griffiths
j.b.griffiths@soton.ac.uk

14th
November 2008

Active Assessment in Primary Education workshop
Southampton. An SLC course

Janice Griffiths
j.b.griffiths@soton.ac.uk

19th
November 2008

Active Assessment for KS3 workshop
Staffordshire. SLC course

Mari Connal
m.connal@keele.ac.uk

25th
November 2008

Active Assessment workshop
Hull. As part of ASE/SLC conference

Penny Thompson
pennythompson@4mac.com

4th
December 2008

Talking science, thinking science & Talking maths, thinking maths workshops
Durham. As part of HLTA regional conference

Beverly Rickwood
b_rickwood@hotmail.com

4th - 6th
December 2008

TBC
Glasgow. As part of Primary Science Residential

Kath Crawford
k.crawford@sserc.org.uk

19th
January 2009

Active Assessment workshop
Bradford. As part of a Primary Science course

Claire Holt
claire.holt@educationbradford.com

19th
January 2009

Active Assessment workshop
York. Part of SLC Course

Amanda Smith
a.m.smith@mmu.ac.uk

21st
January 2009

Active Assessment workshop
Oxford. As part of an SLC course

Janice Griffiths
j.b.griffiths@soton.ac.uk

29th - 30th
January 2009

TBC
Glasgow. As part of PGDE Residential

Kath Crawford
k.crawford@sserc.org.uk

4th
February 2009

Concept Cartoons in Science
Harrogate. LA Session

Pam Waite
pam.waite@northyorks.gov.uk

9th
February 2009

Active Assessment workshop
Solihull. SLC Course

Mari Connal
m.connal@slcwm.keele.ac.uk

12th
February 2009

Active Assessment & PUPPETS workshops
Staffordshire. An LA course

Wendy Precious
wendy.precious@staffordshire.gov.uk

2nd
March 2009

Active Assessment Workshop
York. Part of SLC Primary Science Conference

Zoe Crompton
z.crompton@slcs.ac.uk

6th - 7th March
2009

Rational Food talk and Early Years Science workshop
Scotland. As part of ASE Conference

Bob Kibble
bob.kibble@ed.ac.uk

9th
March 2009

Active Assessment Maths Workshop
Dunblaine. Part of SMC Conference

John Tease
j.tease@ltscotland.org.uk

11th
March 2009

Active Assessment Maths Workshop
Arbroath. EDS Course

Carol Lyon
lyonc@angus.gov.uk

24th March 2009

Active Assessment in Science
Keele. SLC Course

Mari Connal
m.connal@slcwm.keele.ac.uk

5th
June 2009

Active Assessment in Science
Ripon. LA Session

Pam Waite
pam.waite@northyorks.gov.uk

24th June
2009

Active Assessment in Science
Brighton. SLC Course

Janice Griffiths
j.b.griffiths@soton.ac.uk

11th September
2009

Active Assessment in Science
Dunfirmline. SSERC Course

Geraldine Stone
geraldine.stone@sserc.org.uk

16th September
2009

Talking Science
Edinburgh. Part of Children in Science Conference

Hannah Goodrum
hgoodrum@childreninscotland.org.uk

22nd September
2009

Active Assessment in Maths
Dundee. LA Course

Carol Lyon
lyonc@angus.gov.uk

29th September
2009

Active Assessment in Science and PUPPETS
Elgin. CfE Course

David Binney
david.binney@moray-edunet.gov.uk

30th October
2009

Active Assessment in Science
Dunfirmline. SSERC Course

Geraldine Stone
geraldine.stone@sserc.org.uk

12th November
2009

Thinking Science, talking science
Wakefield. Part of primary science conference

Penny Thompson
pennythompson4@mac.com

11th January
2010

Active Assessment in Science
Bradford. LA Course

Claire Holt
claire.holt@educationbradford.com

14th January
2010

PUPPETS for science and maths
Staffordshire. Part 1 of a 2 day course.

Wendy Precious
wendy.precious@staffordshire.gov.uk

9th March
2010

Active Assessment in Science
Kidderminster. SLC Course

Treona Holden
enquiries@slcwm.keele.ac.uk

15th March
2010

Active Assessment in Science
Kidderminster. SLC Course

Treona Holden
enquiries@slcwm.keele.ac.uk

19th March
2010

PUPPETS for science and maths
Staffordshire. Part 2 of a 2 day course.

Wendy Precious
wendy.precious@staffordshire.gov.uk