Abigail Ball
I am an Assistant Professor and Head of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) in the Centre for Teacher Education at Warwick University.
Location Coventry
Activity
-
Thank you Subhendu, good to hear.
-
Well done for sharing this Subhendu, does anyone else want to share their five words?
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Mukhtar glad you found the videos useful.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I totally agree Subhendu.
-
Abigail Ball replied to cindy chim
Cindy, you will get lots of support from Warwick and your school with observations so don't worry too much about this. You will become familiar with them very quickly.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Great to read such a mix of experiences and your reasons for getting into teaching.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Siobain Collins
Firsts are always daunting Siobain, but you will get lots of support both at University and in schools. Organisation is definitely important though.
-
Glad that you are finding the resources reassuring Emma. You will get lots of information about the teachers' standards both at Warwick and when you are on your placement(s).
-
Abigail Ball replied to Emma Greaves
Well done for taking the plunge and getting this discussion started Emma.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Thank you all for your feedback, good to hear that you found the course useful. As this is an open course we've had to find the balance between giving participants information about the Warwick PGCE whilst recognising that not everyone on this course will be studying at Warwick in September. This is why we have not included more specific information about...
-
Again, thank you for sharing your reflections McKenna, as you say flexibility is a very good skill to acquire as it will help with all aspects of your teaching. Flexibility is something that develops with experience - it can seem daunting when you first start teaching but by the end of your PGCE you'll have it down to a fine art.
-
Thank you for sharing this Maura, yes your teaching philosophy will inevitably develop as your career as a teacher develops but keeping hold of why you wanted to become a teacher in the first place is important.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I always enjoy reading the responses to this discussion and usually think to myself I wish I were in one of your classes now! You will have plenty more opportunities on the PGCE course to think about the type of teacher you want to be and the opportunities you want to give your students.
-
Maura, it is very easy to focus on the negative with topics like LAC and Pupil Premium, so hearing how teachers have made a difference, even if it is to just one person's life is important (and Jaz is very engaging). As you say, creating a safe environment for all children is so important and something that you will receive support on when on placement and at...
-
McKenna there are lots of materials available to help schools decide how to spend their pupil premium grant and this is one of the things that Ofsted check when they visit a school so they are very much held to account. You will find out much more about LAC when you join the PGCE - hopefully this will include why the funding for primary and secondary pupils...
-
Well done for starting this discussion Mary, you will revisit professional values frequently during your PGCE year. An interesting exercise is to reflect on your values at the start of the year and then later in the year to see if/how they have evolved as you gain teaching experience.
-
This is a really good observation Ryan, particularly in your PGCE year.
Recognising that you can't do everything and that there are people there to support you at school and at university is important for you and your pupils. -
Abigail Ball replied to McKenna Wood
These are really good points McKenna.
-
This is a good summary Claudio.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Ryan Young
That's good to hear Ryan, the focus on wellbeing is certainly something that has grown over the past few years, with the pandemic bringing it to the fore.
-
Abigail Ball replied to McKenna Wood
McKenna, these are really good points. I particularly like your comment about adult friendships as this can indeed be difficult when you spend most of your time with children. Hopefully you will start to make these connections when you start the PGCE programme. CTE has developed a range of wellbeing resources that you will be introduced to on the PGCE and...
-
Abigail Ball replied to Mary M Goma
Well done for considering adaptive teaching Mary, you will learn lots more about this on the PGCE.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Mary M Goma
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on reflection and assessment Mary, glad you are engaging with reflection and can see how it can benefit your classroom practice.
-
Well done for starting to link practice in classrooms to the Teachers' standards from week one Bella.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Millicent Edmonds
Millicent you will get lots of support on all of the areas you have identified when you start the PGCE and as you rightly say you will get better at these with practice.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Christopher Brooks
Chris it is great that you are working proactively to address the challenges you have identified and enjoying getting to know the school and your pupils.
-
These are a good set of observations Ryan, ranging from critical thinking to behaviour management, well done.
-
These are detailed observations Mary, you make valid comments about James' delivery and you have some good ideas about how the lesson could have been improved, well done.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
It is great to have a mix of people who are completely new to teaching and those who have had some experience in the past. Hopefully you can learn from each other as you progress through this course and onto the PGCE.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Good observations Ellis, hopefully you can start to see how you might apply these activities in your own teaching.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Christopher Brooks
Thank you for sharing your route into teaching Chris, career changers, such as yourself, bring a wealth of experience to teaching. Don't worry about the academic side, you will get lots of support with this!
-
Behaviour management is covered in week two of this course and it is a focus of the PGCE programme in term one too so you will get lots of support with this.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Claudio Valenzuela
Claudio you will look at different teaching strategies on the PGCE programme and you will receive support on placements about this.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Bella Hopper
This is a really good point Bella and teacher wellbeing is something we cover later in this course.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Ellis Beauchamp
Ellis, you will get lots of support from both University and school staff to help you to understand the teacher standards and how they inform lesson observations.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
As you will learn from interacting with your peers on this course, many people have similar motivations for wanting to become a teacher, they just articulate them slightly differently.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Hello everyone and welcome to the course. Great that we already have English, languages and science represented here.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Hello Keith, welcome to this course. Looking forward to meeting more of your colleagues as the week progresses.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Good to hear your positive comments about the course. Well done for reaching the end and we very much look forward to meeting you in September.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
It sounds like your teaching philosophies have not fundamentally changed in the four weeks of this course but you are starting to reflect more deeply on what is important to you as a teacher. You will revisit your teaching philosophy on the PGCE programme so reflecting on how it has changed (or not) between now and then will be an interesting exercise.
-
This is a really good point Jack, you will probably not get everything right straightaway and that is OK. Think back to the values you reflected upon in activity 4.8, they don't just apply to the classrooms you will teach in, they also apply to the classrooms you will learn in as a trainee teacher.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
It is interesting that the terms safe/trusting have come up in all of your postings but you also balance these with terms such as challenging and fun. You will learn lots more about professional values on your PGCE programme as these are woven through our teaching and underpin the Teachers' Standards (particularly part two).
-
This is a good observation Jack, yes children with a parent in the military frequently have to move schools depending on where their parent is posted and this can disrupt their education.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
As you have all commented the difference between English and English as a second language children attainment is a surprise and it will be interesting to see what impact Covid has on all of these figures going forward. This is the first set of figures since Covid (limited data was available during this period) and we are yet to understand the longer term...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
These comments show a good grasp of the benefits of reflection as well as some of the challenges. It is human nature to focus on the negative, what went wrong and why, rather than what went well. This TED talk by Alison Ledgerwood discusses how you can improve positive thinking which may help to reframe some of your reflections:...
-
This is a really good point Simranpreet.
-
Yes there is some overlap so well done for spotting the links and connections.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Yali LI
Glad you found Coe's Teaching Toolkit useful Yali.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Chloe Gamble
I would add that PCK also evolves with teacher's knowledge and the classroom skills they develop too Chloe but you are right it is constantly evolving. This is a lovely summary, well done.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Yali LI
Yali at this stage a superficial understanding of PCK is fine, we just wanted you to know what it was before you started your PGCE programme. When the PGCE starts you will learn more about the model and how you can apply it to your teaching practice.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Chloe Gamble
This week's learning just shows the intensity of behind the scenes work in creating outstanding teachers - absolutely Chloe! There is an analogy that is often used that teachers are like swans gliding serenely across the water whilst paddling furiously under the surface. There are lots of components for teachers to consider but you will develop strategies to...
-
During induction for the PGCE we try to get some of these institutions to deliver a session about the services they offer. This should help to make the differences clearer.
-
Abigail Ball replied to Yali LI
These are very sensible suggestions Yali and many schools have a Wellbeing Charter that includes things like marking and assessment policies to reduce workload.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Well done everyone, there are some really good observations here, many of you have commented on the use of questions to engage pupils and this will be something that you revisit during your PGCE programme.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Great to hear that you are starting to think about using the observation guidance. If any of you have been affected by the safeguarding content you are advised to connect with an appropriate body through your training provider. If you are a student in a UK Higher Education institution (or work in a school) you can access support from Togetherall (the link...
-
Abigail Ball replied to Yali LI
You've made some really good points here Yali, I like the distinction between describing what went wrong and analysing why it went wrong.
-
Journaling is a great idea Romily - if you want to learn more about it you could look at the work of Jennifer Moon.
-
Getting the balance between description and reflection is a challenge Chloe but it does get easier with practice. You'll find out more about different reflective models when you start the PGCE and these definitely help students to reflect rather than to describe. Keep up the good work!
-
Again good observations Elijah.
-
This is a good summary Yali and shows that there is a lot going on in this lesson. As you've watched both videos (well done!) are there any similarities between how the teachers engage the students in the different phases?
-
Good points Avani, you are really starting to drill down into the teaching you are observing.
-
Great that you are already looking at wider literature Chloe, this will stand you in really good stead going forward.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Well done everyone for getting to the end of week one! The teaching philosophies you have shared below are amazing, lovely to see themes such as expression, inspiration, safety, development, nurturing, encouragement, friendship, enthusiasm, blossoming, inclusion, bravery, thriving and tolerance throughout your posts. As Cora comments, school is much more...
-
Yes there is a lot to learn, but you will be supported through the whole process and you are not expected to know everything before you start.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Hello everyone, yes feeling nervous before you start any course is completely normal! Good to hear that you are reassured by the comments in some of the videos/blogs. As Romily rightly comments - everyone at University and in school is here to help you and you will also find a very supportive network of students once you start the PGCE at Warwick.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Hello everyone
Wow, what a range of subjects we already have and it is great to read about your different motivations for getting in to teaching. Looking forward to reading more posts as they come in.
Abi
-
Abigail Ball replied to Chloe Gamble
Hello Chloe, welcome to the course! That's a lovely way of expressing how you feel about teaching - 'teaching chose me'. I'm sure there are lots of people on this course and on the PGCE who will agree with that sentiment. Good luck in your studies! Abi
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Hello everyone, lovely to read your comments and to understand a bit more about why you want to become teachers.
Abi
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
My institution owns anything I create but in a previous institution we made a lot of use of Creative Commons as we had a public repository which could hold research materials and teaching materials. Many of these resources were attributed as Creative Commons adaptable, copyable and redistributable but only for non-commercial purposes.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I'd like to learn more about Instagram as I am well behind the curve on this one.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Our students are encouraged to blog about their experiences in the classroom to get them used to publishing and receiving feedback. They are also encouraged to use video reflections in their portfolios.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I reduced the number of students and also had to reduce the time - this meant that the students had less activities to complete.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
H5P is easy to use to create different interactive content e.g. quizzes, videos with questions, hotspots on videos and images to give you more information. You don't need coding skills to use it and it works within Moodle and as a standalone. I also use Mentimeter to gather feedback and Symbaloo to organise weblinks.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
There are many similarities at the basic level - the skills are the same it just might be that the software being used is different.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I often see students who are really not confident with their portfolios producing some lovely work full of evidence and reflections. It is amazing how they all start out with the same template but develop it in very different ways.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
This is a very useful tool but you do have to have planned your lessons quite carefully - it is not suitable for the ad hoc sessions that I run for staff - they just want quick and easy answers to specific questions so that they can get back on with their work. It is much more useful for students.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Our trainees need to be able to validate the authenticity of online resources and to be aware of what they can and can't use in the classroom (e.g. copyright restrictions). They get a lot of support about searching for resources from our library which hopefully they will transfer into their own practice when they go out to teach.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Relevant examples and case studies really help - if staff and students can't see how they would use the technology in their practice they will not use it. Also benefits to them and being honest about any problems or things they need to be aware of.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I've used this type of proforma (the learning Designer one) before and it can sometimes be quite hard to make it fit your needs. I do like the colour coding as I think that gives a very quick visual guide to the type of content you are covering in your lesson.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Learning - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning
Almost identical to others - I used Google again like many other users. -
Abigail Ball made a comment
There is very little reference to any sort of digital skills in most of the job descriptions that I looked at - therefore students will probably not see the relevance when applying for jobs but they will be expected to use technology when they get out into the classroom.
-
We use Mahara for our trainees' portfolio of evidence for their teaching standards - they do get initial support but once they get used to using it we generally have very few problems. We are increasingly finding that the students like to use their portfolios in job interviews to showcase their skills.
-
Teaching is already digital although there are significant differences between schools. Electronic whiteboards, learning management systems, databases of student information are just a few of the digital technologies in common use. Our students are expected to produce e-portfolios of evidence whilst they are studying with us and I know of several students...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Looking at training roles in other areas e.g. health and social care, there is still a focus on using PowerPoint which points to the standard lecture-based teaching practice. I'm surprised there is no mention of flipped learning or blended learning that make much better use of learning technologies and digital skills.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
From my perspective the definitions in the DSF are clear but I think it is important that they can and do develop over time. What is appropriate for our learners now may not be appropriate for our learners in 5 or 10 years time. Just as we are saying that our workforce needs to develop; I think that the definitions need to develop too.
Whilst the location...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I think the key word is 'appropriate' when it comes to digital technologies. Many of our students (but not all!) are very comfortable using technology in their personal lives but are far less confident when it comes to using it to teach with. It is important that students recognise what technologies are appropriate to use and when they are appropriate to...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Hello everyone
I'm a Senior Academic Technologist in the Centre for Teacher Education at the University of Warwick and I'm interested in keeping up to date with the latest trends in technology.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
This course has been interesting and has given me a lot to think about. I've also got some work to do to make my work accessible (even just from a formatting perspective).
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Making the device more fashionable and less like a monitor is a good step but it doesn't overcome the stigma of feeling old, frail and feeling that you are being watched like a child rather than living your life as a grown up (as other people have commented) and I'm not sure how this can be rectified if at all.
Most people who wear fitness monitors do so...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Monika may not be happy with the lack of face to face customer support that she receives as it is getting less and less but she will probably be happy to answer these questions as she clearly enjoys interacting with people (assuming that the question was asked by a person rather than as an online survey). As her eyesight is fading she would probably benefit...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I really liked this idea - support dogs are great. I also like the simplicity of the design of the washing machine - perhaps they could extend this design so that other people could tell the machine to start washing rather than the dog. Surely machines this simple could be of benefit to many users with physical and cognitive impairments.
-
I would say 2a - provide choice in the method of use, 2d - provide adaptability to the users pace and 3a eliminate unnecessary complexity could be added to the SST checklist.
-
No I haven't heard of this before - it will be interesting to see the extent to which countries sign up to it and the impact this may or may not have on individual lives.
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
As other people have been saying I think it is important to have the legislation in place but we shouldn't need to use it to force people to change how they work (particularly). Encouraging people to think about what they are designing or producing and how anybody irrespective of their physical or mental abilities can use their product or service is much more...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Whilst I don't feel 'designed out' I do feel that there is an increased expectation on individuals to use technology at all times. This is particularly difficult for older people who have often not grown up with technology and learned to live their day to day lives without smart phones or computers. It seems to me that there is very little allowance for...
-
The vending machines at work are fairly old and give you no instructions on how to use them - the cost of each item is physically taped onto the shelf below each item along with its identity number. These labels are small and quite difficult to read. If you were in a wheelchair you would not be able to read the top row (and possibly the second row) as it is...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
Fingerprint identification could be an option but this doesn't really help those people who have manual dexterity problems - placing a thumb on a scanner is easier than typing in four digits but it still requires dexterity - what happens if you suffer with arthritis for example and can't present your thumb at the right angle on the scanner? Voice controls are...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
I particularly dislike SST's in supermarkets - not because of the scanning but because of the weight reader in the bagging area. If you use your own bags they often struggle to recognise the weight of the items and woe betide anyone who removes a full bag from the bagging area and adds in an empty bag to continue loading their shopping. I am able to return...
-
Abigail Ball made a comment
For me one of the frustrations with appliances is that the controls seem to be the last thing that the manufacturers think of. I've got a lovely sleek looking black microwave that sits very nicely on my worktop but the controls (two dials) are really tiny and pretty inaccurate. Trying to set the timer for under a minute is a real challenge and I don't have...
-
My appliances are very basic - my washing machine doesn't have a digital display it just has a dial and a number of buttons. Likewise my microwave only has a dial - it does ping when it is finished but there is nothing to indicate how long you are setting it for without looking at the dial (and the same goes for the temperature controls). I have no idea how...
