Ilam School Introduction The following story is about the gifted and ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

next, maybe I need to know which inquiry step I am up to. I want to search on the Internetand I could use my word-find words as search words. I want to get more work done.Everything seems to take so much time. I want to make a business card and I don't knowhow. We also need a folder on the common drive where we can put learning centre stuff. [p.3]Reflections are a bit of a challenge. I've started thinking about campylobacter I found out thebacteria are not spiral shaped when you look at them under a powerful microscope but theyare round with tails at each end. I have problems activating my alpha brain waves andwriting things down and I still don't know how to make a business card. I think using acomputer might help but the bells and whistles are a bit of a distraction. I'm ready to startplanning my new inquiry. [p. 3]At first I wasn't so settled but now I am. I feel like I am learning quickly and I am beginning toplan my day. My learning journal is really well organised and I tidied my file box. I plan tohave a tidy session every Friday. I understand the steps for writing an article and I made mybusiness card. I can't wait to use it. Making a model helped me to think more clearly aboutmy information. I enjoyed our class trip to Riccarton Bush. I enjoyed being back with theclass more to do my work even though I am beginning to make new friends in the learningcentre. I finished my curriculum map and I now know what I am doing. [p. 3]The teacher is always going to and fro through the door and does not have time for me. I feelI'm not getting as much attention as some of the other children in the learning centre. Also Islightly misunderstand the teacher and I'm not sure I know what to do. It would be good if wecould work in groups more often. I mucked around a lot this week and I don't reallyunderstand what I am doing. I find it annoying when there are new must dos and by the timeit is the end of the week I haven't got any topic work done. Why do I keep losing things? I'mworried about my report writing for my portfolio and I keep missing the serial in theclassroom. Dad was a great source of information and I learn stuff in the workshops andconferences, but they take up a lot of time that I need for my topic. The learning centre isbigger than the classroom, it goes outside the walls. [p. 7]Tabloid sports were fun. I found out that the vision centre is in the back of the brain. And thevomit centre is in the brain stem. I also found out the difference between a sheep and a pig'sbrain and that I go green when I see them cut up. I feel quite good about learning andcompared to last year it feels very, very, different. Choosing my own topic makes it fun forme but I don't think I am getting enough time to learn stuff. I know a bit more abouttimetabling and how to plan my time, but there are some things about the brain that I can'texplain and I'm not getting answers. The results of the number smart-brain smart test will beuseful for helping me know what I am good at and what I need to work on. I found the testsfun and interesting. [p. 8]Independent learning is easier and more fun because you don't get bossed around by ateacher on what you have to do. You get to choose what topic you think is interesting insteadof a topic that you might know a lot about or which is boring for you. You go where you needto go to find out info. I think I can ask key questions well, but I haven't been using all theinquiry tools. [p. 9]I learnt this week that humour can come with information and I am laughing while learning.This week was hard work and I am tired. I need to remember not to do too much at once. Iam focusing on my work because I can choose when I work. I am excited about my newlearning topic because it will be big! Very big! I need to contact some experts and get someanswers to my questions. The alphabet key helped me to identify how much I already knowand where my gaps are. [p. 9]
I'm having a problem with workshops that are not about our topic. We also need morelaptops because I can't always get one when I need it. I'm missing my mentor this weekbecause she has exams. Dad is also being slow on the glass cage for the mouse. I think itwould be cool to have a pet day at school and computer suite time. I am excited about theamount of information I am finding. Did you know that the centre of a black hole is called asingularity? I need to find out how to do a PowerPoint again as I am getting bored withwriting reports all the time. I want to learn how to use more of the inquiry tools so that thereis more variety to my recording. Sometimes I don't like using organisers. It gets in the way ofmy thinking. [p. 13]I have learnt how to do a fancy PowerPoint to record all the information I have. I have figuredout how to put pictures and sound onto PowerPoint. The sound is good. This week I had areally busy week and achieved heaps. I completed a learning centre passport and I realisedhow independent I am becoming. I have packed my resource suitcase, almost finished myarticle think and I have emailed Ecan to find out about the environmental issues related tothe Feltex Factory burning coal. I've emailed my mentor to organise a meeting next week.Things I'm working on are to use my task map so I don't wander with my thinking and to useSTUCK (stop, think, use initiative, conference with teacher, keep focused). I need help withgetting people in my inquiry group to focus and finding good quality info. [p. 13]Emails are not working and the Ecan email doesn't work. I have lots of auditions for the busproduction this term. We spent 3 days in the classroom this week and I didn't get muchdone. I missed the choice that I am used to in the Learning centre. Our group identified thechallenges related to our issue and I am now working on Up Think. I have lots of ideas forsolving our problem. Some of them are a bit wacky. I searched on the internet today for anemail contact for Don Elder from Solid Energy. He was an expert that I found in my articlethink. I have emailed him and asked him to talk to our inquiry group and he is coming nextweek. The teacher was really impressed with our independence and I am too. [p. 13]Can't wait to start a new inquiry. My three-way conference is this week and I need to get mykey questions organised. ‘Considering all factors' will be useful when I am brainstorming.The futurist work is interesting but I found it hard to think from two different perspectives. Ourfuturist is Voltaire. It was really hard being different from everyone else. [p. 15]The fair test that I planned was a problem because I didn't know where to start. Sometimes Ihave problems thinking especially when there are lots of new ideas. I have to remember notto panic and to try and concentrate. Sometimes just getting started helps even if I don't knowwhere I am going. [p. 15]My fair test worked and I found out which washing powder was more powerful. I included theresults in my scientific report. I felt really sorry for the other student who had to start hisscientific report all over again because the computer dropped the wireless connection andhe hadn't saved his work! [p. 16]I learnt about paraphrasing and how to use an article think properly. Journal search was alsouseful once I managed to download it on to the computer. [p. 16]This has been a really busy term and I have learnt heaps of new tools to support mylearning. Having choice is really motivating. I hope I get into the learning centre again nextterm. [p. 16]Giant squids make sucker marks on sperm whales. Giant squids have beaks. They can growup to 35 million. An octopus escaped from a home aquarium and was found in the librarypaging through books!!! They can have two million babies. I can't do my work too fast in
Page 1 and 2: Ilam SchoolIntroductionThe followin
Page 3 and 4: The learning jungle: It's so hard t
Page 5: I also need to establish an assessm
Page 14 and 15: case I do something wrong and half
Page 16: Classroom placements for 2006 have

Ilam School Introduction The following story is about the gifted and ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?