We recently held a three-day online conference with a host of free education webinars. These covered key pedagogy and curriculum information for primary and lower secondary. From different teaching approaches, to looking at subject-specific activities, our range of education and language experts explored a wide variety of topics and issues important to teachers across the world.
We are pleased to share our ultimate guide to the conference sessions. Whether you were able to join us for some of the live sessions or you are interested in catching up, this guide will help you navigate the conference playlist and find the information that will be most helpful for you. Enjoy the free education webinars below.
Exploring different approaches to teaching
1. Differentiated questioning – a question is an opportunity to stimulate learning. Consider different ways of asking questions in order to encourage learners to think in different ways
View the webinar: Practical Differentiation That Doesn’t Increase Your Workload
2. Active learning – is it a bunch of “fun and games”? Many active learning techniques present students with unusual challenges that can be dynamic and fun, but they are also effective
View the webinar: The Nuts and Bolts of Active Learning
3. Circulating and questioning – ask learners a question related to the learning intention(s), get information about their progress based on their answer, provide oral feedback immediately
View the webinar: Assessment for learning: what, why and how?
4. Thinking about learning – cognition is everything that goes on in our mind when learning, metacognition is reflection on that learning and how it happens
View the webinar: Using metacognition to boost students’ achievement
5. Motivation and practice – to encourage learners to think more deeply about a topic, try the because/but/so strategy for learners to add to their answers and give more detail
View the webinar: Approaching Active Learning
In these graphics we’ve picked out some of highlights from each of the webinars. Skip to the time codes we’ve quoted below to watch these particular bits.
Developing learners’ language skills
1. Integrated skills – keep in mind the variety of language demands involved in language learning, including reading, listening, writing and speaking, which are often integrated
View the webinar: How to use language effectively and successfully in the non-language classroom
2. Content and language – to support content and language integration, identify key language structures within subject areas, identify potential difficulties and organise time for teachers to liaise with EAL teams
View the webinar: Moving Towards a Whole School Approach to CLIL
3. Teaching in English – think about the types of language needed to teach school subjects in English, from subject-specific vocabulary to basic interpersonal skills
View the webinar: Bridging the gap between ELT and English as a Medium of Learning (EML)
Mastering key skills in the classroom
1. Every word counts – help learners understand how word choice can influence the meaning of a piece of writing with a six-word sentence activity
View the webinar: Becoming a Real Writer: Strategies to Develop Learners’ Writing Skills
2. Let’s talk – the benefits of oracy education include its impact on cognitive development and learning, confidence and wellbeing and preparation for participation in the wider world
View the webinar: How to integrate oracy strategies into your English lessons
3. Skills for the future – there is no clear and unique definition of 21st century skills adopted globally. Related skills include global competency, critical thinking, collaboration, technology skills, and a growth mind-set
View the webinar: Teaching for the 21st century
4. Inferring meaning – introduce learners to a variety of creative texts and think about the link between the ‘big idea’ and figurative language, the importance of context and opening up meaning through discussion
View the webinar: Teaching figurative language in the lower secondary classroom
5. Becoming a skilled reader – there are a variety of skills that support a learner to become a skilled reader involving both language comprehension and word recognition
More: Setting the right foundations for reading and writing
Subject-specific insights
1. Global perspectives – support learners to develop an understanding of the world, enhance their sense of place, and cultivate their perspectives on the changes that are taking place
View the webinar: Thinking globally and acting locally. What does this mean for primary children?
2. Engaging science – how can you demonstrate the movement of a particle within an atom as it heats up? Get up and do the particle dance!
View the webinar: Developing Learners’ Thinking and Working Scientifically Skills
3. Becoming mathematicians – encourage learners to develop mathematical reasoning and engage in discussion in your classroom with the ‘low threshold, high ceiling’ approach
View the webinar: Developing a hands-on approach to mathematics
Improving teaching and learning
1. Teaching effectively online – think about the practicalities of the way you set-up your online learning environment and how to adapt activities to suit an online classroom
View the webinar: Engaging Students and Building Rapport in the Remote Classroom
2. Talking to parents – what are the best ways to communicate with parents/carers? Through a website, email, face-to-face, social media, hard-copy mail. What about scenarios where extensive support is needed?
View the webinar: Promoting parental participation
3. Culture of learning – one element of effective professional development is the adoption of a growth mind-set in which teachers and learners view ability as incremental rather than fixed
View the webinar: Effective teacher development – why and how?
If you would like to find out more, browse the full education webinar playlist or visit our website to discover the Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary series.
