17th May 2013
Lessons of Wonder featuring
Ian Gilbert
Dear Colleague
We would like to invite you to this year’s Teaching Schools Alliance Conference to be held at Kesgrave High School on
Monday 24th June 2013. Last year’s teaching and learning conference was universally well received, with delegates
commenting that the sessions were both ‘inspirational’ and ‘helpful in shaping future learning outcomes’. The
conference will include workshops from all schools in the Kesgrave and Farlingaye Teaching School Alliance.
We always aim to offer an inspiring line-up of teaching and learning opportunities, guaranteed to stimulate staff
development and provide considerable food for thought. Our guest speaker, Ian Gilbert, will address the conference for
the first session and provide two further workshops during the day. Ian is an international educator, innovator,
entrepreneur and award-winning author and publisher with over twenty years’ experience of supporting teachers
around the world. His focus is on thinking, learning, engagement and motivation along with encouraging an
understanding of neuroscience in the classroom and its links to self-esteem, well-being and achievement.
Ian’s conference address is entitled: Why Do I Need a Teacher When I’ve Got Google?
There are 'good' answers to this question, but only for 'good' teachers. What are the lessons that such teachers can
learn in order to be what the 21st century demands of them - lessons from neuroscience, from learning technology,
from business and from an understanding of motivation and engagement? Drawing on his understanding and
experience in these various fields, Ian will take teachers on an inspiring, entertaining and whistle-stop tour of all that
they need to know to be able to answer that million-dollar question.
Following Ian’s address there will be a series of outstanding practical workshops, offered by Ian, Mark Allen and staff
from the schools in the Alliance partnership:
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Did you Thunk today? One of the main reasons Ian came into education in the first place was to work with
young people to improve their thinking. Thunks, which grew out of the programme known as Philosophy for
Children, is one tool that he has developed to do just that. In this interactive workshop Ian will demonstrate
how Thunks work and how to get young people to think, to think for themselves, to think deeply and, above
all, to get their brains to hurt.
Are you interested in transforming your approach to marking? Or re-structuring your mathematics
curriculum? If so we have two diverse sessions focussing on addressing this issue from Kesgrave High
School and Claydon High School.
Or would you like to know more about fast, achievable, day to day differentiation or John Hattie’s top ten
effect sizes for promoting visible learning? Or discovering the philosophy behind TEEP training?
Do you want to explore further how to stimulate student curiosity or investigate Shanghai’s educational
revolution?
Could a ‘language for learning’ bridge the effort and achievement dialogue gap for you and your pupils? Or
could exploring the impact of Ron Berger’s ideas in the classroom enhance achievement for your pupils? We
have two wide-ranging sessions from Kesgrave High School and Copleston High School seeking to promote
the achievement debate.
How about exploring effective active, passive and reflective learning or inspiring creative teaching? We have
two dynamic sessions to investigate here from Northgate High School.
Are you interested in furthering your understanding of the role of ‘props’ in the classroom or further
exploring the role of technology? If so we have two vibrant sessions from St Albans High School.
Or are you interested in the 3rd Millennium skills debate? Join Mark Allen as he explores the potential
innovation of utilising cloud technology in the classroom.
All in all, we are offering a series of over 23 workshop opportunities like these, delivered by outstanding practitioners
that will be offered on a carousel throughout the day. Materials from all the sessions will be available on a DVD disc to
take home at the end of the conference.
This conference has been designed to engage colleagues in a debate about the wider dimensions of teaching and
learning, to provide an opportunity for sharing the precious craft of the classroom and to transfer top quality practice
and innovation. It offers a fantastic platform to explore the ever present question where next?
We would love to see you there.
To find out more, please contact Janet Alexander at Kesgrave High School who will be happy to provide you with more
information about the day. Her direct telephone number is: 01473 618995 or e-mail:
jalexander@kesgrave.suffolk.sch.uk
Yours sincerely
Russell Hall
Director of Research and Development at Kesgrave High School
Farlingaye & Kesgrave Teaching School Alliance. Address: C/O Kesgrave High School, Kesgrave,Ipswich. IP5 2PB. Tel:
01473 624855 www.farlingayekesgravetsa.co.uk