Growing Greener Futures Conference #ggfc
Holy Trinity Rosehill Primary School, Stockton.

Growing Greener

I had the pleasure of attending the wonderfully engaging #ggfc on Friday, a conference organised by Martin Waller that formed part of the school’s excellent creative learning programme which Martin also coordinates. He put together a wide range of speakers who not only had us listening, but reading, making, building, problem solving, chewing, eating, shooting, chopping and slicing.

The conference was opened by Juliet Robertson from Creative Star Learning who began by handing out chewing gum and telling us to think outside the box. She explained to us how important break and lunch time play is for children and to avoid the ‘curse of knowledge’. She asked us to think back to our favourite childhood memories and we found that most involved being outdoors. Outdoor learning doesn’t have to be environmentally based. Use your strengths whatever the subject may be and get out doors to learn.

Video Games and Outdoor Learning (Steve Bunce, VITAL)
Steve showed us how we could use video game technology as a catalyst for outdoor learning. Picture the children in your class playing Mario Kart on the Wii. Not much learning there you might say; now take the steering wheel, attach a digital camera and then get them to go on a ‘drive’ around the playground. This video can be replayed in class with a talk over provided by the children, used to tell a story with the children as narrators. Easi Speak mics for digital story telling, recording a walk round the grounds, explaining a science lesson outdoors, describing a tour of the school, telling a fantasy tale for others to follow from point to point.

Cooking with children – Matthew Brown head chef at the Bay Horse, Hutton Rudby.
What a great session this was, not only because we got to eat what we cooked but also because it helped to dispel the myths surrounding cooking with children. Yes there are safety issues but that should never stop anyone providing children the absolute enjoyment of cooking with others. He demonstrated how we should show children how to hold a knife and then we were off. Chopping vegetables, cutting chicken, mixing ingredients and getting our fingers sticky. He told us we have got to ensure the food we cook is fun to make and eat, otherwise the children will not enjoy it, they will not be engaged. When the children are involved there are no ability groupings to consider. It’s a fun, learning activity that every child participates in with the end result being a tasty, delicious treat.

How to make a book soup (Bill Lord, Regional Advisor for the National Strategies)
Bill is like a glue that binds books together. After attending one of his presentations you come away with the titles of books you just have to buy stuck in your mind. He told stories, he read to us, he even let us watch a video! Everything was geared towards reestablishing the power of books and his passion for them was more than apparent from two full boxes of books he brought along from his vast collection at home. Each and every book had a personal story and I am sure he would have gladly told us them all if there was only more time. Bill, I loved it and it has definitely made me more in awe on the book again.

Digital Photography (David Sims, Whole Child Learning)
David asked us to reassess our use of digital photography so that it was no longer just an immediate tool of necessity but a tool that could provide learning opportunities for the classroom. We didn’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on equipment, he showed us that with a cheap digital camera along with an inexpensive tripod, white and silver card and a small torch we too could have the right gear to take great photos with. He talked about taking photos with the rule of thirds, using light and shadow for effect and close-up shots using macro functions. We then shot our own macro photos with great results. So easy to do and I can’t wait to give this a go in the classroom.

Ollie Bray ended the conference with a look at the use of technology not as a supplement but as a compliment to learning. His keynote had everyone thinking, laughing and talking. Geocaching was one focus and he demonstrated many uses of this technology for teachers and learners. Geocaching is a modern treasure hunt and involves getting outside searching for hidden containers, called geocaches. It’s a brilliant way to get outdoors with your class. All it takes to do is access to smartphone geocache apps or a geocache device that can then be used to locate the various hidden caches. He showed us how using Google maps could engage learners but also reminded us that technology shouldn’t supplement the learning but be a complement to it.

The day was enlightening. I learned new tips and picked up lots of ideas not only from the presentations I attended but also from the displays, classrooms and environment of Holy Trinity Rosehill Primary school. The school was alive with learning and along with the presentations many seeds of inspiration have been sown. Many, many thanks to Martin for his organisation of this fantastic conference and making it all possible.