It has often been said that the most precious resource in your classroom is you, the teacher. Is that how you feel at the start of a term where you are dealing with unprecedented challenges? You may find that there is only headspace for the most essential tasks of preparing lessons and assessing students’ learning. Your ability to adapt to new circumstances and ways of teaching have been so valuable to your students, but it will have taken a lot out of you as you are no doubt aware. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed a well-deserved Christmas break – a time to recharge your batteries and to invest in your own well-being.
Looking forward into 2021, can room be found for investing in that most valuable resource – you? For many teachers, it will be too soon to take on regular commitments to professional development or to make themselves available for online meetings. The AMSP have developed a range of On Demand Professional Development (ODPD) courses that you can work through at your own pace, allowing you to access online lessons and resources when it suits you. All of our ODPD courses are free for teachers in state-funded schools and colleges.
Picking out an example, Desmos in the Maths Classroom helps you to get started with Desmos, the online graphing calculator, and leads on to using Desmos classroom activities. Many teachers have found the Desmos classroom really useful when teaching remotely, as well as for interactive resources in school or college. The flexible structure of the ODPD format gives you plenty of opportunity to practise and try out your new skills, sharing your experiences with others via the online forum. You can move on when you get the opportunity. You can view more information and apply for this course on the AMSP website.
The area of our provision that is growing fast are our Core Maths top-ups. The pods are self-contained and consist of short videos with supporting resources and forums, and new topics are coming soon! The Core Maths top-ups are aimed at teachers who are delivering the Core Maths qualification, but they are also useful for teachers who are considering widening the provision in their school to include Core Maths, and to teachers of GCSE and A level Mathematics who are looking for a context-driven approach that they can use in their situation. You can view more information and apply on the AMSP website.
There’s so much to choose from. A complete listing of our ODPD courses can be found on the AMSP events page. Why not make a New Years resolution to invest in your own skills and knowledge? “You’re worth it”, to quote a famous shampoo advert!
By Rose Jewell