Variety is the key word for our Teacher Networks in the summer term. There will be regional meetings with a full range of current issues to debate. These are planned for after half term on Thursday 10 June 2021 and Wednesday 7 July 2021. By that stage, teachers may be reviewing the massive efforts on behalf of Years 11 and 13, and considering the way ahead for other year groups and also for the next academic year.
Some areas in the East of England region have been having short catch-up network meetings. In Herts, we had two meetings that were our shortest ever – lasting just 30 minutes – to take a break from the work of the day and to compare notes with others. In different parts of the region, there have also been the regular, established and highly valued gatherings of teachers with the opportunity to update others on current issues.
Towards the end of the summer term, we’ve arranged three 90 minute regional meetings which are intended to provide useful professional development without breaking into the school day. The first meeting will demonstrate Tips and Tricks for Equation Editing in Microsoft, which you can use in Word and Powerpoint. Just knowing that Ben Sparks will be presenting would be enough for me to make it a priority on Tuesday 15 June 2021. The second meeting is on Monday 21 June 2021 and will focus on Exploring Quadratics from KS3 to KS5. Finally, on Thursday 1 July 2021, we’ll explore Using GeoGebra Classroom in A level Maths and Further Maths. GeoGebra Classroom has some of the capabilities of Desmos and advanced facilities that are useful for higher levels of maths. Tom Button will lead the session and I’m confident that he’ll be able to inspire us as he shows us the potential benefits of this technology.