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Do Good This Summer

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Available to students – FREE!
Yes, that is right, NCS are offering Summer 2020 programmes completely free of charge for all young people!
If you’re 15-17, find out how you can get involved and sign up at
wedrencs.com.

Home Learning – Art Year 7

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This is a drawing submitted by Finley this week. Year 7 were asked to draw something made of glass and to include the highlights, shades and reflections. Finley has used his observation skills and submitted this wonderful drawing of a glass at home. He has been able to use his tonal range to make this glass look very realistic! Well done Finley! Keep up the good work!

#Art #HomeLearning

 


Science Home Learning Experiments

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Over the course of lockdown, I’m sure many teachers have been getting used to new ways of working, but one in particular at the UTC has had to take that to the extreme.
 
Mr De la Bat has had to conduct all his distance teaching whilst in lockdown in South Africa with his family!
 
But he never stopped trying to deliver the best possible lessons for his pupil back here in Dartford, Kent.
 
His best innovation so far has been the science practicals at home that he has been filming and sharing with his KS3 pupils! We asked Mr De la Bat what had got him thinking about doing this in the first place.
 
Mr De la Bat said:
 
“My main aim was to engage with all of my students on a more practical level instead of overwhelming them with too much theoretical knowledge. I know most of my students are very practical and love to build or create things so I tried to use this aspect to my advantage and break down the more difficult topics into smaller chunks that are easier to process. When it comes to processing new knowledge I also took into account that most of my students are visual learners and thus by demonstrating difficult concepts in a visual way, they can more easily associate what they see (the practical aspect) with the theory (theoretical knowledge).
 
One of the aspects I specifically focussed on when deciding what and how to execute my experiments was the availability of resources. Coming from a developing country like South Africa, resources for science experiments are often scarce. Teachers in South Africa are therefore taught to be creative with regards to developing experiments using easily obtainable resources that are available to each student, ensuring that no student is excluded from a learning opportunity. I tried to incorporate this aspect of teaching into my experiments by using resources that are easily available to everyone. All of the resources I used in my experiments are either common household items or cheap to buy at a supermarket.
 
Lastly, I wanted to bring some fun and excitement to all my students at home. Being on a strict lockdown can be extremely daunting for everyone (especially children). By giving them a fun activity to do at home (and learning in the process), I aimed to relieve them from the stress and uncertainty all of us are facing around the world during these uncertain times”
 
We would love to hear from parents/carers and students to see if you enjoyed watching these lockdown home learning experiments.
 
A big thank you for Mr De la Bat for making these Home Learning experiments possible.