Is this the most beautiful classroom in the country?

In modern schools the classroom is an arena for many activities and thus needs to meet many and varied criteria.

Clearly they need to be flexible in layout so that they can be readily re-arranged for the array of lessons that the Secondary National curriculum demands.

They need to have decent acoustics and be accessible to all. They also need to be warm in winter, cool in summer, and able to withstand whatever extremes of weather climate change throws at them.

And perhaps as important as everything else, they need to be eco-friendly and bathed in natural light.

In short, if they can both look wonderful and meet the needs of today’s teaching requirements, they will of themselves inspire teaching and learning among all KS3 and KS4 students.

Such classrooms draw the students in so that they actually want to be here, and they offer the teachers the chance to create the lessons they want in an environment they love to be in.

So what does such a fantastic classroom look like?

There are many possible answers – and here is just one of ours…

 

This picture comes from an on-line portfolio of some of the school buildings we’ve constructed during the last couple of years.

It is one of many new school buildings that have been prepared by The Learning Escape, all the way from planning permission to handover. And because of the way we work, they have invariably been built for much less than a traditional building would cost.

Heating can be specified with a choice of electric, geothermal or air source heat pump/air conditioning. Each building is a bespoke design – a response to the local conditions, local needs and local specification.

Whether you need a classroom, staffroom, school hall or library, we take your needs and wishes and create a stunning and sustainable building that fits into your space and budget.

We also offer a leasing option which means that a permanent, architect-designed Learning Escape can actually cost less per month than hiring a temporary solution!

To see more of what we have built recently just click here.

To discuss any aspect of your project or to book a free survey, just call us on 0800 917 7726.

You can find more information and a number of case on our website.

How can we help Sixth Form students understand the concept of the meaningful argument?

A man walks into an office and says, “I’d like to have an argument, please.”

If you are familiar with Monty Python you’ll know that the man is Michael Palin and he spends the new few minutes debating with John Cleese the difference between a true argument and “mere” contradiction.

Of course, the sketch never approaches the debate about the difference between these two concepts – and indeed why should it? It is just a comedy sketch, although a sketch so popular that, although first broadcast in 1972, it was performed by the original actors to much acclaim in their farewell performance 42 years later.

But while the difference between argument and contradiction was never resolved by Messers Palin and Cleese, it is a vital one for A Level students to grasp.

And grasping the difference is still only the start.

For even when the student starts to get to grips with the difference between such concepts as “claims” and “arguments”, there still remain such puzzling issues as explanations, assumptions, counter-claims, evidence, examples, deduction, induction, generalisation…

However the fact is that where students do understand the nature of debate and proof they tend not only to get better A level grades but they also become better prepared for university and/or employment.

In short, for many students it is a grasp of critical thinking which takes them from a B to an A, which delivers a far more impressive UCAS application, and which enables them to be much more persuasive in interviews and presentations.

It is for these reasons that the volume “Critical Thinking” has been written.

But “Critical Thinking” is about far more than just dismantling and evaluating other people’s arguments. For it is also involved in the production of the student’s own explanations and arguments.

Through examples and activities the volume encourages students to develop their considered point of view in essays, reports, debates, etc, and helps them be prepared to stand back and assess their own reasoning.

Critical Thinking is available as a printed copiable volume or as a CD which can be put on the school’s learning platform for use by students and staff.

You can see some sample pages at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/english/T1821.pdf

Publisher’s reference:T1821EMN; ISBN: 978 1 86083 861 3

Prices:

• Photocopiable report in a book: £29.95
• CD with school-wide rights: £24.95
• Both the book and the CD: £36.94

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1821EMN

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
• By fax to 01536 399 012
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=154