louisa

My first blog post for Pedagoo – no pressure! *steadies nerves*

I am @louisateaches and I am a passionate educator in Work Based Learning (16-18 year olds). Worked Based Learning helps our learners understand how the things they learn in my classroom are connected to the real world and I focus on employability in particular.

More recently I introduced a new project to my learners, a class magazine! This enabled my learners to take a little break from our regular classroom activities and individuals were enthusiastic to work on something completely unique and of interest to them. It also meant learners could work at a pace appropriate for them, with confident/more independent learners producing 3 page articles for example, as well as giving the less able the opportunity to excel.

A number of roles were assigned to aid in the production of the magazine; everyone was a reporter, there were also editors (who SPaG’d!) and designers who worked on the front cover. We used a variety of real magazines for inspiration and took a vote on a name for the finished article (‘On Point’!).

So what’s in it for them? I hear you ask;

Everyone’s ideas matter – so this encouraged learners to engage and it empowered them to contribute to discussions, giving them more confidence. As it was a collaborative process , it helped them in their development of good judgment and most importantly, the task required teamwork, collaboration, problem-solving, creativity and self-control – all skills that are in demand in the job market!

Here are a few images to show the development of the magazine over the last couple of weeks;