Teaching and Learning

 

Members of our college community who have ever had the opportunity to purchase a property will know that it is all about “Location, Location, Location!”

In teaching and learning, our catch cry is “Organisation, Organisation, Organisation!”

The learning process involves being organised. It does not matter whether you are ten years old or 50 years old. In order to learn well, you need to be organised.

At The Hamilton and Alexandra College, we are working hard to support our students to be organised in their approach to learning. Let me share what this might look like for your child at school and consider ways we can work together to help them be more organised.

Timetable: Know your timetable and be aware of what classes you have each day. Your record book will be an important tool to track subjects, homework, assessment dates and special events on the school calendar. SIMON will help you each day with daily notices and a copy of your timetable with any room changes that might be relevant.

The Mentor and parent should sign the record each week; evidence that together we are checking in on your daily organisation and routines.

Property: Clearly name all belongings. Have a system for each subject, both online (Class OneNote) and for your hardcopy folders and textbooks. Some students find colour coding subject folders a helpful approach. Remember to have your laptop fully charged at the start of each day and ensure you have synced your Class OneNote.

Focus: One of the best things you can do to ensure that you are organised and ready to learn is to set clear goals for your learning. Chat to your teacher or mentor about what areas of the course you need to focus on, whether it be a skill or application. Perhaps it is exam revision techniques, writing to time in an English assessment or avoiding making careless errors in your mathematics. Keep your goals simple, time-sensitive and relevant.

Being organised is not something that always comes naturally. Students do need our support to be organised and to stay organised. As teachers, we value the commitment that our parents and guardians make to help each child be the best they can be and develop their learning.

 In the words of A. A. Milne:

“Organizing is what you do before you do something so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”

Mrs Susan Bradbeer