Creative Teaching and Learning

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The Director of Imaginative MInds, Howard Sharron, republished in the last issue of Creative Teaching and Learning an article which I wrote for him in 2000.

He asked me to write an update to that article giving my views on why the Wigan Language Project, in spite of its proven success, failed to be more widely used. I enjoyed writing the article, especially putting the boot into a few of the chumps who blocked its dissemination. I have sent the article off to Howard and I hope it will appear in the next issue.

My New Website

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With a book, page 40 is always the same.
But the internet fidgets and won’t stay still:
It challenges me with crashes and scares -
Computer fifty: Mary nil.

Whose voice is this on my very own site?
It sounds like Eric the Red, not me.
I am digitally launched in search of grapes
In a cockleshell boat on a cosmic sea!

But my site is clear and easy to read,
It does what it says, its buttons are nifty.
I glimpse the grail o’er the wine-dark sea –
Computer nil and Mary fifty!

Widening Participation?

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There was an interesting article in last week’s Birmingham Post (20/10/11):

The four universities in Birmingham have produced a plan to encourage poorer pupils in Birmingham schools to aim at university. The scheme seems very like the Widening Participation scheme which we used at BCU from 2000 to 2008 (when staff cuts put an end to it). Tutors took the Fasttrack of my course Breakthrough to Learning into secondary schools and Colleges of Further Education once a week to teach the academic language which is the basis of success in school. The new plan proposes something similar together with other activities such as summer schools, which we proposed but did not get funding for.

It is not clear from the article whether they are proposing to use my course for the new plan. I haven’t yet tracked down anyone to tell me.

Anyone know anything about this?

The Language of Learning

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Welcome to the website of Mary Mason, the author of Breakthrough to Learning. This is a linguistics – based course for secondary schools, which teaches the language needed for academic success. When used systematically in Wigan 1984-91, the program had the effect of doubling the percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSE’s grades A-C across the curriculum. (See Mason, Mason and Quayle 1992 under downloads.) Continue reading →