Are you an enthusiastic lurker?
How would you like to spend 2 hours sharing great ideas with colleagues while being in with a chance of winning goodies just for being there?
I recently attended #TeachMeet Torquay, as an enthusiastic lurker of course. Hats off to the staff at hosts @TorquayAcademy, who had learned about an hour before that the big O would be visiting the next day!
Across the country teachers are taking control of their professional development by organising and attending TeachMeets. The format varies slightly from event to event but the idea is that teachers sign up to give a short presentation on an aspect of their practice to an audience of other speakers and enthusiastic lurkers. Often there is also a well-known keynote speaker, such as @SueRoffey (speaking at #TMEggars on the 6th of July). At the Torquay Teachmeet @PaulGarvey4 talked about lead learners, and the presentation was enhanced by the fact that he had worked on that issue with the event leader, @MrsSmithTA in the school.
What is really inspiring is that the presenters are on the whole classroom practitioners talking about practice that really happens in their real classroom, day after day.
A TeachMeet event runs on a combination of goodwill and sponsorship. The sponsors supply prizes (one lucky lurker walked away with a brand new Kindle fire) and/or refreshments. I can report that the refreshments were excellent, sweets on the table and great quality sandwiches at the break. Sponsors at the Torquay event included @Showmyhomework and @BlueSkyMatters. We were also handed a goody bag on the way in, with a combination of stationery, useful teaching materials and promotional literature from sponsors.
Teachmeets tend to have a focus – for this event it was stretching the most able. The presenters were amazing! I only wish I had had the courage to speak to some of them. They are all well worth a follow on twitter too – @KDWScience @senoraelliott @Jungle_jaz @Mr_Bez @jane_richardson @MrHistoire Ben Lovick, Mark Gale, Nikki Radford, Rob Beswetherwick as well as Paul and Denise. (I hope I haven’t missed anyone who is on twitter, please let me know if I have!). It was all particularly interesting to me as a primary teacher sneaking into a secondary event.
So, if you think you might be an enthusiastic lurker, or even a presenter, why not go along to your next local TeachMeet and see what’s on offer?
Want to know more?
You can find #Teachmeets on twitter (search #TeachMeet) or at the Teachmeet site.
Sam is a primary school teacher and founder of schoolwell.co.uk. You can find her ontwitter or staffrm or send her an email.
Image courtesy of @KDWScience