A Classical Association Teaching Board INSET day for teachers of Ancient History on 19th November, 2016 at Queen Mary's College, Basingstoke
Queen Mary's College Basingstoke is one of the largest open-access centres teaching Ancient History A Level in the country with three or four classes at AS and two or three at A2, depending on numbers each year. Four members of staff currently teach the specifications there. One of them is Tom Pearson, who was instrumental in the successful campaign to maintain Ancient History as an A Level subject in 2007.
QMC was the venue for the second Classical Association Teaching Board INSET day for teachers of Ancient History (the 2015 event was held at the University of Leeds). Our subject was ‘Roman History at the Crossroads’, and we aimed to reflect on the opportunities and challenges in teaching the subject as the new specifications come on line for first teaching in 2017 and first assessment in 2019.
Our meeting opened with a keynote lecture from Dr Ed Bispham (Brasenose College, Oxford), entitled W(h)ither Roman History Teaching? From Secondary to Tertiary Contexts. Dr Bispham emphasised how the collective aim of Ancient History teachers at every level is to help our subject to ‘escape from the page’; we are concerned with ensuring that our students come away with an understanding of the ancient world but also getting a sense of how it is relevant to the world in which we live. Dr Bispham stressed the value of in-depth engagement with ancient texts as an alternative to the rather fragmented approach that historians sometimes take towards the ancient sources.
Delegates then chose from 5 workshops on subjects relevant to the study of Roman History. Alex Orgee (one of the OCR Classics subject specialists) talked insightfully about the new GSCE, AS and A Level Ancient History specifications, explaining their background and development. Dr Penny Goodman (University of Leeds) hosted a workshop entitled Bridging the gap: Roman political history from school to university in which she talked about the challenges that students face as they undertake the transition from school to university and the expectations that university lecturers have of them. She described the ‘Flying Start’ programme used by the University of Leeds, which aims to help students settle into their new lives. She made it clear that the key to training the next generation of ancient historians is co-operation and communication between schools and universities. A fuller article on this topic can be found in this edition of JCT.
The other three workshops looked closely at the sources: Melvin Cooley (Warwick School, and editor of the Flavian LACTOR) gave a presentation on some new interpretations and new discoveries which cast light on the Flavian period. He showed that one of the beauties of Ancient History is that, far from being dead, it is a subject in which the continuing rediscovery of new material can alter our view of familiar topics. Amongst his examples was a new diploma which shows that Norbanus, the praetorian prefect at the time of Domitian's assassination, and possibly in on the plot, was in fact Flavius Norbanus, and thus presumably a member of the Flavian clan. Nina Wallace (QMC Basingstoke) gave a talk with the title Approaches to teaching Rome A2: Ruling the Roman Empire; she discussed thematic approaches to the new linear A Level and resources and teaching ideas on Roman authors and material evidence. David Hodgkinson (St Helen and St Katharine, Abingdon) used Augustus and the poets as a starting point to talk through some of the issues in teaching Ancient History at A Level. He argued for the importance of establishing a clear ‘factual’ and ‘narrative’ basis from which to move to evaluation and analysis of the sources.
Two plenary sessions followed: Dr Matthew Nicholls (Reading University) spoke on his extremely exciting digital model of ancient Rome, its development, and some of the teaching uses to which it has been put. It will feature in a free online course (MOOC) now launched, can generate visual material including classroom posters, and can be used in different sorts of viewing software to give users the ability to explore bits of the ancient city for themselves. As well as these uses for his own model, Matthew is interested in using 3D digital modelling as a teaching tool. At Reading he teaches a third year undergraduate course which teaches students to make their own 3D work, and the (free) software used for this would also lend itself well to classroom projects. Matthew has run public workshops for beginners in 3D modelling for education in the past, and would be glad to see others take up these exciting digital tools.
The Southern Campus Martius © Mathew Nicholls
The final session assessed the state of play as regards resources. Alice Wright (Bloomsbury Publishing) offered an update on progress with Ancient History textbooks for OCR. Scheduled for publication in July, Bloomsbury plans four books on the Ancient History specifications (two GCSE and two AS/A Level, each covering four components). Greek and Roman books at each stage contain the Period Study and all three optional Depth Studies. They are to be illustrated with images and maps and will contain exam guidance and practice questions. Sources will not be quoted in full, but at GCSE there will be an online booklet provided by OCR. A companion website from Bloomsbury will provide supplementary resources and can be updated at intervals based on feedback from teachers using the books. For those teaching Classical Civilisation, a similar programme of publications is planned, covering all components on offer by OCR for GCSE and AS/A Level. Finally, Dr Federico Santangelo (University of Newcastle) and Melvin Cooley talked about future publications in the LACTOR series and in particular work on the Late Republican volume.
Overall, we came away with the sense of the value both in maintaining the existence of connections between technologists, publishers, classicists and ancient historians, but also in ensuring that teachers in the university and schools sectors remain in dialogue with one another. We pursue the common goal and privilege of empowering future generations with knowledge and understanding about the Greek and Roman world, and as we do so it is vital that we discuss and understand the intersections of and contradictions between our perspectives, principles and expectations.
Contributors very kindly shared their resources, and the CATB is happy to disseminate them on request. The CATB aims to offer support for the teaching of classical and ancient historical subjects at every level through the production of resources and the organisation of INSET days. We are planning INSET days for the new Classical Civilisation specifications to take place in 2017 and another Ancient History event in November 2017. We are always looking for volunteers and helpers. If you are interested, please contact the Chair of the Board, Peter Liddel.
As an ex-Classics teacher, and fresh from my time overseeing the OCR Classics qualifications, I'm very excited to be heading up the team at CSCP. I'm even more pleased to be able to announce the launch of our new website at http://www.cambridgescp.com.
The majority of the content from the previous website has been ported across and updated. We've tried to rationalise the content and make it as user-friendly as possible. All the online activities and cultural background weblinks for each stage of the Cambridge Latin Course are gathered on its stage page, and the methodology and pedagogy behind the course and other support resources are gathered under Teacher Support.
The Webbooks are gathered on the Online Textbooks pages, and at the moment are still available on free trial. However, from September these will become a paid-for resource as was always intended. We will be communicating the prices and logistics of continuing access to these in the near future, so do keep an eye on the website.
There is also a temporary work-around to ensure that the E-Learning resource DVDs continue to work for licensed subscribers. We hope to have a permanent fix in place very soon, after which they should work as before.
There are still areas of the site under construction. Please bear with us. We hope to have these completed by the end of the month and apologise for any inconvenience this causes. Do please let us know if you find any errors in the new site by emailing webmaster@cambridgescp.com.
Finally, I would like to give my sincere thanks to all those who have been so supportive and patient in recent months. I know the whole team appreciate the goodwill of the Classics community and are looking forward to continuing our support of Classical subjects in UK schools.
Course for primary teachers January 16-20, 2017, Latin Summer School, University of Sydney.
This five-day course was approved by BOSTES (now NESA) for teacher accreditation. It was taught by Jane Maguire, a member of the Primary Latin Project, UK, who has trained large numbers of primary teachers using the acclaimed course MInimus, by Barbara Bell (CUP 1999; 25th printing 2015). Jane, whose professional background is in modern language teaching, was assisted by Emily Matters, an Australian classics teacher, in teaching the structures of Latin.
The aim of the course was to prepare primary teachers to incorporate the teaching of elementary Latin as a vehicle for improving children's English vocabulary and their awareness of language structures and basic grammatical terms. The Minimus course also encourages cultural enrichment, through the exploration of Roman life, an introduction to archaeology, and the inclusion of famous Greek myths. No prior knowledge of Latin was required.
This course was attended by seven teachers, all women. Three were from state schools, three from independent schools, and one was a pre-service teacher in her final year of an education degree. Two of the teachers were from regional NSW schools, the others from Sydney. Two had never studied Latin before, while the others had some high school Latin which they remembered to varying degrees.
During the week of the course, the content of Minimus-Starting Out in Latin was covered, and participants were introduced to a range of support materials available, such as the Teacher's Book, Minimus in Practice, the Minimus CD, the Minimus website (www.minimus.com) and a number of other electronic and print resources. On the last day, the class engaged in a Skype session with the author of the course, Barbara Bell, and asked questions and made suggestions about modifications that would make the course more user-friendly in Australia. The class was then joined by Susanna Matters, a teacher who had been using Minimus in a Sydney primary school for four years, who spoke of her experiences and suggested ways of introducing the course in a school. A brief introduction to Minimus Secundus, a follow-on course book, concluded the week.
These have been the main projects in recent months:-
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1. The publication of Minimusculus (‘Very Little Mouse’). This introduction to Vindolanda and the Minimus family was published just in time for Christmas. It is mostly in English but teaches children Latin numbers and greetings. It is aimed at children aged 3-6 and is proving popular with home-schooling groups, younger siblings of those already studying Minimus and with years 1 and 2 in schools where Minimus is established. In the UK it costs £5 (including p&p) and also includes a separate sheet of notes and Latin songs.
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2. The Pupils’ Workbook, published 2015, is proving to be a hit with teachers and pupils alike. It is lovely to hear that pupils ask for the Workbook in lessons. Of course Helen Forte's beautiful drawings make grammar fun!
*N.B. these two publications are only available from our business Minimus et Cetera. We can send both items abroad and you can pay in your own currency using Paypal. Please contact Nick Bell at bmbellmini@aol.com for further details.
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3. Thanks to generous sponsorship from Classics for All we are expanding our group of official Minimus trainers. After April 22nd, this will consist of 20 experienced teachers who have been through the official training programme. It includes representatives from Scotland and Wales and soon we hope from Ireland. If your school is embarking on Minimus, either as a timetabled lesson or as a club, we can provide training for your staff at a time and location to suit you. Please get in touch!
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4. Jane Maguire (Norfolk) has recently trained a group of Australian teachers at a summer school in Sydney (see previous notice). It was lovely to ‘meet’ the group using Skype and to answer their queries about Minimus for nearly an hour.
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5. Jayne Treasure (Wales) has given two talks recently at conferences in Wales and reports increasing interest in Minimus in both North and South Wales.
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6. Jayne is now the Deputy Director of the Primary Latin Project. She is shadowing me until the Autumn and will take over from me as Director after our November meeting.
For further information about any of the Project's activities please contact me at bmbellmini@aol.com or 0117 9531819.
Thank you for your interest and support.
On Tuesday 7th February we ran our biggest ever event: the Festival of Ancient and Modern Science.
This event was a celebration of ancient and modern science, and the many rich connections between the two. Areas of the school were themed on different areas of scientific understanding, with a very wide range of organisations offering activities, stalls and events which explore ancient and modern connections.
38 different organisations were invited to attend and run stalls and activities exploring early and modern science. These included organisations such as the Oxford Department of Genetics who were exploring the development of embryos, and referenced Aristotle in their activities. They brought, amongst other things, a 3D printer which printed hearts! The Oxford Department of Oncology explored attitudes towards cancer through the ages, and Science Oxford put on a Medical Marvels workshop where visitors were able to choose how to treat casualties from a range of ancient and modern treatments. Birmingham University put on an astonishing Antikythera Mechanism exhibition, complete with models created by Dave Goodchild. The Department of Physics explored theories about the universe. There was also an outdoor bird demonstration with the Edwards Grey Institute of Ornithology, and stargazing with Professor Allan Chapman.
Year 9 Classical Civilisation Students from Cheney School, where the event was hosted, created a walk-through Pompeii exhibition, complete with an erupting volcano stall at the end, run by the Department of Earth Sciences! Year 8 Beginners Latin students created activities and displays themed on the Presocratic Philosophers.
Iris Festival of Ancient and Modern Science
Alongside the activities, workshops and performances, the Festival was opened by Professor Robert Winston, followed by fascinating talks by Dr Kyle Grant, Dr Ben Kane on Archimedes and Ancient Weaponry, Professor Helen King on Hippocrates and Medicine, and finally Professor Anthony Grayling on the science of the Presocratic Philosophers.
About 600 visitors came through the doors to enjoy the talks, activities, stalls and exhibitions, and 19 school groups attended – a mixture of primary and secondary ages.
We are very grateful indeed for the support of Cheney School, Oxford University, and many other Higher Education Institutions, such as Brookes University and Birmingham University, for bringing exciting stalls and exhibitions.
The Cymru Wales Classics Hub was founded in 2015 to support and promote the teaching and learning of Classical subjects in Wales. The hub is led by Swansea University in collaboration with schools and councils in Wales, Classics for All, and the Classical Association.
Our focus for the moment is double: first, we are helping those schools already offering Classics to continue their provision (which in many schools is under threat), for example through communication with head teachers or support from Swansea University; secondly, through events, we are working on increasing access to Classics in schools that do not currently offer Classical subjects.
January 2017 was a particularly busy month for us. We organised our first teacher training weekend in the beautiful grounds of Gregynog Hall in mid Wales, with 13 non-Classics teachers in attendance. Our weekend provided them with basic information concerning Classics pedagogy, resources, funding, and support available. All participants were provided with a mentor at the end of the weekend who will support them in their development of Classics in their school. We also provided a one-day workshop for the Modern Foreign Language PGCE students at Trinity Saint David on a similar topic. Both groups of participants were very excited about the possibilities, and particularly about the fact that Classics is more accessible than they first feared. And so we are looking forward to Classical subjects being introduced in more schools, particularly in a cluster in north Wales.
In collaboration with Classics for All, we continue to advise the Welsh Government on the practical ways in which access to Classics can be increased in the new Welsh curriculum (to be rolled out around 2018), particularly in the Languages and Humanities strands. We will continue to work with government officials, for example in addressing pioneer schools and creating Welsh-medium resources.
The next event on our agenda is our annual conference on the 4th February, at which we also welcome teachers from outside Wales. We plan to provide an action-packed, practical day on Classical languages and cultures, at which mentees and mentors, and current and prospective Classics teachers, can meet in an inclusive environment.
Some of the delegates at the teacher training event at Gregynog Hall
Gregynog Hall
We have organised a schools’ competition open to all primary, secondary schools and sixth form colleges in Wales, with a deadline of the 30th June 2017, on the topic of ‘the environment in antiquity’. Future events will include our annual INSET day, further teacher training and PGCE student events, a working group on Welsh-medium provision, and the development of further hubs throughout Wales.
Our website: www.cymruwalesclassicshub.weebly.com If you are interested in any of our events or would like to find out more, please contact Dr Evelien Bracke (e.bracke@swansea.ac.uk) or Dr Catherine Rozier (catherine.rozier@swansea.ac.uk).
With the valuable support from Classical Association, four Harris Academies were gathered (Chafford Hundred, Rainham, Bromley (via Skype) and East Dulwich Girls) on the 8th of February for this incredible and special Latin event. The students embraced happily this opportunity and the experience proved to be something rewarding and fulfilling. By the end of the competition, students were very proud of their performance. The participation of the four Academies enhanced further students’ motivation to win the first prize and take ownership of their efforts through this educational event. The parents and principal who also attended the event fully supported this initiative and they were pleased to experience such enthusiasm from the students. Concluding, I would like to mention that students by the end of the competition came to realise that Latin can provide ample opportunities and support their curriculum studies, but also they are now more encouraged to learn more about it as they experienced at first-hand the great interest for Latin and Classics by students from other Harris Academies.
1 GCSE Resources
To tie in with the first session of the Eduqas Latin GCSE in May 2018 an extensive and stimulating range of support materials has been developed by the Cambridge School Classics Project. They can be accessed at: www.cambridgescp.com
WJEC is, as with the Level 1 and Level 2 Certificates, extremely grateful for the continuing support and encouragement given by CSCP.
Teachers are also encouraged to read the Guidance for Teachers document (accessible via the Latin page of the Eduqas website) and the Examiners Reports for the Certificates which highlight common errors in all the areas of Latin assessment.
2 GCSE CPD
In January we ran three very successful CPD sessions. In Birmingham the day was rated 5 out of 5 by every attendee! The resources from those meetings can be accessed by teachers on the WJEC secure website (wjecservices.co.uk).
In the feedback it seemed clear that the next round should focus on teaching ideas and techniques, especially for the prescribed literature and Roman Civilisation components. We shall look into providing such sessions early in the Autumn term.
Our Principal Examiners are not allowed by the DfE regulations to lead such sessions as they have now produced the 2018 papers. If you would like to run such a session (and be paid for it!), I would be delighted to hear from you.
3 Level 1 and Level 2 Certificates
This is a final reminder that summer 2017 sees the last sitting of the Literature Certificates. The Language Certificates (with or without the Roman Civilisation option) will continue in their present form into 2018 and future years. We hear of a number of teachers who intend to use one or other of the certificates in place of school exams in Years 9 and/or 10, as a build-up to the GCSE in Year 11.
In 2018-2020 the topics to be examined for Roman Civilisation are Topic 3 (The Roman Army) and Topic 4 (Entertainment and Leisure).
4 Dates
For those who like to plan ahead the examination dates for the Certificates in 2018 are the 4th and 7th June. The three dates for the GCSE exams in 2018 are all in the period 14th to 21st May.
5 Examiners
We anticipate that the introduction of the GCSE will lead to the need for some additional examiners. Such an experience of the assessment process clearly helps with teaching. Eduqas marking will not be online and there will be a standardisation meeting in Cardiff where everyone has a say in the final version of the mark scheme.
If you are interested, please either email me if you have specific questions (alan.clague@eduqas.co.uk) or go straight to the Appointees tab on the Eduqas Latin homepage and scroll down to the application form. You need to have a minimum of two years teaching experience.
I am often asked by teachers about the background and experience of the Principal Examiners who set the papers, guide the marking and help to determine the grade boundaries. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to have a more experienced team than:
Component 1: Ashley Carter
Component 2: John Waller
Component 3A: Jo Lashly
Component 3B: Bar Roden
Chair of Examiners: Julie Wilkinson
I hope that teachers who opt for the Eduqas GCSE feel that they are in safe hands.
11 books will be available from Bloomsbury to support the new Classical Civilisation and Ancient History OCR specifications for first teaching in September 2017. All, undergoing endorsement by the exam board, will be available in July 2017.
Sample cover of the new GCSE Classical Civilisation Book ‘Women in the Ancient World’
The suite of books comprises two books for Classical Civilisation GCSE (each containing the three Literature and Culture options preceded by one Thematic Study, either ‘Myth and Religion’ or ‘Women in the Ancient World’), two books for Ancient History GCSE (one on Greece & Persia and one on Rome, each with a Period Study plus its three respective Depth Studies), five books for Classical Civilisation AS and A Level (one book covering the World of the Hero, with a pair of books for each of the other Component Groups: Imperial Image and Greek Theatre; Invention of the Barbarian and Greek Art; Greek Religion and Democracy & the Athenians; Love & Relationships and Politics of the Late Republic) and two books for Ancient History (one on Greece and one on Rome, each containing a Period Study plus its three respective Depth Studies).
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If you have events which you would like to tell people about, send details to The Editor, Steven Hunt, on sch43@cam.ac.uk. Events can be publicised here and through the JCT Facebook page.
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