REVIEWS: What teachers, pupils and parents have to say about us.

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Dear Positively MAD,
Thank you for your contribution to our Training Day on Monday.  I very much enjoyed working with you and your team - you certainly live up to the "Positive" bit of your name and spread very good vibes!

 I have enclosed the evaluations that came back from the Heads of Faculty in the afternoon for your interest and have had many informal thanks from members of staff for providing a good training event that focussed on our work in the classroom.

Thanks again, and I hope to have an opportunity to work with you and your team again.

With best wishes for a good summer.

Yours sincerely

Deborah Harris
Training Manager
Banbury School
 

Dear Positively MAD

The day was throughly entertaining and extremely educational.  It gave the children and staff a very valuable insight into the power of various teaching and learning techniques.  The children were most impressed and their recall through memory techniques was truly impressive.  The input has enabled the school to begin to develop ways in which we can prepare our children for learning in the 21st Century.

Head Teacher
Silverdale Primary School
St Leonards on Sea
 

Dear Positively MAD,

Fun!      Inspiring!      Brilliant!      Fantastic!      Challenging!      Fascinating!

I cannot think of many days when I was at school to which I could have applied the above words, but last Tuesday at Our Lady School all of the above could have, or have been used to describe the "Positively MAD" session that we experienced.  I was very privileged to be an observer on this course, which was all about learning and "learning to learn".

During the morning with years 5 and 6 one inspired and talented trainer kept everyone amused, entertained, stimulated, challenged, engaged and on the edge of their seats.  Natalie Donohue taught the assembled group of children, teachers and assistants over 110 facts about a diverse range of subjects.  Had we attempted this task 30 or 40 years ago it would have involved a great deal of rote learning, chanting and recitation, without much fun or interest.

Instead of the more "pedestrian" methods we learned through a mixture of techniques including Mind Mapping and the creation of pictures in the collective mind.  Factual information on a range of topics was covered:

Over 20 facts about the postal service in Imperial China
Over 30 facts about the life and travels of Marco Polo
The correct order of the planers from the Sun
The 15 countries of the European Union (This was prior to the 1st May!)
Over 10 facts about the workings of the brain
The 3 main learning styles - visual, audio and kinesthetic
Counting from 1-10 in Japanese
By the end of the session 100% of the children across all abilities had 100% fo recall of over 110 facts.  They were able to answer correctly a vast number  of questions on the material covered in the correct order, backwards, and inside out.  Quite an achievement for a morning!

We also indulged in "Brain Gym" designed to tax the use of left and right sides of the brain, and "Penguin Racing" which also got the heart rate going.  I have subsequently used both of these on a professional training course and they were well received and will be practiced in many a workplace!

The learning methods used ranged from planning collective pictures in our minds, inventing and sharing stories with each other, speaking our learning to others, breaking up factual learning into manageable pieces, and playing to the strengths of our right and left hand brains.  To do all this we used a perfect combination of audio, visual and kinesthetic learning styles, which ensured that the information was accessible to all.

During these 3 hours I was inspired to use a totally new approach to my work as a professional management trainer.  I was convinced that by using the methods outlined above we could revolutionise the ease with which both children and adults learn and have put some of it into practice already.

The enthusiasm of the trainer was matched only by that of the children and staff to adopt new ways of learning.  I understand from my own children that in the 3 working days since the course took place many new, fun and inspirational methods have been used by the staff to help learning in the classroom.

I believe that the decision to buy in the services of "Positively MAD" was an inspired one and shows us all how dedicated our team of teachers and assistants are in improving the quality of the learning in our school.  Unlike many people, they clearly subscribe to the idea of "lifelong learning".

Congratulations and grateful thanks to all staff and pupils who made this event happen, and to "Positively MAD" for facilitating it.  I believe it was money truly well spent and I do hope that the staff and pupils of our school keep on being Positively MAD in all their learning!

Clare Roberts May 2005