Learn more about what we do by looking at some of our current and recent productions. For more information on our work, email info@cornucop.co.uk or see our  full contact details.

Connecting Classrooms

A commission with the British Council to produce 3 documentaries about connecting classrooms and raising standards.

The programmes feature schools in the Veracruz state of Mexico and have been produced in Spanish for translation into Portugese and English.

The British Council is distributing the series in the UK and Latin America and the programmes are being broadcast on Teachers TV during 2009/10.

Find out more and view video 1 (opens in new window)

Find out more and view video 2 (opens in new window)

Find out more and view video 3 (opens in new window)

Post 16 - Making a Difference

After working with the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation to produce 4 programmes for Teachers TV, the MBF invited us to produce a new programme on post-16 peer mentoring.

This was filmed across three locations in the UK and features mentors and mentees in University, at an FE college and in a youth project. It explores common themes and issues in setting up and supporting a peer mentoring project and is being used by the MBF in its training programme and for wider dissemination.
 

     Find out more about the MBF by visiting their web site (opens in new window)

Learning to Cook

Charged with bringing cooking to Teachers TV we have developed an engaging pupil centred format to reveal the unique place of cooking and food technology in the curriculum and life of the school.

The range covered in the first four programmes includes inner city Community Schools, a new Academy and a rural Secondary school with its own farm.

Find out more and view video (opens in new window)

This continuing strand now includes a personality led format called 'Chef's Challenge' based on the Chef’s 'Adopt a School' scheme run by the Academy of Culinary Arts.

Find out more and view these new videos (opens in new window)
 

Peer Mentoring

A series of 4 programmes made as a co-production with Teachers TV and the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation.

The programmes explored relationships between mentors and mentees and peer mentoring schemes in schools across the UK. It required sensitive handling and skillful editing to achieve both an authentic and engaging end result.

The series was first broadcast in 2008.

Find out more and view video (opens in new window)

Scrapping the Timetable at Hook

A one-off programme produced for Teachers TV in their innovation slot.

This programme follows a day in the life of Hook Primary School in Yorkshire. The programme reveals a way of working with no fixed timetable and no doors to the classrooms.

Using fly on the wall techniques it explores the intimacy and team work that lies at the heart of this outstanding and innovative school.

Find out more and view video (opens in new window)
 

Showcase

A 24 part series of 30 minute, studio-based programmes presented by Andrew Burroughs and produced for Teachers TV.

The series is aimed at primary and secondary school teachers and showcases what’s on offer from the Channel 4 and BBC schools' output to support learning. Co-produced with Illumina Digital and first broadcast in 2006.

In this section of the site you can view our free video tips, find out more about our UGC projects, and download research papers and project application paperwork. You can also sign up for more free video tips and information about working with us. 

Action! Teacher Video

The Action! Teacher Video project was created by Cornucopia to allow teachers themselves to make videos for CPD and have them shown and debated on Teachers TV.

This ongoing series has become a flagship of user generated content on the channel and continues to promote a research based approach to improvement in schools.

Now in its third year and 5th series, over 50 programmes have been screened and dozens of teachers have contributed to the project including internationally.

We are now developing links to a Masters level qualification allied to video based action research.

Find out more and view video (opens in new window)

Early Reading - Teacher Video

In this project we follow two pupils age four and five in separate primary schools as they learn to read. The video is captured in the classroom by the teachers and they also record video diaries.

A key component was to upload the videos onto a secure area of our website, so that progress could be shared with the teachers, parents and pupils over the 12 week project.

The process was also recorded for two 30 minute
Teachers TV programmes and is both a linear and non-linear case study into Early Years education and reading.

Find out more and view video 1 (opens in new window)

Find out more and view video 2 (opens in new window)

Teaching Assistants

We invited Teaching Assistants to make short pieces to camera and record their work on video in a wide variety of contexts.

These were collected together for Teachers TV to be featured on their 'TA Hub' website.

The result is a presentation of thoughts, and glimpses into practice that reveals how the role of the TA brings with it both immense satisfaction and unique challenges.

Here you can download Research Papers and Case Studies of further interest:

Action Teacher Video Position Paper

This short paper provides an introduction to the Action! Teacher Video project. It contains the basic rationale and future direction of the project. The images show various contexts and ways in which the camera is employed in the classroom. One or two images show the wrap around Teachers TV programme including the studio based debates.

Download:
Action! Teacher Video Position Paper (PDF 68Kb)
ATV Images (PDF 424Kb)

Action! Teacher Video Case Studies

These are two short papers that describe the processes followed by two teachers when they made videos for the Action! Teacher Video series. The subjects in the video in Case Study 1 are two pupils in a secondary school where the teacher is focussing on Personalised Learning. Case Study 2 explores issues of Pupil Voice and Performance Management in a primary school where the teacher allows her pupils to record her practice on video.

Download:
ATV Case Study 1 (PDF 90Kb)
ATV Case Study 2 (PDF 46Kb)

Teacher Reflection on Video Action Research

This longer piece by the teacher featured in the first case study gives a deeper insight into the background to the Action Research carried out, the planning and the evaluation.

Download:
Reflection on Video Action Research (PDF 60Kb)

Action! Teacher Video Academic Review

This review by Dr Simon Sandberg was carried out in March and April 2008 as part of an on-going assessment of the Action! Teacher Video project. It positions the project within the larger debate about learner centred pedagogies, use of technology in education and continuing professional development. It then critiques the videos made up to that point and looks at various ways to strengthen the intellectual framework around the project.

Download:
Action! Teacher Video Academic Review (PDF 169Kb)
Academic Review References (PDF 11Kb)

Here you can download Action! Teacher Video application forms and guidance notes: