I don't know about you but Sundays almost seem lighter now that the working week has changed for teachers and students? In some ways, there's an undercurrent of nerves about the unknown, all the small things that will need tackling and the inevitable changes that might occur based on government policy but in another, there …
A year cut short but not cut off – for English trainees, NQTs and beyond!
As a Head of Department, I am wary that there are groups of different people to keep on track and support during this unusual time. Many of my department have children and are trying to home school them. I am sure that due to being teachers, they are taking this role very seriously and doing …
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Testing times in teaching
Recently, I have been reflecting on what has probably been my hardest year in teaching so far for a number of normal and then strange reasons. As everyone's has been, it has been cut dramatically short so in a sort of new-year, new-me style, I've written a bit of a reflective piece that may have …
Part of a whole: Why the attitude of your school matters most.
Becoming research-informed means different things to different people. Recently, I have heard a lot more about the difficulties and dangers of becoming more research-informed than many of the benefits. As is typical of pedagogical styles, methods and practices, once out in the open and seemingly popular, the core ideas and concepts can be lost. This …
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Lessons from ski school:
Ski instructors are brilliant at making their learners progress in an extremely complex and challenging area. Instructors love their jobs and who would blame them? I imagine that most become instructors because they love the mountains but many become excellent instructors because of the style and processes they adopt every single day. Ellmau, Austria - …
The Yellow Brick Road…
On September 6th 2015, I wrote a rather dramatically titled piece called 'Last Night ResearchEd saved my life'. In it I said "I might be late to the party and I don’t feel like a young teacher anymore (I’m about to start my 4th year qualified) but I think it was the right time for me to get …
#TLT16 Takeaways
This is a short post sharing many other posts. Thank you to everyone who attended this year's TLT and who offered up their time to speak and share their thoughts on today's world of education with so many. The day was a really special one with a shift in debate and discussion to one on …
The Imitation Game: Making better writers
Much like modelling metacognition, I have found encouraging students to imitate professionals and academics an interesting and helpful method in improving their own writing. It is easy for teachers in certain subjects to forget that many of our creative subjects use the art of imitation in their lessons every day. Imitation is, apparently, a form …
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Last night ‘ResearchEd’ changed my life
Bit of a bold statement I know and I am rather behind the times but I have a feeling that in the long-term the title of this blog may well have some value. ResearchEd2015 was better than I could have hoped. Due to exhaustion of the first week back and choosing life over teaching, I …
Tick Tock: Using my time effectively
'‘The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there." L.P Hartley’s epigram from his novel The Go-Between (1953) suggests that the past is an area separate from the present and future. However, the use of the present tense may be seen as an indication that the past and present can indeed merge.' The …