Archive

Should everyone follow the rules?

Sep 08, 2016 | Category: behaviour

I've never liked being told what to do. I'm not a great team player and I struggle with authority. I've always chafed at constraints and, as I get older, I've become increasingly aware that what I use...

#behaviour #no excuses #punishment #rules

What's the big deal about school uniform?

Sep 07, 2016 | Category: behaviour

Is there any evidence that school uniform affects learning? In a word, no. Or, rather I should say, I'm not aware of any beyond weak testimonials offered by uniform manufactures and the personal anecd...

#parents #punishment #school uniform

Fun is being "killed off"! Really?

Sep 06, 2016 | Category: Featured

Every now and then, children's author Michael Rosen writes a snarky open letter to whomever happens to be education secretary of the day castigating them for his bugbear du jour. His latest offering m...

#Michael Rosen #Justine Greening #tests

Are teachers cursed with knowledge?

Sep 05, 2016 | Category: Featured

The Curse of Knowledge: when we are given knowledge, it is impossible to imagine what it's like to lack that knowledge. Chip Heath, Made to Stick How much do teachers need to know? In my last post I...

#inverted U hypothesis #Carl Weiman #Greg Ashman #curse of knowledge

What Dr Fox teaches us about the importance of subject knowledge

Sep 04, 2016 | Category: psychology

In 1970, psychologists and psychiatrists were invited to a lecture on "Mathematical Game Theory as Applied to Physician Education." The lecture, supposedly given by Dr Myron L. Fox, a graduate of the...

#Deborah Merritt #Dr Fox effect #educational seduction #Rob Coe #Strauss #Ziv and Stein

5 things every new (secondary) teacher should know about writing

Sep 01, 2016 | Category: training

Academic success is dependent on students being able to communicate their understanding of a subject and, sooner or later, that communication will be written. For many secondary teachers writing is so...

#writing

Some questions for the College of Teaching

Aug 30, 2016 | Category: Featured

So, plans for the College of Teachers are gathering pace. It increasingly looks like it's going to be a thing, whether teachers want it or not. I'm not against a College per se, but I do have some que...

#College of Teaching #Alison Peacock

5 things every new (secondary) teacher should know about reading

Aug 31, 2016 | Category: training

Reading's a funny old business. Generally, secondary school teachers expect kids to come with a pre-loaded reading module. If they have it, all well and good. If they don't, we're stuffed. Luckily, t...

#Reading

The Capital Letter Problem Part 2: Pressure and release

Aug 27, 2016 | Category: writing

In my last post I defined what I'm calling The Capital Letter Problem and set out some of its causes. Briefly, children pick up and embed bad habits when writing and, although they often know what sho...

#proofreading #Linda Parelli

The Capital Letter Problem - Part 1

Aug 26, 2016 | Category: writing

I have almost never met a secondary age child who doesn't conceptually understand how to use a capital letter.* But, you'd never know. Students regularly hand in work liberally sprinkled with missing...

#writing #working memory #capital letters