Archive

The most interesting books I read this year

Dec 20, 2015 | Category: reading

For no particular reason other than that it's almost the years' end and making lists always seems appropriate as December draws to a close, and in no particular order, here are ten of the most interes...

Why I like 'tick n flick'

Dec 16, 2015 | Category: Featured

It is vain to do with more what can be done with less. William of Ockham Tick n flick - the practice of flicking through students' exercise books and ticking to indicate that they have been read (o...

#John Hattie #marking #workload #Greg Ashman

Outstanding is the enemy of good

Dec 13, 2015 | Category: Featured

Were it not sinful then, striving to mend, To mar the subject that before was well?Shakespeare In our efforts to be the best, are we eroding our ability to be good? Everyone tends to agree that high e...

#Pareto #Joe Kirby #Aristotle #Voltaire

Student voice: windmills of the mind

Dec 12, 2015 | Category: leadership

Pray look better, Sir … those things yonder are no giants, but windmills.Cervantes Does it matter if students like their teachers? Is it worth knowing if students don't maths or hate PE? Should stud...

#MET Project #Dr Fox efffect #Nick Rose #Student surveys

Rubrics warp teaching and assessment

Dec 11, 2015 | Category: writing

Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations.Machiavelli In a recent blog post, children's author, Michael Rosen has suggested how teachers should t...

#Greg Ashman #Michael Rosen #comparative judgement

Cargo cult teaching, cargo cult learning

Dec 10, 2015 | Category: English

…it is the peculiar and perpetual error of the human understanding to be more moved and excited by affirmatives than by negatives…Francis Bacon, Novum Organum, Aphorism, 1620 Cargo cults grew up on...

#modelling #Richard Feynman #cargo cults

One more thing I want from school leaders

Dec 09, 2015 | Category: leadership

The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything.Goethe A few weeks back I wrote this post laying out my wishlist for the 'perfect' school leader. Since then,...

#Dunning-Kruger #intelligence #Linda Gottfredson #Stuart Richie

When is it worth arguing about bad ideas?

Dec 07, 2015 | Category: Featured

Argue with idiots, and you become an idiot.Paul Graham Trying to identify and inoculate yourself against bad ideas is always worthwhile, but trying to set others strait is a thankless, task. And maybe...

#Tom Bennett #Jo Boaler #Paul Graham

Why I struggle with learning objectives and success criteria

Dec 06, 2015 | Category: learning

A strenuous soul hates cheap success.Ralph Waldo Emerson Broadly, I’m in favour of sharing with students the intention behind what they are being asked to do. Anything that adds clarity to the murky...

#Dylan Wiliam #Daisy Christodoulou

Is mimicry always a bad thing?

Dec 05, 2015 | Category: learning

Make not your thoughts your prisons.Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra Mimicry is the conscious or unconscious copying of experts in order. To understand the potential dangers of mimicry, it helps to...

#semi colons