Archive

What's the point of classroom displays?

Jul 21, 2013 | Category: learning

Having broken up for the summer and feeling warm and expansive, I foolishly asked Twitter what it would like me to write about next. Michael Oxenham came back, quick as a flash with "classroom display...

#Ron Berger #Alex Quigley #desirable difficulties #classroom display

Hats, schmats: what really matters is the quality of debate

Sep 21, 2013 | Category: blogging

I feel the need to make a few things clear. A few days ago I wrote this: Six Silly Hats (When is it OK to mock stuff you think is daft?) and some of the response I got suggested that I was confused on...

#John Hattie #Harry Webb #Edward de Bono #Thinking Hats #Debra Kidd

Six silly hats (When is it OK to mock stuff you think is daft?)

Sep 19, 2013 | Category: myths

Who doesn't love wearing silly hats? Christmas dinner just wouldn't be the same without popping on a paper hat and looking like a complete buffoon for the duration. But does this kind of behaviour hav...

#Harry Webb #David Walliams #Edward de Bono #Monty Python #Thinking Hats

A model lesson? Part 2: Marathon vs sprint

Sep 14, 2013 | Category: behaviour

Last week I questioned the concept of outstanding lessons full of gimmicks that look great but ultimately may not result in much actual progress being made. Instead, I argued, embedding classroom rout...

#marking #routines #planning #Vivo miles

A model lesson? Part 1: routines vs gimmicks

Sep 08, 2013 | Category: leadership

It's been a busy week this week. What with starting at a new school, getting up before 5 to drive two hours on Monday morning, living an Alan Partridge-esque existence in a particularly horrific Trave...

#Dylan Wiliam #questioning #Pose Pause Pounce Bounce #Kris Boulton #Doug Lemov #bell work #routines

AfL: cargo cult teaching?

Aug 31, 2013 | Category: assessment

OK, so here's a quick summary of the story so far: A few days ago I suggested in a blog post that maybe AfL 'wasn't all that'. Lots of lovely people kindly got in touch to point out that I clearly had...

#AfL #Dylan Wiliam #feedback #Gordon Baillie

Motivation: when the going gets tough, the tough get going

Aug 26, 2013 | Category: learning

If ever you get embroiled in a discussion on Learning Styles you may well be confronted with the chestnut of motivation.Learning styles, it seems to me, are all about motivation and management, and no...

#motivation #Dylan Wiliam #Daniel Willingham #Graham Nuthall #memory

The problem with fun

Aug 22, 2013 | Category: learning

Getting students engaged so that they can be taught something seems much less effective than getting them engaged by teaching them something that engages them.Dylan Wiliam Could fun be the enemy of le...

#John Hattie #Daniel Willingham #fun #memory

InformED Interview: We can only guarantee success if we have low expectations

Aug 06, 2013 | Category: blogging

Currently I'm sunning myself in Corsica, but just in case your suffering withdrawals from my regular posts here's an interview with yours truly by Marrianne Stringer from InformEd where I bang on abou...

A guide to The Learning Spy

Jul 22, 2013 | Category: blogging

The summer holidays are here and tomorrow I'm foolishly attempting to drive to Corsica in a 1979 Campervan. That being the case, there will be no time for writing. So, to satisfy your desire for top q...