Archive

What to know: the importance of cultural capital

Apr 04, 2012 | Category: reading

Let's face it, we need to know to stuff if we're going to have anything resembling a successful life. But what is it we need to know? As an English teacher I have a fair bit of fairly arcane knowledge...

#knowledge #Daisy Christodolou #Reading #cultural capital #Janet Street Porter #Shakespeare

Are worksheets a waste of time?

Apr 04, 2012 | Category: learning

Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off?Philip Larkin - Toads Many people (and many students) seem to expend considerable energy in a...

#work #worksheets

Say what? Reflecting on spoken language

Apr 03, 2012 | Category: English

[caption id="attachment_1174" align="alignleft" width="250"] The plus side to turning 40 http://xkcd.com/166/[/caption]Over the past few weeks I've been getting my Year 11s to analyse their idiolect f...

#David Crystal #Daily Mail #Emma Thompson #idiolect #slang

Myths: what Ofsted want

Mar 17, 2012 | Category: English

With galling hypocrisy and seemingly no sense of irony, Ofsted have released their latest subject report for English snappily titled, Moving English Forward. The report is a step by step guide on how...

#Ofsted #lesson observations #Gove

When independent learning meets high stakes success

Mar 10, 2012 | Category: assessment

I've been thinking: our Year 11 students have just had their results back for the January sitting of the English Language GCSE exam. Currently English is a modular course, and this accounts for 40% of...

#Gove #Seth Godin

High Performers

Mar 04, 2012 | Category: leadership

The postman delivered High Performers - The Secrets of Successful Schools by Alistair Smith this week. For anyone who's not read it, the book contains bucket loads of wisdom and tons of practical advi...

#leadership #Alistair Smith #middle leaders #teachers

How should we teach reading?

Feb 29, 2012 | Category: English

A few months ago I posted a piece in which Roy Blatchford (founder of The National Education Trust) outlined his manifesto for ensuring that every child gets at least a C grade in English. But, readin...

#Daniel Willingham #EB Hirsch #Reading #reading strategies

Are teacher observations a waste of time?

Feb 24, 2012 | Category: assessment

"I never allow teachers or school leaders to visit classrooms to observe teachers; I allow them to observe only students".John Hattie (2012)I've been mulling this statement over for the past few weeks...

#lesson observations #Hattie

Learning objectives and why we need 'em

Feb 18, 2012 | Category: learning

I remember the first time I saw a learning objective being used in a lesson. My school had just been placed into Special Measures and things were looking grim. I'd only joined the school a few months...

#Dylan Wiliam #learning objectives #James Michie #Paul Dix #success crieria

The 'practice' of teaching

Jan 16, 2012 | Category: learning

Fewer (activities); Deeper (learning); Better (student outcomes). John Tomsett, Headteacher This is not a blog post proper, just some notes on Hattie's introduction to Visible Learning for Teachers. H...

#Dylan Wiliam #John Hattie #learning styles #Visible Learning for Teachers