Why we should strive for perfection
This article was first published, in a slightly different form, on the Guardian Teacher Network TEACHERS ASSEMBLEhttp://venspired.com/?page_id=2127 Is there such a thing as the perfect lesson or the perfect teacher? Well, no, probably not. At least, not that I'm aware of. There is no magic bullet that can turn us into amazing teachers overnight; being outstanding is not, I think, a matter of charismatic delivery. It's about hard [...]
Slow Learning – allowing students to achieve mastery
Of all the sessions I attended at The Festival of Education on Saturday the one I was most looking forward to (and most disappointed by) was entitled Slow Education: making time for deeper learning. Disappointed because I had high hopes and because...well, the presenters didn't really say anything interesting or useful. They rehashed Maurice Holt's manifesto on The Nature and Purpose of Education (even to the point of using the same slow [...]
The best laid schemes of work & learning
The best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft agley. Robert Burns Ah, the scheme of work. We've all got 'em. but what are they for? To spell out the structure of each lesson in advance? Or to act as a guide through the objectives to be covered during a term? Are they a crutch, a straitjacket, a sign post, or a waste of everyone's time? Consider this analogy. [...]
The need for 'Why To' guides
I'm not a fan of telling people how to do things. OK, that may not strictly speaking be true, but I do believe that just explaining how to solve a problem is unlikely to result in much learning. The best way is to learn is to think about why a problem should be solved. As teachers we often bemoan the fact that we're not treated with respect as a profession. [...]
Is SOLO a waste of time?
Stop blaming your lack of experimentation, risk and innovation on your lack of time. Hywel Roberts - Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidentally It was pointed out to me recently that I can afford to expend my energies on such fripperies as the SOLO taxonomy and group work because I teach a subject which is rich in curriculum time. If, the logic goes, you only have 1 or 2 hours per [...]
Teaching creatively vs teaching creativity
What is creativity? Can it be taught? Can it be aped or emulated? Or is copying something that someone else is doing, by its very nature, a lack of creativity? Oft quoted creativity guru Sir Ken Robinson calls creativity 'the process of having original ideas that have value'. Creativity "comes about through the interaction of different disciplinary ways of seeing things". Maybe. Creativity is also defined as the ability to [...]
Slow Writing: how slowing down can improve your writing
NB - my latest thinking on Slow Writing can be found here. Exam season is nearly upon us and English departments across the land will be gearing up to the Herculean labour of training students to churn out essays which, they hope, will earn them the much coveted A*-C grade in English Language. The AQA paper gives candidates just a meagre hour to write a short descriptive, explanatory piece and [...]
The evils of Powerpoint
For some time now I've found myself becoming increasingly convinced of the evils of PowerPoint. What's that you say? It's just a tool? Isn't there some old cliché about bad workmen blaming their tools? Fair point, and perhaps you're right. There's no doubt that the advent of data projectors in classrooms has resulted in teachers being able to do things unimaginable in the days of the OHP. Maybe teachers moaning about [...]
Building resilience: Sir, I'm stuck
Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. I have this quote from Samuel Becket's play Worstwood Ho! up in my classroom and regularly refer to it. It's there as much for me as my students and there's been plenty of times when (after another cunningly wrought lesson has nose dived into a flaming ball of shame) I've been grateful for the sentiment. Never mind, I tell myself, it'll be better [...]
Deliberating about practice
Should learning be fun? A few years ago I remember saying that was all learning should be. If you weren't enjoying it, why on earth would you do it? But now I'm not so sure. One of the most frequently used (and abused) buzz words in education over recent years is 'engagement'. Now, I'm not suggesting that students shouldn't be engaged in their lessons but I would urge you to [...]
How not to improve a school
Everyone agrees that 'lasting and sustaining improvement in student outcomes' is a good thing and there's little doubt that we should also seek to narrow the gap in achievement between different groups of students. Nuff said. But how should we go about it? Ben Levin, writer of How To Improve 5,000 Schools is pretty clear on what we shouldn't do. We should avoid the following assumptions: a single change can [...]
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