To set or not to set?
I feel genuinely torn about this. On the one hand I am aware that there really isn't any solid research evidence that setting (or streaming) has much effect on students' attainment and some evidence which seems to suggest it might be actually detrimental. On the other I want my student to have the best possible chance of success in their GCSE exam in January and some sort of setting appears [...]
Does creativity need rules?
Grammar for toast? Last week's #ukedchat was titled, How can we build children’s imaginations so that they have more to choose from for their writing? and focussed on the dark art of creativity. My contribution to the discussion was to suggest that without clear knowledge of the forms and 'rules' of writing, creativity is inevitably stifled. Ideas become a kitchen-sink soup with everything chucked into the pot with [...]
Awards season
Being as I'm still very new to this blogging game (was it only July I made my first post?) I had no idea there were awards for it, let alone awards for educational blogging. Who knew? Well, apparently lots of people knew: the Edublogs Awards have been going on since 2004. I've only been alerted to this thanks to Kristian Stills generous nomination of the The Learning Spy. Which is [...]
Is grammar glamorous?
Well, no it's not is it. Grammar's that dull stuff what kids got taught in the 60s. And then enlightened educationalists decided it was unfashionable for children to know how to parse sentences and wotnot. Which leaves me part of a lost generation who trundled through our schooling without learning a blessed thing about this arcane and mysterious subject. And that neatly segues into the fact that I've recently been [...]
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What's deep learning & how do you do it?
So, deep learning. What's all that about then? I've just been dipping into Evidence Based Teaching by Geoff Petty and then cross referencing his advice with Why Don't Students Like School? by Daniel Willingham. How sad is that? Fairly sad for a Tuesday evening when I've got a cold and my wife's already gone to bed. Sad, but I think necessary. You see, I've come a long way in past [...]
But is it art? The art of teaching
No. 5 - Jackson Pollock I'm a big fan of art. I wouldn't claim to know a lot about it, but it speaks to me. Whether it's standing, enraptured in front of The Ambassadors, climbing Louise Bourgeois' towers, peering into Tracey Emin's tent, or trying to mentally piece together Cornelia Parker's exploded garden shed it grabs something inside me and compels me to be present. To pay attention. [...]
Should we be teaching knowledge or skills?
It is a truth universally acknowledged that our education system isn’t quite up to snuff. And at that point virtually all agreement ceases. There are those on which we might loosely term the ‘right’ of the divide who point to PISA scores, claim that we’re in the middle of a crisis and suggest that a return to traditional values is the way forward. Oh, and Free Schools are good too. [...]
Controlled assessment and why I hate it
Yesterday I took a break from ploughing through my Year 10 controlled assessments to exhort myself to "bloody well get on with it" and stop moaning about my work load. Marking is virtuous. You know it's important so you get with it. Plus, it produces a warm satisfying glow when you finally get the bottom of the stack and scribble your last improvement target. Except, I got to [...]
The joy of marking
I'm a big fan of marking students' work. I love it so much I let a big pile of it build up to do over the holidays. As an English teacher I'm faced with a lot of marking and most of it needs to be read carefully rather than given a cursory tick 'n' flick. I know that marking students' books helps to ensure that they care about the work they [...]
End of term
Term 1 is always far more exhausting than I expect it to be. Some of the highlights from last term include meeting some cracking education types including Ian Gilbert, Phil Beadle and Jim Roberson; being published by The Guardian; completing day 1 of the Critical Skills Programme; Compering my school's awards evening and attending my first ever TeachMeet. But what's had the most impact on my teaching in recent months? [...]
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