What's the point of homework?
Father: What's all those books then?Son: That's my homework dad.Father: You know what son, if they can't teach you all the stuff you need to know during the day, they can't be very good at their jobs can they? How To Teach p170 Homework. The word clangs with leaden dread, doesn't it? I hated it when I was a kid and I'm not too keen now I'm a teacher. Parents [...]
Is the starter finished?
For as long as I've been teaching (12 years) the received wisdom on the 'right' way to teach is to deliver a three, then four (or even five) part lesson: starter, guided bit where teacher is allowed to talk, main course and pudding. Sorry, too juvenile to resist. Last of the four, but in no way the least, is of course the plenary. There's lots I could say about the [...]
If you grade it, it's not formative assessment
Having a bit of a crisis of confidence. Canadian teacher and education reformer, Joe Bower tweeted the title of the post this morning. That's not right I thought, I can provide formative feedback on a piece of work which helps students make progress whilst also giving them a grade as a useful signpost to measure their progress against. I took it upon myself to tell Joe as much. He sent [...]
Team Meetings: some stuff I've learnt
What with the introduction of Personal Learning & Thinking Skills, I've done loads of team work with students over the past few years and it was timely that tonight's #ukedchat's topic was 'How do you build (or mould) a new team at the start of a new academic year?' One thing that came out of the conversation was how fortunate I am to have such a dedicated, hardworking team of teachers [...]
Team Meetings: some stuff I’ve learnt
What with the introduction of Personal Learning & Thinking Skills, I've done loads of team work with students over the past few years and it was timely that tonight's #ukedchat's topic was 'How do you build (or mould) a new team at the start of a new academic year?' One thing that came out of the conversation was how fortunate I am to have such a dedicated, hardworking team of teachers [...]
How to fix your attitude
Can you change how intelligent you are? Can you alter your personality? Can a student predicted a D grade get an A*? Are there things it is simply impossible for us to do? I’ve always fancied the idea of being able to play the guitar but have made excuses like, I haven’t the patience to learn. The truth is, I’m not prepared to put in the effort required. I took [...]
What's the point of INSET days?
Recently, I overheard a colleague say that they had never attended an INSET (IN SErvice Training) day that wasn't a complete waste of time. I have to admit that I felt rather startled by this as, with some notable exceptions, I generally enjoy these days. You get to natter to people you don't see everyday, you get a break from the kids and often there's a free lunch! But how [...]
How to make friends and influence people
So, you’re starting a new job. You’re probably 1 part excited to 9 parts terrified. Don’t worry: that’s fairly normal. This post aims to suggest 10 straightforward ways to settle in to your new role whether you’re an NQT or an old lag in a new school; a fast track careerist or frantically treading water. It might sound a bit Machiavellian and cynical, but these ideas will make your life [...]
Exam analysis
September looms and I've already been given an appointment for my Progress Meeting to discuss last year's results and strategies for this year's. On the one hand, I could be forgiven for feeling quite complacent: the English faculty achieved 84% A*-C which is up 16% from last year and an unprecedented success rate for the school. Our English Literature results have done up from an already outstanding 93% to a [...]
How to write an outstanding job application
Everyone dreads those personal statement boxes on the job application form but we’ve all had to write ‘em and, if we’re in employment, they’ve clearly done the trick. Why would anyone literate need a guide to writing job applications? Well, as an English teacher I certainly consider myself to be more than merely functionally literate and I some of the feedback on my ability to write a letter of application [...]
Challenging Bloom's Taxonomy
Have had a few thought provoking debates recently about the validity of Bloom's Taxonomy. Yes, that's right, a challenge to the orthodoxy! I've read through a selection of articles which all point to the fact that there is no real evidence base to support Bloom's theories and worse, thinking in this rigid, hierarchical way can even be damaging! Can it be true? One criticism is that it can lead to [...]
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