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Do It Yourself

There is a certain amount of irony in the title of today's post in that I haven't written it myself. Instead it comes from the typing fingers of the marvellous Kenny Pieper. His excellent blog Just Trying to be Better than Yesterday is well worth a read. There are two reasons for this: 1. I'm knackered after the first day back at school - even though it was only an INSET day. 2. Kenny has already written exactly what I would have wanted to write. So without further ado: Over the summer holidays I caught up with a few Ted talks, [...]

2011-09-05T19:29:41+01:00September 5th, 2011|learning|

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 seem very keen on it and are quick to let schools know if an insufficient quantity of it is being sent home on a daily basis. Clearly, this is one potential [...]

2011-09-04T21:07:16+01:00September 4th, 2011|Featured|

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 efficacy of this structure, but broadly speaking I'm not too concerned: yes it may have been a shot across the bows of the professionalism of teachers, but it's certainly helped to [...]

2011-09-03T22:15:56+01:00September 3rd, 2011|Featured|

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 me a link to Education's Rotten Apples which summarises Ruth Butler's research which shows that the damage of giving grades trumps feedback. It says, "What happens when states offer performance-based assessments, [...]

2011-09-02T22:14:22+01:00September 2nd, 2011|assessment|

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 to work with. Sadly, this isn't everyone's experience. Lots of people were keen to point out that sharing your vision for the team is crucial in getting team members on side. [...]

2011-09-01T22:40:33+01:00September 1st, 2011|leadership|

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 to work with. Sadly, this isn't everyone's experience. Lots of people were keen to point out that sharing your vision for the team is crucial in getting team members on side. [...]

2013-08-23T22:19:53+01:00September 1st, 2011|leadership|

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 lessons when I was about 10 years old and gave up after a few weeks. But why? Cos, my stupid teacher wanted me to learn stupid chords and I just wanted [...]

2011-08-31T21:46:45+01:00August 31st, 2011|learning|

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 often do I learn anything? Well, that all depends on the type of INSET day it is. All too often the only requirement for staff  is that they sit and listen. [...]

2011-08-30T21:03:37+01:00August 30th, 2011|training|

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 easier and happier. The original social networker 1. Get noticed Most schools have some sort of staff briefing one or more times a week. Say something. Not too often [...]

2011-08-29T10:03:22+01:00August 29th, 2011|leadership|

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 phenomenal 98%. Media Studies is also at 98% and 66% A*-A (this with 90 students having been entered - almost 3 times as many as previous years). I think I could [...]

2011-08-28T13:17:35+01:00August 28th, 2011|assessment, leadership|

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 I had last year was very hard to hear. The head teacher of a school at which I’d applied to become an assistant head told me the reason I wasn’t called [...]

2011-08-27T20:54:15+01:00August 27th, 2011|leadership|

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 teachers not really thinking through the different categories of thinking skills each time they're used which lead students to think superficially. Any classification of skills along the lines of Bloom's can [...]

2011-08-24T21:57:08+01:00August 24th, 2011|myths|
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