Why saying a lot is counter-productive, and what to do instead
‘The most valuable of all talents is never using two words when one will do’.Thomas Jefferson We tend to say and write too much. It often happens when we haven’t…
The problem with telling young people, ‘Just do your best!’
It’s natural for us to say ‘Just do your best’, to someone. It can provide some much-needed comfort to a person who’s worrying about an upcoming exam or other event.…
On education myths: the ‘we all learn differently!’ myth
I have probably heard a hundred times, since I started in teaching a long time ago, various versions of the we-all-learn-differently myth: 1) ‘Of course we all learn differently!’ 2)…
‘Time on task’ – it’s worth trying to increase it
‘Time on task’ refers to the time people spend engaged in activity designed to bring about learning. It suggests focus, and thinking, and some effort. In schools, it’s a good…
The problem with … Ofsted’s ‘Tell me who your Disadvantaged students are’ expectation during school inspections
The Guardian published an article* on Monday 1 May that quoted a teacher at a secondary school in Surrey describing a recent Ofsted inspection in which the inspector interrupted her…
On being reasonable
Is it a good thing to be reasonable? Instinctively, you would think so, but a quick internet search reveals a range of views on reasonableness: ‘There is no society in…
Teacher accountability. Part 2
Obviously, any mention of teacher accountability now cannot happen without acknowledging the tragic death of the Headteacher of Caversham Primary School in Reading, Ruth Perry. Her shocking loss is a…
What should teacher ‘accountability’ look like in school?
‘A body of men, holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not to be trusted by anybody’. Thomas Paine, Rights of man (1791) How best to hold teachers to account for…
Conquering Memory
What we remember is key to what we learn, and it’s a truism to say that if we can’t remember a thing we probably haven’t ‘learned’ it, because information is…
The benefits of verbal feedback and ‘live’ marking
Verbal feedback involves the teacher responding to students’ work verbally in lessons: ‘How about trying it this way… Have a look at your answer here… Can you see that…?What could…