Administrator

Extra curricular: What it is and why we need it

This article was written for SecEd Magazine Extra-curricular activities are learning opportunities that take place outside of the taught timetable and which are, in most cases, voluntary for pupils to attend. Some extra-curricular activities take place before a school’s official start time, some at break and lunch-time, some after school, and others during weekends orContinue reading “Extra curricular: What it is and why we need it”

Cognitive science in the classroom

This article was written for SecEd Magazine Cognitive science has much to tell us about how children learn and how we should teach. But converting this into classroom practice can sometimes feel challenging. Matt Bromley offers 30 tangible tips for teachers… According to the educational psychologist, Paul Kirschner, learning is a change in long-term memory.Continue reading “Cognitive science in the classroom”

Slow teaching

This article was written for SecEd Magazine What if we sought to put greater depth and therefore less breadth into our teaching, being clearer about and taking more time over key concepts and making our curriculum planning more effective? Matt Bromley calls this ‘slow teaching’… In my key stage 3 English lessons this term, IContinue reading “Slow teaching”

The golden triangle

This article was written for SecEd Magazine The golden triangle of performance management takes in quality improvement, performance development and CPD. Matt Bromley explains, offering some key tenets of effective performance management systems To improve the effectiveness of performance management in schools, I advocate forming a “golden triangle” which connects appraisal to quality assurance andContinue reading “The golden triangle”

Adaptive teaching

This article was written for SecEd Magazine The PISA research says that ‘adaptive instruction’ is one of the approaches most positively correlated with student performance. Matt Bromley looks at what adaptive teaching entails and how to deliver it One of my former students – I’ll call him John – contacted me recently. He wanted toContinue reading “Adaptive teaching”

Tackling low level disruption

This article was written for SecEd Magazine My work necessitates a lot of travel. Before you conjure images of me in a smoking jacket sipping martinis in the first-class cabin of a transatlantic flight, let me describe a recent journey… Imagine, if you will, an intercity train from the 1970s. You know the type: aContinue reading “Tackling low level disruption”

Explainer: The 2-year induction for Early Career Teachers

This article was written for SecEd Magazine From September 2021, the early career teacher (ECT) induction is doubling for all new teachers in England from one to two years (following a pilot in some schools in the North East, Greater Manchester, Bradford and Doncaster that began in September 2020). But why? Why do we needContinue reading “Explainer: The 2-year induction for Early Career Teachers”

Explainer: The Early Career Framework

This article was written for SecEd Magazine In November’s special supplement for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) , I contributed three articles in which I proffered my advice on surviving and thriving as a new teacher. In the first of those articles, I tried to reassure new teachers that, whilst teaching is tough, it is toughContinue reading “Explainer: The Early Career Framework”

Ten top tips for transition

This article was written for SecEd Magazine The adverse effects of transition In 2019, the Scottish government published a literature review on the subject of primary to secondary school transition. The review concluded that there was “fairly robust evidence that pupils’ educational outcomes decline after they move to secondary school.” The report found “evidence ofContinue reading “Ten top tips for transition”

Impact – Step 6: Lead ethically

This is an edited extract from the book, School and College Curriculum Design 3: Impact. For more information on this book and the first two in the series, as well as to access a raft of free curriculum resources, visit our Curriculum Central page. Ethical leadership principles Ethical leadership in education is driven by aContinue reading “Impact – Step 6: Lead ethically”