Administrator

Transition days are not for testing

In my recent post, Making Transition Count, I shared 20 top tips to improve a pupil’s transition from primary to secondary school. In this follow-up post I’d like to focus on the all-important transition day that usually takes place in June or July and affords Year 6 pupils a sneaky peek of life in bigContinue reading “Transition days are not for testing”

The problem with the Key Stage 3 curriculum

The Chief Inspector of Schools, Amanda Spielman, gave a speech at the Festival of Education in June 2017 in which she trumpeted the importance of the school curriculum… She said that, all too often, schools lose sight of the real substance of education: “Not the exam grades or the progress scores, important though they are, butContinue reading “The problem with the Key Stage 3 curriculum”

Tricks of the teaching trade…

If you’re due to start your teacher training or NQT year in September, this is for you… I bought a Border Collie pup recently and, at eight weeks, have just begun training her. I don’t want to sound disparaging but the experience has reminded me a lot of my teacher-training. I’ve christened my dog MegContinue reading “Tricks of the teaching trade…”

Making transition count: 20 top tips

July is the cruellest month. Teachers up and down the land crawl on hands and knees towards the summer break, bent and broken by another busy year spent squeezing as much progress out of pupils as they possibly can. As the 6-week recess nears, they’re eager for a glimpse of next year’s timetable, hoping andContinue reading “Making transition count: 20 top tips”

The 4-part teaching sequence

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in June 2018. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. Research by Kirschner, Sweller and Clark (2006) compared guided models of teaching, such as direct instruction, with discovery learning methods, such as problem-based learning, inquiry learning, experiential learning, and constructivist learning, and foundContinue reading “The 4-part teaching sequence”

Feedback – the mark of success (Part Seven)

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in June 2018. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. I will begin this final instalment by exploring two important considerations related to feedback: the when and the how. When? TheContinue reading “Feedback – the mark of success (Part Seven)”

Feedback – the mark of success (Part Six)

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in June 2018. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. In this seven-part series I’m exploring the role marking and feedback play in effective teaching and learning. I have argued againstContinue reading “Feedback – the mark of success (Part Six)”

Feedback – the mark of success (Part Five)

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in May 2018. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. So far in this series, I’ve argued that our obsession with feedback as the panacea for pupil progress and a proxyContinue reading “Feedback – the mark of success (Part Five)”

Feedback – the mark of success (Part Four)

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in May 2018. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. According to research, feedback is one of the most impactful strategies at a teacher’s disposal. It can add eight months ofContinue reading “Feedback – the mark of success (Part Four)”

Feedback – the mark of success (Part Three)

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in May 2018. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. Several seminal works of educational research have espoused the virtues of feedback. First came Black and Wiliam’s Inside the Black Box,Continue reading “Feedback – the mark of success (Part Three)”