This is where blogposts from blogspot/blogger will appear temporarily before being exported to the main Echo Chamber site.
Friday, 25 December 2015
PsychBrief: That's not quite right... Stereotype threat
PsychBrief: That's not quite right... Stereotype threat: Don't you just love being wrong? Of course you don't, no one does. But there is a grim satisfaction in no longer believing something...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Evidence-based practice and some common misconcept...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Evidence-based practice and some common misconcept...: Over the last 12 months I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to read, reflect and write about evidence-based practice and educa...
Evidence Based EFL: Seeking Nirvana
Evidence Based EFL: Seeking Nirvana: “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” – Edmund Burke How do you know that smoking...
Saturday, 19 December 2015
School Data Updates: How I track Ofsted
School Data Updates: How I track Ofsted: This is something I used to do for the LA and often end up doing for HTs when they ask me "what are Ofsted up to? Will we be next?"...
Friday, 18 December 2015
Shanahan on Literacy: Decoding Dyslexia: A Rose by Any other Name
Shanahan on Literacy: Decoding Dyslexia: A Rose by Any other Name: Teacher Question: As I watch the Dyslexia Awareness movement gain momentum and grassroots organizations such as Decoding Dyslexia spur the...
Thursday, 17 December 2015
The Baron: With one week to go till Christmas, I’ve been purg...
The Baron: With one week to go till Christmas, I’ve been purg...: According to my former departmental colleagues in my former school, ‘anyone who votes for the Conservative party is thick’, the British Emp...
Monday, 14 December 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: All I want for Christmas is to find out 'what work...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: All I want for Christmas is to find out 'what work...: There's an old, old joke. A son asks his father if he would buy him an Action Man for Christmas. Christmas morning arrives, and th...
Teaching Science: Tracking and Evidence
Teaching Science: Tracking and Evidence: When I started teaching we'd all give our students tests at the end of a topic. They'd get 18/24 and we'd would add this to a s...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Chimera Measurements: will somebody please tell me...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Chimera Measurements: will somebody please tell me...: First they focused on the lesson observations and I shouted out because the focus was on showing progress at all times in a lesson. ...
Sunday, 13 December 2015
My packet of crisps: Cross.com
My packet of crisps: Cross.com: Today I am cross. I am cross enough to have to leave an email in my drafts until I've calmed down long enough to read it (and possibly ...
Friday, 11 December 2015
School Data Updates: LAy and their target setting turkey
School Data Updates: LAy and their target setting turkey: I worry about Local Authorities sometimes. A couple of weeks ago I blogged about LAx and their dreadfully damaging and overly simplistic R...
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Outside In: Some thoughts on the floods
Outside In: Some thoughts on the floods: Just some loose (and not terribly well refined) thoughts on the last few days. This was my school on Sunday morning. This is ...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: I'm 'dreaming' of a White Christmas and a school I...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: I'm 'dreaming' of a White Christmas and a school I...: If you are interested in developing a great school work-place which will contribute to reducing teacher workload, stress and turnover, then ...
Saturday, 5 December 2015
To boldly go...: Year 7 lessons #1
To boldly go...: Year 7 lessons #1: I hadn't been feeling well today so was home early and daughter could walk back here from her bus. She started year 7 in September and t...
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The Seven Alternatives to Evidence-Based Teaching ...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The Seven Alternatives to Evidence-Based Teaching ...: As we approach the end of the autumn term and now that we have entered the month of December, it seems time for a more upbeat and hopefully ...
We shall not cease from exploration...: Rethinking RE
We shall not cease from exploration...: Rethinking RE: Another month, another set of reports! So, a lot has happened over the past month... Another major report has been published (two, if y...
TDRE Boss Blog: Save RE - From Itself? Again?
TDRE Boss Blog: Save RE - From Itself? Again?: Yet again, disagreement features on Save RE. Previous arguments such those of 'the crucifixion jelly hand', 'teaching the Ill...
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Learning to love the humble multiple-choice questi...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Learning to love the humble multiple-choice questi...: There is something that is very frustrating in English lessons. It isn’t something that, we, English teachers talk about, but we do have to...
Thursday, 26 November 2015
frenchteacher: The interface problem
frenchteacher: The interface problem: No, it's not the name of a new movie. This is one of those things second language acquisition researchers worry about and which has a si...
TDRE Boss Blog: Humanism and RE
TDRE Boss Blog: Humanism and RE: Yesterday I had a little rant on Facebook about the high courts decision in regard to the BHA case (see <here> ). Before reading ...
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
When 140 Characters Isn't Enough: The 10 key education headlines from the spending r...
When 140 Characters Isn't Enough: The 10 key education headlines from the spending r...: Overall The Autumn Statement was published today. Overall DfE spending will fall just 1.1% over the next four years. Even in the &qu...
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
The Baron: Teachers are doing ISIL's work for them
The Baron: Teachers are doing ISIL's work for them: Just last week I overheard three colleagues discussing the evils of the British empire. ‘I despise it,’ one snarled. ‘Me too! Look at Amrit...
TDRE Boss Blog: #Michaela - Debating Education (21/11/15)
TDRE Boss Blog: #Michaela - Debating Education (21/11/15): Another Saturday, another education event... Am I an edu-geek or an edu-loser? Regardless, it was a chance to meet up with my 'edu-T...
Evidence Based EFL: Review of ELT podcasts part 2
Evidence Based EFL: Review of ELT podcasts part 2: In my previous review of podcasts I wrote "2014 was a great year for EFL podcasts with several sprouting up like veritable fungi&qu...
Monday, 23 November 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: SLT and Quick Fixes : Why assumptions may make an ...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: SLT and Quick Fixes : Why assumptions may make an ...: If you are interested in making better decisions, then this post is for you. In particular, if you are a middle or senior leader within a...
Wednesday, 18 November 2015
School Data Updates: The Value Added Tax
School Data Updates: The Value Added Tax: Remember the community charge, or the poll tax as it became better known? The supposed merit of the system was that it was simple, easy to u...
Monday, 16 November 2015
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: MacGyver teaching - getting back to the basics!
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: MacGyver teaching - getting back to the basics!: Sometimes I liken my job to being MacGyver…. I have friends who have travelled the world. Yet, I bet none of them have had anything lik...
Wednesday, 11 November 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: Catholic Schools & Islam at GCSE
TDRE Boss Blog: Catholic Schools & Islam at GCSE: Schools Week (6/11/15) covered a story on P4 of this week's paper by Sophie Scott . It's worth reading it in full in the print e...
Teaching Science: In a GCSE curriculum change spiral of despair
Teaching Science: In a GCSE curriculum change spiral of despair: I am so pleased that I decided (all three science subjects decided) to stay with the same A-level examination board. There are subtle differ...
Sunday, 8 November 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: New : A spiral of disciplined inquiry
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: New : A spiral of disciplined inquiry: If you are a teacher, head of department or headteacher and interested in disciplined inquiry, this post is for you. In this post, I will ...
Friday, 6 November 2015
Evidence Based EFL: Deep, man!
Evidence Based EFL: Deep, man!: 'lightning never strikes twice.' 'What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.' These sentences both sound real...
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Steps in teaching and learning: Switching on the Outstanding Factor
Steps in teaching and learning: Switching on the Outstanding Factor: Every teacher has faced the impending lesson observation. Your senior leadership team have told you the date and what the subject will ...
Why I've Stayed In Teaching: Crowd Sourced: Advice on Coping with the Workload
Why I've Stayed In Teaching: Crowd Sourced: Advice on Coping with the Workload: On Facebook I recently asked my teacher friends this question: What are your strategies for coping with the workload? I particularly ask...
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and '57' definitions of r...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and '57' definitions of r...: If you work in a school and have anything to do with research, evidence-informed teaching or practitioner inquiry, this post is for you. In...
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
The Snow Report: How to influence your students' brain chemistry an...
The Snow Report: How to influence your students' brain chemistry an...: Image source I'm not the first academic commentator to be critical of the rapid infiltration of classrooms by so-called "neu...
Monday, 19 October 2015
We shall not cease from exploration...: RE in 2020
We shall not cease from exploration...: RE in 2020: This month’s challenge in the RE and Philosophy Echo Chamber is to imagine what RE will be like in 2020. If I were cynical (and those of yo...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Strategic Inquiry - An Alternative to Lesson Study...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Strategic Inquiry - An Alternative to Lesson Study...: If you want to explore alternatives to Lesson Study, this post is for you. Nell Scharf Panero and Joan Talbert's 2013 book ...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Uncomfortable peer assessment and the murder of ‘E...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Uncomfortable peer assessment and the murder of ‘E...: I have a big problem with ‘peer’ and ‘self’ assessment - I am not going to beat around the bush about this one. There are several times ...
Sunday, 18 October 2015
The Girl on the Piccadilly Line: Parents' Evening
The Girl on the Piccadilly Line: Parents' Evening: I'll never forget my first parents' evening - by the 28th appointment I was so tired I referred to the child by the wrong name. T...
Thoughts on managing variability: School's own data in the Ofsted inspection data da...
Thoughts on managing variability: School's own data in the Ofsted inspection data da...: Hopefully if you are involved in secondary school data you will already be aware of the publication of the Ofsted "Inspection dashboard...
School Data Updates: What is sufficient progress?
School Data Updates: What is sufficient progress?: In the crazy world of competitive shin kicking, combatants apparently shout "Sufficient!" when they've had enough. I know how...
Shanahan on Literacy: Response to the Joyful Illiterate Kindergartners o...
Shanahan on Literacy: Response to the Joyful Illiterate Kindergartners o...: Reader Question: The Atlantic Atlantic Article just published an article about the mistake American educators make by teaching reading ...
Friday, 16 October 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Lesson Study - The New Brain Gym?
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Lesson Study - The New Brain Gym?: If you are interested in teaching and learning, teacher professional development or school improvement, this post is for you. Unfortunately...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Lesson Study - The New Brain Gym?
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Lesson Study - The New Brain Gym?: If you are interested in teaching and learning, teacher professional development or school improvement, this post is for you. Unfortunately...
Thursday, 15 October 2015
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Drama in lessons
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Drama in lessons: Before you skip this blog…wait. This isn’t a blog about the benefits of drama in the curriculum. This isn’t a blog crying about how drama ...
kitchen table math, the sequel: Help desk - math HW
kitchen table math, the sequel: Help desk - math HW: What's the story with this little boy's homework? (And how old do you think he is? I'm guessing 2nd grade - ?) If you click on...
Tuesday, 13 October 2015
To boldly go...: Integrity
To boldly go...: Integrity: When I came out of assembly on Friday at quarter past three our secretary came to find me looking worried. She said my daughter had phoned ...
The Introverted Teacher: Dear Reader,How do you feel about feminism? Hav...
The Introverted Teacher: Dear Reader,
How do you feel about feminism? Hav...: Dear Reader, How do you feel about feminism? Have you ever called yourself a feminist? I had the privilege yesterday of attending (a...
How do you feel about feminism? Hav...: Dear Reader, How do you feel about feminism? Have you ever called yourself a feminist? I had the privilege yesterday of attending (a...
The Baron: How brain-busting jargon dehumanises education
The Baron: How brain-busting jargon dehumanises education: 'Excuse me, sir. Seeing as how the V.P. is such a V.I.P., shouldn't we keep the P.C. on the Q.T.? 'Cause if it leaks to the V.C...
School Data Updates: The Grim Fairy Tale of Teacher Assessment
School Data Updates: The Grim Fairy Tale of Teacher Assessment: It occurred to me recently that if statutory teacher assessment were a fairy tale it would be Cinderella. Loved and cherished in the Early Y...
frenchteacher: Correcting students' errors
frenchteacher: Correcting students' errors: I am currently reading The Handbook of Language Teaching edited by Michael Long and Catherine Doughty. It's an excellent summary of rese...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Can research help reduc...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Can research help reduc...: Sometimes on Twitter you read a tweet which cannot be answered by using the Uzi like rapid fire of 140 characters, and which deserves a far ...
ssphonix: Why does phonics teaching appear not to be impacti...
ssphonix: Why does phonics teaching appear not to be impacti...: Recent 'evidence' that the government's emphasis on phonics does not appear to be impacting on reading standards overall, despit...
Teacher's Notes: I am a feminist. I am a teacher. I am Mrs C Spaldi...
Teacher's Notes: I am a feminist. I am a teacher. I am Mrs C Spaldi...: My love affair with feminism started at the age of 16, the moment I read an article in 'The Independent' declaring "Is this w...
TDRE Boss Blog: The Best Of What We Know...
TDRE Boss Blog: The Best Of What We Know...: At any moment in time, that should be our aim. For too long in education we have accepted 'peddled quackery' and '...
Sunday, 11 October 2015
To boldly go...: Fraud police-special ops
To boldly go...: Fraud police-special ops: I have been reflecting on the blog post I wrote yesterday and I just want to add a little more. I thought quite hard first thing this morni...
To boldly go...: Data's inferno
To boldly go...: Data's inferno: Half an hour before getting up time today my stomach tightened into a painful knot. Improvement adviser visit this morning. I have an exper...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead: Are you a positive devi...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead: Are you a positive devi...: Are you - the School Research Lead - a positive deviant? If not, you need to become a positive deviant yourself or at least help others to ...
Saturday, 10 October 2015
The Girl on the Piccadilly Line: In Teachers We Trust
The Girl on the Piccadilly Line: In Teachers We Trust: I My first three weeks in my new job may not have gained as much press coverage as Jeremy Corbyn's but they have been no less eve...
Evidence Based EFL: Guide to methods part 3: What Richards and Rodgers...
Evidence Based EFL: Guide to methods part 3: What Richards and Rodgers...: I always had something of a soft spot for Suggestopedia with it's comfy chairs, baroque music and meditation. It always seemed to me ...
Shanahan on Literacy: Does Formative Assessment Improve Reading Achievem...
Shanahan on Literacy: Does Formative Assessment Improve Reading Achievem...: Today I was talking to a group of educators from several states. The focus was on adolescent literacy. We were di...
The Introverted Teacher: Dear Reader,Have you ever finished something and...
The Introverted Teacher: Dear Reader,
Have you ever finished something and...: Dear Reader, Have you ever finished something and had no feedback on it? Did you enjoy the experience? Call me a perennial teacher&#...
Have you ever finished something and...: Dear Reader, Have you ever finished something and had no feedback on it? Did you enjoy the experience? Call me a perennial teacher&#...
Thursday, 8 October 2015
frenchteacher: You say tomato, I say tomato.
frenchteacher: You say tomato, I say tomato.: By following many teachers on Twitter from around the world, I find myself interested in the different perspectives on language teaching and...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - The Evidence Says Its A...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - The Evidence Says Its A...: So you've read the research papers and separated the wheat from the chaff. You've identified the research papers where it's jus...
frenchteacher: Saving time on planning
frenchteacher: Saving time on planning: I understand that many schools ask teachers to produce a written lesson plan for every lesson on a standard proforma. I would have hated tha...
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: We are not the problem, we are the solution
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: We are not the problem, we are the solution: The title of this post comes from a tweet Alma Harris sent in response to Sir Michael Wilshaw's latest pronouncement on education in Eng...
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: Relentless incremental improvements or micro-manag...
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: Relentless incremental improvements or micro-manag...: I saw Mathew Syed on the television this morning. He was talking about his new book 'Black Box Thinking', a follow up to his big sel...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Getting Better at Analy...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Getting Better at Analy...: I n previous posts I've written about the need to 'strip, flip and trace' when trying to determine good educational science from...
The Baron: All you left-wing traditionalists: you really shou...
The Baron: All you left-wing traditionalists: you really shou...: I recently read an incredibly thought-provoking article on Labour Teachers by Greg Ashman , a practising teacher, entitled, 'Do lefti...
School Data Updates: The house that moved: my meeting with Ofsted.
School Data Updates: The house that moved: my meeting with Ofsted.: I had some weird dreams last week. One involved a cottage that slipped its anchor and rolled down a hill, crashing into a farmyard. I emerg...
The Baron: God Help Me!
The Baron: God Help Me!: I've finally taken the plunge. After six years of service, back in May, I reluctantly decided to throw in the towel and move on, hopefu...
TDRE Boss Blog: Pontifex: An Etended Metaphor
TDRE Boss Blog: Pontifex: An Etended Metaphor: Before I decided upon this metaphor for my first year of pastoral leadership, I needed to check with a priest (and canon lawyer) that it...
TDRE Boss Blog: Why can't we talk about intelligence and genetics?...
TDRE Boss Blog: Why can't we talk about intelligence and genetics?...: At ResearchEd 2014, I stumbled into Andrew Sabisky's talk on IQ. It wasn't my intention to go to it, but whatever I had...
Monday, 5 October 2015
The Snow Report: Can we just leave the brain out of this please?
The Snow Report: Can we just leave the brain out of this please?: Image source It might sound like a strange request from someone who has spent much of her professional life trying to achieve a modes...
nikki able: #rED15 – Information, inspiration and empowerment!...
nikki able: #rED15 – Information, inspiration and empowerment!...: When I tell people that I will be spending my Saturday at ‘yet another education conference’, I tend to get one of two responses. Either p...
The Introverted Teacher: Dear Reader,Have you ever attended a conference?...
The Introverted Teacher: Dear Reader,
Have you ever attended a conference?...: Dear Reader, Have you ever attended a conference? Have you ever come away satisfied? I'm fresh from the train after attending rED15...
Have you ever attended a conference?...: Dear Reader, Have you ever attended a conference? Have you ever come away satisfied? I'm fresh from the train after attending rED15...
Saturday, 3 October 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: researchED London 2015 and knowing when to trust t...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: researchED London 2015 and knowing when to trust t...: In 19th century North America salesmen travelled across the continent promising wonder cures for all manners of ailments. However, once t...
Sunday, 27 September 2015
Teacher's Notes: The five stages of post-results grief
Teacher's Notes: The five stages of post-results grief: Before you read the post, watch this: https://vimeo.com/46652994 A wise woman once said that there are five stages in the response...
Sunday, 20 September 2015
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): 5 ways to ease "first day nerves"
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): 5 ways to ease "first day nerves": It seems that no matter how many years you've been teaching, you always experience some level of anxiety the day before the new year. Or...
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead and Stripping and Flippin...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead and Stripping and Flippin...: For teachers stripping and flipping may not sound like a way of helping them better do their jobs. Indeed, it may even sound like the road ...
Sunday, 6 September 2015
frenchteacher: Choral repetition from pictures. Is it useless?
frenchteacher: Choral repetition from pictures. Is it useless?: I had a little Twitter disagreement with a couple of colleagues today regarding the common use of PowerPoint pictures for choral repetition....
It takes a village...: Pride and Exam Results - lessons from our first se...
It takes a village...: Pride and Exam Results - lessons from our first se...: IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a free school head in possession of exam results must be in want of a blog to explain the reas...
Friday, 4 September 2015
The Baron: Educating Cardiff: good intentions are no substitu...
The Baron: Educating Cardiff: good intentions are no substitu...: If you're aged eleven to 16, have a penchant for energy drinks and enjoy the odd puff on a ciggy, Willows High is certainly the school ...
TDRE Boss Blog: ALL the RE Blogs
TDRE Boss Blog: ALL the RE Blogs: Image courtesy of Alice Walker A few months back, after some frustration at some aspects of Twitter and Save RE (on Facebook), I set up...
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Do we need to be vaccin...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Do we need to be vaccin...: The start of the academic year will see an outbreak of CPD and the sharing of good practice virus. Colleagues will spend hours, if not days...
To infinity... and beyond: Before... The One Hundred Minute Lesson
To infinity... and beyond: Before... The One Hundred Minute Lesson: I was getting changed for football on a Friday after school when a colleague made a throw-away comment about something that was pitched at a...
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The One About Structure - Part 1
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The One About Structure - Part 1: Like many people at the moment, I am looking at the new GCSE in English and pondering the ‘how am I going to teach that’ that often follow...
Sunday, 30 August 2015
To infinity... and beyond: One in, one out... That's how it goes!
To infinity... and beyond: One in, one out... That's how it goes!: I've found this year difficult. Whether that's to do with the current climate around education as a whole or just the climate in my...
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
The Baron: Chinese school triumphs over British system in fou...
The Baron: Chinese school triumphs over British system in fou...: During my last blog , I predicted that - as a consequence of only having four weeks with pupils resistant to unfamiliar teachers, longer da...
frenchteacher: A modern language teacher toolkit
frenchteacher: A modern language teacher toolkit: Gianfranco Conti, who writes the blog The Language Gym, and I have decided to put together a handbook/toolkit for modern language teachers. ...
Saturday, 22 August 2015
Musings of a New Deputy: Missing my own class.
Musings of a New Deputy: Missing my own class.: So, in a few weeks I'll be starting my new role as Deputy Headteacher. Currently this will involve some teaching, covering Years 5 and 6...
frenchteacher: Pros and cons of being a native speaker MFL teache...
frenchteacher: Pros and cons of being a native speaker MFL teache...: As the supply of "home grown" language teachers continues to dry up the UK is depending more and more, as in other fields of emplo...
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: Engaging with research
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: Engaging with research: Let me state straight away, I think teachers and schools should engage with and use research to inform and develop their practice. To me thi...
Monday, 17 August 2015
The Snow Report: Dyslexia Dystopia
The Snow Report: Dyslexia Dystopia: Last weekend I was privileged to hear Professor Julian (Joe) Elliott speak in Melbourne on the topic most strongly associated with his name ...
Wednesday, 12 August 2015
Evidence Based EFL: woo watch: ELGazette
Evidence Based EFL: woo watch: ELGazette: ELGazette is a great little publication. It exposes dodgy goings-on in the ELT world, commissions interesting articles and most importan...
The Baron: Inadequate headteachers are damaging our children
The Baron: Inadequate headteachers are damaging our children: Some years ago, my colleagues and I were forced to endure a professional development session entitled, ‘Are your lessons worth behaving fo...
Re-educating Yorkshire: Technology in the Classroom - Challenges and Oppor...
Re-educating Yorkshire: Technology in the Classroom - Challenges and Oppor...: (Disclaimer: Whilst I try to make my entries academically rigorous, supported by educational research, I have had some difficulty in constr...
Sunday, 9 August 2015
The Snow Report: Can we talk about NAPLAN?
The Snow Report: Can we talk about NAPLAN?: I have avoided blogging about NAPLAN* until now, because I know it's a deeply divisive topic, and is one that can elicit some particular...
Saturday, 8 August 2015
Bex Trex ...to teaching!: Books, books, books.
Bex Trex ...to teaching!: Books, books, books.: For some reason I decided it was a good idea to pick up all my education books from their various shelves and put them on the floor. I t...
Thursday, 6 August 2015
The Snow Report: Santa Claus, Homeopathy, and Phonics: Where's the ...
The Snow Report: Santa Claus, Homeopathy, and Phonics: Where's the ...: Image source Most of us can remember when we found out that Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny, and/or the Tooth Fairy were not real e...
Wednesday, 5 August 2015
Re-educating Yorkshire: We need to talk about: Burnout
Re-educating Yorkshire: We need to talk about: Burnout: You know what? You matter. You really, really matter. No matter who you are or what you do, you are really important - Good job! I think it&...
Re-educating Yorkshire: Teaching blog - Take 2
Re-educating Yorkshire: Teaching blog - Take 2: You may, or may not, be aware that this is the second incarnation of my teaching blog. I found my previous efforts overwhelmed by the pressu...
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): Supportive schools - they do exist!
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): Supportive schools - they do exist!: Whenever I read a blog post about NQTs and how to support them in your school, it seems to usually be followed by a barrage of comments from...
School Data Updates: Assessment Commission report: my top 5 points
School Data Updates: Assessment Commission report: my top 5 points: The cat is out of the bag. This week the frustratingly overdue report from the Assessment Commission into assessment without levels was leak...
Monday, 3 August 2015
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: How was it for you? (Your inspection, that is)
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: How was it for you? (Your inspection, that is): Well, the dust has settled, time has passed, the report is out and perhaps now is the time I am best able to look back and reflect on the in...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Star of the Week – the black hole of praise
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Star of the Week – the black hole of praise: The ‘Star of the Week’ has become my new enemy. Having two daughters in a primary school, I am overly familiar with this behaviour strateg...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Star of the Week – the black hole of praise
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Star of the Week – the black hole of praise: The ‘Star of the Week’ has become my new enemy. Having two daughters in a primary school, I am overly familiar with this behaviour strateg...
Sunday, 2 August 2015
Monkey Learns...: *That* interview with Nicky Morgan
Monkey Learns...: *That* interview with Nicky Morgan: I suppose I ought to keep some trace of it on here! I am grateful to the person who thought of me and asked me to host the first chat. The...
Friday, 31 July 2015
frenchteacher: How the exam boards cocked a snook at ALCAB
frenchteacher: How the exam boards cocked a snook at ALCAB: Readers of my blog may recall that I got unusually hot under the collar when ALCAB (the Russell Group led advisory panel on MFL A-levels, s...
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
frenchteacher: Primary to secondary transition
frenchteacher: Primary to secondary transition: A problematic area for language teachers is how to handle the transition between primary and secondary school. As a head of department I onc...
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): Not so new - but still quietly terrified
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): Not so new - but still quietly terrified: Just over a year ago I wrote my very first blog post entitled "New - and Quietly Terrified!" ( http://www.newandquietlyterrified.c...
Monday, 27 July 2015
Outside In: Teacher Workload: a Question of Meaning?
Outside In: Teacher Workload: a Question of Meaning?: One thing the holidays brings to bear is the extent to which the intensity of our job can turn us into Jekyll and Hyde characters, with our...
School Data Updates: The Progress Paradox
School Data Updates: The Progress Paradox: There is a radical concept in urban design known as shared space. It involves the removal of kerbs, street furniture, and painted lines in o...
Sunday, 26 July 2015
PsychBrief: How biased are you? The role of intelligence in pr...
PsychBrief: How biased are you? The role of intelligence in pr...: People generally like to believe they are rational (Greenberg, 2015 ). Unfortunately, this isn't usually the case (Tversky & Kahnema...
frenchteacher: Five blogs I like
frenchteacher: Five blogs I like: On frenchteacher.net I have a long list of French teacher blog links, but I don't have the time to visit them all, apart from checking t...
The Baron: It’s vital that our children study Dead White Men
The Baron: It’s vital that our children study Dead White Men: According to a recent survey , a clear majority of teachers view the new knowledge-rich National Curriculum introduced last year as overtl...
Calamity Teacher: There will be a story there.
Calamity Teacher: There will be a story there.: I have always assumed that the birth of a school followed a secular immaculate conception. That schools just sprang up, or had always been t...
Friday, 24 July 2015
Evidence Based EFL: Do women and men process language differently? Is...
Evidence Based EFL: Do women and men process language differently? Is...: Hello internet! I've been crazy busy the past few months and haven't been able to blog. I presented in Canada at TOSCON2015 a...
Thursday, 23 July 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Criticisms of Research ...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Criticisms of Research ...: One of the tasks of an evidence-informed practitioner is to continually challenge the assumptions underpinning your work. As during this ye...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Washing the grit, resilience and sand out of the c...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Washing the grit, resilience and sand out of the c...: I have had enough GRIT to last me a lifetime. I have had it in my sandwiches, my swimming trunks and in my mouth as I slowly eat an ice crea...
Wednesday, 22 July 2015
frenchteacher: Reciting letters and numbers
frenchteacher: Reciting letters and numbers: I don't recall learning to say the alphabet in French at school. When I began teaching French in 1980 I didn't teach the alphabet ei...
Sunday, 19 July 2015
School Data Updates: The Gift
School Data Updates: The Gift: We're all knackered. You've all been teaching forever and I've visited approximately 1000 schools a week since I become self-emp...
frenchteacher: Comparing the new draft A-level specifications (2)...
frenchteacher: Comparing the new draft A-level specifications (2)...: In this blog I am going to look at the assessment regimes of the four exam boards as they appear in the drafts. Usual caveat: this may chang...
Friday, 17 July 2015
frenchteacher: Co-teaching new AS and A-levels
frenchteacher: Co-teaching new AS and A-levels: You'll be aware by now that the new AS-Level for first teaching in September 2016 is a so-called "stand-alone" or "decoup...
Mrs Halford's Blog: Secondary vs Primary... Building trust
Mrs Halford's Blog: Secondary vs Primary... Building trust: Today I had a meeting at our secondary school to discuss how we can all work together to ensure that progress made in primary schools can b...
Thursday, 16 July 2015
frenchteacher: Comparing the new draft A-level French specificati...
frenchteacher: Comparing the new draft A-level French specificati...: Ofqual and the exam boards are on a tight schedule ( merci Monsieur Gove) . The new draft specs for A-level are now published for first tea...
Mrs Halford's Blog: Teacher recruitment and retention...Where do we go...
Mrs Halford's Blog: Teacher recruitment and retention...Where do we go...: I was lucky to be able to attend the recent ASE Professional Learning conference at the University of Hertfordshire. An incredible line up...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Developing Great Teachers - Lessons from the evide...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Developing Great Teachers - Lessons from the evide...: Recently we saw the publication of the Teacher Development Trust’s report Developing Great Teachers: Lessons from the international reviews...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The Force is strong in you – I can see it from the...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The Force is strong in you – I can see it from the...: The point where I lost interest in Star Wars was when they tried to rationalise the Jedi powers. As soon as a character mentioned that stu...
A Constant Education: Gently does it...
A Constant Education: Gently does it...: There are many things to be learned from leadership courses, but in general I am not well suited to them. I have an exceptionally low tole...
Monday, 13 July 2015
@beazeley: Time to put a cap on workload
@beazeley: Time to put a cap on workload: As a profession, teachers are expected to work for too many hours. Not formally expected - in line with the mythical 1256 (directed) hours -...
Friday, 10 July 2015
Education Advisers Blog: EXPLAINING THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
Education Advisers Blog: EXPLAINING THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE: The International Baccalaureate is an international qualification now offered by around 3500 IB schools worldwide. It is overseen by The In...
Thursday, 9 July 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: RE: Radicalism and Extremism
TDRE Boss Blog: RE: Radicalism and Extremism: Image courtesy of 5 Pillars After the attacks that killed many British holiday makers in Tunisia, David Cameron said that the fight ag...
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Calamity Teacher: It's all in the name
Calamity Teacher: It's all in the name: I am an 'Outstanding' teacher, in an 'Outstanding' school, and I am being bullied, day after day, by a group of year seven s...
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Using research in education: Using computerised assessments in schools: Advanta...
Using research in education: Using computerised assessments in schools: Advanta...: As a psychologist who has been involved in the development of computerised educational assessments for many years, I am an advocate of usin...
Monday, 6 July 2015
frenchteacher: Opinions
frenchteacher: Opinions: Since GCSE began mark schemes have always rewarded pupils' ability to express opinions. I never really got this. It is easy to teach pup...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Leading the Use of Research and Evidence in School...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Leading the Use of Research and Evidence in School...: So what does a school research lead do? Over recent months I have blogged about the actions a school research lead can take to support coll...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: It’s all about the books, about the books, about t...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: It’s all about the books, about the books, about t...: Things have changed. There wasn’t a sudden announcement, but the emphasis in observations has dramatically changed over the last four...
To boldly go...: Leading learning by example
To boldly go...: Leading learning by example: Leadership. It's a long game right? But politics demands it's short term. What to do? I spoke to a really good friend on the pho...
Sunday, 5 July 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - How well are you doing ...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - How well are you doing ...: As the end of the academic year approaches, you may be thinking about your own teaching of evidence-informed practice. In other words, how w...
Saturday, 4 July 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: The Paradox of Liberalism: Same-Sex Marriage [Port...
TDRE Boss Blog: The Paradox of Liberalism: Same-Sex Marriage [Port...: Image courtesy of Wikipedia One of the papers delivered at the Porta Fidei conference by Adrian Pabst was on Liberalism and Catholic E...
Friday, 3 July 2015
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The End of 'Of Mice and Men'
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The End of 'Of Mice and Men': I write this blog with tears in my eyes. Big fat tears are streaming down my cheeks as I contemplate teaching ‘Of Mice and Men’ for the … la...
TDRE Boss Blog: Porta Fidei: Challenges at the Chalkface
TDRE Boss Blog: Porta Fidei: Challenges at the Chalkface: Image courtesy of <here> I was privileged to be invited by Michael Merrick to present a paper at Porta Fidei in Carlisle on Satur...
Thursday, 2 July 2015
School Data Updates: Running to stand still
School Data Updates: Running to stand still: Yesterday I re-read this: https://sway.com/aD_OzZBFhHqlrM4C from @edudatalab and, following an enlightening discussion with @meenaparam, I ...
Teaching Science: Do the DfE care?
Teaching Science: Do the DfE care?: After the department for education posted ANOTHER dreadful version of the GCSE science subject content I am left feeling even more bereft th...
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: RS Reform Briefing: CREDO HEI Day at St Mary’s Uni...
TDRE Boss Blog: RS Reform Briefing: CREDO HEI Day at St Mary’s Uni...: I was there as the teacher... as Peter Ward of NBRIA gave his outline of key changes, Phillip Robinson of the CES explained some of the...
FE Culture: Professional Status
FE Culture: Professional Status: I'd forgotten about this: Thanks to Shane for including me. https://set.et-foundation.co.uk/publications/ifl-publications-archi...
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
New School Finance: No details on academies' CIF loans until process c...
New School Finance: No details on academies' CIF loans until process c...: The 2015/16 Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) grants were announced in March but there have yet to be any announcements on the level of inte...
Saturday, 27 June 2015
My packet of crisps: Language Day - A level Curriculum and beyond
My packet of crisps: Language Day - A level Curriculum and beyond: So, a very interesting day at Uni on Friday attending a language day event. Lots of things to think about. Here's a potted summary if ...
The Baron: In many schools, racism has become acceptable
The Baron: In many schools, racism has become acceptable: Several years ago, an Asian colleague left my school unexpectedly. In the weeks that preceded his mysterious disappearance, he was subjected...
Teacher tips: Grit, character and well being
Teacher tips: Grit, character and well being: I had never been to The Festival of Education but quickly realised that my one ticket needed planning. At times during the day I wished I we...
Friday, 26 June 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: School Research Leads - How am I doing as an evide...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: School Research Leads - How am I doing as an evide...: I've often wondered what goes into making an effective evidence-informed teacher. I wish I could tell you what are the magic ingredien...
kitchen table math, the sequel: The black magic of "technology"
kitchen table math, the sequel: The black magic of "technology": If you haven't read Education Week 's new article on education technology, you should. I'll try to get a post up excerpting it l...
Thursday, 25 June 2015
School Data Updates: Tracked by the Insecurity Services
School Data Updates: Tracked by the Insecurity Services: Last night @LizzieP131 tweeted this: Which was followed by this: In the past week I've been told by headteachers using one particular sy...
Read Write Reach: Cambridge IGCSE English Paper 2 - An Examiner's Vi...
Read Write Reach: Cambridge IGCSE English Paper 2 - An Examiner's Vi...: cartoon I'm marking, marking, marking at the moment which was a bloody marvellous idea when the bairn slept for four or five bl...
Wednesday, 24 June 2015
Calamity Teacher: Out of order
Calamity Teacher: Out of order: I've been hearing this phrase a lot recently: That's well out of order and it's been grating on me. I hear it a lot from stu...
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: An Essex Boy in Yorkshire [NRocks 2015 - Part 2]
TDRE Boss Blog: An Essex Boy in Yorkshire [NRocks 2015 - Part 2]: Here is Part 2 of my write up and reflection (after lunch)... see Part 1 <here> David Cameron The REAL David Cameron, not the...
TDRE Boss Blog: An Essex Boy in Yorkshire [NRocks 2015 - Part 1]
TDRE Boss Blog: An Essex Boy in Yorkshire [NRocks 2015 - Part 1]: Northern Rocks was many things for me. It was CPD, it was reflection, it was a chance to network, and a time to socialise with friends. ...
TDRE Boss Blog: BlogSyncRE Special: A New Settlement? A RC View
TDRE Boss Blog: BlogSyncRE Special: A New Settlement? A RC View: Image courtesy of @FaithDebates This blog is part of a #BlogSyncRE special in response to the document "A New Settlement: Relig...
Friday, 19 June 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead and 'Disciplined Inquiry'...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead and 'Disciplined Inquiry'...: At researchED 2014 Dylan Wiliam said: ' All teachers should be seeking to improve their practice through a process of ‘disciplined inq...
frenchteacher: Should all pupils do MFL at GCSE?
frenchteacher: Should all pupils do MFL at GCSE?: With the government's confirmation of their manifesto commitment to make the Ebacc compulsory for all pupils, it may be time to return t...
nikki able: Just a little thought... About collective capacity...
nikki able: Just a little thought... About collective capacity...: I have spent the last four days at two very different educational events. The first was the Inspiring Leadership Conference in Birmingham, t...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Notes on a scandal. I mean: Notes on a new GCSE sp...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Notes on a scandal. I mean: Notes on a new GCSE sp...: In my head, everybody is working on their new GCSE specifications. I am sure my local butcher is busy working on it. And, the car mechanic. ...
Why I've Stayed In Teaching: Addressing The Balance
Why I've Stayed In Teaching: Addressing The Balance: I was marking books during my lunch break when a colleague approached me asking for advice on work/life balance. She'd been sent to me...
Wednesday, 17 June 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: Periscope at HertsSecNATRE
TDRE Boss Blog: Periscope at HertsSecNATRE: I was very honored to key note the inaugural meeting of the Herts Secondary NATRE Local Group. It was organised off the back of The Lon...
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Teacher's Notes: ‘Santa isn’t real…
Teacher's Notes: ‘Santa isn’t real…: …and George kills Lennie.’ Or, ‘How to ruin literary texts for your students.’ We’ve all had it: on the index page of ‘Of Mice and ...
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
More than sums: Hannah’s Sweets – a great time to be a maths teach...
More than sums: Hannah’s Sweets – a great time to be a maths teach...: Lots of ink has been spilled about this question elsewhere. I just want to respond to a couple of things that I have seen written, either ...
Monday, 8 June 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Joint Practice Development - How to avoid wasting...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Joint Practice Development - How to avoid wasting...: Teaching School Alliances are encouraged - as part of the R&D strand of the Big 6 - to take part in Joint Practice Development (JPD). ...
Sunday, 7 June 2015
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Let's talk about lists, baby!
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Let's talk about lists, baby!: In the mad panic before the exam, teachers throw everything, metaphorically, at the students with a hope that one last thing will stick an...
frenchteacher: How might schools deal with decoupled AS-levels?
frenchteacher: How might schools deal with decoupled AS-levels?: One very positive aspect of the current regime of AS-levels for modern languages is that a significant number of students are happy to conti...
Saturday, 6 June 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: The Future of RE - #TFREConference
TDRE Boss Blog: The Future of RE - #TFREConference: Image courtesy of Buckaroobay What are the challenges that will face RE in the next 5 years? How can we recruit enough RE teachers?...
TDRE Boss Blog: BlogSyncRE: Religious Literacy
TDRE Boss Blog: BlogSyncRE: Religious Literacy: Image courtesy Catholic Diocese of Ballarat BlogSynRE: What is religious literacy and how can it be improved in RE classrooms? Th...
Friday, 5 June 2015
School Data Updates: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Assessment
School Data Updates: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Assessment: One of my favourite scenes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy involves the Golgafrinchans who, having been tricked off their own ...
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Calamity Teacher: Teaching With Epilepsy
Calamity Teacher: Teaching With Epilepsy: One day, about three years ago, someone said something very strange to me. It was quite a simple statement and, oddly, I cannot quite reme...
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Why CATs (Critically Appraised Topics) are the Evi...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Why CATs (Critically Appraised Topics) are the Evi...: How many times have you heard : ' There's just no way I have the time to engage in research'. The development of CATS are i...
nikki able: CPD: the road ahead...
nikki able: CPD: the road ahead...: I have spent the last term working on a CPD structure that aims to deliver 3 things to the staff in my school. I want it to enable staff to ...
Saturday, 30 May 2015
My packet of crisps: How do you deal with the guilt?
My packet of crisps: How do you deal with the guilt?: I have just one question this half term. How do you control the guilt? I confess have struggled with this one this holiday. My body hasn...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Big system, little system – put them in a cardboar...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Big system, little system – put them in a cardboar...: In a rare moment of escapism, I visited a city this week. On the journey there, I purchased a coffee from a vendor at a train station. It ...
Learning to Teach: The end is just a new beginning.
Learning to Teach: The end is just a new beginning.: Four years ago today I was sat revising for my A Level exams. Three years ago today I was setting up cups of tea for students who were about...
New School Finance: 'Coasting', MATs and sponsorship
New School Finance: 'Coasting', MATs and sponsorship: A look at some of the reports and comment that provide some interesting context around the impact of 'coasting' on sponsors and MATs...
Friday, 29 May 2015
Bex Trex ...to teaching!: Keeping up the momentum? Starting the new academi...
Bex Trex ...to teaching!: Keeping up the momentum? Starting the new academi...: On Monday, most students and teachers in the UK will return for the last 7 weeks of the school year. We won't though, we're startin...
Teaching Science: Considering the Practicalities
Teaching Science: Considering the Practicalities: I have had aspirational blog posts come under my nose recently and they have made me think, not about what if... but how? How do we really...
frenchteacher: Why do girls do better than boys at language learn...
frenchteacher: Why do girls do better than boys at language learn...: At my school over the years the top set was usually predominantly male and the lower sets were predominantly male. Boys often did very well,...
Thursday, 28 May 2015
School Data Updates: The Rise of the Assessbots: do systems influence a...
School Data Updates: The Rise of the Assessbots: do systems influence a...: " And we would go on as though nothing was wrong " Joy Division, Transmission I recently got into a discussion on Twitter about th...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Do all good ideas need to be researched? - A resp...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Do all good ideas need to be researched? - A resp...: Recently David Didau posed the question : do all good ideas need to be researched? In doing so, Didau suggested that rather than research...
kitchen table math, the sequel: How to Google stuff when you don't know anything
kitchen table math, the sequel: How to Google stuff when you don't know anything: I've been joking with some of my friends about how exactly you would Google stuff when you don't know anything about the subject you...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Planning for the UK’s exit from the …. Controlled ...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Planning for the UK’s exit from the …. Controlled ...: Like most people, I am planning my contingency plan for when the UK leaves the EU. I am thinking of how it will affect the classroom. You ...
kitchen table math, the sequel: Another year, another school board election
kitchen table math, the sequel: Another year, another school board election: Needless to say, I cannot resist a school board election. Letter to the editor: At the September 23, 2013 meeting of the Board of Educat...
Bex Trex ...to teaching!: NQT- Not Quite There - but only 7 weeks to go!
Bex Trex ...to teaching!: NQT- Not Quite There - but only 7 weeks to go!: I can't quite believe I'm already at the point in the year where the end of my induction is in my sights. The finish line is so clo...
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: #BlogSyncRE - www.BlogSyncRE.org.uk
TDRE Boss Blog: #BlogSyncRE - www.BlogSyncRE.org.uk: Image courtesy of MyWritingBlog After many months of thinking and planning, I was prompted into action by recent events on Save RE. ...
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
frenchteacher: Where did all the A-level linguists go?
frenchteacher: Where did all the A-level linguists go?: All the figures below are from http://www.bstubbs.co.uk/a-lev.htm . Brian gets his figures from JCQ. In 1993 29886 students did A-level Fre...
educationtoday: Thrown in at the deep end: support for teachers’ f...
educationtoday: Thrown in at the deep end: support for teachers’ f...: by Katarzyna Kubacka Analyst, Directorate for Education and Skills The first day at work can be stressful for anyone. But what if that d...
TDRE Boss Blog: Edexcel GCSE Religion & Media
TDRE Boss Blog: Edexcel GCSE Religion & Media: Image courtesy of The Guardian Firstly, I think religion and the media is fascinating. I always do some really good work on Islamopho...
frenchteacher: Challenges of new MFL A-levels
frenchteacher: Challenges of new MFL A-levels: Until the election result we did not know for sure if the new A-levels, with their decoupled AS level, would become a reality. Now we know. ...
TDRE Boss Blog: Freedom in RE
TDRE Boss Blog: Freedom in RE: Image courtesy of 2 Oceans Vibs Last night on the Facebook group of RE teachers called 'Save RE' a row escalated after a NQTs...
ssphonix: IFERI
ssphonix: IFERI: Anyone interested in reading the thoughts on this blog is strongly recommend to keep a regular eye on the website of IFERI (www.iferi.org ...
Monday, 25 May 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: The Internet In Your Pocket
TDRE Boss Blog: The Internet In Your Pocket: Image courtesy of The Huffington Post For Y7 to Y11, phones must be switched off and locked in lockers. If they are seen, they are con...
Using research in education: How much carrot and how much stick: What messages ...
Using research in education: How much carrot and how much stick: What messages ...: A common feature in many educational systems is the use of high-stakes school leaving exams at the end of secondary education. The results ...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Should you prioritise e...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Should you prioritise e...: This post seeks to share with School Research Leads some of the key findings of Gu et al's (2014) evaluation of teaching school alliance...
Sunday, 24 May 2015
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Revising, revision and the long game
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Revising, revision and the long game: It is a universal truth that a student wanting to succeed in exams will often lean towards one subject rather than another, because it i...
Saturday, 23 May 2015
frenchteacher: How much teacher talk?
frenchteacher: How much teacher talk?: I recommend to you Barry Smith's blog about language teaching. Barry is a full-on, skill-building, cognitive code, teach-em-from-the-fro...
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
educationtoday: Tough choices in school choice
educationtoday: Tough choices in school choice: by Marilyn Achiron Editor, Directorate for Education and Skills For those parents who have the opportunity to do so, choosing a school ...
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
History Lecturer : Wall displays in a history class-room
History Lecturer : Wall displays in a history class-room: Yesterday there was a tweet asking for ideas for what to put on a history teacher's class-room wall. So this seems a good...
TDRE Boss Blog: Pay Me My Money Down
TDRE Boss Blog: Pay Me My Money Down: Image courtesy of Wikimedia Questions to NOT to ask at dinner parties: Who do you vote for? Are you religious? How much do you get...
Monday, 18 May 2015
Read Write Reach: Why Being a Teacher is A Bit Like Being a Royal
Read Write Reach: Why Being a Teacher is A Bit Like Being a Royal: It must be tough naming a baby if you're a Royal. After all, the range of monikers you can realistically bestow on your baby without som...
Sunday, 17 May 2015
frenchteacher: So what about that Conservative Ebacc commitment?
frenchteacher: So what about that Conservative Ebacc commitment?: We will require secondary school pupils to take GCSEs in English, maths, science, a language and history or geography, with Ofsted unable to...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Evidence-Informed Pract...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead - Evidence-Informed Pract...: The motivation to write this post arose from a desire to help school research leads avoid the trap of telling colleagues - 'what the ev...
TDRE Boss Blog: Poor Old PowerPoint
TDRE Boss Blog: Poor Old PowerPoint: Image courtesy of Microsoft Like so many things on Twitter, the use of PowerPoint has become a little polarised of late. Is it the wor...
Saturday, 16 May 2015
TDRE Boss Blog: No More Open Letters... [3 Key Points for Morgan &...
TDRE Boss Blog: No More Open Letters... [3 Key Points for Morgan &...: Image courtesy of Tony Gentilcore It's begun. Just a number of hours after the election and the open letters to David Cameron and N...
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: A Professional Development: #Pedagooprimary
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: A Professional Development: #Pedagooprimary: Yesterday I travelled some eighty or so miles to Edinburgh to take part in a professional development event for teachers, organised by teach...
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): Another trough.
NQT (New - and Quietly Terrified!): Another trough.: I have debated uploading this post as it is particularly negative, but it is my personal blog, my professional journey, and I think it's...
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
frenchteacher: Two implications of the election result for MFL
frenchteacher: Two implications of the election result for MFL: So the nation has voted and totally confounded the pollsters. Like many teachers I am bitterly disappointed and can foresee some messy polit...
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
To boldly go...: Another dot on the Raiseonline
To boldly go...: Another dot on the Raiseonline: Some may remember the last blog post I wrote about statutory testing for 11 year olds and the effects on pupils. Especially the most vulnera...
TDRE Boss Blog: Faith Schools [RC] #GE2015
TDRE Boss Blog: Faith Schools [RC] #GE2015: Image courtesy of BHA The Bishops of England and Wales wrote to the Catholic population in February. The two key questions that it as...
Adam Twyman's Blog: Understanding Assessment without Levels
Adam Twyman's Blog: Understanding Assessment without Levels: In the first of my series about developing a new assessment system in our 2 form entry primary school in suburban south London, I will try ...
Adam Twyman's Blog: Understanding Assessment without Levels
Adam Twyman's Blog: Understanding Assessment without Levels: In the first of my series about developing a new assessment system in our 2 form entry primary school in suburban south London, I will try ...
frenchteacher: Challenges of the new MFL GCSE
frenchteacher: Challenges of the new MFL GCSE: Controlled assessment will be gone, good riddance, but many language teachers will be wary of a new GCSE syllabus they will have to teach fr...
Thursday, 7 May 2015
educationtoday: How Sweden’s school system can regain its old stre...
educationtoday: How Sweden’s school system can regain its old stre...: by Andreas Schleicher Director, Directorate for Education and Skills During my days as a university student, I used to look to Swed...
Teaching Apprentice: Setting and Maintaining an Academic Ethos
Teaching Apprentice: Setting and Maintaining an Academic Ethos: For the following weeks, I am focussing on creating an Academic Ethos by adhering to the techniques advocated by Doug Lemov in his
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: researchED New York - Some Initial Reflections
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: researchED New York - Some Initial Reflections: The longer I work at developing my skills as a edublogger, the more I realise that there's nothing more stimulating than listening to in...
Monday, 4 May 2015
The Snow Report: Why not everyone is enthusiastic about the Arrows...
The Snow Report: Why not everyone is enthusiastic about the Arrows...: Recent media reports such as this one in The Age have again drawn attention to the Canadian-based Arrowsmith Program for addressing the ne...
Steps in teaching and learning: Going for interview - Square pegs in round holes
Steps in teaching and learning: Going for interview - Square pegs in round holes: This isn't a blog about getting your first teaching post, this is really about that next step up the ladder, the leadership post. I...
Adam Twyman's Blog: Developing A New Assessment System
Adam Twyman's Blog: Developing A New Assessment System: It was no surprise to me, in October 2014, when my head teacher placed at the top of my new performance management form the requirem...
Read Write Reach: Interview Questions
Read Write Reach: Interview Questions: Chickens As a twenty one year old NQT wannabe, I rocked up at Leeds University to be interviewed for the PGCE Secondary English cou...
Sunday, 3 May 2015
The London RE Hub: Where Next? [2015]
The London RE Hub: Where Next? [2015]: The TLREH Team at the Ismaili Centre, March 2015 The London RE Hub’s inaugural conference was attended by over 100 London teachers and...
Friday, 1 May 2015
frenchteacher: How can we increase uptake in languages?
frenchteacher: How can we increase uptake in languages?: Readers will be familiar with the crisis in recruitment to language courses in the UK, whether it be GCSE, A-level or university. At GCSE th...
Thursday, 30 April 2015
Using research in education: Working memory in the classroom
Using research in education: Working memory in the classroom: Working memory is the memory system we use during everyday activities. Imagine, for example, attempting to multiply two numbers without ...
ManYana Ltd: Why do I need a teacher?
ManYana Ltd: Why do I need a teacher?: Walking the dogs through the glorious Welsh landscape is brilliant thinking time. Today they were particularly well behaved. I could walk...
TDRE Boss Blog: Religious Literacy [RC]
TDRE Boss Blog: Religious Literacy [RC]: Image from The Way textbook from TERE Religious literacy is the knowledge of, and ability to understand, religion. (source <here&g...
TDRE Boss Blog: Resourcing NEW GCSE / A-Level RS
TDRE Boss Blog: Resourcing NEW GCSE / A-Level RS: Image courtesy of Geograph From 2016 there will be a new GCSE and a new A-Level in Religious Studies. Both will look dramatically diff...
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead and Cognitive Biases
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The School Research Lead and Cognitive Biases: Acknowledging the influence and impact of cognitive biases on evidence-informed practice is essential for the School Research Lead. Why...
Mrs P Teach: Dear NQT Mentors...
Mrs P Teach: Dear NQT Mentors...: I've heard most of you are amazing. Like my own NQT mentor, you inspire, encourage, support and advise. You invite new teachers to wa...
kitchen table math, the sequel: Barry's book is out!!
kitchen table math, the sequel: Barry's book is out!!: Teaching Math in the 21st Century I got my copy in the mail this week, opened it up to a random page, and instantly found a paragraph to p...
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Mrs P Teach: I Wish My Teacher Knew...
Mrs P Teach: I Wish My Teacher Knew...: This idea has been doing the rounds on social media for the last few weeks. A simple search on Twitter for the hashtag #IWishMyTeacherKnew...
The Baron: Nicky Morgan needs to denounce the Left's shameful...
The Baron: Nicky Morgan needs to denounce the Left's shameful...: Let's make no bones about it; the Left's unrepentant fingerprints are all over the scarred, lifeless body. It lies face down, rive...
frenchteacher: How highly should we value pronunciation?
frenchteacher: How highly should we value pronunciation?: When I was reviewing the Speaking mark schemes for the new GCSE MFL exams beginning in 2018 (first teaching 2016) I picked up the fact that ...
frenchteacher: How highly should we value pronunciation?
frenchteacher: How highly should we value pronunciation?: When I was reviewing the Speaking mark schemes for the new GCSE MFL exams beginning in 2018 (first teaching 2016) I picked up the fact that ...
Read Write Reach: Impossible and Irresponsible: 'Sacrifice-Everythin...
Read Write Reach: Impossible and Irresponsible: 'Sacrifice-Everythin...: I recently read Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman , an American mom and self-confessed neurotic who found herself in Paris bringing up ...
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specifications (4)
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specifications (4): This is the fourth post about the draft MFL GCSE specifications, the first looked at the AQA specification in some detail, whilst the second...
Thursday, 23 April 2015
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specification mark scheme...
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specification mark scheme...: In my previous post about the new draft GCSE MFL mark schemes I focused on the Foundation Speaking Conversation grids. remember that it is r...
TDRE Boss Blog: Outlaw RE [Think Bomb]
TDRE Boss Blog: Outlaw RE [Think Bomb]: I attended an RE Thinking Day organised by Culham St Gabriel' s and I was asked by Mark Chater to plan a 'Thought Bomb' whi...
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
nikki able: #rEDBright - summary of a research lead conference...
nikki able: #rEDBright - summary of a research lead conference...: I have a confession to make. Despite this being my third ResearchEd event, I am not a research lead (don't tell Tom Bennett), yet I ke...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Research Leads Brighton and keeping groupthink at ...
Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Research Leads Brighton and keeping groupthink at ...: researchED have done it again, with another fantastic event. This Saturday, Brighton University played host to the third researchED Resea...
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: No-Notice Inspections: Some Initial Thoughts
School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective: No-Notice Inspections: Some Initial Thoughts: This week we have had an announcement from Education Scotland that they are carrying out a review of their inspection processes. Part of thi...
Monday, 20 April 2015
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specification mark scheme...
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specification mark scheme...: Helen Myers suggested I might have a look at the different mark schemes for the four awarding bodies for England and Wales. If you missed it...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Flexible, bendy creative writing and fixed, rigid ...
Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Flexible, bendy creative writing and fixed, rigid ...: If I am honest, there are some types of texts English teachers are experts on teaching. I’d admit, even though I have taught A-level Engli...
Saturday, 18 April 2015
Digital Glue: All things must pass
Digital Glue: All things must pass: I stopped teaching before Christmas 2013 and resigned in April 2014. I have a decent teaching pension but it's a bit hand-to-mouth. ...
Friday, 17 April 2015
To infinity... and beyond: First a Ratio Robbery, now a Jewel Heist...
To infinity... and beyond: First a Ratio Robbery, now a Jewel Heist...: Recently, I tweeted about my distaste at teachers being given the opportunity to sell resources on TES. I've gained a lot of good resour...
TDRE Boss Blog: Assessment Without Levels: Catholic RE AWOL
TDRE Boss Blog: Assessment Without Levels: Catholic RE AWOL: What do you do when your school is moving over to a whole new system of assessing Key Stage 3 students but the directive from the Bisho...
Thursday, 16 April 2015
Identity crisis? No, I'm a primary school teacher!: Assessment without levels ... a successful trial!
Identity crisis? No, I'm a primary school teacher!: Assessment without levels ... a successful trial!: I didn't go out of my way to start an 'assessment without levels' trial. It just seemed to be the only sensible way forward. M...
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specifications
frenchteacher: Comparing draft GCSE MFL specifications: In a recent blog I looked in a little detail at the AQA draft MFL specification. All the awarding bodies, or exam boards, as teachers usuall...
frenchteacher: Easy Languages video parallel listening
frenchteacher: Easy Languages video parallel listening: http://www.easy-languages.org/about/ I just came across this free site which has a decent archive of video interviews recorded on t...
Educating MrMattock: Hats off to the Welsh...
Educating MrMattock: Hats off to the Welsh...: With no disrespect intended at all; in recent times with all of the adverse media attention, the word "Wales" has not exactly bee...
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