Thinking About Teaching & Learning : Thinking about... Rosenshine's principles of instr...

Thinking About Teaching & Learning : Thinking about... Rosenshine's principles of instr...: The Sutton Trust’s paper, ‘what makes great teaching?’ identifies quality of instruction as one of the components that has the greatest imp...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Fake news: I care more than you do.

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Fake news: I care more than you do.: There is one thing about teaching that never changes. Teachers care. In fact, they care a lot. They care so much they listen to a lot of c...

Evidence Based EFL: Woo watch: Science / fiction part

Evidence Based EFL: Woo watch: Science / fiction part: I wrote about Carol Black's attempts to discredit opponents of learning styles as racists and sexists here .  Black's piece trouble...

The Baron: Chapter One: Part One: Out of the frying pan into ...

The Baron: Chapter One: Part One: Out of the frying pan into ...: Starting a new job is always nerve-racking, even for a seasoned old veteran like me. You naturally feel the need to prove yourself and seek...

The Baron: Guardian-Land is a land of chaos and confusion

The Baron: Guardian-Land is a land of chaos and confusion: They live in Guardian-Land. This was the rebuke given to indulgent judges by an ex-police chief on LBC radio this week.  He was of cour...

The Emaths Blog: Weaker Pupils or The Wrong Maths?

The Emaths Blog: Weaker Pupils or The Wrong Maths?: I have noticed a lot of people talking about ‘weaker pupils’ on Twitter.   There are suggestions, for example, that certain rep...

The Snow Report: Who sank the (reading) boat? A sad tale of academi...

The Snow Report: Who sank the (reading) boat? A sad tale of academi...: I am writing this blogpost in Syracuse, New York, where I have just had the great pleasure of being part of the second annual R...

School Data Updates: Trust

School Data Updates: Trust: Here's a thing. In conversations with senior leaders both online and in the real world, I often get asked about restricting access to da...

The Baron: Without exclusions, Anti-Bullying Week is a hollow...

The Baron: Without exclusions, Anti-Bullying Week is a hollow...: I always find many of those who claim to support anti-bullying week whilst opposing school exclusions slightly dishonest. I mean, how can y...

The View from Cullingworth: Manners maketh man - so let's teach them

The View from Cullingworth: Manners maketh man - so let's teach them: "Manners maketh man" was one of William Horman's proverbs lovingly set out in his Vulgaria all the way back in the 16th cent...

Evidence Based EFL: Woo watch: Baba Vanga

Evidence Based EFL: Woo watch: Baba Vanga: Baba Vanga Baba Vanga was a blind Bulgarian mystic. She is quite well-known among people who are into the weird  and wonderful world o...

School Data Updates: The Progress Delusion

School Data Updates: The Progress Delusion: I recently spoke to a headteacher of a primary school judged by Ofsted to be 'requiring improvement'. The school has been on an asse...

The Baron: Oh no! Performance Management: It's that time of y...

The Baron: Oh no! Performance Management: It's that time of y...: A few years ago, I considered Performance Management to be a good thing. Teachers should be held accountable for their results, I thought. ...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Interventions – stop swapping cows and magic beans...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Interventions – stop swapping cows and magic beans...: I hate the word ‘intervention’. It’s a nasty word that has crept into education. It’s so bad that parents and students are using it now. W...

CHILDMYTHS: Of Pigs, Parlors, and Unconventional Views of Atta...

CHILDMYTHS: Of Pigs, Parlors, and Unconventional Views of Atta...: On a number of occasions I’ve pointed put how Christian fundamentalists have attributed mental illness to demonic possession, and demoni...

TDRE Boss Blog: Core Knowledge: The Catholic 100

TDRE Boss Blog: Core Knowledge: The Catholic 100: Until I sit down with a few of my fellow Catholic educators and write the Canon of Catholic RE ( or even a whole school curriculum ), we ...

TDRE Boss Blog: My First Lesson for Y9+ - Teaching Note Taking

TDRE Boss Blog: My First Lesson for Y9+ - Teaching Note Taking: An outline of my first lesson: A brief welcome and hello.  Seating plan, alphabetically by first name to start with so I get to know n...

TDRE Boss Blog: Being Catholic

TDRE Boss Blog: Being Catholic: Back in July, I had two articles published: Schools Week: Let’s not turn RE into a weapon in the war against Catholic schools The Cath...

The Snow Report: An open letter to student teachers

The Snow Report: An open letter to student teachers: Dear Student Teachers I’d like to have a chat with you. It’s about reading. Yes, I know you’re probably being told to think about ...

Reflective Ramblings: One Teacher's Journey Post-MEd: #letthemteach

Reflective Ramblings: One Teacher's Journey Post-MEd: #letthemteach: It has come to my attention, after reading the most recent edition of TES (No. 5305), that there is a growing crisis in the United Kingdom w...

BG Blog: SATs - What Is All The Fuss About?

BG Blog: SATs - What Is All The Fuss About?: I have been thinking about writing this post for a while. Year 6 SATs are a massive deal for primary school - the results are used as one wa...

Evidence Based EFL: Arguments by other means

Evidence Based EFL: Arguments by other means: A few weeks ago a  post by  Carol Black  defending the  use of learning styles   was making the  rounds on twitter . I say defending but in...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Evidence-informed practice and the dentist's waiti...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Evidence-informed practice and the dentist's waiti...: Sometimes the inspiration for a blogpost comes from an unexpected place, in this instance, my dentist’s waiting room.   Now I happen to be a...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The stench of failure and the sweet aroma of succe...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The stench of failure and the sweet aroma of succe...: There’s one thing we don’t speak enough about in the world of education. Failure. Mistakes. Errors of judgement made by adults.   The...

Evidence Based EFL: Politics and English language teaching

Evidence Based EFL: Politics and English language teaching: One theme of 2017 was whether we should be more 'political' in our lessons. At IATEFL, JJ Wilson argued for the inclusion of &...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and how to avoid being th...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and how to avoid being th...: A major challenge for school leaders and teachers interested in evidence-based practice (EBP)  is to be constantly seeking out EBP 's li...

Sharing Pedagogical Purposes: Listen: Teachers can use more signalling to increa...

Sharing Pedagogical Purposes: Listen: Teachers can use more signalling to increa...: Teacher clarity comes from many sources: 1. Being clear about what you want your students to know and be able to do 2. Clearly explaining ...

Sharing Pedagogical Purposes: Teacher clarity: Don’t be vague.

Sharing Pedagogical Purposes: Teacher clarity: Don’t be vague.: Don’t be vague, is a pretty vague way of saying how to improve teacher clarity, but it is not without validity.  Unclear language, in explan...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research champion and the evidence-rich...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research champion and the evidence-rich...: Teachers, middle and senior leaders interested in bringing about greater use of evidence within their schools are exposed to a wide-range o...

Sharing Pedagogical Purposes: What is Pedagogical Content Knowledge?

Sharing Pedagogical Purposes: What is Pedagogical Content Knowledge?: Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is our professional knowledge. All of the planning, and perhaps, all of our teaching decisions  are mad...

Educating MrMattock: The Launch of the Midlands Knowledge Schools Hub

Educating MrMattock: The Launch of the Midlands Knowledge Schools Hub: This week I have been privileged to spend quite a bit of time at St Martin's Catholic Academy in Stoke Golding, a village near the bord...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: We need to talk about Brian’s work!

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: We need to talk about Brian’s work!: Ok, I have been using the ‘200 Word Challenge’ for over two years now and in that time I have seen a lot of writing. And, I mean a lot. ...

The Baron: I suspect that powerful interests have covered up ...

The Baron: I suspect that powerful interests have covered up ...: Ann Maguire was a dedicated teacher, utterly devoted to the children in her care. She had worked in the teaching profession for over four d...

School Data Updates: 5 things primary governors should know about data....

School Data Updates: 5 things primary governors should know about data....: Data is a minefield. It’s hard enough for head teachers and senior leaders to find their way through it all, but for many  governors it is a...

The Snow Report: Education's West Gate Bridge

The Snow Report: Education's West Gate Bridge:   Image source Imagine that some time later today, you start to feel creeping pain in your chest. You also feel a little sweaty a...

School Data Updates: Capped scores in 2018 progress measures

School Data Updates: Capped scores in 2018 progress measures: The DfE recently announced that they would cap the extremely negative progress scores (but not the extremely positive progress scores by the...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: School Leaders, Crisis Management and Putting Out ...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: School Leaders, Crisis Management and Putting Out ...: In a recent DfE (2018) report senior leaders described their role as ‘akin to ‘crisis’ management much of the time:’ (p21).   My intention...

Primary Story: Workload - Allowing teachers to teach

Primary Story: Workload - Allowing teachers to teach: In the 12 years since I started my Initial Teacher Training, the issue of workload has constantly been in focus. Many believe – and I used...

Primary Story: KS2 Times Table Check

Primary Story: KS2 Times Table Check: The new times table check will become mandatory in June 2020 and today it was announced by Nick Gibb that the government is to start triall...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Boss competence and teacher well-being

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Boss competence and teacher well-being: In this post I will be looking at the work of Artz, Goodall, et al. (2017) and the relationship between ‘boss competence and worker-well be...

The Emaths Blog: MathsConf14

The Emaths Blog: MathsConf14: Yesterday, 400 maths teachers from across the UK descended upon Kettering in Northamptonshire for #MathsConf14. The day follows mont...

Tom Bennett's School Report: How is the evidence revolution going? Some reflect...

Tom Bennett's School Report: How is the evidence revolution going? Some reflect...: At the recent researchED in Haninge Sweden, I closed the conference with a speech that tried to understand where we had got to in evidenc...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: New : Teachers and performance related pay - what...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: New : Teachers and performance related pay - what...: Last week Schools Week published a piece by Lee Miller – Deputy Chief Executive of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust (TSAT) titled Performa...

The Emaths Blog: Some Thoughts on Mixed Ability vs Setting

The Emaths Blog: Some Thoughts on Mixed Ability vs Setting: In the last week alone, I have heard an Ofsted inspector call for maths teachers to move to mixed ability teaching and an apparent ‘official...

School Data Updates: Coasting? You’re taking the p*ss!

School Data Updates: Coasting? You’re taking the p*ss!: I recently read an Ofsted report for a school judged inadequate and placed into special measures. The report contained the following stateme...

Tom Bennett's School Report: It's still a wonderful job- because teaching saved...

Tom Bennett's School Report: It's still a wonderful job- because teaching saved...: It’s  still  a wonderful job Nb: this is an edited version of a previously published post I usually have a Christmas ritual: I republ...

Noahpinion: Sheepskin effects - signals without signaling

Noahpinion: Sheepskin effects - signals without signaling: Bryan Caplan is one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the signaling theory of education, and this theory plays an important role in...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: School research lead and simple sabotage

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: School research lead and simple sabotage: As we approach the end of the calendar year it seems only sensible to have an end of year list.   So in the spirit of 'bah humbug' ...