All the SLOP you need

All the resources below are published absolutely free of charge. If you want to say thank you or support me in some other way, click here.  Chemistry *and* physics booklets I have finally finished updating my booklets. The page where...

Useful bits and pieces for evidence informed teaching

Below is a list of things I have read and found interesting and have helped me develop as a teacher. I've been collecting them over the last year or so and tried desperately to keep them in order. This is...

Key Stage 3 Science Resources

Key Stage 3 science has always been a bit of a hobby-horse of mine, as I think it's in an extremely poor state nationally and needs sorting. At my last school, we built a really strong scheme which you can...

What’s a visualiser worth?

A few weeks ago, IPEVO contacted me to ask me if I would like to review their newest visualiser: the wireless VZX. They didn’t ask me to publish a blog or anything, just to give them some feedback on the...

Ratio: The Mark Scheme

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about Ratio: a concept which I have found to be incredibly powerful when discussing and describing classroom practice. By way of  reminder, there are two types of ratio: Participation ratio: how many...

Shifting lines: does everything work somewhere?

"there is no such thing as ‘what works’ in education. It’s good to employ a range of pedagogical approaches to meet the needs of children in their different contexts" "When it’s interesting enough, chalk and talk does work." "There is...

Ratio

I've observed a lot of lessons this year. Inside science, outside science, novice teachers, expert teachers. Lots and lots of other people's lessons. I've also been observed lots. As much as I've been in others' classrooms, others have been in...

Observing Novice Teaching

What went well: great use of vocab sheet for EAL student and thumbs up/thumbs down (standards 5, 6) Even better if: improve your pacing so you have time to fit everything in, use more group work to increase engagement (standard...

How to not screw up retrieval practice

This is the first blog in the CogSciSci symposium on retrieval practice in the classroom. You should read the introduction to this symposium here before reading this article.  Retrieval Practice in the Classroom: Lethal Mutation? In the introduction to this...

Come work with me!

I work at a brilliant school, with brilliant colleagues, brilliant students and brilliant outcomes. It's a no-brainer: if you are looking to work in a science department where teachers have been granted the autonomy to dictate the way their subject...

Modelling modelling: into the classroom with live drawing

This post comes unashamedly on the tails of Pritesh Raichura's excellent series on teacher explanation which you can read here. I've written recently on dual coding and the multimedia effect because, like Pritesh, I'm worried that dual coding is in...