All the SLOP you need

I have finally finished updating my booklets. The page where I used to keep them got a bit messy so I'm starting a new one here. In terms of changes, I have fiddled the sequencing on a bunch of them,...

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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...

Planning smarter: rethinking the short, medium and long term

A lot has changed recently. The new emphasis on curriculum and knowledge have led many to think about their teaching in completely different ways. For me, one of the big shifts has been the move from my teaching being resource-...

What to do after a mock? Assessment, sampling, inferences and more

A common question in the #CogSciSci email group is what to do after students have done an assessment or a mock. Most commonly, people spend a lesson "going over" the paper, where the teacher goes through each question and students make...

Managing management: a couple of tips and tricks for better behaviour

I used to really struggle with behaviour. There would be routine periods of my lessons where I just didn't have control. Majority of students not working. Kids wandering around to have a chat. Paper airplanes. You know the drill. It's...

Thinking, Pairing and Sharing – good use of time?

I was recently discussing the use of a Think, Pair, Share (TPS) with a colleague. It does what it says on the tin: you pose a question or a text and have students first think about it, then pair up...

The generic and the disciplinary: finding a balance

Yesterday, I posted a blog arguing that "teaching and learning" is dead. It generated some really fascinating conversations online, and I wanted to pick up on something a couple of people raised: it may be the case that curriculum comes...

Teaching and Learning is Dead

We've all been there: formal observation with a non-specialist. Being told that our AfL was sub-par, that our activities weren't engaging enough, that we hadn't appropriately differentiated for SEN, EAL, PP, G&T, HPA, LPA etc etc. It's incredibly frustrating to...

Modelling Curricular Thinking: Inspired by Ben Ranson

I was just settling in for a well-earned evening playing video games on my laptop when I saw this thread by Ben Ranson: https://twitter.com/ThatBenRanson/status/1092498480445227009 The reason why Ben's thread is important is because it models curricular thinking. Most of us...

Core and hinterland: What’s what and why it matters

In 1918, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to a war criminal. In the early years of the 20th century, German scientist Fritz Haber developed a process to artificially synthesise ammonia, a vital component of agricultural fertilisers. A reaction...