December 2, 2019

Rethinking Homework Expectations

How can we set purposeful work AND support the reduction of workload?

A blog from Mrs Martin

At the end of last half term, I wrote about getting into good habits with homework.

Below is a reminder of the criteria I suggested with regards to setting tasks, focusing on work that leads to progress.

Criteria:  Purposeful; Progress; Positive Study Habits.

Below are some suggestions about what this might look like. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but hopefully gives some indication of how the criteria could be met: Continue Reading

November 15, 2019

Why words matter in Science.

Good blog on literacy in Science but relevant to other departments too. If you want advice on how to develop vocab in your subject then speak to our Literacy Champion Katy Scott.

Twenty years in ... and still learning

As many of you may be aware, I have an unrelenting passion for language and literacy in science. So I thought that I would bite the bullet and start to share some of my ideas and thoughts behind such an important area that not only underpins every aspect of science teaching, but can easily be translated across different subject disciplines. The aim of this piece is to consider vocabulary as the foundation that all other areas of literacy depend upon.

text on shelf Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Ideas to think about…

  • Why is vocabulary important in science teaching?
  • How can teachers model effective use of language?
  • Why is it important to teach students the conceptual links between key terms in science?

“Science educators are also to some extent language teachers and that the learning of Science is like learning a whole new language”.

Wellington and Osborne (2001)

Vocabulary

Science has its own distinctive…

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October 21, 2019

“MOTIVATION GETS YOU GOING. HABIT GETS YOU THERE”

Some reflections on Homework from Mrs Martin.

At the start of the year I shared this quote with you all. I’ve also shared it with many pupils in the past and reminded them that doing something once or twice doesn’t mean you’re all set.

Habits don’t happen overnight and when we talk about effective homework, this relies on creating positive habits. For the pupils; for us as teachers. Continue Reading

September 12, 2019

“Are there any questions?”

…Following this year’s INSET I vowed never to say these words again. Yet, they crept back into my lessons almost immediately. Scolding myself at the start of most days since, I’m beginning to change the phrasing and structure of my questioning:

“What do you understand?”

“What is the first step to this task, and what should you include?” Continue Reading

July 12, 2019

Bridging the Word Gap

Since being crowned school Literacy Champion, Mrs Scott is keen to get us all thinking about how we develop vocabulary in our classrooms. Here she presents a few pieces of research on the topic which might prompt discussion about vocab in your subject.

It it incredible to think that “Vocabulary at age 4 is the best predictor of achievement at age 16 out of all measures yet studied” – Roulstone et al 2011 Continue Reading

July 11, 2019

NQT Pearls of Wisdom

At the end of every year, the NQTs who have just completed their first year of teaching pass on their advice to the NQTs who are just starting. This is always a good opportunity for them to reflect on their practice and we end up with some good advice, not just for new teachers but also those of us who have been in the job for a while! So here is some of the advice that they shared: Continue Reading

June 26, 2019

HubShare: Looking Back on a Year of Enquiry

A year ago we changed the way we offered staff development by launching an Enquiry Hub model. The thinking behind this project was to open up the thinking in our school beyond the questions that we usually pose our teachers and let them set the agenda for their learning. This was the most exciting thing about the whole venture: unlike traditional CPD, we weren’t sure what the answers would be, or even what questions would be asked.

Continue Reading