The Learning Hub doors are now open as a new space for staff to meet, plan and develop classroom practice. Continue Reading
Pedagogy
Teaching like a Champion?
Rereading Doug Lemov’s ‘Teach Like a Champion 2.0’ , I am reminded of the simplicity and practicality of his ideas. So how does a “Champion” teach and why is this book so powerful? Continue Reading
Why are we Testing? (includes a useful infographic)
This is an idea that I’ve been thinking about for some time, particularly following a talk by Daisy Christodoulou and subsequently reading her book ‘Making Good Progress’. The standout point from both of these was that one test can not (effectively) fulfil multiple functions. We need to decide whether we are aiming to develop learning or to measure it. Continue Reading
Mastery Principles that Work for Everyone
The idea of ‘mastery teaching’ has been an educational buzzword for some time, but what does it really mean and what can every teacher learn from its principles? Continue Reading
Feedback with Impact!
Time effective strategies to make sure that feedback always leads to learning
I ran an inset today with a colleague about giving ‘Feedback with Impact’. We deliberately avoided the word ‘marking’ because there are so many ways to communicate with pupils about their learning. We wanted to focus on ‘Impact’ because feedback is only worthwhile if it leads to learning. Continue Reading
Memory Matters / Effective Revision
On Thursday night I gave a talk to parents on effective revision techniques as part our Year 11 Revision Evening. The aim was to illustrate some basic principles relating to memory and how these can be utilised to improve recall and retention. This is a summary of the content. Continue Reading
A Concise Literacy Policy
Writing concisely and precisely is a common challenge for our pupils in improving the quality of their writing. In order to lead the way here, I’ve tried to model these qualities in our new literacy policy.
The policy, consisting of just nine words, is as follows: Continue Reading
