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
Pedagogy
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
Watch yourself teach with IRIS!
If you’ve ever filmed yourself teaching, you’ll know that it can be an incredibly formative, if daunting, experience. Unlike the observer who drops in for 20 minutes and spends half of the time looking at their observation record, the camera misses nothing. When I first used IRIS, I felt myself becoming unexpectedly nervous: strangely, I found the presence of a camera more daunting than a human observer. However, having been through the process a few times now, I’m now committed to making filming a regular tool for reflecting on my practice.
Keeping your finger on the pedagogical pulse
Another positive outcome of our recent inset day has been a number of teachers asking me about how to find out about current pedagogical research and thinking. Here are some ideas to help you keep your finger on the pedagogical pulse.
