Since my last blog entry a lot has changed both personally and globally. Personally, I have taken on the responsibility for leading literacy in my current school (more on this to come in future blogs) and globally the world has been changed drastically by something smaller than a cell. As I write this, Romania has … Continue reading Education in the era of COVID-19
SEL - Social and Emotional Learning aka Personal and Social Education (PSE) and two thirds of the English PSHE curriculum (Personal, Social and Health Education). But what is it? What is it not? Why is it important? I work in a ‘SEL School’. The school promotes itself as one that specialises in promoting the students’ … Continue reading Reflections on Social Emotional Learning
A phrase I am hearing more of in the world of education is ‘Assessment Literate Learners’. I have heard it used as both a rationale for focusing more on students test scores in their end of high school exams and one for giving students full ownership of the assessment process whilst dispensing of benchmarking students … Continue reading What do we mean by the phrase ‘Assessment Literate Learners’?
When I started at my current school our fantastic Curriculum Coordinator @mmcormick87 introduced us to Epic! books.It is basically Netflix for young readers and is free to use during the school day. The parents of the students can also sign up for a subscription so the students can use the site at home outside of … Continue reading Using Epic! For Research
In the summer term of 2019 my students started the IPC unit AD 900 in which they were expected to learn about ancient non-European civilisations. The IPC suggested looking at the Mayans, Benin and Early Islamic civilisations. After reflecting on where my students were at in their learning journey, the cultural makeup of the class … Continue reading Developing Peer-to-Peer Teaching
As many of us are in the process of starting a new academic year, or about to start one, we are probably making new resolutions, becoming determined to try new things or wanting to focus on improving a specific area of our craft. However, at this time I would suggest that not all these aims … Continue reading New Year, New You?
Come the end of the academic year, teachers are often thinking ahead to their summer holiday and the school year to come. What are they going to do the same? What are they going to do different? What are they going to do better? What will the class be like? Here in the northern hemisphere, … Continue reading Reflections
Have you ever thought of blogging with yours students? I did it with my middle school students for the Winter Olympics in 2018 and I was surprised at how much of a positive impact it had on a range of learning areas. To get an idea of what the blog looked like just click on … Continue reading Blogging With Students
Looking back to when I first started teaching, it has been interesting to reflect on the differing priorities and interests that I have pursued professionally during my teaching career. Some have fallen by the wayside and some have persisted and developed over time. One of the things that has persisted is my interest in developing … Continue reading Developing Thinking Skills
I love maths. It is one of those subjects which, when I teach it, I often experience what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes as “Flow”. However, I also know that some people, both adults and children, do not enjoy maths and sometimes fear it. This is often down to the fact that they do not feel they … Continue reading Developing Students Confidence in Maths
#ThinkingAllowed 