A Diagram of Student Engagement Patterns from Ruby Jo Walker et al
I am indebted to Daniel Sobel for bringing this infographic to my attention. It was compiled by Ruby Jo Walker and associates and seeks to describe the range of levels … Continue reading
Tomatis: Linking Sound Processing and Learning
I have become very interested in the work of Charlotte Davies in the field of Tomatis research. It is only in the last year that this significant aspect of learning … Continue reading
Why INSET Fails to Change Learning in Schools
No-one was more excited than I in 1988 when a statutory obligation was built into the Education Reform Act requiring each school to provide five closure days a year when … Continue reading
The 2020 Critical Publishing Catalogue: The Answer to Questions That Have Been Challenging Schools
It is a really exciting time to be part of the Critical Publishing stable of authors. They have tapped into a rich vein of experience and focus with their Practical … Continue reading
Learning Technologies and How to Develop and Deploy Them: Changing the Paradigm
I generally take a sceptical view of educational technology because the implementers tend to want to shoe-horn in new technologies without going to the trouble of the professional development required … Continue reading
Thought For The Day: The Perfect Metaphor for the ‘Stuck Schools’ Conundrum from Bishop Desmond Tutu
Bett 2020… Learning Paradise Deferred?
The siren call of the BETT Conference, the world’s largest educational technology exhibition is sounding again at the ExCel Centre in the heart of London Docklands. It will showcase the … Continue reading
Stuck Schools: Diagnosis, Treatment and Sustainable Improvement
Ross Morrison McGill’s article on the unintended consequences of labelling ‘stuck’ schools resonated with me. As always, Ross Morrison McGill is on the money in his analysis of why schools … Continue reading
The Place of the Arts in the Curriculum
In all the clamour for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in the curriculum, Arts subjects are increasingly marginalised. Sometimes it feels like they are regarded as ‘the icing’ on … Continue reading
The Unequal Playing Field of Education
In my new book, Re-Examining Success, out in March 2020, I outline ways in which the current examination system disproportionately favours those from relatively settled and well off homes. To … Continue reading
Change Management: The Paucity of Project Planning Skills and Cultural Change in Schools
I’m always fascinated when principals tell me how busy they are. It seems that since some of them have become the CEO’s of a number of schools, their perceived workload … Continue reading
A week in the life of the Learning Renaissance blog…
When the redoubtable Sue Cowley helped me to post what I thought was my own research into educational initiatives, I thought it would have a small and parochial level of … Continue reading
A Danish Lesson For the UK: How to Sort Out the Apprenticeship Mess!
In the last ten years the apprenticeship system in the UK, always brittle, has been thrown into turmoil. For the most part the blame lies with the Tory government for … Continue reading
Thought For The Day: The Beauty of Failure
This certainly rings true for me. The limited successes I’ve enjoyed in my career have been a cause for some celebration, but little learning. By contrast, my failures have had … Continue reading
Battling Decision Fatigue | Edutopia
When you’re teaching reading, focusing on these three questions can help you conserve your mental energy. A good way to triumph over decision fatigue is to focus on the decisions … Continue reading
A damning view of Ofsted… and a potential way forward: Re-examining what we mean by success in schools
Two things that have happened in the last week have revealed the systemic failure of the Ofsted model of inspection. Firstly Mary Bousted published a damning article on the coming … Continue reading
Thought For The Day: Integrity
You only find integrity when beliefs align with words and actions. This should find space on the wall of every senior leader…
A short term industrial production model of how you turn around schools is always destined for costly human failure!
I’ve often decried managerialism in education – the simple belief that you can apply industrial production models to learning in schools. Forget about the individual children, and simply see them … Continue reading
14 points that matter to literacy | Saskatoon StarPhoenix
As work changes and jobs demand higher level skills, people without good reading skills are most at risk of being left behind. Reading is the learning-to-learn skill. It’s the cornerstone … Continue reading
A damning view of a redundant inspection model: Mary Bousted on OFSTED
A damning condemnation of the role of Ofsted in creating the climate in which stuck schools proliferate. Whilst we have an inspection process which is quality control rather than quality … Continue reading
Teacher Wellbeing Index 2019 | Education Support
Work-related stress in the teaching profession has increased for the third consecutive year, with sharp rises in tearfulness, difficulty sleeping and irritability amongst education professionals across the UK according to … Continue reading
Supporting Teacher Well-Being and Mental Health | Teach Well Alliance
Many thanks to the redoubtable Steve Waters for his kind permission to reproduce this essential and comprehensive mental health audit tool for your school. This is all the information you … Continue reading
Growing Power For Young, and Not So Young, Minds!
I’ve worked with schools which have built growing food into the curriculum and then used it as the basis of practical maths exercises and to supply the school kitchen as … Continue reading
Student Engagement: Research and Implications – A Model
The idea of student engagement is central to improving learning engagement and outcomes. However, the term is used loosely and requires further discussion and definition. This reference by Ana Cristina … Continue reading
More Worrying Feedback on the Reform to the ITT (Initial Teacher Training) Framework in England
Amy Gibbons of the TES comes to an alarming conclusion about the vision and ambition of those who have put together the revision to the ITT Framework in England. She … Continue reading
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