A De-Escalation Exercise for Upset Students | Edutopia
This article from Daniel Vollrath in Edutopia outlines a strategy for bringing a student down from an emotional outburst in a structured way. I found that in an inner city … Continue reading
Gaming – Still a Dirty Word in Schools
Perhaps because of its antecedents in toys and children’s games, the idea that games can be used purposefully as part of the learning diet in schools has not gained much … Continue reading
Three Pathways to Learning Transformation in Schools: Part 2: Change Management Solutions
In the first article in this series I outlined the key issues preventing the effective development of schools as learning organisations in the UK. You can access this first … Continue reading
Adolescents and Sleep
The importance of sufficient quality sleep has long been known as being critical to wider health in all humans. It is particularly important in children and young adults as it … Continue reading
Digitising Revision: The Basis of a Student Performance Breakthrough in Your School
This article is an abridged version of techniques expanded upon in a new book: Re-Examining Success: Raising pupils’ examination performance at secondary school: systems, techniques, processes and partners by David … Continue reading
Three Pathways to Learning Transformation in Schools: Part 1: Identifying the Problems
From November 2019: Flagship city school rapped and downgraded by Ofsted for ‘removing’ pupils ahead of GCSE exams | Birmingham Live Holte School in Lozells was one of a number … 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
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
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
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 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
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
Building on Kindness: A School Constructed on Caring Relationships
Fundamental principles are often lost when education becomes a production line of information and content transmission. Some schools are more emotionally aware and ensure that a positive culture pervades relationships … Continue reading
One of the Problems with Multi-Academy Trusts: Accountability
One of the problems when you transfer state educational assets to Multi-Academy Trusts operating in a commercial environment to generate shareholder value is accountability. I say one of the problems, … Continue reading
The Retreat into Managerialism – Data in Schools
An interesting article by Rebecca Allen about the use, misuse and misinterpretation of data in schools: When the going gets tough, schools make data | FFT Education Datalab Download the … Continue reading
Why is the UK not making sufficient progress in the PISA tables? Andreas Schleicher of OECD Shares His Thoughts
This TES interview with Andreas Schleicher of the OECD, who compile the PISA comparative education effectiveness tables is very revealing, and, after all, he is in a position to understand … Continue reading
What happens when you privatise your national schools estate and fail to put in adequate governance and accountability?
I’ve spoken before about the Tory government flagship educational policy of privatisation of the national schools estate through the mechanism of creating Academy chains to replace local authority control of … Continue reading
10 Simple Steps for Reducing Toxic Stress in the Classroom
Thanks to Sarah Morgan for bringing this article by Jim Hickman and Kathy Higgins in Education Week to my attention. Sarah highlights the need for early interventions to ensure the … Continue reading
School/Parent Relations and SEND Pupils
The relationship between schools and parents can be a fraught one. It is often characterised by an arm’s length relationship, which exacerbates when the child enters secondary school and the … Continue reading
Project-Based Learning: Some Hiccups Along the Way
This blog has long advocated Project Based Learning (PBL) as a key conduit towards creating a 21st century curriculum in schools. PBL is the basis for transforming a teacher led … Continue reading
Labelling Learners: The Effects, Intended and Unintended
I am again indebted to Professor Amanda Kirby and Dr Mary Cleaton of Do-It Solutions for this really clear exposition of the pros and cons of labelling in the field … Continue reading
