How the new teaching frameworks can support teachers to grow Learning we know is a complex thing. Developing the intricate web of knowledge that pupils need, with its various interlocking parts, woven together with their experiences and wider understanding of how the topic sits within the world, is difficult and teachers spend significant periods of…
I am currently experiencing a bit of a motivation dilemma. Anyone who knows me (or reads my twitter handle and bio) will know that I love to run. It wasn’t something I did much in my youth, not really adopted much until well into my 30s, but it has provided me with many hours of…
Now I have finally recovered from the weekend, I finally feel that I can put some reflections down from this year’s ResearchEd conference in London. This was only my second time of attending the national event, and the largest event I have attended since a Pixl conference back in February 2020. A lot of my…
Teachers have many different tools available to them. Sometimes the sheer choice of what we have available can be overwhelming, and the absence of absolutes can make these choices even more difficult to navigate. All we have available to us are ‘best bets’ as Professor Robert Coe calls them in The Great Teaching Toolkit, so…
I can recall my early days of teaching vividly. Much as I loved my mentors, they were very much of the view I would either cut it or not as a teacher, and whilst I could go to them with specifics, there was little guidance in terms of the way I should do things. There…
The EEF report, much like the P4C (Philosophy for Children) report that came a few months ago, landed into the Twitter sphere to much fanfare and lots of conflicting ideas. Starting with a webinar, which many were unable to attend, the information was already framed in terms of what did and did not work. Some…
About ten years ago I can remember sitting in a classroom with my colleagues surrounded by lots of coloured card and a sea of rather bemused expressions. One of the most enthusiastic teachers in the school was waxing lyrical about something called ‘De Bono’s Thinking Hats’, something of which I was vaguely aware from some…
Myths are a pervasive and persuasive part of our worlds. From the seemingly innocuous belief that fish only have three second memories to the ideas we are only using ten percent of our brains, our understanding of the world is shaped by these stories which enter into our everyday thinking and linger in the background…
In this video Zoe Enser explores how an understanding of the basics of Cognitive Load Theory can help support student learning. Zoe Enser is the lead specialist English advisor for Kent schools working with The Education People. Her latest book, The CPD Curriculum, is available soon.
One of the phrases I’ve seen used over the past few years has been ‘the evidence says’. Well, to be more precise, ‘the research says’. It is a phrase which can either provoke people into action, grabbing onto the newest book or document that comes out ready to change the world with it, or send…
Teaching it Real 