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The #1 problem/weakness in teaching and how to address it.
I see a lot of lessons – hundreds of them in multiple contexts – and I’m going to suggest that there is one very common challenge that teachers face that is often not addressed well enough, even by experienced teachers. In my view, it’s the single biggest reason for lessons being ineffective or certainly less … Continue reading
Rosenshine’s Principles: 10 FAQs.
Having published the little red and black booklet, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, I now get asked to talk about it a lot. I also get asked a lot of the same questions. Here’s a sample of 10 FAQs. 1. Do the principles all apply to every lesson? No. It’s really important not to think of … Continue reading
Signposting the hinterland: practical ways to enrich your core curriculum.
Working with several schools on curriculum development over the last couple of years, a regular challenge has been to resolve the tensions that arise from having finite time and the inherent need to make a selection of material to teach from all the possibilities that swirl around. What to cover? What to leave out? How … Continue reading
#CPD: Meeting half-way. Changing minds, shifting the inertia, overcoming the resistance.
In my work as a travelling teacher trainer, in amongst the enthusiasts with welcoming smiles, I meet plenty of teachers who are being compelled to sit and listen to me. It’s not as if they are being held forcefully against their will but you can be sure, given a completely free choice, they’d be … Continue reading
Relationships at school. Teacher-student.
This post is Part 2 from two, based on a talk I gave to the Kings’ Schools in Dubai in August. Part One was about adult relationships: Relationships at School: The Adults. This one is about teacher-student or, more generally, adult-child relationships. Here are some of the areas that we discussed in the session: 1.We are … Continue reading
If we talk intelligently about boundary conditions, Twitter could be better still.
It seems to me that a lot of energy in the edusphere is dissipated dealing with issues that emerge through the inherent limitations of online media. Twitter and blogs are brilliant; they have transformed the nature of our professional landscape, democratising access to key thinkers, research papers and policy makers and massively magnified our level … Continue reading
Are Rosenshine’s Principles “just common sense”? #rED19
In my work supporting teacher development, I always refer to Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction as a major go-to source of ideas, linking findings from cognitive science and other research to classroom practice. There are lots of reasons for these ten principles gaining a wide audience, one of which is that, to many teachers, they feel … Continue reading
The bullies and the cads. A short memoire.
Don’t pick fights with the bullies or the cads ‘Cause I’m not much cop at punching other people’s Dads David Bowie. Kooks. When I look back at my time at school and growing up in general, there are certain events that always spring to mind; things that made life hard! As a white middle-class, straight … Continue reading
Relationships at School: The Adults.
Last week I was asked to lead a session with the three Kings’ schools in Dubai on relationships. This was partly about teacher-student relationships but also about adults’ relationships and their importance in the organisation. Here are some of the slides I used and the issues we discussed: Organisations are complex and dynamic; relationships are … Continue reading
Teachers can only improve themselves. But how?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of teacher improvement – naturally enough, given that this is my full-time job these days. Increasingly I think that we need to be very clear to understand the process as a very individual one and less of a general one. Essentially teachers are only going to improve … Continue reading
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