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Engineering Success. A positive alternative to generic mindset messaging
In general I find that there is still far too much emphasis in schools on the generic language of growth mindset, the learning pit, resilience, ‘learning to learn’ and broad-brush life-goal motivation. This has its place at the level of a broad ethos in a school. It’s all part of creating the positive ‘feels’ we … Continue reading
Studying successfully: motivation + strategy + habit
At home we’re in the midst of another exam window. My son has an AS and several internal Y12 exams to prepare for. As I documented last year during his GCSEs, I feel that it’s generally a positive process for him. He works hard and learns a lot in the process. I think there are … Continue reading
10 Techniques for Retrieval Practice
Image Credit: https://emptechgroup.com/the-internet-of-things/ I’ve written about retrieval practice several times in other posts but here I just want to make it easy to lay out various alternative methods for the process of reviewing your students’ knowledge and understanding. Before doing that, I would suggest that there are some key principles: Involve everyone: Good techniques involve … Continue reading
Teaching for Recall, Fluency and Understanding: Blog round-up for easy access.
Recent blogs on teacherhead.com have had a certain theme around teaching for recall, fluency and understanding. Here is a round-up so people can access them easily all in one place: Two influential papers: Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction: A blog exploring this key paper using four simple themes, now with a new graphic by Oliver Caviglioli. … Continue reading
Saffron Walden County High School: An exemplary school. The Learning Rainforest made real.
Last week I spent a day visiting Saffron Walden County High School in the North-West corner of Essex. This was the result of a conversation with Head and CEO, Caroline Derbyshire who suggested that I should consider writing a ‘Learning Rainforest in Action’ follow-up book. Having read the original book, Caroline felt that SWCHS embodied … Continue reading
@teacherhead Update #1. October ’18.
Introducing…. This is the first of what I hope will be a half-termly update, highlighting trends and ideas that I pick up in my work across various schools and colleges and through my engagement with online discussions, blogs, conferences and publications. It will also highlight some of the content on this blog that has gained … Continue reading
Rosenshine Re-ordered. A Poster by @olicav
This blog post is simply a way to direct people to this lovely new poster by the mighty Oliver Caviglioli about the brilliant Rosenshine Principles of Instruction. I first encountered Principles through Oliver’s original poster. It’s so widely circulated, I see it in staffrooms and classrooms all over the country. Sometimes I have to remind people … Continue reading
Great Teaching. The Power of Expectations.
Image credit: Melbourne Child Psychology As each new term approaches, it’s worth reflecting on the powerful Bill Rogers concept that, as teachers, ‘you establish what you establish’. This means: If we establish that we expect high standards and reinforce them continually with tight routines in lessons characterised by rigour, depth, drive and a clear sense … Continue reading
Exploring Barak Rosenshine’s seminal Principles of Instruction: Why it is THE must-read for all teachers.
This post is based on a talk I gave at ResearchEd in Rugby. The paper in question is Barak Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction published in American Educator in 2012, downloadable in full as a pdf here: I first came across if after seeing Oliver Caviglioli’s superb graphic summary for How2 – available here: My admiration … Continue reading
Edugeeks and Flat-Earthers. Does engaging with research make you a better teacher? #BrewEdHackney
Today I had the immense pleasure of attending the #BrewEd event at Hackney Pirates organised by Clare Sealy. In planning for it, I’d decided to try doing a talk without slides for the first time. I’ve become a bit a slave to the clicker so this was a nice change. The title of the talk: … Continue reading
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