All education inevitably focuses on the acquisition of skills and knowledge. But not all education focusses on a third element which is equally critical for successful and lifelong learning. This is what we might call the habits of learning such as curiosity, imagination, courage, purpose, dialogue, exploration, experimentation, reflectivenes [...]
Are you teaching good habits of learn...
All education inevitably focuses on the acquisition of skills and knowledge. But not all education focusses on a third element which is equally critical for successful and lifelong learning. This is what we might call the habits of learning such as curiosity, imagination, courage, purpose, dialogue, exploration, experimentation, reflectivenes [...]
What’s the point of homework?
I was recently asked for my views on homework and how it works for my KS2 child in her school. Here’s what I said:
What the research says
The Sutton Trust’s Education Endowment Foundation publish a ‘Teaching and Learning Toolkit’ for schools. It’s a really useful summary of education research which helps schools to base policy and practice [...]
Do trainee teachers learn the whole c...
I didn’t really learn to teach until I started my first job as a teacher. I’d grown up in Sussex, gone to University in Devon and completed a PGCE in Norfolk. When I started out on my first days as a teacher in the London Borough of Hackney, I felt totally unprepared for the experience of working with children whose lives were so different [...]
How can we improve behaviour in schoo...
I recently mentioned on twitter that the best advice I’d received as a teacher was to manage behaviour by offering greater autonomy and responsibility. My tweet caused a bit of a stir and one too complex to resolve through a series of short exchanges! So here is my expansion of that statement and some case studies which are further illustrat [...]
New technology – let’s ke...
Twitter is a wonderful source of inspiration for educators but many teachers still don’t seem to use it. Maybe there are privacy issues that put some people off and it’s likely that many don’t feel they have the time to attend to one more thing beyond their daily work. Time was an issue for me when I was teaching, but my resista [...]
How good a learner are you?
Several years ago I became head of a newly founded independent school that had an ambition to develop teaching practice that would best meet the creative needs of its students. For years I had worked in highly regarded state schools and felt pretty clear about what was needed.
I ensured that learning happened through hands on experiences and [...]
Who’s leading the way?
I came across a twitter ‘live chat’ run by #UkEdChat and hosted by @informed_edu on the theme of The Royal College of Teaching. Having read through the archive I’m now indulging in some longer sentences to clarify my thinking.
The idea that a Royal College could bring greater respect and recognition for the profession, as well as [...]
The Genius of Collaboration
I couldn’t begin to do the job I do today if I hadn’t spent my whole career developing ideas by listening to; working with; reading about; discussing; being challenged by … what other people think. Intellectual or imaginative break through might sometimes come in moments of private reflection but none of us, not even those we regard to be ge [...]
Summer is a time for growth
As a class teacher I was always struck by how small the children looked at the beginning of a new term. Before the holidays I said goodbye to children who had been almost visibly expanded by their work together – confident in their capacity to raise their own questions; to shape their own ideas; to argue the case; to think for themsel [...]
The Power of Authenticity
In the 1930’s Henry Ford revolutionised the manufacture of cars with his innovative and efficient assembly lines. Until then cars had been individually crafted, and pretty much the reserve of the very wealthy. The new assembly lines meant that cars would now become affordable for many.
Over the last 25 years or so education has undergone a s [...]
