A student misconception, for a teacher, is similar to what a fever is for a medical practitioner: it is an unequivocal indicator that something is amiss. Ofsted (2019, p. 9) asks teachers to ‘check learners’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback’ [emphasis added]. The ‘clear, direct feedback’ is, no doubt, intended […]
Over the years, we have worked hard to make sure that our curriculum delivered authentic learning opportunities for our children, but partnerships with other organisations within our locality have made us rethink how this might be achieved. The Royal Society of Art’s idea of an ‘area-based curriculum’ suggests how organisations in the same locality can […]
Inheriting a school with poor academic outcomes for students (Progress 8 of -0.78 ) leaves you with one fundamental question: where do we start? Leadership of a school that needs improving across the board requires laser-sharp prioritisation, and amongst the myriad of research on curriculum, pedagogy, staff wellbeing and student progress, we knew two things: […]
What is the purpose of education? If a button were pressed, and you found yourself with a blank slate for deciding what would be educationally worthwhile to teach, how would you go about deciding? The essential place to start would be through gaining clarity on exactly what the ‘purpose of education’ is. However, once you start researching such a thing, you rapidly realise that there is wide disagreement […]
As a newly qualified teacher (NQT), I have spent a significant amount of time since my initial teacher training reflecting on my practice and how to maximise my impact within the classroom. This task poses challenges to any teacher, and even more so to an early-career teacher, with the differences between expert and novice teachers […]
The cognitive revolution and the increased focus on evidence-based practice that has swept through the teaching profession in recent years has undoubtedly brought with it many positive outcomes. Yet in the rush to embrace the modern, it would be wise to remember that many of these new ideas have very old roots, and rather than […]
Who we are Sir Christopher Hatton is a mixed state comprehensive school in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. We are the lead school in a small multi-academy trust and a base for the Hatton Teaching School Alliance. We are proud of the external recognition our school has received, having been graded ‘outstanding’ in 2015 and during a subsequent […]
I am a confirmed, incurable Bardolator. My first brush with Shakespeare was a striking promenade performance of Macbeth at the Arcola Theatre when I was thirteen. As a teacher, I strive to create similar moments to captivate my students. Thomas (Thomas, 1998) comments that ‘we’ve lost sight of the things that made [Shakespeare] popular with […]
There is now a good deal of evidence that developing self-regulated learning (SRL) and metacognition has a positive impact on student attainment, motivation and behaviour (Quigley et al., nd). Yet it is not always clear how different tasks and activities, including how teachers approach these, might enhance or hinder the opportunities to develop these skills. […]
When the curriculum lacks coherence, it is both harder to teach and harder for students to locate and place their new knowledge. The notion of curriculum coherence can be considered at three levels: the national level, the school level and the classroom level. Although all three have a profound impact on pupils’ learning, it is […]
Teachers are acutely aware of the literacy, communication and language challenges that some of their children face when they first enter the classroom. The link between disadvantage and low levels of language and communication in particular is well-researched; there are significant gaps in vocabulary between children from the least disadvantaged and most disadvantaged backgrounds (Save […]
I don’t need to tell you that teachers face a myriad of problems as they design a curriculum, develop a scheme of work or plan a lesson. The list of requirements is potentially endless, including the need to engage students, to incorporate effective collaboration, to develop mastery of content and subject-specific skills, to give effective feedback, […]
The best way to teach values is to provide a culture embodying the values to be learned, in which students become habituated into ways of life that develop characters possessive of such values. Values education is, therefore, best approached by embedding values within a school’s culture. This is not a cognitive exercise; rather, character traits […]
Dan Willingham’s (2009) Why Don’t Students Like School? is the first thing that all staff who work at Willingham (name is a coincidence) Primary School are asked to read. It gives a great introduction to cognitive psychology and raises the question: ‘Why have we always done X this way?’ The answer, on far too many […]
This article is based on an original research article published in the International Journal of Early Years Education (Boyd, 2014a). The full article can be found here. This paper presents findings from a project completed within a collaborative practitioner research partnership between a nursery school and a primary school, and a university-based educational researcher. The […]
Since the introduction of the new National Curriculum in 2014, our school’s aim has been to design a curriculum that meets the needs of the students at our school, is broad and balanced, and is engaging for all. In order to do this we have carried out research by attending courses and reading widely around […]
Cognitive load theory has led to the development of many instructional techniques for enhancing learning that are designed to prevent learners from overloading their working memory by eliminating wasteful cognitive load that is not essential for learning. However, the effectiveness of a particular teaching technique depends on the relationship between the characteristics of learners’ cognitive […]
Public debate across the West is often polarised, angry and hysterical. Social media amplifies extreme and strident views. People tend to think the worst of their opponents and often believe or disbelieve things because it suits their preconceived ideas…’ This is the introduction to the BBC radio series Sweet Reason. Unfortunately, this description is all […]
Autism has traditionally been viewed as a condition predominantly affecting boys, and therefore autistic girls are not being sufficiently identified. Gould and Ashton-Smith (2011) recognise that autistic girls are broadly misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed, and although the male-to-female ratio has narrowed significantly over the years (currently 3:1), a recent meta-analysis of prevalence studies by Loomes et […]
Gloucester Road Primary School in Cheltenham has been on a considerable journey over the last 10 years. In 2008, it was in special measures. A new head and senior leadership team took up their posts four years ago, and in July 2017 the school received its very first Ofsted ‘outstanding’. The reasons for this success are many and varied, and include […]
