The Professional Teacher
Support for teaching professionals in the classroom and beyond
How can knowing about current affairs help learners across the board?
In addition to helping learners to gain essential "cultural capital", incorporating current affairs into any lesson can play an important role in developing good learning habits. Here are some of...
Non-gender-specific school uniform
I read about a bold move by Brighton College earlier today, whose Headmaster is scrapping the notion of girls' uniform and boys' uniform, to be replaced by a "trouser uniform" and "skirt uniform"...
Penguin Random House to look beyond a qualification when recruiting
Penguin Random House have announced that they no longer require their new recruits to have a degree when applying for jobs (click here for article from The Independent). This follows on from a...
Education books to take a look at
I always find it interesting reading books about educational ideas, theory and practice - sometimes I take away useful tips to put into practice (and discard many more!), but a key part of being a...
Talk Less Teaching - Turn It Around
Really simple linguistic strategies can make a big difference in terms of learning, as well as reducing the amount of talking that you, as the teacher, needs to do. Here are four examples:
The Cheapest Countries In Which to be a Student
I don't usually expect countries such as Norway and Luxembourg to head "cheapest places" lists, but that's exactly where they are in a new "league table" of cheapest places to be a student,...
"One Size Fits All Education System" Not Good Enough
The Ofsted chief, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has said that the UK's "one size fits all" education system is failing youngsters, with those who are less 'traditionally academic" being left behind by a...
Talk Less Teaching - Spin a Debate Web
How simple! A ball of wool or string provides a great way of mapping a student discussion and recapping what has been said!
5 Things to Consider if You Want to Teach Abroad
Most of us in the teaching profession know a friend or colleague who has gone to teach abroad - the plethora of jobs advertised for schools overseas that are following a British curriculum seems to...
4 Ways to Make Mocks Work Better for You (and Your Students)
Mocks! Love them or hate them, there's no denying that they create a substantial workload for teachers. How can the Mock exam process be made more bearable and effective for both teachers and...
How Mindfulness Can Reduce Teacher and Student Stress
Many schools are using mindfulness as a mechanism for reducing stress levels amongst students and teachers.
Carol Dweck: How To Help Every Child Fulfil Their Potential
Many teaching colleagues will be aware of the work of Educationalist Carol Dweck on growth mindset. In this new RSA intimate, she explains how the wrong kind of praise may actually harms young...
10 Questions for your Head of Department Interview
The Spring term always seems to be a busy one for teaching jobs adverts and interviews. You can see this from the many HOD roles posted recently on the tutor2u Jobs Board! For many teachers, this...
John Hattie's 9 Mindframes for Teachers
Many teachers have, by now, heard of the education guru John Hattie. His work on "effect sizes" uses a meta-analysis approach to try and determine which things that teachers do have the most impact...
How to Integrate Problem-Based Learning into Your Classroom
Problem-Based Learning, or PBL for short, is probably one of those techniques that as teachers we know we should probably try it out, but because it appears to be so different from our usual style,...
What Makes a Good School? (It's Not What You Think...)
What makes a good school? Results? Facilities? Quality of teaching? Or perhaps just whether other people think the school is good?
The A to Z of Alternative Words
Particularly in essay or report writing, students often struggle to select exactly the right word that they want, or struggle to use synonyms.
Do Term Time Holidays matter?
Term time holidays are in the news again this week as the Wales' Education Minister 'clarified' the issue for Welsh schools by saying that up to 10 days per pupil should be allowed at the...
Success at school linked to where you live
The Social Market Foundation has produced a report showing that exam performance is linked to where you live, and that location has more influence on grades than ever before, although social...
Introducing "Talk Less Teaching"
Last academic year, I had an exhausting Tuesday timetable with 10 x 40 min periods of A-level teaching to plough through. For survival purposes (students and myself!), I designated it "Talk Less...