The Professional Teacher
Support for teaching professionals in the classroom and beyond
Pose Pause Pounce Bounce questioning
No doubt a good number of teachers will have seen this cartoon from TeacherToolkit, but it's a good reminder to all of us to think about our questioning technique:
The gamification of the learning experience
One blog that I dip in and out of is TeachThought. When I stopped by the blog this afternoon, I found this handy guide to making learning more like a "game":
How does the UK's education system measure up against others?
I found this BBC summary of the OECD's annual education report quite insightful when I spotted it earlier this morning. At a glance, here are the key differences identified in the report:
Should the School Day Start After Lunch?
This video report from the BBC explains how a series of pilot schools are trialling a much later start - and end - to the school day.
Sesame Street explains the difference between home and school
If you're wondering why some students might just not "get" how they are meant to behave in the classroom, then take a look at this clip from Sesame St and Ed Sheeran about living in the two...
Quiz Quiz Trade
Quiz Quiz Trade is a very simple teaching and learning strategy that takes virtually no preparation.
The GCSE North-South Divide
This BBC article, North-south divide mapped in GCSE results, highlights that GCSE results in England show few signs of a north-south divide getting narrower.
Peri-ometer Connectagons
Using connectagons can be a great way to help students
develop their learning. But, how do you signpost how many hexagons different students should be completing?
Wish You Were Here - A Postcard from Ofqual
In September, Ofqual launched a series of 8 'postcards' to help students, teachers and parents understand its work and the huge reforms being made to GCSE's, AS and A levels in England.
Is the Coast Eroding Education?
Is being in an underachieving school defined by where you live? Why are coastal schools at such a low ebb?
University Anonymity
From 2017, candidates’ names will be removed from university applications, David Cameron has announced.
Which Schools and Colleges are Teaching the IB in England?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is considered to be an increasingly popular option for schools and colleges looking to offer an alternative to A Levels as the main KS5 academic...
The True Cost of the Teacher Shortage
An article on the BBC website yesterday (Teacher shortage ‘costing millions in supply staff’) highlighted that teacher shortages are costing schools hundreds of millions of pounds in temporary...
Think Pair Share
Think Pair Share is a simple teaching and learning strategy that gives students time as well as structure to think about a particular topic, concept or issue within a lesson. It enables students to...
Anyone for Tennis?
This is a simple activity and a great way to involve students in a lesson. Tennis is suitable for all topics and abilities.
The Yes/ No Game
This is a fun, simple and engaging activity that can be carried out in a number of ways within a lesson.
Think: Write: Talk!
Think: Write: Talk is a whole class activity which involves every pupil. All you need is a set of mini-whiteboards and a marker pen!
Random Raffle!
Random Raffle is probably one of the simplest things you can do in the classroom, but often, the simple strategies can be the most effective. Random Raffle simply involves the use of raffle tickets...
MCQ Teaching Activity: Red Herring
MCQs with a subtle twist here. Three of the answers are correct; one is wrong. Can students work out which is the odd one out - the Red Herring?
MCQ Teaching Activity: Day at the Races!
This engaging and effective resource allows teachers to set MCQs to individual students or groups in the context of an exciting Day at the Races!