The Professional Teacher
Support for teaching professionals in the classroom and beyond
Games to stimulate creativity
I came across this website earlier today which lists a number of games that you can play quickly in a classroom setting to "warm up" brains and encourage creativity and thinking outside the box.
High rents in London unaffordable for teachers
The NUT reported this week that rents in London are now unaffordable for teachers, especially younger or new teachers, in the London area.
Find 50 uses for...
A great creative starter that I have seen used with all age groups and in a wide range of subjects is the “Find 50 uses for…” game. In this activity, the teacher should ask learners to note down 50...
How to make a video lecture
Keith Hughes, the enthusiastic and flamboyant YouTube teaching sensation, has put together a short "how to" guide on making your own video lecture for students so that you can flip your classroom...
Cheating Watches in exams
Watches that allow students to cheat in exams have been discovered for sale online - this was only a matter of time, really, given the growth of wearable Smart technology. The specially designed...
How your body language affects your confidence
I've increasingly noticed that a teacher's body language can really impact on the quality of lessons that I have observed. I remember picking up tips from my training mentor years ago on using body...
The teacher brain drain
Last week Ofsted's boss warned that there was a teacher "brain drain" as increasing numbers of teachers left the UK to work abroad - last year 18,000 teachers left the UK, and only 17,000 new...
Simple tips for helping EAL students
EAL students often make huge progress, but it can be hard for them to get started at school in new subjects being studied in an unfamiliar language. Here are 5 simple things you can try to help...
Engaging the disengaged learner
We've all faced learners in the classroom who, despite our best efforts, remain disengaged and disinterested. The reasons for disengagement are really complex and often differ from person to...
An insight into the mind of an Education Secretary
If you decide that you want to leave teaching and enter politics to do a better job than Michael Gove or Nicky Morgan, then taking a look at this 8 minute analysis from the BBC on what it takes to...
Self-Injury Awareness Day: March 1st
With 1 in 12 young people deliberately self-harming at some point, there are 150,000 hospital attendances annually for self-harm related issues.
The most desirable professions on Tinder - good news for teachers!
Back in November, the dating app Tinder allowed users to include their profession in their profile. Read on to find out how teachers fared!
Enquiries about Results - Ofqual asks the Students
Ofqual is running a short survey for pupils about the changes being proposed in Exam Boards’ marking review and appeals systems for GCSE, AS and A Level qualifications.
Word Association - Introducing New Topics
Following on from my earlier blog post about using the "teapotting" approach to introduce new topics, this post looks at ways of using word association techniques as an alternative method of...
What is flow?
There is a psychological state called flow, or "the zone", in which a person becomes completely immersed in their activity or task, and feels a great sense of happiness and energy. The psychologist...
Why do white working-class boys underperform?
Earlier this month, the government issued new demands on universities to improve their links with schools in poor areas and specifically requiring them to target white working-class boys in...
5 ways to use a tablet in the classroom
Many schools now use "tablet teaching" to enhance learning in the classroom. Here are 5 ways that you can easily use tablets in your own classroom.
Teapotting - a novel way of starting a new topic
A teacher friend shared this idea on introducing a new topic in class with me ages ago. There are three ways to play teapotting.
The ALISON network's free Diploma in Educational Psychology
I really like the ALISON network, which provides a central "repository" for a huge range of free online learning courses in a hugely diverse array of subjects and levels. As well as using it as...
Pre-school communication skills key to success in SATs
A study by Save the Children and the Institute of Education shows that 21% of children who struggled with language when they entered school aged 4 fail to meet the national standards in SATs when...