The Professional Teacher
Support for teaching professionals in the classroom and beyond
Failure of the Troops to Teachers scheme
I was astonished to read this last week that just 28 ex-Servicemen had qualified to become teachers under the government's flagship "Troops to Teachers" scheme, established by every teacher's...
The dramatic rise of the international British school
Many of Britain's best-known public schools have been opening "outposts" across the Middle East and Asia. The income from these international schools helps provide bursaries and scholarships for...
Practical advice for supporting students with autism
The National Autistic Society's website is full of really useful information to help you support students with autism in the classroom and playground - there is a great interactive infographic to...
Reading University's new approach to university offers
A spokesperson for Reading University announced today that they would be making flexible "stress-reducing" offers to students applying for places for next year, guaranteeing places even if grades...
Your Life Relived - in Chunks
This thought-provoking four-minute video from National Geographic would make for an interest lesson resource during tutor or form time.
Revision techniques - the good, the not-so-good, and the useless
This old-ish article from the BBC remains one of my favourites in terms of getting a quick snapshot of the effectiveness of different revision techniques, as it is based on sound psychological...
How to help anxious students
I've spoken to lots of parents recently who are concerned about anxiety in their children, especially as the summer exams start to become a very real focus. What can you do as a teacher to help...
Government (finally!) confirms teacher shortages
A report this week from the National Audit Office confirms what most of us have known for some time - there is a national shortage of teachers. The NAO said that ministers have a very poor...
eBooks or traditional books in the classroom?
I was really interested by this BBC report on the impact that eBooks are having in classrooms, compared with traditional books.
How to jazz up your PowerPoints with an embedded video
It can be really awkward trying to open and close windows on a computer screen in front of a restless class - try embedding your YouTube videos into your PowerPoints to save time.
What to do with students who don't pay attention
I love posters and infographics in a classroom - this one from Mia MacMeekin is a helpful, visual way of providing hints and tips for practical strategies on how to help all students stay focused...
State schools are getting better - says owner of The Good School Guide
If you didn't spot it over the weekend, here are two links showing the comments about the state school sector from the owner of the Good School Guide - Ralph Lucas.
Lucas is saying that continued...
Is EdTech transforming education?
Here is a thoughtful podcast analysis from The Economist on the role of ed-tech in education, and whether it is actually helping learning.
Teachers "overpredicting" A-level grades
The Head of UCAS, Mary Curnock Cook, claims that teachers are increasingly over-predicting the grades that their pupils will achieve at A-level in order to help them win places at the best...
Better Classroom Questioning - Socratic Questioning
Socratic questioning is an extremely powerful questioning technique that teachers can use to explore complex issues and ideas with students, open up common misconceptions and analyse and evaluate...
Do schools kill creativity?
I'm a big fan of Sir Ken Robinson's work - his book "Finding your Element" is an easy read and pretty inspirational - but if you haven't quite got time to read, then watching his TED talk on...
Cut and Paste Powerpoint Timer
Have you ever wanted to include a simple timer into a Powerpoint slideshow? Now you can - this simple Powerpoint-timer file gives you some "cut-and-paste" timers to put directly into your own...
Preparing a lesson for a teaching job
The "observed lesson" remains a key part, if rather odd part, of the typical teacher recruitment process, and is often the bit that job candidates dread the most. Here is a handy guide to making...
Cambridge University announces new admissions test
In a move that is not particularly surprising, given how vehemently the university has spoken out about the removal of compulsory AS exams, Cambridge has announced that from November this year,...
Anti-doping in school sports
Millfield School in Somerset has announced that they have joined the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) Accreditation Scheme, the first school in the UK to do so.