The Professional Teacher
Support for teaching professionals in the classroom and beyondCategory
Teaching & Learning
What is a pecha-kucha presentation?
I've just been reminder about the pecha-kucha (Japanese for chatter) PowerPoint presentation, which is a method of putting together presentations consisting of 20 slides that appear for no more...
Advice on procrastination
I love this TED talk on procrastination (particularly useful perhaps at this time of year with students trying to revise and teachers with lots of past papers to mark!) - and it's a great way of...
The changing education paradigm
This animated 15 minute video from the RSA is based on a talk by creative education guru Sir Ken Robinson, and it outlines the changing nature of education.
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...
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...
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...
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.
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.
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.
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...
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...
Strategies for Every Classroom: Consider All Factors
This is my sixth blog in the series, Bellwork, Starters and Plenaries: Strategies for Every Classroom.
Consider All Factors (CAF) is a well-known thinking skills strategy that lends its self...
What is Spaced Learning?
A number of secondary schools in England have been experimenting with Spaced Learning, in which students are provided with quick 8 to 10 minute blasts of "learning" punctuated by 5 minutes of...
How to Learn Anything
Take a look at this engaging TEDx talk from Josh Kaufman on why the first 20 hours of learning anything are absolutely vital.
Talk Less Teaching - Human Ranking
At tutor2u we love the "Human Ranking" active learning technique - it's a learning technique I've used in all manner of subjects ranging from economics, to history, to maths.
Spaced Repetition - making your brain remember
Basic neuroscience and psychology research has shown that late-night cramming and reading textbooks is a terrible way to learn and remember.