Bridging the gap: Teaching year 12 vs year 11
The biggest mistake I have made in the Year 11 to 12 transition is to assume that the children who left my classroom at the end of Year 11 would return as adults at the start of Year 12, mysteriously…
Helping students plan extract questions in GCSE English
In 1991, Collins et al. published “Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Thinking Visible”, and since reading this it has immeasurably impacted my practice – no more so than in terms of teaching students the thinking processes that occur at this first stage of writing…
Start of term resolutions: strategies for effective feedback
For many teachers, the start of a new academic year is akin to the New Year: filled with expectant energy and resolutions that we promise to keep, perhaps to discover that Holy Grail of a work-life balance. Yet, when term…
Practical work – why do pupils struggle and what can we do to increase efficacy?
Unfortunately, early on in my career, I also had several disasters which led to a huge amount of learning time being lost. The main causes/culprits included: ordering the wrong equipment, not being fluent in the steps, a lack of subject…
What are your options if you don’t want to do A-levels?
When you think of sixth form, A-levels are probably the first thing that comes to mind. This route can be good for you if you are someone who is interested in academic subjects. However, for many students, these types of…
How should you choose a sixth form?
If you’re just finishing your first term of Year 11 then you’ve probably already started to think about your next step in education. As you can apply to as many sixth forms as you want, you’ve got a lot of…