Questioning can allow teachers to assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding, and thereby diagnose and address any misconceptions. It can ensure that all pupils are cognitively active, help them to cement their learning, and be used to extend their understanding. Despite…
I left school with no GCSEs feeling disillusioned, disaffected, and frustrated that there was nobody in leadership roles that looked like me. I entered the teaching profession in 1999 after having studied African History and African Literature at SOAS, followed…
The majority of students studying A-Level Physics in the UK also study at least one maths A-Level. The advantages of doing so benefit both subjects and include content overlap (particularly in mechanics) and increased dexterity in terms of equation manipulation…
When I was an NQT, I remember delivering support sessions to those students struggling in my exam classes. It got to the stage where we had eight sessions left. Perfect, I thought. Eight topics to revise. Eight sessions. Works a…
Rightly or wrongly, it is the word that fills so many teachers, leaders, and governors with dread. Ofsted. So how can we prepare for that inevitable call? In this article, I aim to use my own experiences to guide classroom…
In the two years since joining Twitter, I have gained more subject knowledge and accessed more beneficial CPD than in the previous ten. There are huge numbers of teachers, support workers and educationalists on the platform. Many are very supportive,…
The summer holidays are over too soon and September is now upon us. Where did it all go? The six weeks, which were craved and earnestly waited for by all connected within the school community, have come and gone…all in…
Amidst all the upheavals caused by the pandemic, one that was particularly significant was the loss of the rituals to mark the last day of school. I remember the mood in my A level class the day after the news…
A healthy work-life balance − is it an impossible dream? For many years I would have said yes and, for many in education, it can certainly feel that way. Contacting parents, pressures from the inspectorate, deadlines to meet for your…
Hopefully the days of giving a class homework that simply states ‘Revise for your test’ are long gone. Students need explicit instruction in study skills just as much as they need it for their subject knowledge and it is something…