teaching
In the classroom. Teaching methods, assessment and school climate, explained for teachers and for parents who want to know what a method means.
"Mastery learning: a primer"
Mastery learning means children move on when they have secured the current step, with feedback and extra help until they do. What it involves, and what makes it hard.
2 min read"Scaffolding: support that is gradually removed"
Scaffolding gives a learner just enough help to succeed, then takes it away as they gain skill. Examples, steps and common mistakes.
2 min readA positive learning environment
Classroom routines, relationships and teaching that help pupils feel safe and ready to learn. Practical ideas for teachers and parents.
2 min readAcademic rigour
Rigour means demanding, meaningful work with the support to succeed, not just more work or harder tests. How to tell the difference.
2 min readAssessment that helps children learn
Assessment is most useful when it shows what a child understands and what to do next. Formative and summative assessment, feedback, and working with parents.
2 min readCompetency-based education
In competency-based education, pupils advance by showing what they can do rather than by time spent in class. How it works and the problems it raises.
2 min readCooperative learning
Cooperative learning has pupils work in small groups toward shared goals. What makes it work, a few methods, and the problems to avoid.
2 min readHigh performance learning
High Performance Learning is a framework used in some schools that aims to help many more pupils achieve at a high level. What it claims, and what to ask.
2 min readImproving an early childhood programme
What makes an early years programme good, and how nurseries, pre-schools and child care settings can improve: environment, communication, inclusion, staff development and evaluation.
2 min readObserving lessons
Lesson observation works best as shared learning between colleagues, not inspection. How to observe, give feedback and set up peer observation.
2 min readPre-kindergarten education
What high-quality early education can offer, what the evidence says and does not say, and the role of play. For parents choosing a setting.
2 min readQuality-first teaching
Quality-first teaching means making everyday classroom teaching as good as it can be for every pupil before adding extra interventions. What it includes.
2 min readSchool climate and motivation
School climate is the feel of a school: safety, relationships, teaching and the physical environment. How it affects motivation, behaviour and learning, and how to improve it.
2 min readStructural learning
Structural learning teaches the structure of a subject: the rules, relationships and patterns that link facts. Concept maps and graphic organisers are two ways to show it.
2 min readSupporting teachers so children learn
Children do best when their teachers are supported, trusted and able to keep learning. What helps teachers, and what parents and leaders can do.
2 min readThe spiral curriculum
A spiral curriculum revisits key ideas again and again with increasing depth. Jerome Bruner's idea, how it works, and what to watch for.
2 min readThink-pair-share
Think-pair-share gives every pupil time to think, then talk, before the whole class discusses. How to run it and when to use it.
2 min read