The Tic Tac Awards: Why prizes don’t matter 21 September 2021 Prizes do not matter and will not create the impact you want in your classroom. That is why teacher Samuel Elliott created The Tic Tac Awards – and even he was amazed at how much of a hit they were...
EAL recovery: Creating opportunities for talk 20 September 2021 As the pandemic continues, promoting oracy and opportunities to talk will be crucial to supporting the recovery of students who use English as an additional language. Sarah Moodie offers some ideas
Words for All: Ideas and approaches for boosting literacy skills 30 August 2021 Whole Education's Words for All project is helping teachers to prioritise vocabulary development and reading in our secondary schools. Lisa Ling looks at some of the ideas and approaches that have proved successful...
RSHE: Teaching sensitive topics 28 June 2021 Consent, misogyny, sexual harassment, healthy relationships and much more – the list of sensitive topics within RSHE is long and tackling these issues can be daunting for unprepared staff. Rachel Coathup offers some tips
Classroom teaching & EAL: Planning for linguistic diversity 28 June 2021 Many of our EAL students will likely have suffered a language learning loss during successive lockdowns. Kamil Trzebiatowski considers ideas and resources to help support these learners in the coming months
Teach Like a Champion: Implementing Lemov 18 June 2021 Teach Like a Champion is an internationally renowned educational book and theory that has been adopted by many schools looking to improve quality of teaching. Adam Riches explains how his school has implemented Lemov...
Forget edtech – we need to talk about ‘pedtech’ 7 June 2021 Most research papers, roundtable discussions and industry experts agree that effective pedagogy is at the heart of good edtech use. But whose pedagogy we are referring to? Fiona Aubrey-Smith argues that the narrative around technology in education must change
Making Every Lesson Count: Six pedagogical principles 25 May 2021 The education book Making Every Lesson Count describes six pedagogical principles – from challenging to modelling to feedback – that can give us a great framework for teaching. Helen Webb offers some ideas and tips for how these principles can work in practice
Remote learning: Five things we should keep post-Covid 11 May 2021 What are your ‘Covid keepers’ when it comes to online, remote and blended learning? What has proven so successful that it will now become a part of post-pandemic practice? Andy McHugh offers us five practices that he will be holding on to
So, what have we learned about online learning? 10 May 2021 What are your lessons from lockdown when it comes to effective blended learning and use of edtech? Jess Pentelow looks at what we have learned about creating safe, supportive and effective digital learning environments
EAL in the Early Career Framework 10 May 2021 The Early Career Framework makes no mention of teaching pupils who use English as an additional language, despite the fact that nearly half of teachers teach in diverse classrooms. Silvana Richardson advises
Classroom pedagogy: Why talk is more important than ever 27 April 2021 Effective student talk is a crucial part of effective classroom learning. Adam Riches offers practical tips for teachers on encouraging talk effectively as part of their lesson plans and pedagogical approaches
When September comes: 12 tips for a smooth year 6 to 7 transition 20 April 2021 Transition from year 6 to 7 is always a challenging time for students, but during a pandemic the potential difficulties have been heightened for both young people and schools. Matt Bromley offers 12 strategies to help our new year7s thrive when they arrive this September 1 comment
Restorative practice: Placing relationships at the heart of teaching 20 April 2021 Every day, in lots of different ways, our students ask: do I matter to you, do you notice me, do I belong here? Mark Finnis looks at why relationships are the most important thing in teaching and offers some tips
Whole-class feedback: Practical tips and ideas 19 April 2021 Giving whole-class feedback – when you address misconceptions and other issues as a collective – can have a big impact on student progress and your workload as a teacher. Adam Riches advises
Using cognitive science to improve classroom practice 14 April 2021 What is cognitive science and cognitive load theory? Do you need to use it when you teach? Exactly how do you use it when you teach? Dr Kelly Woodford-Richens offers a practical overview of cognitive science in practice
Rejecting catch-up: Recalibrating and responding beyond the pandemic 6 April 2021 How many pupils want to be told – repeatedly – that they are behind? It’s not about ‘catch-up’, but ‘recalibration’ says Sean Harris. He reports on what this looks like at Bede Academy in Northumberland and what our priorities should be, both this term and next academic year
Teachers & teaching assistants: Eight principles of effective working partnerships 6 April 2021 Effective working between teachers & teaching assistants are vital. Sara Alston considers eight key principles to emerge from recent snapshot research of what makes effective teacher-TA working partnerships
How our culture and background influence our view of ‘intelligence’ 15 March 2021 How we define talent and intelligence can vary depending on our culture and background, but how often do we take this into account as teachers and across schools? Sanjo Jeffrey considers why and how we should…
The vital links between staff wellbeing and pupil behaviour 2 March 2021 Managing challenging behaviour on a daily basis can take its toll on staff wellbeing. Adele Bates looks at why and how we must prioritise our own wellbeing if we are to best support our most vulnerable students
Maintaining high expectations for learners using EAL 22 February 2021 That a student uses English as an additional language should not be an excuse for lowering our expectations for learning and progress. Kamil Trzebiatowski considers some strategies and resources to ensure high expectations in your lessons
Emotional literacy: The secret to learning engagement 22 February 2021 Being emotionally literate can help students to engage with learning, but it is through dialogue that emotional literacy develops and makes its contributions to learning. Sanjo Jeffrey discusses
Providing effective feedback and closing the loop 17 February 2021 Effective feedback is perhaps the most crucial aspect of high-quality teaching and has a real impact on pupil progress. Leann Collingwood offers some strategies for how we can close the feedback loop
SEN: Getting the last five minutes of your lesson right 17 February 2021 The last five minutes of any lesson is vital if we are to avoid disengaged students, sensory overload, and anxiety – especially for those with SEN. Sara Alston advises
Using CPD to support effective remote teaching 26 January 2021 CPD to support remote teaching & the use of ed-tech has become commonplace during the pandemic. Maria Cunningham advises on how schools should approach using CPD programmes to develop effective remote teaching practice
28 June 2021