The Problems with Effect Sizes
I keep coming back to this talk by David Weston on Hattie’s work and why “it might be a little bit more complicated than it seems.” Definitely worth a watch.
Trying to help
Had a bit of a rush of blood to the head. Am off to Lesvos after Christmas to help out with the refugees for a week. Tickets and hotel booked. I’m not actually doing it to raise money. I’m paying for it myself and to be honest, I may well end up staying in my […]
Blessed Unrest
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not […]
Clash of Clans Maths Lesson
Almost all the children in my classes play Clash of Clans, so I thought it would a good basis to try my first 3-Act lesson, as per Dan Meyer. There’s some arithmetic and geometric progression that’s ripe for more advanced students, but I teach KS2 and KS3 so wanted something a little simpler. This thread […]
Curiosity
Like this a lot.
MIST – Educational Videos for Maths and Science
Outside the day job, I’ve been working away trying to repurpose an old project called MIST (Mentored Investigations into Science and Technology) and is essentially a set of videos and lesson ideas for maths and science at the primary level. I’ve also put up a number of “cheat sheets” for those teaching science...
TLAB Notes
Took a while to get there, what with train cancellations, but it was worth it. Lots to think about, though various themes/books seemed to be being hammered home. Nuthall’s Hidden Lives of Learners and Berger’s Ethic of Excellence were heavily plugged. Notes from what I saw: Sarah-Jayne Blakemore Institute of Cognitive...
Adjective Game for English Lessons
I’ve had a very quick stab at hacking together a simple version of a game I used to play as a child. Whoever is playing chooses their adjectives and then these are dropped randomly into a famous story. I’ve grabbed the opening to Alice in Wonderland from Project Gutenberg as a first effort. Would love […]
The School Side of the Brain
“When it comes to thinking about learning, nearly all of us have a School side of the brain, which thinks that school is the only natural way to learn, and a personal side that knows perfectly well that it’s not.”