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.”
Research on Ability Grouping and Setting in Maths Classes
I’ve been trying to tie together some of the various bits of research I’ve come across for and against ability grouping in maths. Below is what I’ve got so far, but would love any other pointers, for or against. The last 30 years’ research suggests setting marginally improves high-achievers, but to the detriment of...
What to avoid when teaching
Durham University, the Sutton Trust and CEM published an interesting report called “What Makes Great Teaching” in October 2014. It’s an overview of what research appears to be telling us at the moment. While it would be wonderful to think there is a simple, step-by-step formula to a perfect lesson, I’m not at all...
Careful Documentation
This (thank you Cristina) is a great mini-documentary about the impact of documentation as used in the Reggio Emilia schools and with the Making Learning Visible project Documentation: Transforming Our Perspective from Melissa Rivard on Vimeo. Intuitively, I am wholeheartedly behind this sort of approach. Instinctively, too, I worry...
Albert Maysles, Tyranny and Nuance
“Tyrrany is the deliberate enemy of nuance”
Kurt Vonnegut, Art & Making Your Soul Grow
In 2006, an English teacher called Ms. Lockwood asked her students to write to their favourite author and ask him or her to visit the school. This was Kurt Vonnegut’s response.
Trophic Cascades and Wolves
Very, very beautiful.
Simple Current Affairs Game for Children
The following seems to be going down well with my class. They are both enjoying it and seem to be learning more about current affairs at the same time. What it is Once a week when the children (who are 10 or 11 years old) come into class for morning registration, I’ll have something like […]
Making It Stick
Dogears from Make It Stick. Note to self – formatting on blog seems to have gone AWOL… The Illusion of Mastery V common “The fact that you can repeat the phrases in a text or your lecture notes is no indication that you understand the significance of the precepts they describe, their application or how […]
D.H.Lawrence on points, flowers and fading
A lead-pencil has a point, an argument may have a point, remarks may be pointed, and a man who wants to borrow five pounds from you only comes to the point when he asks you for the fiver. Lots of things have points: especially weapons. But where is the point to life? Where is the […]