Thoughts on behaviour

I have always wanted to teach. When I was a kid, my favourite game to play was 'Schools' with my sister. I still take credit for how smart she is- after all, I taught her algebra three years before she officially learnt it at school. I moved to the UK and decided to complete my...

Fluctuating student motivation and what we can do about it

I have been thinking about motivating students in the classroom for a while now. It is disheartening to hear students say that Science is too hard for them or that they are never going to do well. Success is clearly an important lever in motivating students. When students feel success is attainable, they are more...

Looking at assessments differently

Last week, my year 10s sat an assessment. I had spent a number of lessons going through key concepts. I structured my homework so that students were practising retrieval of content within this topic as well as previous topics. I asked many, many questions on mini-whiteboards and got my students rehearsing key concepts. I tried...

Three perspectives

Dr K works at School A. She is pregnant and has an appointment at the hospital in two days. She is tired and finds it difficult to move around. She sets cover work, which takes her a long time because she wants to ensure her class have work they can easily access without her being...

On experience and reflection in teaching

Mr K wants to improve his practice and asks to observe a more experienced teacher, Ms Y. Ms Y begins an explanation and all students are rapt with attention. After a chunk of information, she uses whole-class questioning techniques to check for understanding and only then do students move on to independent practice. Mr K...

Thoughts on success in the classroom

'Daddy, I've tidied up!' cried the child. 'Can I go outside to play now?' 'Well, I'll come and have a look. Remember, if you haven't actually tidied up, you can't go out to play yet!' Dad goes to check but finds that most of the toys are stacked in the corner of the room. The...

The knowledge is secure, what next?

In recent years, I have taken a step back and extensively analysed my teaching practice. Have I broken down the content enough? Have I chosen the best route to explain something? Have I asked the right questions, at the right time, in the right way, to the right students? Have I ensured the homework I...

Autonomy vs consistency

Teachers with autonomy thrive. This may seem like a bold statement but I say this because of my own experience. I certainly did thrive when I joined my school. If I wasn’t given autonomy to try different strategies, I would never have used a visualiser or attempted teaching through live drawing or even used mini-whiteboards!...

Cultivating A Culture

When we moved to our house a few years ago, there was no front garden. The back garden was uneven and mossy. The large tree at the front was unruly and dropping red berries over cars and pathways. My husband is a garden enthusiast and what we had just wouldn't do. So we began to...

Should we expect students to follow our methods?

How do you solve jigsaw puzzles? Do you have a method you follow each time? I do. At least, I do when I am helping my kids with their puzzles. I tell my kids to always start with the edge pieces and create a frame first, like below: There may very well be a more...