“Stories are psychologically privileged in the human mind.” Daniel Willingham The mind thinks and remembers in stories. It is part of the architecture of human memory and our human experience. …
The Problem with Pleasing Parents
Every teacher and school leader wants to please the parents of their school children. And quite right too. From a warm conversation at parents evening, to a celebratory phone call, …
How to Write an Edu-book – Part 2
In ‘How to Write an Edu-book – Part 1‘, I had the huge pleasure of sharing with everyone the approaches to writing an edu-book from two of the best edu-book …
How to Write an Edu-book – Part 1
I often hear the comment “I don’t know how you write books and do the day job“. And well, I usually agree and stumble over some comments about being very …
Cancel World Book Day!
As March begins, we should expect daffodils to be emerging and the warm weather of spring to be gently cooking our cockles. And yet, the reality is that we are …
Cracking the Academic Code
(This article was first published in Teach Secondary Magazine. You can subscribe HERE) How could a group of crossword puzzle champions save the world? Such a startling question has a …
Girls, Girls, Girls – Peer Effects in the Classroom
(Image sourced via Pixabay.com) Finding the answer to school improvement troubles us all, and yet, sometimes the answers are sitting there at their desks looking straight at us. In …
How could a text message transform literacy?
Just over five million adults in England are functionally illiterate, with the literacy skills equivalent to an eleven year old. Not only that, around half of the adults in prison …
Why can’t boys be…Well, more like girls?
[This blog first appeared on the Huntington Research School website. Take a look HERE and sign up for our monthly newsletter HERE, so that you get access to the brilliant blogs …
The Early Vocabulary Advantage
“Dad, what is a whisk’s favourite drink?” “I don’t know. What is a whisk’s favourite drink?” “Whisky!” And so starts my young boy’s burgeoning entertainment career. So far, it is …