What was more dangerous for sailors in centuries past: pirates, crushing canon, or storms and shipwrecks? The greatest scourge of sailors in the 16th and 18th centuries was… a lack of vitamin C. Scurvy – a dietary deficiency caused by a lack of vitamin C – resulted in an estimated 2 million deaths in between […]
Scurvy Seadogs and Using Research Evidence Read More »
Moving from primary school to secondary school, nursery to school, or school to college, is a seismic change for any child. The transition can be both exciting and frightening. As Covid closures has seen so many children left in limbo teetering on the cusp of moving schools, the thoughts of parents and teachers no doubt
Thinking about School Transition Read More »
This week saw the publication of the Education Endowment Foundation RISE (Research-leads Improving Students’ Education) Project. It was one of the first projects in England that attempted to mobilise the emerging role of ‘Research-lead’ into a more specific school improvement process, with related training and support. With the rise in interest for research evidence over the past
So, what works? It is a question teachers ask every day of the week. Whether it is ‘does this mastery stuff in maths work then?‘, or ‘what should I get my students to revise this week?‘, or ‘what literacy programme should I pick for Jane, who is struggling big time with her comprehension?‘ We are
Research evidence or Professional Judgement? Read More »
(Comic via http://xkcd.com/552/) I have had an interesting fortnight in my role as a school leader and Research-lead. In this job, you get to share a lot of teacher training materials and the like, coupled, or most often, decoupled from the evidence. In just the last couple of weeks I have been repeatedly ‘exposed’ to popular
Causation and Correlation in Education Read More »
As an English teacher I am surely granted the eternal power of an exaggeration fueled headline every once in a while. Ok – so perhaps highlighters aren’t the biggest problem in education, but if you know me well, you may have heard my complaint whereat these gaudy coloured pens symbolize some deep rooted issues with teaching and learning
Why I Hate Highlighters! Read More »
One unique facet of my education and upbringing was that I went to an all-male Catholic school led by Christian brothers. I learnt all the usual subject disciplines (with an attendant incapacity to speak to girls for a number of years), alongside a fervent and long-lasting interest in the esoteric rituals that attend the Catholic
The Devil’s Advocate Read More »
