Trying to apply educational research to students of all abilities and backgrounds
The way CPD has been structured has been going through a quiet revolution over the last few years. If you think back 5 years or so it would have been highly likely that your CPD was a series of days in the hall with external speakers. You may have twilight sessions every half term that... Continue Reading →
This blog is the second of a series of blogs that looks to expand an idea discussed in Middle Leadership Mastery. It works best if you have read the book but it is not entirely necessary. The first one about assessment can be found here. One of the most important roles a leader has is to... Continue Reading →
When I wrote Middle Leadership Mastery I had to make decisions about how much detail to include. These expansion packs aimed to fill in some background details that might help you. If you have any suggestions of what to expand on then please let me know. Cheers, Adam. In the assessment chapter in Middle Leadership... Continue Reading →
Me: What is an alkali? Student: It turns a indicator purple Me: That's right it is a substance with a pH above 7 that turns universal indicator blue or purple. This is an example of a teacher ‘rounding up’ a student's answer. The student's answer wasn’t wrong, it just wasn’t the completely right answer for... Continue Reading →
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom (the new staff were wise to join you), it was the age of foolishness (for those that left your incredible team), It was the epoch of ….. Ok I'll stop with this tedious Dickensian intro. Every once... Continue Reading →
One of the best parts of my job is visiting lessons. Lesson observations are a funny thing because they are always trying to achieve two things: They are trying to be developmental. They are trying to complete quality assurance processes. In Middle Leadership Mastery I made a partial case for separating these two processes. While... Continue Reading →
Picture the scene: It's a wet Tuesday morning. I'm a little late in and swearing under my breath as my laptop begins to boot up. You see Yesterday's Adam left school without doing his printing for today. Yesterday's Adam thought today's Adam would have plenty of time. Yesterday's Adam is a bit of a selfish... Continue Reading →
Recently the educational world became aware of some ‘aide memoires’ Ofsted had provided their inspectors during their training. Someone ‘leaked’ them online and loads of people clambered to see what pearls of wisdom they possessed. Some were angry that not all schools get them, others were just glad the inspectors were given training and guides... Continue Reading →
When I was appointed as the Lead Practitioner for our school in January my first job was to create a shared language for our schools teaching and learning policy. A lot had been achieved from September to January by the Assistant Principal in charge of Teaching and Learning; there had been a push on consistency... Continue Reading →
Let's say we are leading a Mayan tribe and this year we sacrificed a dog to the gods in exchange for a good harvest. The tribe next door sacrifices a deer. #NoBestWay From Wikipedia Adrian Zwegers The year goes on. We plant the same seeds and water our crops from the same river as our... Continue Reading →
We had some friends over a few weeks ago and the conversation ultimately drifted towards education. They have a daughter who is in Yr 8 at the highest performing school within 15 miles of my house. It’s a faith school and also runs its own teaching alliance SCITT thingy. It has been outstanding in Ofsted... Continue Reading →
A teacher's time is education's most vital resource. In this series of blogs I explore some of the common aspects of classroom practice, give my opinion and what works and suggest some reasons why other things might not be worth our time. The aim is to share what I think are the most time efficient... Continue Reading →
One of the best things about writing Middle Leadership Mastery is when I get contacted by someone who is preparing for a Head of Department, HoD, interview. It’s nice to know that they found the book helpful and often they ask for my advice on preparing for the interview. So I thought I should note... Continue Reading →
Reflections on Education 