Inside the NQT classroom: A roaring observation fail
A teacher’s job is unique in that it brings great stress yet reward and humour. Though the humour found in the classroom is more likely to be appreciated on …
Driving the bus may not be the best way to lead a team
In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins pens his memorable metaphor comparing leadership of an organisation to that of driving a bus. He says that to move your …
Looking at why worked examples can reduce cognitive load
Our long term memory is infinite but our working memory can only hold and interpret a finite amount of information. The magic number of items working memory is able …
Design effective worked examples to mitigate cognitive load
The use of worked examples in teaching is nothing new. It is not uncommon to see a worked example being used in a mathematics or physics lesson followed by …
Improve the effectiveness of pupil learning with the use of worked examples
It is not uncommon to see a sporting coach routinely stop their player to model a skill. This is often at the frustration of the athlete who just wants …
5 ways not to improve teacher wellbeing
Teacher wellbeing is sweeping the education landscape with great cooking bake-offs, deep tissue massage sessions and staff sporting events. To be honest I see nothing against these as I …
The spacing effect and knowledge retention
Examination season is about to kick off and with it comes insurmountable levels of stress, a caffeine addiction and late night cramming. Last minute all-nighters may give the impression …
The search for stretch and challenge in lessons
It is not uncommon for inspectors, school leaders and teachers to loosely throw out the phrase “stretch and challenge”. Usually attributed to the teaching of the most able students …
Teaching and learning is not sexy
Okay, this is a bit of rant but I do hope to outline a well thought out position that has been bugging me for years. How have we got …
The impact of cognitive load on working memory
George Miller (1956) famously coined the magic number seven when it comes to how many items we are able to hold and manipulate in our working memory. Though, his contemporaries …