On Thursday 18th February, I hosted a debate / discussion with Ruth Ashbee, Nimish Lad & Amy Forrester on Clubhouse. This blog is partly a summary of the discussion and partly my added reflections (particularly things I would have said if I had more time). At the end of the post I explain a little … Continue reading The Knowledge / Skills Debate: reflections
curriculum
How to write good questions
Pupils need as much practice as possible to master new ideas; they need Shed Loads of Practice (SLOP). Practice forces pupils to think about content. But their quality of thinking will be determined by the quality of questions teachers write. In this blog, I outline principles for writing good practice. It goes along with a video … Continue reading How to write good questions
Curricular Narrative
It is tempting for science teachers to dive into each topic as it comes and teach its ideas as discrete lessons. Learning about Punnett squares? Let's just focus on teaching how to draw them for a few lessons and then move onto selective breeding in the following week's lessons, which is the next topic on … Continue reading Curricular Narrative
The best which has been thought or said?
This blog is my contribution to the Curriculum in Science Symposium organised by Adam Boxer. Links for other posts are below. With Ofsted announcing a focus on curriculum and nearly three quarters of secondary schools in England being free to make their own curriculum choices as academies, the ground for asking questions about curriculum is … Continue reading The best which has been thought or said?
Teacher Autonomy: Part II – Curriculum & Teaching
Part II In my previous post, I argued that teacher autonomy is worth sacrificing when it comes to decisions about behaviour systems. I suggested that this is the only way true consistency can be achieved and that consistency is essential for good behaviour to flourish. This is because good behaviours are good habits, which are … Continue reading Teacher Autonomy: Part II – Curriculum & Teaching
Designing a Science Curriculum: my #rEDRugby talk
On Saturday 9th June, I was lucky enough to attend and speak at my first reserachED in Rugby, hosted at the stunning Rugby School, by the marvellous Jude Hunton. Here, I share my talk with some additional thoughts I didn’t have time to explain. This talk represents my vision for a curriculum. Introduction I find … Continue reading Designing a Science Curriculum: my #rEDRugby talk
Procedural & Declarative Knowledge: My #CogSciSci Talk
On Tuesday 29th May, the second ever #cogscisci 'Meeting of Minds' event took place. It was a thought-provoking day full of discussions about the applications of cognitive science to science learning! My talk was about how procedural knowledge should be practiced differently to declarative knowledge, using the teaching of Maths in Science as an example. This … Continue reading Procedural & Declarative Knowledge: My #CogSciSci Talk
Writing Biology Mastery Textbooks
This post covers: Why biology is more than just facts; Why I write my own 'textbooks'; How I write my own Biology 'mastery' textbooks - in 6 steps; An example of one of my textbooks. 1. Why Biology is more than just facts "Biology is just lots of facts." I hate this statement - one … Continue reading Writing Biology Mastery Textbooks
Workload: Solutions Part I
In my previous post of this series, I explained why high workload is not only damaging to a teacher and his pupils in a given year - for it forces him to spread his limited resources thinly - but is also damaging to his longevity in the profession. I expressed that a framework of ethical leadership … Continue reading Workload: Solutions Part I
Evolution of Our Science Assessment Model: CogSci & Christodoulou
Assessment has seen a lot of evolution recently. New accountability measures across Key Stages recently has forced schools to re-consider their models. To adapt, a few teachers in my science department have been reading Daisy Christodoulou's lucid new book on assessment: Making Good Progress? We have also been reading various books, blogs & research papers to help us … Continue reading Evolution of Our Science Assessment Model: CogSci & Christodoulou
Bunsen Blue 