Everyone involved in education wants pupils to succeed. It is likely that most will agree on definitions of success such as access to the best universities, a good base of knowledge across a range of subjects and skills such as speaking for an audience, for example. But the means to achieve these is subject to … Continue reading Don’t let politics colour educational evidence
pedagogy
The Limits of My World (Part II)
In Part I of this post, I discussed the importance of teachers (of all subjects) making language teaching explicit in their lessons. I argued that an improvement in language enables pupils to better access the curriculum and broaden their cultural capital. I shared three practical, easy-to-implement strategies to help teachers incorporate the teaching of language into their lesson: sharing … Continue reading The Limits of My World (Part II)
5 Steps for Effective Revision + Activity Ideas
Revision, revision and more revision.... with exams around the corner, teachers are busy planning and innovating revision activities. Meanwhile, pupils are busy revising (at least, in theory; some are definitely actually-understanding-for-the-first-time) before the daunting and the anticipating become the done and dusted. My understanding of learning and the examination process obtained through experience and research of … Continue reading 5 Steps for Effective Revision + Activity Ideas
Speaking Frames: How to elicit formal talk
"So basically, yeah, we said that you can use this so get rid of that, but its better innit to use this for the sand." Hmm. Not quite what I wanted my Year 7 to say when explaining how to separate a mixture of sand, salt and water. How many times have you asked pupils from your class … Continue reading Speaking Frames: How to elicit formal talk
Comprehension Strategies in the Classroom
Poor comprehension skills are undoubtedly a hindrance to learning. As teachers, we expect our pupils to read and make meaning from an unfamiliar text nearly every lesson. This might take the form of a text to teach new ideas and facts, a stimulus for discussion, to give instructions or even to read and interpret our marking. But to what extent … Continue reading Comprehension Strategies in the Classroom
Welcome to Bunsen Blue!
I'm Pritesh Raichura, a science teacher in a London secondary comprehensive school. Teaching is an incredibly exciting profession. It is also incredibly challenging since 'learning' is very complicated to measure. As teachers, we have the opportunity to express our subject and pedagogical knowledge through our curriculum- and lesson-planning day in day out! Immediately, we can see the impact … Continue reading Welcome to Bunsen Blue!
Bunsen Blue 