De-escalation Strategies: 7 Ways To Diffuse Difficult Situations
Reading time: 3 minutesEffective classroom management is a cornerstone of successful teaching, and...
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Teaching
Challenging Behaviour & Understanding 5 Root Causes
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Challenging behaviour in teenage school students can disrupt learning environments and
hinder academic progress. To address these behaviours effectively, it is crucial to understand
their root causes.
Safeguarding Policies in Alternative Provision: 3 Things The Best Educators Need to Know
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Alternative provision (AP) settings often support young people with complex needs, making safeguarding a paramount consideration. While sharing many similarities with mainstream schools, the unique challenges of AP require a tailored approach.
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The Power of Positive Intervention: Discover Confidence and Motivation
Reading time: 2 minutesPositive intervention in schools is a powerful tool for enhancing...
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3 tips to reduce teacher workload and improve digital efficiency
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Teachers are constantly under pressure to deliver high standards when educating children, but we sometimes forget about their well-being too. With the innovation of EdTech, we take a look at how you can implement better strategies to reduce teacher workload, improve digital efficiency and raise overall well-being.
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How to Foster Positive Learning, Engagement, and Well-being
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Fostering a positive learning environment that drives engagement and supports well-being can be difficult, especially if there are other challenges surrounding the school. There could be limited time to focus on this aspect due to behavioural incidents or other areas that require more attention.
However, we must recognise the importance of creating a learning environment where a child will want to attend in the first place. If children are to fulfil their educational potential, we must provide a space where they feel safe and secure.
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A day in the life of an online teacher
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Teaching as a whole has broadened, especially in recent years and online learning has opened up endless possibilities to help children reach their education potential. But, what does a day look like for an online teacher in comparison to a teacher in a mainstream school setting?
We thought it was a good idea to give you some insight into what teaching online is truly like from an online alternative provision perspective. Our maths teacher, Steph Lowes, sat down and discussed her day-to-day and the impact teaching online can truly have on transforming a child’s experience with education.
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5 benefits of online intervention
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Online intervention has several benefits that students can take advantage of. Being able to identify the specific needs of students is vital to empower them to be the best version of themselves.
Why do some students struggle to progress in a mainstream setting? Mental health challenges, absenteeism and low-level disruptive behaviour are just a few reasons why some students find it difficult.
So how could remote learning and online intervention be so beneficial to schools and students? Here are five benefits of online intervention that you can look to deploy within your establishment.
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5 Strategies for creating a safe and supportive online learning environment for LGBTQ+ students
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In the world of online learning, creating a safe and supportive environment is crucial for fostering inclusivity and promoting the success of all students.
Although safeguarding must be a core component of all online learning platforms, it’s essential to acknowledge the unique experiences and challenges faced by LGBTQ+ students in the virtual classroom. By implementing specific strategies, educators can ensure that their online learning spaces are respectful, understanding, and welcoming for everyone.
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Alternative Provision: the current landscape
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Alternative Provision (AP) is a type of education that is delivered to students outside of a traditional school setting. It plays a crucial role in the UK education system, providing support and tailored learning opportunities for students who may struggle to thrive in mainstream schools, who have been excluded from school, or who are unable to attend school for other reasons.
There are many benefits to Alternative Provision for both schools and learners. For schools, it can provide a cost-effective way to provide education to pupils who would otherwise be excluded from mainstream education. It can also help to reduce the number of pupils who are permanently excluded from school, which can have a negative impact on their future prospects.
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Why it is important to celebrate Pride Month in schools
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As we celebrate Pride Month in June, we take a closer look at the importance of embracing the movement within school environments and how teachers, school leaders and parents can actively support and advocate for equality and inclusivity.
In today’s diverse and evolving society, it is essential that schools work hard to create an inclusive environment for all students. By recognising and embracing the LGBTQ+ community within schools, it is possible to create an atmosphere of acceptance, respect and understanding, which will all have an excellent impact on the wellbeing and academic success of students.
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3 reasons why online learning is useful when teachers strike
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As we enter a period of economic uncertainty, employee disputes become more common, and that includes the education sector. Teachers tend to strike as a last resort, but when they do, it impacts students at every level. The disruption to learning can be an issue, but online learning solutions can help students overcome the challenges. Here are three ways online learning can help during teacher strikes.
Maintaining continuity of learning
One of the key aspects of a teacher strike is that students don’t attend their classes, disrupting the education routine. Most students can adapt quickly to this temporary change, but some struggle, and over time it can lead to a loss of focus or even disinterest in the learning process.
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The future of virtual classrooms
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In the next ten years, significant shifts will be made to how we acquire knowledge. Recent developments in digital media, communication, and bandwidth have made it feasible to provide education at a much-reduced cost compared to more conventional methods. Students have access to a wide variety of materials on the internet, including text, audio, and video content, as well as interactive and collaborative tools. When polled, eighty-five per cent of today’s online students responded positively to whether or not they thought distance learning was on par with or even better than conventional classroom-based courses. The human connection is an essential component of classroom instruction that video-on-demand or virtual classroom courses do not have and severely miss.
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Teacher quitting increase – what can be done?
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The rate of teachers quitting within the first five years of starting has seen an increase. Why is this the case and can EdTech support them in the future?
According to research:
“Seven in 10 teachers considered leaving their job in the last 12 months.”
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Big class sizes – can EdTech help?
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Recent increases in class sizes have contributed to complications for students’ academic progression. What can be done to help both students and teachers, and can EdTech assist?
A recent article by The Guardian highlighted 9 in 10 teachers said that “bigger classes were harming pupils’ progress”. According to a poll of more than 3,000 teachers by the NASUWT teachers’ union:
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Why teachers need support in school
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Teachers across the UK have had to manage to deal with educating their students alongside the added pressure of the pandemic. Something needs to be done, so what can be done to support teachers and students?
According to an NASUWT survey of 4,000 UK members:
“nine out of 10 (91%) have seen an increase in workload in the last year – 61% said it had increased significantly – with full-time teachers working 57 hours a week in a typical midterm week.”
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5 tips to reduce teacher workload
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Teacher workload has increased dramatically because of the pandemic. How can workloads be reduced and can EdTech play a helping hand?
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5 tips for students home learning
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Students home learning has increased due to the pandemic how can students make the most of a difficult situation? Here’s 5 tips.
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Half of teachers are “drained and exhausted”
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Half of teachers are “drained and exhausted” while 15% are “physically and mentally on the brink”, a TES survey revealed today.
The survey, carried out this week among teaching staff across the UK, found that just 10% were “completely fine” while only 1% said “I feel great”.
One school teacher said: “We’re in a climate where everyone is on edge and stressed out and worried the whole time. If I’m still in this job by Christmas, I’m going to be amazed. I’ve had enough.
This blog post takes a look at the latest in schools.
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Heads: schools will grind to halt unless covid testing improves
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Headteachers have warned that education will “grind to a halt” unless covid testing improves.
Thousands of school leaders have written to the Government warning of “partial rolling closures” of schools and disruption to pupils’ catch up studies because of serious staff shortages.
The delays in covid testing are “severely hampering” schools, according to a network of over 5,000 heads. This blog post takes a look at the crisis in schools.
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Holiday cover
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The advice from the Government’s coronavirus guidance is that “Supply teachers, peripatetic teachers and other temporary staff can move between schools. They should ensure they minimise contact and maintain as much distance as possible from other staff.”
Having cover for teachers away from the classroom is essential in the modern climate – and this could become one of the worst years for sick leave ever seen around the world.
How can ensure you have the necessary holiday cover while meeting specific guidelines. This blog post explains.
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One-to-one support to small classroom delivery
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One-to-one support to small classroom delivery to support your students who need to catch up the most.
The new school year is back underway, with a strong focus on student catch-up and teaching specific smaller groups (“bubbles”) in order maintain social distancing.
This presents an opportunity to teach young people a more learning tailored to their needs. This blog post explains how this can be done.
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What is visual learning? All you need to know
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Visual learning is one of three different types of learning styles. The visual learning style means that people need to see information to learn it. This can take the form of spatial awareness, photographic memory, colour/tone, brightness/contrast, and other visual information.
In a classroom environment these could take the form of overheads, the chalkboard, pictures, graphs, maps, and many other visual items to entice visual learners into knowledge.
But what are the strengths of visual learning and how should teaching styles adapt to this. Our latest blog post explains.
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What are the four ways of learning?
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It can be a challenge for teachers to quickly identify the ways of learning in which their pupils work best.
Teachers often compare how best to educate their pupils. But there are four ways of learning which each child will fall under.
The four types of learning are visual, auditory, kinetic and logical.
What do these mean and how can it impact how you teach your learners? This blog post explains.
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What is PSHE?
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PSHE is abbreviation of personal, social, health and economic education.
The national curriculum states that: all schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice.
The subject helps children and young people grow and develop as individuals and as a member of families and social and economic communities.
What does it entail? This blog post explains.
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Live classroom: don’t get caught out again
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Some pupils may think they have it by not going into school and instead being dependent on online education. But complacency must be avoided – and that’s where the live classroom comes in.
The benefit of the live classroom means that students can receive bespoke lessons to enable them to achieve their goals. Live classrooms ensure you don’t get caught out again.
What are the benefits of live classroom and how can they help to ensure pupils remain on target with their education?
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Benefits of MFL during isolation
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Thousands of people are pondering how to spend time during isolation. From cooking, school work, to quick fitness workouts – a whole range of ideas have been discussed.
The Independent today listed ‘learn a language‘ as one of its eight skills to learn during isolation.
But why turn to MFL during isolation and how can you learn a language quickly and easily in your own home?
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5 tips to consider when teaching ESOL students
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Teachers need to be aware of the differences between EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages).
There are clearly transferrable skills between teaching both subjects, but as ESOL students live and work in the UK: ESOL should be taught as a life skill and not a hobby.
But what are 5 key skills for teaching ESOL students how to speak fluent English?
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How do you explain British values to different cultures?
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The Department for Education (DfE) published guidance on promoting British values in schools in 2014. This was done with the aims of ensuring young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain.
But how should a school approach teaching these British values to different cultures?
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Behaviour improvement: praise rather than punish pupils according to new research
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Sometimes as a teacher, situations can arise where it can be difficult to determine whether to use praise or punishment to motivate pupils. But research reported in the Times today could reveal secrets to behaviour improvement.
When do you use praise and punishment to motivate pupils? Do you have examples of where praise has been effective?
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Looking after your voice
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Teachers talk a lot. It’s an integral part of the job.
Some may shout, others may whisper. Some teachers will speak normally in the classroom, others will project their voices as if they were on stage.
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Teaching SEND pupils in mainstream classes
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Managing the education of SEND pupils has always been a difficult topic.
In the past these children have been ignored, moved into specialist SEND schools, moved back into mainstream schooling with or without additional support, provided with additional funding, had funding removed, taught in isolation units or excluded altogether.
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5 simple strategies…to teach children how to spot fake news
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Fake news is everywhere and, if adults are susceptible, children are even more vulnerable to being hoodwinked by it.
A report delivered by the Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills found that half of children are worried about being unable to spot fake news while only 2% of them have the critical literacy skills to assess whether a story is fake or not.
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Illiteracy in secondary education – what can you do to help?
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In 2016, the OECD examined the literacy rates of 16- to 19-year-olds in 23 OECD countries and came to a startling conclusion – England occupied the bottom spot with more than 1 in 5 young adults having a low level of literacy.
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Empowering staff to introduce new teaching methods
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Innovation in the classroom should begin with teachers, yet are they truly empowered to take control and introduce new methods and techniques into their teaching?
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Using constructive criticism to improve learning outcomes
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Constructive feedback (whether formative or summative) is an important part of development, throughout different levels of education and into careers and even general life and social skills.
As a teacher, being able to provide constructive criticism is a very beneficial skill and can be very important in improving learning outcomes.
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5 simple strategies…for using technology as an aid to learning
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Schools, just like every other sector of society, are using more technology than ever before.
In 2015, official government statistics found that schools in the UK spend more than £900m on educational technology each year.
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Using learning walks to help deliver effective performance management
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As the landscape has shifted away from teacher performance observations to learning walks, there has been some discussion as to how they can best be implemented.
Here we want to consider two questions: what are the focuses of learning walks, and how can leaders make sure that they’re looking for the right things?
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Should social media have a place in our curriculum?
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Social media is here and there’s no getting away from it. While it will necessarily evolve in future years, there is little doubt that social communication online is here to stay.
The question for teachers and school leaders is how to integrate that into the curriculum and, indeed, whether it should be integrated into it at all.
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A brief guide to different learning styles
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The average classroom is home to wonderfully diverse students – each with their own personality, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Students have a variety of learning styles that influence how effectively they can understand and analyse the topic at hand.
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Offering relevant career guidance in schools
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The requirement of schools to offer career guidance has become more important since the Education Act 2011 enshrined this in law. As a consequence, many schools have increased the impact of their in-house career guidance tools.
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Managing low-level disruptive behaviour
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If you sat down at the beginning of the school year and totted up how many teaching hours were lost to low-level disruptive behaviour in the classroom each year, you’d probably need an extra couple of weeks in every term to cover all the subjects in your timetable.
The truth is, all classrooms experience disruptive behaviour. Even if this is considered ‘low-level’, it can still cause problems for both the teacher and the rest of the class.
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Help your students improve their emotional and academic resilience
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Emotional and academic resilience is an integral aspect of students reaching their potential. Innate talent and application can only help pupils reach their targets if resilience is built up alongside them.
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5 simple strategies…to prepare students for exams
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Exam season is difficult for everyone, and many students will find themselves feeling stressed as well as overwhelmed.
It can be hard to prepare them for the upcoming tests, but you can at least try to make it easier on them. Here are five simple strategies that you can use to help prepare students for exams.
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Using social media as an aid to learning
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Modern students spend a lot of time online. In particular, they spend a lot of time on social media. For some teachers, this can be frustrating, hindering their attempts to persuade pupils to engage with homework and content beyond the classroom.
Here are a few ideas you could use to get social media working for you and your class.
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Use positive reinforcement to encourage positive behaviour
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Positive reinforcement has long been recognised as an effective method of encouraging positive behaviour in pupils and discouraging the negative.
In learning scenarios, positive reinforcement allows students to learn that desirable behaviour is valued whilst also demonstrating that undesirable behaviour such as refusal to work won’t receive attention or reward.
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What can Primary Schools do to cope with a lack of MFL Teachers?
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The BBC recently stated that teacher shortages in the UK were getting worse. If this is the case, how can primary schools cope with this?
More specifically, how can primary schools cope with the lack of MFL teachers?
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Safeguarding: teacher and student interaction via social media
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The majority of schools now have in place safeguarding rules for acceptable behaviour and teacher-student interaction on social media.
These focus on the safety and security of the children but sometimes don’t cover in as much detail what teachers should do to ensure that their own online interaction (even with friends and family) does not conflict with school policies.
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How to stop your students from arriving late to lessons
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Some of your students are arriving late to lessons. Again. You run through the usual lecture. You hear yourself repeating words you’ve said one hundred times already this term, and it’s only the end of October.
The late student misses out, you face playing catch-up with them, and your punctual students must suffer too. No one benefits from this situation. So what can you do to stop them arriving late?
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5 simple strategies…to help manage assignments
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Streamlining assignment management is an end goal for any teacher, however some find it far easier than others.
So, for those who don’t find it such a simple task, here are a few suggestions for managing assignments effectively.
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Teaching creative problem solving
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Teaching facts and concepts could be said to be relatively easy when compared to helping pupils to develop skillsets such as creativity, critical thinking and problem solving.
Students must be nurtured to become independent learners – capable and able to solve any given problem or obstacle placed before them.
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5 simple strategies…for communicating effectively in the classroom
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Communicating effectively is an essential skill for teachers and a cornerstone of any classroom.
Clear and concise communication is even more important in the modern school system as classes may be larger than in previous years, and ESOL and SEND students in mainstream education must be given every chance of keeping pace with their peers.
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5 simple strategies…to manage your workload
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How easily do you manage your workload in school?
90% of teachers have seriously thought about abandoning their career due to their ever-increasing workload (NUT Survey, September 2014).
Even more concerning is the fact that as many as half of all teachers have reported that they’ve seen a doctor due to work-related mental or physical illness (BBC).
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How teaching assistants can help manage large classes
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The number of secondary school pupils in classrooms of 36 or more has trebled over the last five years (BBC).
A concerning figure indeed, and if you thought that your classroom size was less than conducive for a productive learning environment, spare a thought for one West Yorkshire class at Brighouse High Academy School with 46 pupils.
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The difference between game-based learning and gamification
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How can we identify the ways in which game-based learning and gamification differ and the ways in which they share commonalities?
It seems for many in education, these two terms are frequently mixed up and used interchangeably. Let’s clearly define what each are, and how they can play an important role in the classrooms of today.
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5 Simple strategies…to make Monday more enjoyable
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Whilst office workers can slump behind their desks, vat of coffee to hand, and trudge through the toughest day of the week, teachers must face the day with vigour, determination and enthusiasm.
If you want to move from faking it, to gaining some semblance of enjoyment from the first day of the intimidating working week, here are five simple tips…
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5 simple strategies…to reduce disruptive behaviour in the classroom
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Disruption in the classroom – it’s an issue that is as old as the teaching profession itself.
Disruptive behaviour is experienced by 47% of teachers on at least a weekly basis (Department for Education); even more concerning, is the fact that four in 10 teachers have been ‘attacked by students’ (BBC).
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How to engage a kinaesthetic learner
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If you have a kinaesthetic learner in your class, gaining a solid understanding of their learning styles can be the difference between a motivated, engaged child, and a completely disinterested pupil. The latter can leave you with nothing short of a battle of wills between them and you – which isn’t helpful for anyone.
By crafting your lesson plans to allow your students to play to their learning strengths, you can establish a productive learning environment within which they can flourish.
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Independent learning – encourage your students to be less reliant on directed learning
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Independent learning is more than just a teaching buzz term. It is an approach to teaching that can set a pupil up with critical life skills – preparing them for the world of higher education or work.
However, there is still some confusion about this topic, with various sources of information overcomplicating different approaches to independent learning.
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How music can help with learning and studying
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It’s common knowledge that music has amazing effects on the brain, such as altering our mood, improving our speech and even enhancing our quality of life.
Yet it’s only been recently that studies have delved into the potential effects of music on our ability to learn and study.
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How to teach visual learners
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There is a popular theory known as the VARK theory, which describes the main ways of learning. The four letters stand for: Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinaesthetic sensory.
If your child is a visual learner, this will be evident in the fact that he or she becomes frustrated when they do not have any visual learning aids available. This is because they are more able to grasp concepts when visual learning materials are used.
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5 ways to help teach students with dyslexia
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More than 1.2 million children in the UK have dyslexia, a disability which results in difficulty reading and understanding the meaning of the words in front of them. Many children who have dyslexia have said that the words they see do not stay still. Instead, they move around the page, affecting their ability to read them.
Unsurprisingly, dyslexic students can find themselves falling behind others in the class, resulting in performance issues.
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How to Encourage Quiet Students to Participate in Class
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There is often frustration among teachers who cannot get the quiet students to participate in class, and as a result it is not uncommon for their names to be called out randomly in class – which can be very damaging to their confidence, especially if they do not know the answer.
So when it comes to teaching a class that has a couple of quiet students, here are a few tips for getting them to participate in class.
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5 ways to improve self-esteem in girls
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Marking its 30th anniversary in January, ChildLine warned that young people are “plagued by low self-esteem”, their confidence “destroyed by a constant onslaught from cyber-bullying, social media and the desire to copy celebrities as they strive to achieve the ‘perfect’ image.”
Indeed, in 2014-15 there were 35,244 counselling sessions for low self-esteem, up 9% on the previous year. Here’s how you can help.
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What Control Do Teachers Have Outside of School Hours?
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When a student is attending school, it can be a very exciting and proud moment for parents, but also one that is rife with worry. Many things can upset children at school, whether this is the volume of work, pressure or even bullying.
Similarly, some teachers enjoy passing on knowledge to young minds, but some students are still subjected to abuse and assaults in some instances.
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How to Teach School Refusers
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Being a teacher is not an easy task, and while a good number of parents may tell you that you have an easy job, there are many who understand just how difficult things can be.
Of course, every teacher has their own methods, their own ways to connect with a class. However, this can be a lot more difficult when it comes to school refusers – the ones who rarely show up for your classes. Now this can be for a number of reasons (health, lack of interest/motivation), so here are a few tips for teaching different types of school refusers.
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How to encourage teamwork in the classroom
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When it comes to teaching, one thing that helps the process is to have a cohesive feeling throughout the pupils in your class. It doesn’t matter if you are teaching primary school or older students, the principles remain the same.
That said, there are times when there will be differing personalities and characters in the classroom, meaning that teamwork is something that you need to work harder at achieving.
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How to encourage student participation in the classroom
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Student participation forms one of the most crucial areas of teaching because participation enhances the learning experience of everyone involved – including the teachers.
Active participation can prove difficult for students as many are reluctant to raise their hands or even speak up, however, there are a range of ideas and methods that help to increase participation while also giving students the confidence they need.
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Zzzzzzzz: Tired students, worn out grades
Reading time: 3 minutes
For any teacher who’s standing in front of a classroom of weekend weary students come Monday morning, the impact of tiredness on learning doesn’t need to be explained at length.
Yet despite lack of sleep being just about the most well understood of all lifestyle habits to affect learning, it remains an ever more concerning blight on the educational landscape.
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Under Pressure: Supporting Catch up Students
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Last week at the Festival of Education held at Wellington College, Dame Stella Rimington, former head of MI5, ‘criticised the pressure put on children to perform in school and the rivalry this breeds between them’ (The Independent).
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New Ofsted Common Inspection Framework
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New plans revealed by Sir Michael Wilshaw this week are ‘the biggest reforms to inspections in Ofsted’s 20-year history’ (TES). The new common inspection framework will come into effect from 1 September 2015.
Under the new framework, any schools classified as ‘good’ will have a short visit every 3 years, rather than every 5 years under present inspection frameworks, in order to identify any signs of decline; triggering a full inspection if found.
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Positives and Drawbacks of Active Learning
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We might think of active learning as an approach to instruction in which students engage the material they study through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting. Active learning stands in contrast to “standard” modes of instruction in which teachers do most of the talking and students are passive. (University of Minnesota)
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Technology and how it can test knowledge and understanding
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Technology in 2015 offers a number of ways to be a motivational teaching aid. It’s a very flexible and customisable tool and can provide incredibly varied ways to expand learning experiences.
The testing of knowledge and understanding of what has taken place in a lesson can be achieved through a good mix of written and verbal feedback, question and answer sessions, written or verbal tests or self-reflective activities and projects such as diaries. Technology adds another layer to be able to assess the levels of understanding and can provide very personalised results.
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Ipsative Feedback and Assessment
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There is such controversy surrounding assessment in the current educational climate that it is hard to see the wood for the trees. Inspectors will expect each student to know their own targets and current levels of progress but many teachers find that this can demotivate those whose progress is perhaps at a lower level than that of their classmates.
Competition within a class can be motivational for those at the top but for those at the bottom it has the opposite effect. One method that can help to combat this issue is using an ipsative form of assessment and feedback.
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5 Simple Strategies…for Ending a Lesson
Reading time: 2 minutes
Many teachers are guilty of ending lessons in a way that is less than inspiring (when not being observed!) – either still finishing the main content or by focusing on the detail of homework. But many personal experiences, alongside research, have shown that the end of a lesson can be as important as an appropriate starter or main activity. The right ending to the lesson can provide consolidation and an opportunity to provide an ending worthy of a lesson worth remembering.
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Textbooks in the classroom
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With the rise of the use of technology in the classroom – in particular handheld devices such as tablets – there are questions being increasingly raised as to the future of the printed textbook and whether it has a place in the classroom now or in the near future.
Textbooks have been the mainstay of teaching for over a hundred years and give structure to teaching sessions and markers for pupil progress and achievement.
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Creating a Positive Behaviour Policy
Reading time: 4 minutes
There are two reasons why a school revisits their Behaviour Policy. The most benign of these is that the allotted time for review has arrived and the governors expect a revised copy for review. The second reason why a Behaviour Policy is up for review is that your school has been experiencing difficulties, either in behaviour, attendance or engagement and you need to take steps to address this.
Whichever angle you are coming at this issue from, now is the time to turn your Behaviour Policy into a Positive Behaviour Policy.
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5 simple strategies…for starting a lesson
Reading time: 2 minutes
Regardless of subject area, the key to success in any lesson is the level of engagement of the learners.
Students of all ages often determine this level of engagement within the opening 10-15 minutes of a lesson, meaning that the strategies used during this time are crucial in determining the attainment that day.
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Ways to Raise Engagement in English
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English is often a love it or hate it subject. For those pupils who enjoy great literature and poetry, they look forward to exploring the pages of the texts they are studying or letting loose their creative imagination in writing fiction which explores their thoughts and enables talent to be seen.
For those who do not enjoy English, it can feel like a dull experience they are forced to attend, either because they can’t relate the work they are asked to complete to any part of real life or because of low literacy levels and any associated learning difficulties.
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How to Raise Engagement in Science
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Science has traditionally been a difficult subject to promote among many pupils. It’s viewed by some as difficult to understand and by others as not being relevant in day to day life. Many switch off when faced with chemical equations and theories and universities struggle to fill their science-based courses due to poor uptake at A level.
There is a way though to raise engagement in science and it’s being pioneered by the very people who are seen as elite and exclusive – scientists. Those who are carrying out research are using data more and more collected by school pupils through specific projects and the overall title given to this kind of work is ‘citizen science’.
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Improving the Attainment of Low Literacy Pupils
Reading time: 2 minutes
Those who perform poorly at school overall are the most likely to have poor reading and writing skills. Socio-economics play a large role in the profile of a pupil with low literacy along with gender.
It has been evidenced that boys are twice as likely as girls to have low literacy skills at the point of leaving school and this barrier can really hold those affected back when looking at career and lifestyle choices.
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Staying up to Date with Technology; both as a Teacher and by Integrating into Classroom Time
Reading time: 2 minutes
It’s only a generation since classes used blackboards and the IT room was only really utilised by the IT teacher. The world of tablets, laptops, smartphones and whiteboards were future ideas in the minds of the technology world and certainly weren’t seen to be a definitive tool to be used on a daily basis within schools outside the computer room.
Technology now is everywhere; tablets for all pupils, the use of sites such as Facebook for social learning and text books replaced by interactive learning software. For teachers who have limited knowledge of current technology, it can be daunting to be presented with new hardware to use or be expected to teach a class skills barely understood themselves.
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Social Learning
Reading time: 3 minutes
Social learning is a big trend within education. For any students using Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook as part of projects and research work, they are already participating in this area of teaching.
Many teachers may be unaware of the underpinning basics of what social learning is and how it can best be utilised in lesson time.
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Identifying and understanding cyber bullying
Reading time: 3 minutes
It’s a sad fact that bullying has always been a part of school life. Schools work hard to identify and address the issue in partnership with parents and organisations which specialise in eradicating bullying, but the magic bullet of how to make bullying disappear is yet to be found.
The way bullying takes place has also changed. Whilst it still happens in physical confrontations, there’s now the growing issue of cyber bullying through online and mobile phone interaction.
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Controlling Classroom Lateness
Reading time: 3 minutes
Late arrivals to a classroom are disruptive to the flow of the teaching and to the concentration levels of the rest of the pupils. Those who are chronic offenders are often missing out on important information and allowing the problem to continue will lead to them being late even more often. This can then encourage those who are punctual to join in the feeling of apathy and lack of personal time management.
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Teaching financial literacy
Reading time: 2 minutes
With financial literacy now firmly part of the newly introduced curriculum for maths and citizenship, schools have to be focused on looking at the opportunity to equip their pupils with the skills they will need to manage money throughout life.
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Teaching arts and culture
Reading time: 3 minutes
The importance of teaching arts and their related subjects has always been a much discussed area. Those who work in the arts feel that it’s a way to emphasise and develop the individual mind of each student.
They also feel that it’s not just about creating children or young adults to be artists but it’s a broader goal to look towards.
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5 Simple Strategies…for Active Learning
Reading time: 3 minutes
Active Learning has been defined in a number of different ways, varying from specialism to specialism. It has been related to several well-known educational theories and is based on research.
So what is it?
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Embracing SOLO Taxonomy
Reading time: 2 minutes
For those teachers who are examining their methods or perhaps want to try a new angle on communication with pupils and enhance their learning achievements, SOLO taxonomy is worth considering as a possible way forward for their pupils.
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Tips for managing teacher workload
Reading time: 3 minutes
There is no getting away from it – teaching is hard work and produces a high workload. Whether it’s the actual classroom time, schemes of work, lesson planning or the associated progression document required for each pupil, being a committed teacher means a great deal of work both at school and when at home.
Whilst there’s no magic bullet to solve the amount required to do such as parent evenings or the creation of school reports, there are certainly techniques which can be utilised to make the workload feel less demanding and to improve the work-life balance.
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Building Character Strength
Reading time: 2 minutes
The role of a teacher stretches past teaching subject knowledge. It’s a position which means more than passing on information regarding history, geography, maths and science. The classroom is a sea of opportunity for pupils to spend their time developing strengths such as fairness, hope, courage and a sense of adventure which will give them a life of fulfilment.
A good teacher will see this aspect of learning as a natural part of their job and they will look at the development of individual character strengths and the equipping of personality skills as something they are carrying out on behalf of each child they work with.
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Mindfulness in schools
Reading time: < 1 minute
Teaching mindfulness is becoming increasingly popular in primary and secondary schools, and with good reason.
This mind-body approach focuses on living in the present moment and being aware of our thoughts and feelings.
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The Flipped Classroom
Reading time: 3 minutes
The flipped classroom is becoming an increasingly popular teaching method which has developed alongside the use of digital technology as a tool for learning. It is creating a new direction and role change for teachers as they are swapping their position at the front of the classroom to one with a more collaborative and cooperative contributory edge.
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Effective Summative Feedback
Reading time: 2 minutes
Whilst formative feedback is used as a tool for regular evaluation of achievement or to look at and set up methods to stem the areas where students need to make improvement, summative feedback is just as crucial and should be used in conjunction with formative assessment to give a rounded picture of learning rather than purely on its own.
Summative feedback can be used just as effectively as formative feedback as there are a number of tools and processes for obtaining the data and information regarding the learning which has taken place.
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5 Simple Strategies…for Overcoming External Barriers
Reading time: 2 minutes
Routines will help in so many ways. They reduce stress levels in pupils on the Autistic Spectrum. They provide containment and structure for pupils with ADHD or social issues. They speed up your planning because you will know what type of task you are doing and when ahead of time: everyone’s a winner!
You may choose to have specific types of lessons on specific days, or to have a bank of structures that you draw on, which can be signposted to the class either ahead of time or at the start of the lesson. Find the system that suits you and your group(s).
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Removing barriers to learning
Reading time: 2 minutes
The new SEN reforms have, more than ever, placed the emphasis on all classroom teachers to be ‘teachers of SEN’. This is not new information; in fact it is a sentence that has been repeated in almost every discussion about the reforms. It is the impact of this catch-all statement that will really be news.
Increasing numbers of children who would have been considered to have additional needs, and would be placed at either School Action or School Action Plus will now simply be members of the class.
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Setting Goals and Targets
Reading time: 3 minutes
Evidence of learning is one of the most important benchmarks within teaching. It’s a tool which is part of the whole educative experience for all involved; learner, teacher and perhaps at times the observer. This evidence can be gathered through a range of ways, but the cornerstone of all is the setting of goals and targets.
By undertaking this work at different stages of the term or course; during the scheme of work and lesson planning and at set points as an evaluation tool, it is a way for the future planning of learning.
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Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Students
Reading time: 2 minutes
Students have great capacity to develop and to better every aspect of their lives whilst at school and in preparation for further education or work.
Most capacity though lays dormant unless challenged – similar to a ballerina at the barre each day or a violinist practising and learning new scales every day. If pupils take their thinking methods for granted and they aren’t given the opportunity to have knowledge of and embrace the skill of critical thinking they won’t improve.
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Effective Formative Feedback
Reading time: 2 minutes
Formative feedback or assessment is a crucial part of the teaching mix and is vital for use in working towards a summative assessment situation.
Formative feedback can be carried out in a number of ways which are relevant to the class as a whole or to the goals and targets of an individual but to be particularly effective should be held in a planned and cyclical manner. This way, progress can be shown over set and regular time periods and comparative achievement can be evidenced across the class.
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5 Simple Strategies…for Extension Work
Reading time: 2 minutes
Extension work is crucial to sustaining the rapid progress demanded by Ofsted and can often tip teachers over the edge.
Read these top tips and see if they help provide a solution for this common issue.
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Social media and its role in professional development
Reading time: 2 minutes
The explosion in the use of social media over the last few years has produced an incredibly powerful tool for teachers to use for professional development and networking.
Social media can be used within the classroom but outside is now the number one way to be able to promote your own work, enhance your professional development, share ideas of good practice, work in partnership with other teachers on virtual projects which are of interest to you (and in turn further your professional development), network with other teachers and find out general information which can enhance your own skills.
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Supporting Teaching Assistants
Reading time: 2 minutes
Teaching assistants (TA) are an invaluable asset to every school and to every classroom. Their support for the teacher as well as the students themselves means that a seamless three-way learning team is set up to guide the class through the term with the availability of the well-trained professional who is there to help with the requirements of the teacher to lighten the lesson workload.
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Bring Your Own Device
Reading time: 3 minutes
For many classroom situations, students producing a phone in a lesson is obviously not required and shows that they are not engaging in the lesson itself. However, there are a number of benefits to asking them to ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) as a way of accessing learning information and to be used as tools for engagement and increased technology awareness.
More and more schools and colleges are now setting up dedicated IT provisions so student devices will connect to the in-house network.
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SENCOs queue to get free help with speech and language issues
Reading time: 2 minutes
Integrated Treatment Services see scores of SENCOs booking onto ‘hubs’ to make provisions for 10% of students with SLCN as refomations loom and NHS remains controversial.
With the summer holidays already being a distant memory to most teachers, a team of UK experts at one service provider have recorded over 200 delegates, such as SENCOs, registering to attend training hubs in response to reformations.
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Reflecting on Teaching Practice
Reading time: 3 minutes
Reflective practice within teaching centres around activity which takes place in the classroom, the thought processes around why things take place and then considering if it is all working as it should be.
Reflecting on your teaching means you are undertaking self-observation along with self-evaluation and is important because we can identify the kind of practices we undertake, analyse the beliefs in how we teach and evaluate the overall situation with an outcome as to any changes which are needed or improvements in the way we teach.
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Lesson Observations
Reading time: 3 minutes
Lesson observation is a critical teaching tool which should be used in a positive way for both the teacher and the observer. For the person being observed, it is a time to be able to reflect on their teaching style, content and effectiveness and for the observer, the opportunity to see a snapshot of how well the students are being taught as well as the overall skill of the teacher.
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What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Reading time: 3 minutes
Everyone can think back to their time at school and instantly name a teacher they thought was amazing. A great – and effective teacher – has a blend of a number of qualities which come together to produce a truly effective teacher who will have a positive and lifelong impact on every student they teach.
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Blended Learning
Reading time: 3 minutes
“By 2019, 50% of all high school courses will be delivered online” forecasts American writer of Disrupting Class book Clayton Christensen.
His prediction refers to schooling in the USA, but could the UK education system follow suit?
Online learning is a fundamental cornerstone to the model of blended learning; one which is growing at speed for those in the lifelong learning as they combine busy lifestyles with a return to study and one which is bound to factor in secondary and primary curriculums to a greater degree as schools embrace modern technology as educational tools.
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Digital Literacy
Reading time: 3 minutes
Digital literacy is now a cornerstone key skill for many careers and there is a growing impetus for it to be recognised as being as important as being able to read and write to a level where it felt that it is a comprehensively gained life skill.
In the past, digital literacy was known generically as ICT and was originally untested. It did not sit alongside the core subjects of English, maths and science and was often based around learning packages such as Microsoft Office or activities which included internet browsing or gaming.
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Developing Your Pupils’ Time Management Skills
Reading time: 2 minutes
From arriving at school on time to handing in homework when required, pupil time management is a key factor in their time spent at school. Getting ready for PE, changing back into their uniform for following lessons and arriving for school trips in a timely manner are all examples of how the time management of pupils is tested each day.
Children of all ages are easily distracted and combined with any thoughts of not wanting to be in a particular place at a particular time can quickly lead to lesson disruption and pupil and teacher frustration.
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Using Technology to Engage Hard to Reach Learners
Reading time: 3 minutes
Whilst every year the media applauds those who attain incredible achievements with their GCSE or A level exams, there are many students left in the shadows who are unable to even dream of attaining similar success or may not be interested in attending school.
For many who fall into this category, a disadvantaged background is almost certainly a key element in the issue, there those who require assistance to learn even the most basic literacy and numeracy skills and there are those who become bored because they don’t feel challenged.
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