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Today is National Skills Day (#NationalSkillsDay) – an important day for building confidence and connections.
At EDClass our motto is ‘education for all’, because we believe that everyone has a skill they can showcase.
The event is part of National Careers Week. How are you planning to use and develop your skills today? Let us know in the comments below.
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School exams are to return in 2021 – the Education Secretary in Scotland, John Swinney, has said.
There was significant changes to original grading in the results of 2020 GCSEs and A-Levels, after exams this summer had been cancelled.
Mr Swinney was speaking at the National Parent Forum of Scotland. This blog post is about being prepared for exams.
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Tracking students is essential, especially in modern times where students are behind and the race to catch up is on.
By tracking students accurately and monitor your school can:
Parental and pupil engagement are boosted by confidently and accurately reporting performance feedback to them. But why is it critical at the present moment in time to track and assess students accurately and continuously? This blog post explains.
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By installing a creative curriculum in your school you can get the most out of the imaginative minds of your pupils.
It may be defined by topics or themes, or greater involvement of pupils in deciding what they are going to learn.
These are the benefits of a creative curriculum and the steps you can take to build one.
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Are you getting the most out of students in inclusion units?
According to the Department for Education, over half of secondary schools use internal inclusion units.
An inclusion unit is a specific resource which ensures parity of opportunity for all by allowing teachers to teach, students to learn, and those learning with additional needs to be supported. According to the Welsh Government it should not be used as a sin bin, dumping ground or holding cell.
Inclusion units provide schools with an opportunity to address pupils’ individual needs. But are they effective in doing so? This blog post explains.
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Managing behaviour is a challenge faced by teachers young and old. You are unlikely to hear of a teacher who believes they have complete control of the classroom at all times. But this is where behaviour lessons can help.
Teachers spend a large amount of their time managing behaviour. The end of the academic year is a time where school staff can reflect on the year that has passed and what the new one will bring.
The end of the year is time for reflection on behaviour management techniques as well as the overall quality of lessons. But how can behaviour lessons contribute to improved behaviour? This blog post explains.
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The plan to get children caught up quickly following school closures this Spring is now underway – and tailored learning should be at it’s heart.
The Government announced a £1 billion fund in June to catch up pupils who could have fallen up to 12 months behind.
By producing a tailored learning platform you can improve engagement and results for your students. Apply this across a cohort and you achieve results for all. But what is tailored learning and how can it improve outcomes for students?
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Blended learning is set to become the new normal for education in the UK, according to the leader of teachers’ union.
It is expected that pupils will have to take it in turn using classrooms. In schools, pupils will have to be situated two metres apart. Those outside school will all be expected to participated in remote learning.
But what would blended learning entail and could it become a permanent fixture in education?
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By using EDLounge you have access to a comprehensive school improvement platform and learning environment. But there are two things that above others makes EDLounge stand out: tracking and safeguarding.
Ultimately, our system is designed in order to help you to streamline practices, raise standards and increase whole school outcomes.
EDLounge’s advanced tracking system means pupil performance can be monitored closely to improve student outcomes. But how does it work? And how is tracking balanced with safeguarding to help student’s best interests are achieved?
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The benefits of CPD impact on professionals, organisations and the community as a whole.
CPD covers the whole spectrum of automotive learning. It is much more than just formal training. By utilising CPD you are maintaining and developing skills which enables you to perform as effectively as possible. It is a business essential, as it means that individuals are improving and therefore the company has knowledge and expertise to outperform competitors.
But what is CPD? Why is it a necessary essential? And what are the top 10 benefits of CPD?
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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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The power of parental engagement to positively affect a child’s learning is undeniable. Study after study highlights it as one of the most influential elements on positive student outcomes. Yet parents’ evenings remain a tough nut to crack.
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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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Effective and constructive feedback is key to a teacher’s progression – central to their improving their own performance and continually positively impacting on their students.
It takes a concerted effort to transform feedback into coaching that is viewed as positive and providing teachers with set goals and a clear understanding of what’s next for their career.
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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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Effective learning and effective teaching are the outcome of a classroom and school environment which is orderly. Pupil behaviour is as important as target setting or lesson planning and if discipline is an issue in a classroom, the attainment levels of all will be affected – whether they are misbehaving or not.
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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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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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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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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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