HYPOTHESES by Paul G Moss
LEARNING DESIGN
BUILDING RESILIENCE IN LESSONS
Little successes build resilience The other day in the hotel where my English Language exam training was taking place, a young family caught my attention. The group consisted of a mother and 3 boys, 2 aged roughly between eight and ten years old, and the other much younger at four. As they were leaving the […]
MoreTEACHING POETRY – know thy context
Of all the complaints about the new English curriculum, none would be louder than those directed towards the poetry section. This is primarily because of the sheer number of poems students are expected to memorise; up to 18, depending on which examination board is used. To be fair to those examination boards, there’s a […]
MoreSelling your own resources: a mug’s game, or cultural?
Selling your own resources: a mug’s game, or cultural? To begin with I want to make it explicitly clear that the conscious selling of other people’s resources is abominable. I can’t understand the thought process of someone who engages in such an activity, and sincerely sympathise with James Theobald, and in what seems to be […]
MorePedagogical progress, or second best
If there’s a better solution, use it! I often hear schools tell me that they’re just going to keep with their existing software because it’s the easier on the staff than changing. They tell me that they have already spent considerable energy trying to get teachers on board with their existing solution, and that it […]
MoreEducation is like religion
Organised religion and education I went to an all boys Catholic school in Australia. I was Catholic. There was little chance of anything else. At certain times I was reasonably devout: sometimes using chapel services seriously; careful not to blaspheme; even being passionately reflective when seeing a storm brewing on Good Friday. I knew the […]
MoreRestoring the Love of English
For me, one of the most powerful strategies in the English classroom is getting students to write. Analysing texts is extremely important, but getting students to experiment with words themselves seems to enhance their ability to analyse other peoples’ writing. There are numerous activities included in the resource below that can be used as starters […]
MoreThe Great SATS Dilemma
My third and final daughter is about to begin her Yr 6 SATS tomorrow. And I’m really wondering whether or not she should even try to do as well as I know she wants to. That may seem like a ridiculous thing to say, and of course it is, but I only say it because […]
MoreIn case you forgot – how to behave on Twitter
In case you forgot – how to behave on Twitter It seems to be increasing: anger on Twitter. So I thought it necessary to remind people that that’s not really how it should be. Everyone is passionate, and coming across opposing ideology can be difficult. It can lead to those passions boiling over, and sometimes […]
MoreLet’s wake up people – there’s more at stake than we think
I think there needs to be a new shift in where teachers and educators pour their energies. Currently, lots and lots of focus is on teaching methodology, when it actually should be on the massive injustice that happens before any student even enters a classroom. Getting passionate about methodologies in improving outcomes for students is […]
MoreIs your CPD hitting the mark?
Is your CPD hitting the mark? Do you know if your staff are getting what you want them to get? For lots of teachers CPD has been a large thorn in their side. But there are reasons for the barriers: teachers feel like they are shoved into sessions that aren’t suited to them, and perhaps […]
MoreHow to increase revision. The solution – finally
Tired of having to motivate your students to revise? The solution has arrived:
MoreShould we promote entrepreneurship in schools?
Should we promote entrepreneurship in schools? It all sounds wonderfully inspiring, students being urged to consider the path of the entrepreneur: the innovator. The glamorisation of highly successful tycoons, from Richard Branson to any of the Dragons, is awfully alluring. But perhaps we should be careful what we wish for. The reality of entrepreneurship hardly […]
MoreCPD is a hobby of mine
For me, CPD is a hobby. I came across an interesting tweet today I know the post was set up to spark debate (thank you @debatED), but I was surprised by the percentage that selected ‘disagree’ in the poll. But I am of course biased, because for me, CPD is a hobby, so I don’t care […]
MoreAnalysis of results for Homework Survey
View the survey responses here Context As a teacher (via student grumbles) and parent (via direct observation), it is apparent that when homework is assigned to students, it is done so without the knowledge of how much homework they already have from their other teachers. The central concern of this context is that students can […]
MorePlenaries, not LO’s – that’s where it’s at.
There would be few teachers around the world who haven’t been advised to publish LO’s at the beginning of every lesson – to signal where the learning is going, so students can check to see if they are getting there or not. But for me it has largely been an ineffective strategy, with students just […]
MoreEnsuring HomeWork is Outstanding
Click the image to go to one of the most extensive resources created about all things to do with Homework. The site focuses on the pedagogy behind homework setting, tips to help ensure you set appropriate and quality homework if you decide to set it, and critiques on the latest tools that distribute homework The […]
MoreShould students be able to sue if their school teaches to the test?
Should students be able to sue if their school teaches to the test? If in teacher training teachers are expected to consider childhood development in designing suitable teaching and learning activities, and if there is indeed enormous amounts of research validating the different cognitive and emotional capacities of different age groups, could it be […]
MoreSetting independent homework ain’t easy
Knowledge-based homework versus independent study A Teacher setting homework must be conscious of the difference between these two types of tasks. The reason being that once students are on their own with the task the potential for success is greatly correlated with the size of the jump they need to make in their thinking processes. […]
MoreClassroom Tech Adds Value – if used correctly
I understand the concerns raised by many educationalists about poor technology integration. Technology used without pedagogical justification is, like any other method, pointless, and eventually damaging. In this regard, and considering the prevalence of edtech now, teachers need great skill in sorting the ineffective from the useful, but this is no different to having to wade through the huge […]
MoreTargets or Strategies?
For a long time i simply added targets to my students’ books, and imprecise targets at that. An example target could be ‘To improve spelling’. Well if i am a 15 year old student, this statement effectively means nothing, and thus is a waste of both our time. A more precise target is needed, which […]
MorePragmatic Marking
Here are some thoughts on marking, an incredibly time consuming business. The strategy developed is in response to a very time starved teacher: myself. I call it Pragmatic Marking. Marking has one purpose and one purpose only: to assess progress on a task that requires independent thinking. Marking work where students could potentially simply be […]
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