The best CPD? Go and be shit at something this summer

Like most teachers, I did well at school. I messed about a bit – nothing massive, just chatting and doing that FLAMES thing where you worked out your "love percentage" with someone. Of course there were subjects that I was less keen on (I'm looking at you, geography), but I liked learning and it generally came pretty easily to me. Fast forward thro...

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Do smaller class sizes really improve student outcomes?

While it might feel like having fewer pupils in your class would help you make more progress, there is strangely little hard evidence that reducing class sizes consistently improves student attainment. It's not just teachers who gravitate towards a leaner classroom; reducing class sizes is extremely appealing to parents and one of the main attracti...

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A beginner’s guide to Professor Daniel Willingham

Best known for: Willingham's work has worldwide appeal: his writings on education have been translated into fourteen different languages. Applying his expertise in cognitive psychology to the education field, Willingham's books include Raising Kids Who Read Why Don't Students Like School? and When Can You Trust the Experts? Quick facts: Born: 1961 ...

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10 top tips to help teachers survive report-writing season

Your son is a saint – unfortunately the saint I refer to is the patron saint of fools Anon ​You've marked your last assessment, planned your final lessons and you can nearly feel the drink in your hand and the sun on your back. The only thing standing between you and your summer holiday? A mountain of reports to write. Here, we ask teachers to...

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A beginner’s guide to Professor Robert Coe

Where does he work?  Before starting his career as an academic, Coe was a maths teacher in a number of secondary schools and colleges. He left teaching in 1995 to study a PhD at Durham University, where he later became a research associate and lecturer. Coe is still at Durham, and is currently professor in the School of Education and dire...

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