Expert advice for NQTs on using research in the classroom

Evidence-based practice is important for teachers at all stages in their career. We all want the approaches and innovations we use to be the ones that have the greatest impact on our young people – and we don't want to waste our precious time and energy on teaching strategies and interventions that just don't work. But there is a lot of education r...

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How to get the most out of lesson observations

There are certain things that you will be doing a lot of as a teacher: planning, marking, telling pupils to tuck their shirts in. Then there are the things you will want to do a lot more of: sleeping, extracurricular adventures, sleeping. Observations, however, absolutely need to be in the first group – they may not be scheduled into your timetable...

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In with the old and new: we need the NQT and the experienced head of department in the same staffroom

It's not just the kettle that gets heated in the staffroom. A combination of pressure from pupils and pressure from management often results in outbursts directed at the wrong people. "You've only been here five minutes, I've got 20 years' experience" was the inappropriate response levelled at a newly qualified teacher (NQT) in my previous school, ...

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Easy as ABC (or CPD) – a beginner's guide to education acronyms

Education is awash with acronyms. ITT is tricky at the best of times, but it can be even harder if you don't know your SLT from your HOYs, HODs or HOFs – or your LOs from your LOs (yes, there are two kinds). Here's our brief guide to the acronyms you are most likely to come across regularly (we would rival War and Peace if we included them all). A ...

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Is it urgent or important? A new teachers' guide to the psychology of time management

Let's start with the bad news: now that you're a teacher, your to-do list will never be complete. Ever. Part of the deal with having a job that's so important is that you will also have so many demands on your time that working 24/7 wouldn't be enough. It's imperative, then, that you master the art of effective time management early. You can only w...

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