204 Blogs Later
I write for a wide variety of publications and websites.
I started contributing blogs to @TeacherToolkit at the end of 2016 and I’ve written over 200 pieces for them. Please take a look:
- Why is Finnish education so good? See Those canny Finns
- How do you spot a ‘coasting’ teacher and how can you support them? See The Coasting Teacher
- Do students value their learning more if they have had a say in how it is constructed? See The IKEA Effect and SOLE
- Is an early start to the school day detrimental to learning? See Sleep On It…
- Can you imagine what it’s like to teach without a tongue? See Gobsmacked
- Is it okay for teachers to steal resources? See Stop Thief!
- Is it easier for teachers to tell their students to ‘shut up’? See Shut Up!
- Do teachers naturally improve over time? See Kung Fu Sully
- Isn’t it time teachers took an oath? See Let’s Make Teaching Great Again
- Do you suffer from FOLF (Fear of Looking Foolish)? See Just Kidding!
- We know that teaching is a wearing occupation, but does it really matter what you wear? See Parrot Fashion
- Is there a dearth of teachers in the UK? See Shortage? What Shortage?
- Time to talk shop: how much do you value and prioritise oracy? See Talk Turkey
- Should we share learning objectives with pupils? See Invisible Sun
- Would you allow pupils to wear slippers in class? See No Shoes Is Good Shoes
- Should we spread our ideas like viral margarine? See 100 Reasons To Visit Suomi
- How do you get children interested in the news? See In The Picture
- Are teachers playground professionals? See A Sense Of Duty
- What’s happening in the world of education over the pond? See The States In A State
- Should you answer school-related emails at home? See Leave Me Alone!
- Do our classrooms overstimulate pupils? See Clever Classrooms
- Should we encourage rumours in school? See Rumour Mill
- Should schools engage in clinical supervision? See Clinically Tested
- Why would anyone want to be a teacher? See 156 Reasons To Teach
- Are you looking for love? See Lonely Hearts
- How well off are you when it comes to your working conditions? See Are You Well Off?
- Should teachers have role models? See Casserole Teachers
- Should we embrace multidisciplinary studies? See Press ‘Shift’ To Learn
- Are you for real? See Reality Check
- What can school leaders do to promote wellbeing? See Just Get Out
- Should pupils clean their own schools? See Tidy Up Time!
- Do you teach on the edge? See Cutting Edge
- Do you play background music in your classroom? See Face The Music
- Do you suffer from professional guilt? See Gilt-Edged Guilt
- What ‘fail-safe’ resources do you use? See Puppet Powers
- How do you define greatness? See Just Great
- Does dyslexia exist? See The Dyslexia Migraine
- Is your headteacher an ‘innie’ or an ‘outie’? See High Viz Heads
- Why do we still have asbestos in our schools? See Killer Schools
- Is formative assessment dead? See Fragile – Do Not Drop – AfL Inside
- Should primary schools ditch homework? See Home Sweet Home
- What do parents write to you about? See Letters From Parents
- What do you set your sights on? See Eyediology
- Do schools work together? See Mutual Benefit
- What is a ‘square’? See Square Peg
- What do you do if you lose your mojo? See Reward: Lost Mojo
- Are you a lazy teacher? See Lazy Teachers
- Did you become a teacher to ‘make a difference’? See Punk Learning
- Is it ever acceptable to name and shame pupils? See The Shame Game
- What does the future hold for Welsh education? See Keep The Faith
- What type of teacher should you be? See You Are Fabulous
- Should schools allow the use of mobile phones? See Banning Mobile Phones Is Old School
- Is there too much negativity in teaching? See Stop Moaning!
- How do you promote speaking and listening skills? Balloon Debates
- Do you believe in the learning styles approach? See We’ve Been Conned
- Do you have classroom presence? See Make Your Presence Felt
- Do we need to take a different world view? See What’s Up With The World
- How brain-friendly is your teaching? See 10/2 Chunk And Chew
- What is the number one secret to classroom management? See Can You Keep A Secret?
- How do we optimise behaviour? See Behave Yourselves
- What does behaviour look like in your school? See Take No Prisoners
- Do your school resources go AWOL (Absent With Out Leave)? See Resources That Walk
- Should children be allowed to visit the toilet during lessons? See Bog Standard
- How do you manage stress? See At The End Of My Rope
- What superpowers do you possess? See 50 Teacher Superpowers
- Do you jump for joy when a staff meeting is cancelled? See I Love Staff Meetings
- When is the best time to learn? See The Afternoon Effect
- How good are you at making mistakes? See Epic Fail
- What makes you a teacher? See 50 ‘Teacherisms’
- Sshh! Isn’t it time we stopped talking? See Silent Discussion
- How do you start the day? See Amuse-Bouches
- Have you ever tried asking some Fermi questions? See Fermi Questions
- Should we encourage children to make mistakes? See Grow Your Brain
- How do you get the attention of children? See 66 Salami Teacher Tips
- Have you got to lead some training? See 14 Tips For Presenting CPD
- Did you get a good night’s sleep? See Our Secret Weapon
- How do you get attention without speaking? Classroom Quick Fix: Attention
- Do your pupils tell you what a great job you are doing? See How Do I Teach You?
- What type of political animal are you? See Fox, Owl, Sheep Or Mule?
- How can we use mobile phones for teaching? See Text Me!
- How can we grab attention like a Venus flytrap? See 60 Second Tips: Engagement
- How do you deal with students who don’t bring equipment to class? See Classroom Quick Fix: Equipment
- Is teaching a profession? See Just The Job
- Are you a professional procrastinator? See Become A Time Stealer
- How can we increase pupil engagement? See Purple Cows And Pirates
- How do we manage pupils who swear? See 10 Tips For Managing Swearing
- Does your classroom need some air? See Airheads
- Can the SATs survive another year? See SATs – The Dark Spider
- Do crazes get you in a spin? See No Spin Zone
- How can we improve the running of our schools? See The Toyota Way
- Does class size matter? See The Class Size Enigma
- Should all kindergarten’s be like this? See Schools Of The World: Tokyo
- Do you find your job stressful? See No Pressure
- Do you have ‘favourite’ pupils? See Teacher’s Pets
- What does ‘life after levels’ look like? See Life After Levels – LOL
- How can we make our schools safer? See Safer Schools
- Are you a workaholic? See Workaholic Teachers
- Are schools making children sick? See Dirty Schools
- Should children wear face masks at break times? See Is ‘Pollution Play’ The New ‘Wet Play’?
- Must we always meet indoors? See Take It Outside
- How often do you have a ‘Miranda’ moment? See Embarrassing School Moments
- How balanced is your teaching staff? See Is Teaching A Young Person’s Game?
- Are report programmes making a fool out of teachers? See End Of Year Reports Are Not Good Enough
- Are your children sun safe and smart? See Stay Sun Safe
- How can we keep motivated? See 7 Ways To Stay Motivated
- How can we make our classrooms happier? See 8 Strategies For Happier Classrooms
- Why do primary schools not employ specialists? See Why Primary Teachers Are Failing Our Children
- How can you keep yourself fighting fit? See 10 Ways To Keep Well
- What makes the summer term unique? See 29 Summerisms
- How good are you at setting boundaries? See 10 Boundaries You Need To Set
- How can we help children cope with bad news? See Talking About Terrorism
- Are you suffering from teacher burnout? See Recognise The Signs Of Teacher Burnout
- How many are your bosses committing? See The 7 Deadly Leadership Sins
- Do you spend your own money on school? See Propping Up The School Budget
- What is Asperger’s syndrome? See Understanding Asperger’s Syndrome
- Are you ready for sport’s day? See Sports Day Checklist
- How do you champion oracy in your school? See 25 Ideas For No Pens Day Wednesday
- What’s going to happen to all those fidget spinners? See Fidget Spinners Are Over And Out
- Should sports day be non-competitive? See Sports Day Dilemma
- Will you do nothing this summer holiday? See It’s Time To Combat Teacher Burnout
- How do you handle classroom conflict? See 10 Strategies For Managing Conflict
- Could flexible working solve the teacher shortage? See Let’s Make Flexible Working Work
- What are we like? See 10 Things You Should Know About Teachers
- Do you know enough about online safety? See Internet Safety
- What is dyscalculia? See Understanding Dyscalculia
- What does a good leader do best? See 8 Things Good Leaders Do Best
- Do you want to be an outstanding teacher? See Forget Outstanding
- Should teachers accept ‘end of term’ gifts? See Giving Teachers Gifts
- What do you do when you make a mistake? See When Things Go Wrong
- How confident are you? See 10 Confidence Building Strategies
- How can we help dyspraxic learners? See 10 Tips To Help Dyspraxic Learners
- Why do you love teaching? See 10 Reasons To Love Teaching
- Should we ditch our own desks? See Make Your Teacher Desk Redundant
- How can we combat childhood obesity? See Combatting A Sedentary Education
- How do you set up your new classroom? See 12 Tips For Classroom Readiness
- Should teachers and pupils eat together? See Eat Together, Learn Together
- How much do you know about education? See End Of Term Pub Quiz
- Have you ever tried a golden lesson? See The Golden Lesson: Take A Risk
- Should you smile before Christmas? see Smile, You’re A Teacher
- Why is it important to take a break? See It’s Time To Take A Break
- What do talented teachers do? See 6 Habits Of Talented Teachers
- What are the common mistakes some new teachers make? See 5 Mistakes New Teachers Make
- Should you lay down the law at the start of the term? See Are You An Elephant Teacher
- What do you need to think about before welcoming your new class? See 10 Tips For New Teachers
- Should we meet and greet students every morning? See Golden Handshakes
- How do we bring about change? See 7 Tips For Implementing Change
- What does the twelve days of Christmas look like in your school? See The 12 Days Of Christmas
- What was the last bandwagon you jumped on? See 12 Educational Research Myths
- Have you used The Learning Pyramid? See Research Myth 1: The Learning Pyramid
- Have you fallen for Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? See Research Myth 2: Maslow’s Hierachy
- Have you succumbed to using Learning Styles? See Research Myth 3: Learning Styles
- Are you a left-brained dominant learner? See Research Myth 4: Left-Right Brain
- How many intelligences do you possess? See Research Myth 5: Multiple Intelligences
- How much of your brain do you use? See Research Myth 6: You Only Use 10% Of Your Brain
- Are teachers reclaiming lesson observations? See Watch And Learn
- Can Brain Gym lead to optimal learning? See Research Myth 7: Brain Gym
- Are pupils digital whizz-kids? See Research Myth 8: Pupils Are Digital Natives
- Do girls perform more poorly than boys at maths? See Research Myth 9: Boys Are Better At Maths Than Girls
- Does setting homework make a difference? See Research Myth 10: Homework ‘Works’
- Why do we bother with ability grouping? See Research Myth 11: Ability Grouping
- Is it a myth that teachers do not need to teach knowledge anymore? See Research Myth 12: We Don’t Need To Teach Facts
- Why do we turn East for help teaching maths? See Educational Fad: Maths Mastery Teaching
- Do you miss Assessing Pupil Progress (APP)? See Educational Super-Fad: Assessing Pupil Progress
- Does anyone still use lollipop questioning? See Educational Fad: Lollipop Sticks
- Do your senior managers still insist on triple marking? See Educational Super-Fad: The Madness Of Triple Marking
- Does your school have a zero tolerance behaviour policy? See Educational Fad: Zero Tolerance Approach To Behaviour
- Do you write detailed lesson plans? See Educational Super-Fad: Detailed Lesson Plans
- Do your pupils write out their lesson objectives? See Educational Fad: Lesson Objectives
- Do your students sit in rows? See Educational Fad: Sitting In Rows
- Have your students come to rely on iPads? See Educational Fad: iPads
- Are you a fan of using textbooks? See Educational Fad: The Silver Bullet Of Textbooks
- Do your lessons follow a recipe? See Educational Fad: The Three-Part Lesson
- What life skills do children really need? See Educational Fad: Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS)
- How effective is collaborative learning? See Educational Fad: Collaborative Learning
- Are you still using verbal feedback stamps? See Educational Fad: Verbal Feedback Stamps
- Do you have an Ofsted banner outside your school? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Ofsted Banners
- Has your school ever had a ‘mocksted’? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Mocksteds
- Do you still grade lessons Ofsted-style? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Ofsted Gradings
- Do you mark by frequency and colour? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Marking By Frequency And Colour
- Is your school still grading lesson observations? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Graded Lesson Observations
- Why does the progressive-traditional debate still rage on? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Progressive Versus Traditional
- When was your last performance appraisal? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Appraisal
- Are book-looks dangerous and unreliable? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Work Scrutinies
- Is collecting data the biggest waste of teacher time? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Data Drops
- Why has resilience and wellbeing been dumped onto teachers? See Are Teachers Too Fragile To Teach?
- How do we positively engage children in talking about their mental health? See How To Improve Our Children’s Mental Health
- Do you know what you are doing? See Newly Qualified Teachers And Impostor Syndrome
- Is your curriculum long in the tooth? See Do You Have A Sabre-Toothed Curriculum?
- Does talking shop mess with our mental health? See Are You Sabotaging Your Own Wellbeing?
- Is it time we banned the PowerPoint presentation? See PowerPointless: How Not To Do A Training Session
- Where do you score on Ofsted’s new inspection framework? See The School Happiness Standards Agency
- How will you survive the week before Christmas? See It’s Christmas Crackers Being A Teacher
- What do the 12 days of Christmas look like in your school? See The 12 Days Of Christmas
- Are you a good teacher? See 365 Characteristics Of Good Teachers
- Why should we ditch colour-coded worksheets? See Colour-Coded Differentiation
- What should reasonably be expected of a teacher? See When Teachers Behave Badly
- Is your classroom identity safe? See Creating Identity-Safe Classrooms
- Is teaching a job with a consumption problem? See Workload: Are Teachers Just Too Greedy?
- Does your language make or break your school? See Who Are The Teachers In Your School?
- What should we look for in CPD? See The 7 Characteristics Of Effective Professional Development
- Are 21st teachers stuck in a time warp? See Should Pupils Call Teachers By Their First Name?
- What’s the most powerful word you can use in the classroom? See The Most Powerful Word In Education
- Is your headteacher a people person? See 35 Things Great Headteachers Do
- Has your school banned toilet rolls? See Risk-Averse Schools Drive Me Potty