Wow, I don't know about you guys, but I certainly had high hopes for 2020. Now, who the hell knows but in this rapidly evolving climate, here is what I have learned so far: 1. Those who were ...
teaching
How To Build Resilience: Failing Safe
How To Build Resilience: Failing Safe Success is often measured by how well we do in particular tasks, but is rarely measured by how many times we try things. Have you ever taught students who don’t want to try particular tasks because they didn't want to fail? I certainly have and you know, it’s often … Continue reading How To Build Resilience: Failing Safe
How to Tech Like A Legend
How to Tech Like a Legend - We love learning like this! How often do you hear this from your kids? This was the exact response we received when we asked about the new way we approached covering the 'basic' learning this term, but why the change?
15 Strategies to help avoid procrastination (and get your marking done!)
15 Strategies to help avoid procrastination (and get your marking done!) Do you remember back in the day, in your first year of teaching, when you thought that one of the most exciting things to do (in teaching of course!) was to mark exams? I was so eager to get them marked that they were … Continue reading 15 Strategies to help avoid procrastination (and get your marking done!)
10 Qualities of Great Teachers
What makes a great teacher could easily be a list of characteristics that look similar to what makes a good person - a sense of humour, the ability to feel like you're actually being listened to, flexibility, and consistency of personality and approach. With this in mind, this is a question that has driven educational researchers and the concepts lie at the core of ...
‘Do or die’ – a substitute teacher’s secret weapon …
Unsurprisingly, it turns out that people are more willing to do things for you if they remember your name! It makes you feel acknowledged and important, building a subconscious connection. If you have ever spent time doing substitute teaching, you know what insanity can be lurking around the corner. Lucky you're well equipped and understand ...
How to use the ripple effect to enact positive change in the classroom
If you ask a student to mimic a teacher, chances are they will stand, point and yell at their hypothetical student, scary! It's not too late to help break the cycle by using this voice-saving, stress-preventing teaching strategy that people have been using for centuries ... use the 'Grandmother Method for learning'. This strategy uses encouragement & acknowledgement and just works because ...
Gamify your lesson in 3 easy steps
Everyone loves to play games whether you're big, small, old or young. With that in mind, whatever you are teaching, it's worth asking yourself "can this be made into a game"? "Hell yes!" should be the resounding answer and there is a plethora of research out there to back this up! Here are just a few:
Music in the classroom
Students often talk & disrupt just to break the silence in the room. An awesome teaching strategy is to acknowledge the silence so YOU take charge. Play background music & explicitly tell the kids that it's on to take out the silence & help them work. This is not rocket science - if you want them to chill out, play chilled out music, alternatively, if you want them active & in group work, play some faster tempo music. As with anything, let them know that if ...
How to deal with a wild classroom
How to deal with a wild classroom - Peel the kids off the walls and start with a game! Try starting the lesson with a competition like Left Vs Right. Let them play for 'free time' (time to pack their books in their bag & leave exactly on the bell/play a game/listen to music). Boys in particular love competition! Here's how it works (and it really does!):
Granted Education 