CATEGORIES

Try not to get hung up on linguistic convention, chic@s

Languages are like water – they take the easiest route. And, like gender, they are fluid. That is why, as world languages evolve to reflect cultural change, a revolution is under way in the use of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ terms, writes Heather Martin

Three simple psychology tips for better behaviour

When a pupil is acting up, their motivations are often hidden from view. It’s possible that teachers themselves are partially at fault for setting the wrong tone in their interaction with others, writes Lekha Sharma, who suggests ways to remodel a school culture

This research could be music to your ears…

Schools should resist putting additional time and resources into yet more English and maths lessons and instead give children’s learning a research-evidenced boost by encouraging them to join a band or an orchestra, says Martin Leigh

Minority (school) report

Predictive technology – powered by increasingly complex algorithms – is finding its way into schools, promising to pre-empt misbehaviour, violence or mental health issues before they happen. But does it work, and is its use ethical, asks Simon Creasey

Giving school a spin again

In a bid to improve parental engagement, one Edinburgh school is putting parents in their children’s shoes to experience a typical modern school day – and the results are breathtaking, finds Emma Seith

Averting Pupils' Social Stigma By ‘Poverty Proofing'

Do your school policies unintentionally ‘out’ children from disadvantaged backgrounds? One charity says such occurrences are all too common and have proposed ‘poverty proofing’ as the solution. Lucy Edkins investigates

A Plant-Based Diet Of Learning

Aware of the mental health benefits of green-fingered working, Nigel Cox helped to set up an outreach course at his college to support people recovering from substance abuse and other personal challenges

Social And Emotional Skills In The Early Years

Children who are able to focus their attention, manage their behaviour and interact positively with others from a young age experience better learning outcomes later in life, finds Irena Barker

How Centralised Detentions Get Pupils' Attention

By adopting a consistent whole-school approach to rewards and sanctions, we achieved a marked improvement in attitudes to learning – and reduced teachers’ workload, says Calvin Robinson

Homework Truths

With some studies claiming that homework has little or no impact on pupil achievement, schools have been tempted to cut back on it or ban it altogether. But we shouldn’t write homework off, warn two gurus of UK education research. Steve Higgins and Lee Elliot Major argue that the evidence on homework has been misrepresented – and out-of-school study can, in fact, have a major impact on learning outcomes

Is Instinct Becoming Extinct?

Amid the fear of accountability, the rise of evidence-informed practice and increasing curriculum constraints, is there any room left in the classroom for a teacher’s gut instinct about what might be best for the children in front of them? To find out, Ed Finch and his school carried out an experiment: what if every teacher was allowed to do anything they wanted for a day? And what would that tell us about the role of experience in how we teach today?

Behaviour Matters, But Relationships Matter More

To create a positive learning environment, we need to stop viewing students in an adversarial light, says Margaret Mulholland

Simple Tweaks Can Light Up The World Of Science

Scientific cultural capital is like a candle, writes Beth Budden – and making small changes to the learning environment can help the subject to burn brightly for pupils who might otherwise struggle to see its relevance to their lives

Experiments In Human Behaviour

From locking students in a basement to encouraging violence towards an inflatable doll, social psychology studies have proven highly controversial – but they have uncovered important truths that teachers would do well to remember.

‘Sorry' Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Demanding an immediate apology from a student who has stepped out of line isn’t always the best approach to resolving classroom conflicts and, in some cases, could in fact be detrimental to future relationships, finds Grainne Hallahan

How To Deliver Criticism Without Making It Worse

Telling a member of your team that an aspect of their performance is not up to scratch is never easy, but there are approaches you can take to ensure you get your message across without causing a rift in your working relationship, says Simon Creasey.

Don't Panda To Anyone – You're The Bee's Knees

With schools in the grip of a funding crisis, teachers need to gain public support in their fight for survival, writes Sarah Cunnane. Would you rather be seen as a panda, helplessly drifting towards extinction? Or a bee – a busy communicator essential for the future of humankind?

Is Nap Club A Dream Come True?

When students are agitated, a 20-minute snooze can help them to reset and re-engage with learning, research suggests. So, some US schools have set up sleep pods. Grainne Hallahan finds out more.

A Matter Of Fact?

When it comes to helping students develop their understanding of a subject, a thorough grounding in substantive knowledge – the ‘who?’, ‘what?’, ‘when?’ ‘where?’ and ‘how?’ – is a must. But they must also be taught to ask ‘why’ they are learning certain information. If not, we leave children ignorant of the ways in which ‘truth’ is established or refuted and, ultimately, vulnerable to fake news, argues Clare Sealy.

From Down The Toilet To Flushed With Success

A plumbing lecturer who found himself in his college’s worst-performing department decided to fix the problem by making coursework more relevant to students’ lives and giving them greater control over their own learning, finds Sarah Simons.

Why We Ripped Up The Curriculum Rule Book

For students with SEND, having to study for exams in maths, English and ICT can be a struggle that often ends in failure. Kate Parker meets a teacher who decided to ditch the usual subjects in favour of skills these young people might find useful as they transition to adulthood

Put The Science Behind Meetings On The Agenda

It’s easy to get bogged down in endless staff gatherings that serve little purpose, but there are proven ways to make them more efficient and worthwhile – and teachers already have all the skills to put them in place

Oracy

Research shows that teaching children how to talk effectively can have a profound effect on learning outcomes, yet many schools aren’t giving oracy skills the attention they deserve

Don't Put The Blinkers On Animal Cruelty

Teachers often keep quiet if they become aware of a student hurting a pet for fear that reporting it will lead to the child being labelled a psychopath. But the reasons for this behaviour are far more varied and could actually signal that such children are themselves in danger.

Tes Focus On… High-stakes Testing

When teachers and schools are under intense pressure to get results, how can we know if a jump in attainment represents a real leap in learning? Daniel Koretz warns IrenaBarker that the more we tie assessments to accountability, the less reliable they become

Training Up Teenagers For The Online Battleground

Frauds and fakes have been around since the beginning of time. But, in a digital age, they are tougher to spot – and it is much easier for scams and hoaxes to proliferate. Being a teenager today is arguably harder than ever before because of this, says former school leader Tony Little, who argues that critical-thinking skills are the most important thing we can teach our young people as they navigate the information super-highway

The (Learning) Element Of Surpr!se

From sparks and whizzbangs in the chemistry lab to the class novel’s unexpected plot twist, confounding students’ expectations taps into the system by which we educate ourselves about life, by activating the brain reward system. So what’s not to like about ‘prediction error’? Chris Parr explores the latest concept looking to gain a foothold in how children are taught

Dreaming For A Living

While the AI revolution will transform employment, jobs that require innovative thinking will be protected, argues design lecturer Helena Good. She explains how her college is fostering students’ creative skills – and working to close the FE-school divide

As Music GCSE Fades Out, It's Time To Lift The Tempo

Turntable tuition can engage pupils alienated by more traditional forms of musical instruction, finds Dave Jenkins – so should more teachers be embracing electronic dance music in their classrooms, at a time when the genre’s popularity is soaring?

‘What's For You Won't Pass You By' – So Don't Dwell On A No

There was a joke for a while among my friends that I had some kind of magic interview power – every job I went for, I got. I don’t say it to be arrogant, I say it to draw attention to how to cope and move forward when that so-called magic dwindles and another candidate impresses more than you.