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Great teaching happens in cycles – the teaching sequence for developing...
NOT THIS: probably the worst model of teaching and learning in the world Last year I wrote a post called The Anatomy of an Outstanding Lesson, which has become by far my most viewed post with almost...
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Teaching sequence for developing independence Stage 1: Explain
“Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.” EB White There are some definite pit falls to avoid in explaining things to kids. The biggest...
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Teaching sequence for developing independence Stage 2: Model
Over the past few years I’ve thought a lot about how and what we should teach. My journey has been long and painful. I used to evangelically promote the teaching of transferable ’21st century skills’...
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Teaching sequence for developing independence Stage 3: Scaffold
So, you’ve explained the new concepts and ideas students will need to know, deconstructed examples so that they know how to use these concepts in practice and you’ve modelled the process of how an...
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Teaching sequence for developing independence Stage 4: Practise
What does practice make? Well, it turns out that my mum was wrong. Doug Lemov points out in Practice Perfect that practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent. What we practise we get good...
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Why the knowledge/skills debate is worth having
‘I note the obvious differences between each sort & type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike’. Maya Angelou I’ve come an awful long way since September 2011 when Cristina Milos...
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Another year in the life of an English teacher
So, another year is done. The Learning Spy has officially entered into its third year of existence. And, after 173 posts I’m not only older but, just possibly, a tiny bit wiser. This time last year I...
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Where lesson observations go wrong
Requires improvement! Can we define an outstanding lesson? No. I get asked this regularly, and I’ve really tried. But I don’t think it’s possible. I can describe a specific example of a lesson which...
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Fireworks teaching: why less might well be more
Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life? Can’t I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off? Philip Larkin – Toads Many people (and many students) seem to expend considerable energy in...
View ArticleThe Learning Spy is dead, long live The Learning Spy!
This will be my last post on Edublogs! After 2 years of service, I have moved the blog over to WordPress. Currently I’m at learningspy.wordpress.com but you will be able to find it at the usual...
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