University of Buckingham
Public exam news This summer we return to the same grading standards as were used in 2019. That means awarding the same proportion of students to each grade as in 2019. So if, for example, 10% of students in 2019 got a GCSE grade 9 in Latin, this year roughly that proportion will get a... Continue Reading →
The other day I asked an experienced university tutor whether the nature of undergraduates had changed in the past ten years. Without hesitation she replied ‘Yes, they are much more needy. They ask for, and expect to get, help with simple academic tasks. What is more, half of them feel they have mental health issues and our university... Continue Reading →
For forty years I was a classroom teacher and a head teacher. I recruited hundreds of teachers, observed thousands of lessons and I am confident I know what good teaching looks like. As Jonathan Smith, the former head of English at Tonbridge School, once said, the characteristics of good teaching are pretty obvious, but it... Continue Reading →
March was an easy month for a blog. I had many initial ideas, all essential and linked to a year in teaching. Metacognition, Memory, Mentoring, Mistakes. I decided to write about mentoring and share some of my earlier experiences of mentoring as a trainee teacher. Mentoring is one of the most important elements in teacher... Continue Reading →
The Social Mobility Commission has published (February 2023) an analysis of the types of courses that tend to mean students will earn more in their life than those who did not take such courses and those courses that do not increase or actually lower your chances of earning more. The full article is here. This... Continue Reading →
February is for Feedback. Most of our students, at this point in their learning, would have completed some form of internal testing/exams and would have received some feedback. Feedback is a big part of the teaching profession as much as it is a part of life. In teaching, in addition to lessons, feedback is also... Continue Reading →
January is all about Joy and teaching is all about Joy. I have been very fortunate to have enjoyed my teaching in schools from my very first lesson. I still remember this vividly. I have learned and continue to learn along the way, and here are a few things I wish to share. When you... Continue Reading →
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence site which provides good quality, free-of-charge answers to the sorts of questions teachers and university lecturers might ask. ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, an independent artificial intelligence research foundation co-founded by Elon Musk in 2015. Released last November, OpenAI’s chatbot is able to create stunningly human-like responses to a wide range... Continue Reading →
From a biology perspective, differentiation is a process that cells undergo prior to maturing and becoming distinct, in structure and function. In terms of education, the children we teach are certainly distinct and display great variation in maturity levels. Our role, as teachers, is to enable all our children, access the curriculum, enjoy learning, and... Continue Reading →