A little bit of a panic: keeping calm to make in-lesson adaptations in the classroom

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com Yesterday, I had a little bit of a crisis while I was on a tight deadline leaving work to make the school run.  It had just started to rain and there I was, staring at my coat through my car window, pressing the unlock button with increasing ferocity in … Continue reading A little bit of a panic: keeping calm to make in-lesson adaptations in the classroom

Surfing the ‘Semantic Wave’: Helping beginning teachers to think about tackling the ‘pitch’ of their lesson

This blog is jointly authored by Victoria Crooks and Alex Ford. Check out http://www.andallthat.co.uk/ to read more blogs from Alex. Photo by Vladimir Kudinov on Pexels.com Matthew is a fab beginning teacher.  He is highly professional, and his subject knowledge is second to none.  Simon, his mentor, is delighted by the deeply informed historical discussions … Continue reading Surfing the ‘Semantic Wave’: Helping beginning teachers to think about tackling the ‘pitch’ of their lesson

Diagnostic Hooks: Reconceptualising Initial Stimulus Material (ISM) for Eliciting Prior Knowledge

Photo by Rachel Claire on Pexels.com The power of Initial Stimulus Material (ISM) to ‘hook’ pupils into historical learning via an intriguing image, a provocative quote, a story, or even a soundscape that promotes curiosity, has been long established.  In his 2001 article, Phillips built a set of principles for using ISM as a gateway … Continue reading Diagnostic Hooks: Reconceptualising Initial Stimulus Material (ISM) for Eliciting Prior Knowledge