Purr-fecting your teacher look: developing the classroom presence that communicates expectations

Photo by ClickerHappy on Pexels.com Cat stares I may be about to lose readers with this confession, but here goes. I do not like cats. I am hideously allergic to them and even a brief interaction can leave me wheezing with bloodshot eyes for the next few days. Consequently, I devote a fair amount of … Continue reading Purr-fecting your teacher look: developing the classroom presence that communicates expectations →

The difference between judging and learning: How beginning teachers can make a professional start to observing colleagues in school

Photo by Euvgene PH on Pexels.com Imagine being invited to your Auntie's house for tea. She serves up the meal of chicken with a range of side dishes. You take a bite, chew, realise you are not keen on what you’ve tasted and so instantly start offering suggestions of how she should cook her chicken … Continue reading The difference between judging and learning: How beginning teachers can make a professional start to observing colleagues in school →

Developing your subject knowledge as a beginning teacher: a marathon, not a sprint

Photo by Manuel Camacho-Navarro on Pexels.com At the start of the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) year most beginning history teachers have two major anxieties: Will I be able to manage the behaviour of pupils Will I have enough subject knowledge to be able to teach all the different periods of history on the curriculum I … Continue reading Developing your subject knowledge as a beginning teacher: a marathon, not a sprint →

“You say it best, when you say nothing at all”: Resisting the pressure to comment beyond your expertise

Photo by https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels.com It seems to me that whenever a major event occurs, a controversy erupts, or a cause gains public attention, there is increasingly an assumption that you should immediately take a position on the issue and share your opinion. Silence is viewed suspiciously, and interpreted varyingly as indifference, cowardice, complicity, or … Continue reading “You say it best, when you say nothing at all”: Resisting the pressure to comment beyond your expertise →

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency: Articulating Ground Rules and Establishing Expectations in the Classroom

Photo by Caleb Oquendo on Pexels.com Every year my main message when teaching beginning teachers about behaviour management is CONSISTENCY. This week, I’ve been dropping my child off at a holiday club being held at their primary school. I've been struck by how the parents of the pupils who usually attend the school have abided … Continue reading Consistency, Consistency, Consistency: Articulating Ground Rules and Establishing Expectations in the Classroom →

Tuchel and Bellingham: What teachers can learn from the World Cup when giving post-lesson feedback

Photo by Allen Boguslavsky on Pexels.com For me, one of the most fascinating moments of England's World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway happened in the minutes immediately after the match. Jude Bellingham’s two goals had led England to victory and a semi-final place and the players were exhausted after a gruelling contest in difficult conditions. … Continue reading Tuchel and Bellingham: What teachers can learn from the World Cup when giving post-lesson feedback →

Mentoring beginning and early career teachers: A thank you to our mentors

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com From the outside, teacher mentoring can look like a simple weekly meeting, a quick post-lesson conversation, or a shared planning session squeezed in before home time. But mentoring is multi-dimensional work. It involves constant shifting between encouragement and challenge, between stepping in and stepping back as mentors do the … Continue reading Mentoring beginning and early career teachers: A thank you to our mentors →

From ITT student to colleague: sustaining relationships beyond ITT

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com This week, in the middle of a PGCE interview, the applicant asked: “Is there any ongoing support for your trainee teachers after they leave your programme?” I smiled, partly because it is such an important question, and partly because I was thinking about what had happened in the last … Continue reading From ITT student to colleague: sustaining relationships beyond ITT →