The teachers’ knowledge that has no name
Why is it so much harder than it looks to write a good knowledge organiser or any other document which identifies the core knowledge pupils need? It is harder than it looks to identify the More
Esse Quam Videri
A blog about education. Follow me on twitter @HeatherBellaF
Latest posts
Knowledge matters
I can be prone to hyperbole in my informal chat. Therefore, my first instinct was to assume I d been too outspoken when I got an explosion of angry replies to this tweet of mine on More
Break it down! Getting subject progression right in the new national curriculum
Arguably, the curriculum revolution in English schools over the last 10 years has been driven by three related insights. Schema theory is the underpinning theory behind the knowledge revolution that has swept through English schools. More
What makes marking unfair? Look harder at validity
GCSE teachers in English and humanities are frustrated about the quality of marking. Sure, it is harder to ensure examiners reach similar judgements in these subjects. But 4/5ths of the time those remarks don t lead More
The National Curriculum: it’s not just a list of topics
It is usual for pressure groups to campaign for the inclusion of new items onto the national curriculum. Aside from the fact that no curriculum can include all content suggested for inclusion, these campaigns smack More
The New National Curriculum – will intentions be ‘lost in translation’
It’s good to see a broad panel of experts being consulted on the new National Curriculum. However, no matter what the intentions of that group, it will be subject specialists who will ‘translate’ those intentions More
The education horseshoe
Legend has it that in the olden days, back in the mists of time, teachers lectured at pupils. The curriculum under this reign of torpor was disconnected facts and children generally could not understand the More
What can ‘iballisticsquid’ tell us about teaching writing?
It once seemed obvious to me that feedback on writing was less useful when it was too context specific. So I’d try to avoid writing a comment such as: The example of Hitler’s appeal to More
Part 2: Early years assessment is not reliable or valid and thus not helpful
This is the second post on early years assessment. The first is here. Imagine the government decided they wanted children to be taught to be more loving. Perhaps the powers that be could decide to More
Early years assessment is not reliable or valid and thus not helpful
The academic year my daughter was three she attended two different nursery settings. She took away two quite different EYFS assessments, one from each setting, at the end of the year. The disagreement between these More