‘A Mountain of Words’, Emma Young, New Scientist, 11th February 2017 pp. 34-37. Part 1: Speed Reading
This article examined (1) the research on speed reading and (2) the relative merits of reading a physical book, newspaper or article as opposed to reading from a screen. I am going to discuss (1) this week and (2) next. The internet, emails, texts and Twitter all...
Teaching and assessment for top-end success in new GCSEs
I’ve been looking at the specimen papers for GCSEs in English, Maths and Science to get a feel for the expectations at the top-end. Although, in theory, schools should have been engaging with these materials for a while, with Year 11s ready to go this May and Year...
Shakespeare and creative education
This essay was first published in the Spring 2016 edition of Use of English. I can remember reading Othello for the first time when I was studying A-level, and feeling slightly disappointed and cheated when I read the notes about Shakespeare’s sources for the play....
Ofsted Reliability Trials. Some suggestions.
It’s very welcome news that Amanda Spielman is going to support an Ofsted ‘research push’ as reported here in Schools Week. The publication of results of an initial trial is a step in the right direction. In my ‘Gimme some truth‘ blog at the end of 2014, I...
Ofsted and the Development of a Rich Curriculum
In her first major speech as the new HMCI Amanda Spielman said: And that is why I’m announcing today that I have chosen the curriculum to be the focus of the first big thematic Ofsted review of my tenure. From early years, through to primary, secondary, sixth form and...
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