4 years ago, I was promoting making abstract quantities in physics, such as current and energy, visible using representations such…
What Makes an Explanation in Science Lessons Effective?
A review of “Towards a framework for effective instructional explanations in science teaching” by Christoph Kulgemeyer (2019) This paper provides…
“Lovely rich tasks” Vs “Tedious exercises”
Hands up if you’ve never set your pupils a block of practice questions that are all similar but slightly different.…
Among the top 13 million chess players in the world!
(How IA interprets this text) I have played 226 games of rapid (10min) chess this year, and I’ve ended up…
Attempting to Make Sense of “Working Scientifically” in the English National Curriculum.
For years I have struggled with teaching “Working Scientifically” in science lessons. It is a core strand from Key Stage…
The Art of the Sentence in Primary Science
There’s a truism in primary education: “before they can write it, they need to say it.” But that’s not quite…
Should We Use Explicit Teaching Approaches or Enquiry Methods in Primary Science: Does the EEFs New Primary Science Guidance Report Tell Us?
Last week (28th November 2023) the Education Endowment Foundation published its long-awaited Improving Primary Science Guidance Report. We now have…
Is an Apple a Living Thing?
From categorising buttons to categorisation in science “Pupils should be taught to explore and compare the differences between things that…
Trying to understand why ‘Progressive’ and ‘Traditional’ teachers disagree
I’ve been re-reading a couple of books by ‘progressive’ academics who have been celebrated for trying to bride the gap…
When colleagues recommend books to you that you find insulting and dismissive!
I’ve been recommended a couple of books by thoughtful, well-meaning colleagues who know I favour ‘explicit teaching’. These are books…
Reading for Learning 