What is the Big Idea of, in this case, writing? To make the audience hear, feel and see. What are the tricks and turns of the trade? How do we help learners discover the ground rules of writing, how do we make the ‘craft’ of telling stories visible and learnable?
How to find the right fuel for Ignition rather than Burnout? The metaphor of Formula 1 and the importance of finding the right ‘fuel’ to power our potential high performers works quite well to describe how best to meet the needs of higher ability students. It had to be a fuel that ignited and powered […]
Don’t unconsciously prejudge outcomes or define the parameters of inquiry. Often it is only by letting our students off the lead that we find out what they are capable of achieving…
‘More Able’ education has many unfortunate associations for some colleagues in terms of elitism, giving more to those that already have, the concept of chosen ones and the lack of focus on commitment. It also hasn’t appeared to address itself to the big ‘so what’ and ‘why bother’ questions. How do we frame it and how do we as educators address these big questions? How does ‘More Able’ education justify its own existence? How do we persuade our colleagues that it matters? How do we demonstrate that it has something to offer?
There is a peculiarly cloying brand of teaching that seemingly treats the most able as being highly delicate and fragile orchids who require special tending. The lack of ignition is a far more serious problem in UK schools than the risk of burning out. The failure across much of the educational system is that students have no fires lit anywhere near them. As a result students are less likely to feel the sense of flow that comes from enthusiasm and engagement…