D.Lambert | Secondary | Science
Can we think about this for a minute? It is that question that I always end up saying when a decision is about to be made in education. Think about these 11 things in education with me.
CPD - SOS
Honestly is the CPD we are made to do actually any use? Is there a noticeable difference between your teaching pre and post CPD day? No. CPD is too heavily focused on an example of an amazing lesson with a complimentary resource (usually some sort of edtech). Show me how I can improve my teaching for all my students from this point forward, and not for just 20 students for one lesson.
Resources Da Vinci would be proud of
Colours, icons, animations, the works. Do they improve what the students remember? Most likely no. Even if they do make a marginal difference, what does it cost you time wise to make your resources like that? Do what works and do that well. Keep it simple.
Mobile phones a.k.a. attention using devices
Society will look back on mobiles like we do now with cigarettes. We will be shocked it was so widespread, and shocked to see children used them. They are designed to continually draw your attention away. We all know this but we are not supported from powers above (government) to help students escape them. How many people are struggling to continue reading this because their attention span is so weak now? Phones need to be banned from schools at the very least here. The flow, the pace, the joy of learning can be lost my the need to check a notification. Now imagine what it's like independently studying to music...
I know that already
This phrase has held me back in teaching. I wonder how many discussions are ruined by how we assume we know what the other person is talking about. Just take a minute and listen to actually confirm if you do understand what the other party are saying.
Wellbeing is not needing wellbeing
Teachers are in high demand. Why then do we allow ourselves to be run into the ground? Wellbeing should only consider how sustainable the work is. We don’t need events, days, or words for our wellbeing. These are nice and very much welcome but they are wants. What we need is an environment where we can work at our best, all of the time. If that is genuinely achieved then our professional wellbeing is at its optimum. The people who benefit the most from this mindset are students.
Copycats
I once copied how another teacher taught one day. I copied his lesson, his questions, his side notes and his diagrams. I end up even making the same bad joke. I can’t describe how well the students grasped the content. He taught the content better than I had done previously and better than I knew how to. There was zero innovation or creativity on my part. Why is this not encouraged more? It was very successful. It motivated me to try a similar approach on another topic, but without his lesson. My job is not be innovative, my job is to teach well. The best and most simplistic upskilling I ever did.
Teachers teach
A friend told me once that players play and managers manage. Teachers teach, that’s what we do. The role of teaching now is becoming wider and wider. Why are we happy to lump these responsibilities on ourselves. We can’t be all things to all students. Let us teach and let the experts be full time, in-school experts. I am not a lazy, selfish teacher by saying this. I am someone who knows where my talents lie. Jack of all trades and master of none… you catch my drift.
What's another year?
Johnny Logan wondered about this but I am more convinced than ever that another year of a inital teacher education has no worthwhile benefit. The extra year (now 2 year PME) made no difference to my overall development to date. I probably left more confident than a Dip teacher but then the Dip went on to have 1 full, real year. Whose teaching was better 2 years after starting the study of teaching? Who was more advanced in their path to a permanent contract? Who had to push big life events out by a year? Why do we do this to teachers? We know how expensive life is out there now.
Font size
I change the font colour to this, and the font style to that. Background colour to this and picture to that. Right so what is the project on?
This is how students use laptops for making presentations. All this wasted thinking. Why do we allow so many projects to be completed on devices? If it doesn’t make the students think about the content then it is a waste of time.
The tortoise and the hare
We build knowledge on pre-exisiting knowledge and by recognising this, in our planning and in our lessons, improves the effectiveness of our teaching. Why then so power through content, knowing the kids aren't getting it? Why don't we master first and then move on? We have to teach too much of the same stuff to too many. Going fast isn't the best option.
The game isn’t played on paper
Why are we not given the opportunity to say whether we think an idea, policy or initiative will actually work? These things sound great on paper, but good teaching and learning is a complex machine that is far removed from paper.
These are examples of things I just want everyone to take a minute on. Do you have any examples of where everyone should juat take a minute so better decisions are made?
