The Professional Teacher
Support for teaching professionals in the classroom and beyondCategory
Teaching & Learning
Flipped classrooms explained
If you've not yet discovered the (slightly crazy!) delights of Hip Hughes, an American history teacher, then you are now in for a treat - Keith Hughes is clearly a teacher consuming too much sugar...
Strategies for Every Classroom: Odd One Out
This is my fifth blog in the series, Bellwork, Starters and Plenaries: Strategies for Every Classroom.
Odd One Out is an excellent bellwork activity that really gets students thinking.
Strategies for Every Classroom - Pass the Buck
This is my fourth blog in the Bellwork, Starters and Plenaries: Strategies for Every Classroom series.
Talk Less Teaching - Speed Dating
A misspent evening of speed dating when I was much younger has provided inspiration for a learning technique that we love to use at tutor2u – research speed dating.
Strategies for Every Classroom - Rub 'N' Reveal
This is my third blog in the Bellwork, Starters and Plenaries: Strategies for Every Classroom series.
Strategies for Every Classroom - Twenty Questions
This is my second blog in the Bellwork, Starters and Plenaries: Strategies for Every Classroom series
This is the first in a series of blogs that looks at different bellwork, starter and plenary activities that can be applied to every classroom.
Talk Less Teaching - Turn It Around
Really simple linguistic strategies can make a big difference in terms of learning, as well as reducing the amount of talking that you, as the teacher, needs to do. Here are four examples:
Talk Less Teaching - Spin a Debate Web
How simple! A ball of wool or string provides a great way of mapping a student discussion and recapping what has been said!
Carol Dweck: How To Help Every Child Fulfil Their Potential
Many teaching colleagues will be aware of the work of Educationalist Carol Dweck on growth mindset. In this new RSA intimate, she explains how the wrong kind of praise may actually harms young...
John Hattie's 9 Mindframes for Teachers
Many teachers have, by now, heard of the education guru John Hattie. His work on "effect sizes" uses a meta-analysis approach to try and determine which things that teachers do have the most impact...
Introducing "Talk Less Teaching"
Last academic year, I had an exhausting Tuesday timetable with 10 x 40 min periods of A-level teaching to plough through. For survival purposes (students and myself!), I designated it "Talk Less...
Revision Activity - Thinking Skills Bingo
Thinking Skills Bingo is the ideal short lesson activity that requires almost zero-planning!
The Invisible Gorilla - Paying Attention in Class
The Invisible Gorilla illusion has been 'doing the rounds' for a good few years now, but remains a great way to show students how easy it is to miss the obvious! For those of you who haven't seen...
How to flip your classroom
The concept of the "flipped classroom" has been around as a buzzphrase for a few years now, and undoubtedly there will be a few teachers in your school or college who use this approach (it may even...
Learning about how you learn
The University of Washington has collated a large selection of activities, resources and lesson ideas for helping young people learn about how they learn. This "metacognition" strategy is believed...
Minecraft in the Your Classroom
Minecraft, often described as virtual lego, is increasingly being used by teachers around the world to develop literacy, teach problem-solving and encourage critical thinking. Could it play a role...
Your Christmas Lesson Quiz for 2015
It's here! A Christmas tradition like mistletoe and wine, mince pies and sprouts. The tutor2u Christmas Lesson Quiz.
Effective group work through effective plenaries
Most of us have had lessons in which our students have been involved in group work, but the lesson hasn't quite gone to plan; maybe some students have contributed very little, maybe we didn't get...
There, Their and They're
We all know that grammar matters. However, so many of our pupils find grammatical rules confusing, particularly the confusion between their, there, and they're. After all, the three words are...