Do your students struggle with spelling? Sadly, a lot of Australian students do. Learning to spell is difficult. In 2013, over 20 thousand Year 3 children failed to achieve above the national minimum standard for spelling1See NAPLAN National Report 2013. That’s more than 1 in 10 children or 13.4% of Year 3 students across the […]
Old Favourites
8 Strategies Robert Marzano & John Hattie Agree On
Robert Marzano and John Hattie have both reviewed the research on which teaching strategies work best. While they used different methods and terminology, they agreed on these 8 powerful strategies. Strategy 1: A Clear Focus John Hattie highlights how important it is for you (and your students) to be clear about what you want them to […]
Plain Old Good Teaching
There are a lot of elaborate theories and vogue words that try to describe what good teaching entails. Sadly, some of them have little, if any grounding in evidence at all. Others do, but they are difficult to carry out and their effects are small. A teacher has limited time, and this makes your time a valuable commodity. When you choose […]
Checking for Understanding Without Creating Mountains of Marking
Checking for understanding is an essential aspect of teaching. You need to check that your students have understood what you taught them. It’s how you know what to do next. However, if you are like most teachers, your time is already stretched thin, and you don’t want to be creating even more mountains of marking […]
Homework: How to Make It All Worthwhile
Homework is the bane of many people’s lives. Teachers hate setting it, let alone marking it Students hate doing it Parents hate ensuring it done (and trying to work out what it is that the teacher really wants) So why do we bother? Let’s have a look. Homework or No Homework Most schools require teachers […]
New Teachers: 10 Things They Should Know Before Starting Day 1 In The Classroom
As a new teacher, your 1st day with your own class is exciting, nerve-racking, and incredibly important. Here are 10 things you must know before that day.