The short answer is, of course, that they don't. Not unless they get effective, structured feedback from their students. This is where 'formative assessment' comes in. Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam, in their seminal work, 'Inside the black box: raising standards through classroom assessment' define formative assessment as encompassing: "all those act...

Good governance is vital to a school's success, which means that appointing the right people to your board is essential. Governors need to be willing to take on this demanding role around their day jobs, and have the necessary skills and commitment to make it work – all for free. It's not an easy ask, so we spoke to the experts at The Key for Schoo...

David Didau is one of a small but growing band of practising teachers who promote the importance of research informed practice. His popular blog The Learning Spy seeks to identify the most interesting and practically oriented research on teaching and learning that can support classroom practice. Didau is never afraid to challenge wel...

Where does she work? In early 2018 Allen took up a new role as director of the Centre for Education Improvement Science (CEIS) at the Institute of Education (IoE). The Centre focuses on leading path-breaking research about educational system improvement. This encompasses the science of learning and teaching For three years previously (2015 - 2...

Best known for: The author of more than 250 scholarly publications and 20 books, Seligman started out being known for 'learned helplessness' a condition he discovered, which led humans and animals t behave helplessly in an unpleasant situation, even if they could change it. Since 2000, Seligman has become best known as the founder is perhaps best k...