EdBlogs

Welcome to EdBlogs, where you'll find education insights, analysis and stories from the frontline. If you've got a story to tell, send it over to ed@edcentral.uk and if we think it's relevant to our network we'll publish it :-)

Laugh it up: how comedy can improve students’ writing skills

Research from the National Literacy Trust has found that young people who enjoy writing very much are seven times more likely to write above the level expected for their age, compared with those who do not enjoy writing at all. But enjoying writing isn't merely a matter of ability. The subject matter can makes all the difference – which is where co...
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Focus on ... determining what research evidence to trust

Photo by Chuttersnap via Unsplash
A new guide from US-based Mathematica Policy Research's Center for Improving Research Evidence, explains to educators how to tell which type of research evidence supports claims about effectiveness, ordering them from the weakest (anecdotal) to the strongest (causal). The guide gives examples of common sources for each type of evidence, such as mar...
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How to unwind in the school holidays: five top tips for teachers

Jill Berry shares her tips for teachers to relax during the school holidays
Throughout my 30 years in education – starting as a classroom teacher and ending as a headteacher – I worked hard: six days a week (and very occasionally, when a head, seven). I was committed and conscientious, I enjoyed my job and found it rewarding. The rewards and sources of satisfaction have continued since I left headship. Earlier this year, I...
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A beginner’s guide to Professor James Heckman

Where does he work? Heckman is an American economist currently working at the University of Chicago as the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, professor of law at the Law School, and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development. He is also a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation, and a resear...
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A modest proposal from a language teacher: let's stop using b*llocks learning outcomes

Any discussion among teachers about good practice will get around, at some point, to learning outcomes. Conversation will often turn to Bloom's Taxonomy and the attendant verbs connected to the "lower" and "higher" order "thinking skills". And then someone will raise the idea of SMART targets, which, in conjunction with Bloom's, enable us to develo...
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