EdBlogs

Growing up, the only thing I ever wanted to do was to be a teacher. I loved my subject, English, and wanted a career that let me continue to read and discuss, think and learn, and convey my enthusiasm for my subject to others. As a child I played "school" with my dolls and my friends and always took the teacher role. I completed a PGCE after m...

What is it? Growth mindset is Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck's theory that learners need to move away from the belief that skills are innate and unchanging – a "fixed mindset". Instead, the thinking goes, students must move towards a "growth mindset", where they believe their capabilities and skills can be developed through effort and...

As much of the world clamoured to define the term "21st-century skills" and explain how teachers could instill them in their pupils, Daisy Christodoulou took a step back. In her 2013 book Seven Myths About Education, she identified, addressed and subsequently demolished seven assumptions that pervade teacher training and classroom practice but don'...

 The quality of the teaching workforce and the teaching practice in classrooms is one of the biggest levers we have for improving student outcomes. Even after accounting for prior student learning and family background, research suggests that teacher quality is an important factor in student achievement. So, it follows, that energy, resources ...

When it comes to introducing competition into your classroom, opinion is both fierce and divided. Is a little healthy rivalry useful for motivation? Or should students focus solely on their own achievements? Psychologist Bradley Busch and teacher Dave Marsham discuss the science and practicality of this controversial topic. "It can motivate and ins...