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 :-)

Do academy chief executives need to be education experts?

Research shows that in a number of settings – such as hospitals and universities – there is a correlation between the 'expert knowledge' of the leader and organisational performance. In their 2015 paper, A Theory Exploring How Expert Leaders Influence Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Organizations, Amanda Goodall and Agnes Bäker digest research o...
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Classroom Fad or Fix? We investigate homework

What is it?  ​It depends who you speak to. For some, homework is a way to develop students' independent learning skills and ensure they have understood – and then consolidate – work from the classroom. Others, meanwhile, contend that it's a largely pointless tradition that brings stress to young people and their families, robbing them of much-...
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Classroom fad or fix? Taking a closer look at learning styles

​Confession time: when I was a new teacher, I got my year 11 form group to do a learning styles test to help with their revision. While they answered the questionnaire, I did it too and discovered that I am, apparently, an auditory learner. Yes, I thought, that makes sense; I like listening to people talk, and I have the radio on a lot. But, my (au...
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In with the old and new: we need the NQT and the experienced head of department in the same staffroom

It's not just the kettle that gets heated in the staffroom. A combination of pressure from pupils and pressure from management often results in outbursts directed at the wrong people. "You've only been here five minutes, I've got 20 years' experience" was the inappropriate response levelled at a newly qualified teacher (NQT) in my previous school, ...
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How to run a journal club in your school: top tips from research

 For any school dipping their toe into evidence-based practice, journal clubs may seem like an obvious activity to try. It gives teachers chance to engage with research and discuss their ideas, and how they might implement the findings, with colleagues in a supportive, environment. But what does the research say about how journal clubs work be...
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