EdBlogs

I have given up on collective punishment. Don't get me wrong, I have been that teacher. It was many years ago, but I can still feel the sheer desperation and the feeling of vindictive hatred towards the pupils who had wrecked my well-intended, well-planned lesson. Eventually, I realised it was wrong – or perhaps I got better at managing my classes ...

Best known for:Since its launch The Learning Spy has had over a million visitors and won a number of awards. Didau writes about ordinary teachers' constraints and irritations, exploring his own successes and failures from his years of teaching, as well as the latest education research and cognitive psychology. He has also written four books explori...

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, a...

 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 bes...

A recent Twitter conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of headteachers having a teaching commitment made me thoughtful.I was a head for 30 years and taught each class of year 7 one English lesson every week throughout this time. I was paired with the English teacher who taught them for the rest of the time. If I had to be out of ...