EdBlogs

Intuitively, it seems obvious that reducing the number of pupils in a class will improve the quality of teaching and learning, for example, by increasing the amount of high quality feedback or one-to-one attention learners receive. There is no doubt that parents like small class sizes. However, Professor John Hattie in his book, Visible Learning: a...

Where does he work? Stephen Machin is currently a professor of Economics at University College London. He also works at the London School of Economics, where he serves as the director of the Centre for Economic Performance. He gained a PhD from the University of Warwick for his thesis on the impact of trade unions on economic performance. Quick fac...

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...

Optimism: it's all about whether the glass half full or half empty, right? Wrong. It turns out that most people have the wrong idea of optimism. So what exactly is it? How important is it? And, most crucially, can you learn to be optimistic? Let's start with a quick test. You can choose only one answer per question. 1) You get lost driving to a fri...

I am a big believer in using researched and proven learning strategies to improve retention of classroom material. I have applied strategies in my high school advanced placement psychology classes and have seen notable improvements in test scores, study habits and students' understanding of their learning. Improvement in test scores is importa...