Coming to the belief that learning is invisible was a threshold moment for many. It feels rather silly looking back on it. How did we ever believe that you could 'observe' learning by going to watch a lesson, or evidence 'progress' over the course of an hour? Ridiculous. But then, we are loaded with beliefs … Continue reading Is learning invisible?
Category: Uncategorized
Why I am still using ‘cold call’
When should we give a name to something we do as teachers? This question is on my mind this week following a post I wrote about adaptive teaching last week. I wrote the post because I keep coming across examples of people using the term to mean different things, sometimes quite unhelpfully. I was making … Continue reading Why I am still using ‘cold call’
Adaptive teaching: in search of conceptual clarity
Just because it swims, doesn't mean its a fish. I think we can all agree that naming things correctly is important. To do this, we must have a proper conception of what does and does not fall into a category, and to do this we must define that category precisely. For example, if we believe … Continue reading Adaptive teaching: in search of conceptual clarity
The Dilemma of Difference trilogy
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthewevanseducation/p/the-dilemma-of-difference-part-1?r=1dksrm&utm_medium=ios https://open.substack.com/pub/matthewevanseducation/p/the-dilemma-of-difference-part-2?r=1dksrm&utm_medium=ios https://open.substack.com/pub/matthewevanseducation/p/the-dilemma-of-difference-part-3?r=1dksrm&utm_medium=ios
Barbeque invite
Imagine that you are at a summer barbeque. You arrived late and everyone has already drifted into their cliques. You grab some food and a drink, then linger, listening into the conversation happening before deciding which group to go and join. Over by the desserts is a group talking about people: you know the sort … Continue reading Barbeque invite
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I will be publishing some content on Substack from now on, posts more relevant to Trust and national policy debates. I will still be using WordPress for more pedagogy and school-related content.
Lighthouses and Sirens
There are two things I am very wary of in schools: opinions and ideas. They come as a pair in my mind because, when left unchecked, they can proliferate, mutate and run amok. They do so because they share certain characteristics. First, they can often be given without personal cost. An aphorism my team will … Continue reading Lighthouses and Sirens
Upward and forever upward
I've been thinking this week about the greatest mystery in mountain lore. On 8 June 1924, Edward Mallory and Sandy Irving were observed by telescope near the peak of Mount Everest, making their way to the summit to become the first people to reach the highest point on Earth. Clouds rolled in and obscured them … Continue reading Upward and forever upward
What’s in a name?
I learnt a new acronym yesterday: SWAN. It stands for Syndromes Without A Name. The term specifically refers to undiagnosed genetic conditions which are variously described as 'global development delay', 'complex needs' or more generally as unspecified learning/physical disabilities. I imagine that having an undiagnosed genetic condition, or having a child without a diagnosis, makes … Continue reading What’s in a name?
The games we play
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Sometimes - all too frequently, truth be told - I find myself navigating through some pretty swampy terrain as a school leader. The path isn't always clear. When I get really stuck, I have a few mental tricks. One of the most useful of these is to switch to game-playing … Continue reading The games we play
Matthew Evans 