From the Sandpit…

It’s been a lively 2015, so much to reflect on and a thanks from me to the following bloggers for your musings, the time and effort you put into blogging and for challenging my thinking on a daily basis.

In no particular order….my 15 favourite blog posts of 2015! #15for2015

Ideas for teaching better all in one place- Tom Sherrington

If you were only to read one post this year, then this is a stonker! Tom has collated all of his inspiring posts on teaching to include his ‘Great lessons’ and ‘Pedagogy postcards’ series and many more.

Directory of posts on teaching writing- Andy Tharby

As a new(ish) teacher of English, the musings of the English blogging twitterati have been invaluable and none more so than Andy Tharby who has helpfully gathered together all of his posts on teaching writing in this post.

A collection of blogs on womened- Vivienne Poritt

The #womenED movement began in 2015, seeking to connect current and aspiring female leaders in education. Exciting to see so many women willing to collaborate and have their voices heard. The movement has really taken off and this blog is a collection of some of the many posts on the subject.

EDHirsch comes to England- @5N_Afzal

The influence of E. D. Hirsch on educational thinking has been profound, and most of the curriculum changes in recent years can be attributed to his work. This a collection of blog posts and transcripts from his talks, when he visited the UK in September 2015.

Ronseal Assessment- Ruth Powley

Assessment as ever, has been a prominent topic on my timeline. In this post Ruth collates some of the best posts written on the subject and prompts with 11 questions to ask about your assessment.

Comparative judgment : 21^st Century Assessment Daisy Christoudoulou

Daisy has written some great posts on Assessment, in this one she asks the question whether comparative judgment of script quality could replace traditional marking and increase the validity of exam marking. According to the website No more marking  ” Comparative Judgement is the 21st Century alternative to the 18th Century practice of marking.  Comparative judgement allows you to assess work more accurately than traditional marking techniques.  You will spend less time marking and get more accurate results. The theoretical basis of comparative judgement is that we are better able to distinguish between two stimuli, whether they are sounds, images, essays, than to establish the quality of a single stimulus.  Comparative judgement studies have shown that comparing assessments rather than marking them delivers quicker, more accurate results.”

From cliché to clique: A bluffers guide to SLT- Kev Bartle

Kev is one of my favourite bloggers and I got to meet him and his lovely partner Helene in 2015 when they both presented at a SLT Teach Meet I hosted in February. In this post Kev gives the lazy cliches we are all guilty of using a ‘good kicking’,  “leadership, like language, needs to be thoughtful, considered and faithful to the spirit of human endeavours and relationships.”

What I want from a school leader- David Didau

David is a blogging machine, churning out quality posts day in day out. In this post he hits the nail on the head with his personal wishlist of qualities possessed by school leaders for whom he’d most like to work.

Blogs on Deans for Impact ‘The Science of Learning’- @turnfordblog

In October the ‘Deans for Impact’ published an incredibly useful and digestible summary of the latest in cognitive research and its impact on classroom practice. This post summaries further and offers links to further reading.

A quick guide to wellbeing- Ross McGill

The concept of ‘well being’ has been another hot edu topic for 2015. In this post Ross shares his top 10 suggestions for looking after yourself at the end of term and some useful links to further reading/ research.

Givers should also be receivers-Greg Ashman

In this post Greg shares how teachers in his school are attempting to improve feedback at their school. It is part of a wider whole-school initiative to get smarter about the use of data and involves comparisons between student performance across classes. Analysing this and reasons for differences, sharing effectiveness of particular teaching strategies.

Are timelines more useful than objectives?-Toby French

In this post Toby questions the use of lesson objectives and instead recommends the use of timelines and sharing the lesson journey with students.

They live: What happened when I asked if anyone still used learning styles-Tom Bennett

There are few that write better than Tom and I really enjoy reading his posts. He is a crusader against the use of learning styles in schools/ higher ed, in this post he shows how VAK is still alive and permeating our education institutions.

Assessment: Teaching’s hidden gem- Stephen Tierney 

Stephen shares some of the changes in a post level world, rethinking data collection and the use of summative assessment diagnostically and formatively.

Happy New Year x