It goes without saying that every organisation and industry around the world is being affected by COVID-19, especially education.
According to the OECD, every week of school closures will cause a massive loss in the development of human capital with significant long-term economic and social implications.
While there are several things most teachers disagree on, the one thing everyone has in common right now is COVID-19 and dealing with its disruptive consequences. Most notably, moving away from physical teaching to online education and distance learning.
This is where Education Platform can help. It offers flexibility to plan and prepare lessons from home or elsewhere, providing support for teachers working in state and independent schools.
Despite the fact several school leaders think that lesson observations are a valuable tool for professional development, others believe they’re simply an additional source of stress that does little to improve learning.
Regardless of your opinion, research of more than 200 schools has recently revealed that change is on the horizon. Conducted by CPD tracking specialists BlueSky Education, the survey showed that in the last two years, more than two-thirds of schools have adjusted their approach to lesson observations.
Beyond the logistics of schools themselves, such as government decisions, the following trends and predictions could soon be part of your regular routine.
If any of the following concepts feel somewhat unfamiliar, your school could be falling behind others in terms of its approach to education and support for teachers.
What has been the reason behind the recent increase in pupil exclusions? Despite the fact several people in the education world have tried to provide an explanation, it’s actually down to a number of contributing factors.
Matters aren’t helped by the fact that almost a quarter of teachers and school leaders (23 per cent) feel they lack confidence when it comes to managing behaviour and exclusions.
With this in mind, here’s six facts about pupil exclusions and what they mean.
With teacher workloads continuing to increase, how can you expect to improve engagement, feedback and outcomes with the little time you do have to spare?
Well, there is a potential solution… Learning by Questions (LbQ). This innovative app promises:
“Curriculum-aligned Question Sets and immediate feedback to super-charge learning. Reduce your workload with automatic marking and instant insight for effective interventions. It covers all abilities so you can support your students your way.”
Many teachers will learn that assessment is either summative or formative. But how many actually know the etymological meaning of the word ‘assessment’?
According to Evangeline Harris Stefanakis (2002), “The word assess comes from the Latin assidere, which means to sit beside. Literally then, to assess means to sit beside the learner.”
For some, the start of a new year means healthier eating and more exercise. For others, it represents an opportunity to set goals and be more successful.
So, what about teachers? Well, it’s fair to say that most in education will have a number of hopes and fears for 2020, which are likely to include the following.
What does the run-up to the festive season look like at your school? Several teachers will integrate the 12 Days of Christmas into their lesson plans as a way to keep children engaged, as attention spans are usually at their shortest point of the year.
But why should teachers miss out on all the fun? Here’s an education-inspired 12 Days of Christmas, with a reading recommendation for each.
A few years ago, a US study suggested that teachers should stop using red pens because the colour is associated with ‘warning, prohibition, caution, anger, embarrassment and being wrong’.
The research revealed that students think they’ve been assessed more harshly when their work is covered in red ink compared to other colours. It could even have a negative impact on teacher-student relationships and learning outcomes.
News of the report was met with ridicule by many, including Tory MP Bob Blackman who said: “It sounds to me like some petty edict which is nonsense. It is absolutely political correctness gone wild.”
