Teacher of Modern Studies, History and Classical Studies in Dundee, Scotland. Coach a bit of š
Joined August 2017
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Mr Kent retweeted
Ok I hope this will be the most useful conversation you hear about Education this year.
This weekās episode of The Amol Rajan Connection (ARC) with @daisychristo of No More Marking has really struck a chord.
Anyone with kids; or who works in schools, colleges and universities; or who is interested in the very nature of learning and how the mind works; or what technology is doing to us, will enjoy this. Thatās not my view alone; itās the revealed view of the comments flooding in.
We discuss:
+ working memory vs long-term memory
+ the risk of creating a Stupidogenic Society
+ why Knowledge is Freedom
+ schools for the rich and skills for the poor
+ how to optimise vocational education
+ the implications of AI for education
+ what children should learn
+ technology and the classroom
+ Labourās education policy
Something for your weekend perhaps.
Weād be honoured if youād others listening to this episode.
Thanks so much for your time - and to Daisy, for a very special contribution to the ARC Universe.
Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.
youtu.be/Xcyc3LQkqjY?is=VRY_ā¦
Mr Kent retweeted
In sport, (almost) all decision-making is downstream of perception. But because perception is made up of mostly unconscious habits and informed by knowledge thatās inconsistently distributed and that weāre not always aware we possess, we donāt coach to develop it as intentionally as we might.
Mr Kent retweeted
Hard to imagine a better podcast than Anna Stokke interviewing Hector Ruiz Martin. Super Bowl good! They ought to book Taylor Swift to do a halftime show!
ā Why do students forget what they learn, and struggle to apply it in new situations?
On October 30, I am joined by researcher and author HĆ©ctor Ruiz MartĆn to talk about his book How We Learn. We discuss what cognitive science tells us about memory, learning, effective teaching.
šļøDon't miss the next episode of Chalk & Talk!
@hruizmartin
#ChalkandTalk #ScienceOfLearning #EducationResearch #Teaching
Mr Kent retweeted
You can see the calm coming over the room. Fidgety kids becoming more attentive. The hum of chatter abating quickly. At last sheās got everyone with her and by 42 seconds sheās teaching again, and both she and her students are calm and happy and focused on learning.
douglemov.substack.com/p/theā¦
Mr Kent retweeted
Pupil behaviour is essential. The tiny things teachers do to make sure behaviour is good are so important to get right. Here are 10 things Iām currently thinking about and using in all of my lessons. š§µ
Mr Kent retweeted
This video is doing the rounds again because a critic has questioned whether the pupils here are really learning anything. The quality of this classās questions can reveal a lot here. So, strap in for a thread! š§µ 1/9
EduTwitter used to be full of these excellent practical and simple threads. Little reminders that sharpen daily practice. Thanks @mrallanmaths
Mr Kent retweeted
At workshops we often talk about having āback pocket phrasesā to use when a student answers incorrectly but you want to build a culture of error. That is you want to say: āthat was wrong but itās fine because your answer is still really valuable!ā
Today Catherine Garland shared one of my favorite all time examples: āI was hoping to hear that mistake.ā
Mr Kent retweeted
Something Iāve found helpful for reducing low-level disruption during transitions is to frontload the expectations, followed by a short, firm countdown for when the transition must be complete.
For example:
āSilently, without talking to anyone nearby, you have 30 seconds to put your whiteboards away and have your case study packet and pencil on your table in front of you. 3-2-1, go.ā
20 seconds: āStill silent. Whiteboards are away. Packets are out.ā
10 seconds: āWaiting patiently and silently for the next direction.ā
ā3-2-1. Eyes and ears on me.ā
The key is that students know exactly what they should be doing, what ādoneā looks like, and when they need to be done. The countdown makes the transition a defined task rather than an open-ended period of dead time.
Mr Kent retweeted
Tell your boss that I gave you the rest of the week off so you can explore this amazing interactive map showing the road network of the Roman Empire. This is so much fun to explore you can compare the Ancient and Modern road network for example. Great stuff. Your boss will understand... Source: itiner-e.org
Mr Kent retweeted
You can't Rosenshine your way out of a Curriculum problem*
But you also can't Curriculum your way out of a Rosenshine problem**
And you can't ANYTHING your way out of a behaviour problem.
Mr Kent retweeted
Exactly what todayās episode of Operation Education is about. 3 things to avoid when seating a new class:
ā1. Do not display seating plan on board.
ā2. Do not have a ādo nowā.
ā3. Do not line them up outside!
Mr Kent retweeted
Look at Iran on a map and one thing becomes pretty obvious: its geostrategic importance.
Thereās a reason Zbigniew BrzeziÅski singled it out in his book "The Grand Chessboard". Hereās what makes Iran so geographically important (and annoying) to the West.
1/n
Mr Kent retweeted
Try teaching one repeatable study cycle:
READ ā CLOSE ā RETRIEVE ā CHECK ā CORRECT ā SCHEDULE A RETURN
Model it with actual course content. Practise it in class. Then ask pupils to use the same cycle independently.
Study habits need teaching too.
Mr Kent retweeted
Nobody develops their thinking alone.
Much of what I believe about teaching has been shaped by reading, listening, testing ideas in the classroom and returning to the people who keep making me think.
Six influences have shaped my practice more than most. š§µ
Mr Kent retweeted
Many classroom problems begin with an instruction that made sense to the teacher but not to the pupils.
Be sensible.
Get started.
Work quietly.
Each sounds clear until we ask what pupils must actually do.
Strong instructions make action visible.
Mr Kent retweeted
Iāve subscribed to Teacher Toolkit, listened to Ross McGill for years and had the privilege of interviewing him.
Today, @TeacherToolkit delivered a keynote on feedback at my school and I still came away with a genuinely new way to think about it.
Three takeaways š§µ
Mr Kent retweeted
A worked example can make a difficult task look easy.
That is not the same as making the learning easy.
Used well, examples reveal the decisions an expert makes but a novice cannot yet see. A thread on getting modelling right.
1/10
Mr Kent retweeted
Working on the scripting for my How Learning Happens crash course to start the school year.
I think what I love most about planning lessons this way is the opportunity to explicitly and intentionally incorporate the principles of learning Iāve come to know over the last few years. It gives me the chance to finally take those ideas from theory to practice and from books, podcasts, and blog posts into the classroom.
Thereās something incredibly rewarding about designing instruction that aligns with what we know about attention, working memory, retrieval, and long-term learning. The science becomes more than something I read about. It becomes something my students experience every day.
