I am totally fascinated by the workings of neuroscience. From Phineas Gage and his terrible railroad accident in the middle of the nineteenth century, (improbably surviving an accident that left him with an iron rod through his head), understanding of the brain has come a really long way. (And also has a really long way to […]
Sowers of Seeds, Erectors of Cathedrals
This could well be an unpopular opinion, but it’s one I feel more and more strongly about. Many of the problems we are witnessing in schools, (reflected from society as a whole), do not have quick fixes. We need to invest in the long game. So often we are judged on the results we can […]
Am I Getting Warmer?
Trying to understand motivation and effort has led me on such an interesting journey. Increasingly, I am being drawn to understanding the inner workings of our brains. I don’t think that this will lead to any kind of last word on the subject – to be clear, I don’t think there will ever be such […]
Responding, Reacting, Surviving
This is a difficult term. We are all stretched thin. Staff, students and parents. At times like these, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay level-headed and not let our chimps run rampant. (Thank you Steve Peters for the analogy!) And, like it or not, the students in front of us often have even less control […]
Power to the People?
But, how does this translate into the classroom? In my honest view, carefully. Autonomy is a key element of intrinsic motivation, but it is not a one and done recipe that we can just zap in the microwave. This diagram from https://www.bitesizelearning.co.uk/resources/autonomy-mastery-purpose-motivation-pink summarises Daniel Pink’s exploration of intrinsic motivation. This is a multilayered cake, formed […]
Belonging
Am I blogging into the void? Quite possibly. And, every now and again, this makes me question its purpose. But, deep down, I know. This blog has been my lifeline, my anchor, in building my own teaching identity and confidence. And, one of the most surprising areas that has surfaced, repeatedly, through my research and […]
What’s Up?
Knowing the importance, the theory, of getting everyone thinking is important. But, it is only half the story. We can scaffold success. We can create the perfectly laid path. With force of will, we can possibly even drag the proverbial horse down the path, yet we cannot make it drink. I’m sure many of us […]
The Importance of Precision in Success
It’s no secret that our classrooms need to be high challenge, low threat. It’s a phrase that’s bandied about a lot but I want to pick this apart, to dissect it, to really explore what this entails. I’ve recently been involved in conversations about qualifying in engineering, and one thing stands out: engineers are precise […]
Building Cathedrals
Ever since reading Charles Handy’s The Empty Raincoat, his words about “cathedral thinking” have stuck with me: “Cathedrals are incredible testaments to human endeavour. It is not only their grandeur or splendour, but the thought that they often took more than fifty years to build. Those who designed them, those who first worked on them, […]
Simplicity
“That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs I came across the above statement recently and it […]