Diary of a Teacher

After finishing a fascintating book called Why We Sleep by Prof. Matt Walker, I found myself trying to help a student get started on her exam revision in a visual arts cover lesson. She tells me she's had 4 hours sleep because she went to bed at midnight but had to set an alarm for 4am to finish an English task due that day. She isn't very hopeful that the revision will stick, and neither am I.

In this episode, I provide no final answers but enjoy having a good chat about the science of sleep, and how good sleep does seem to improve student outcomes.

Literature etc. I consulted for this episode includes:

• Wahlstrom, K., Dretzke, B., Gordon, M., Peterson, K., Edwards, K., & Gdula, J. (2014). Examining the impact of later school start times on the health and academic performance of high school students: A multi-site study. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, University of Minnesota.

• Owens, J. A., Belon, K., & Moss, P. (2010). Impact of delaying school start time on adolescent sleep, mood, and behavior. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164(7), 608–614. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2820578

• Minges, K. E., & Redeker, N. S. (2016). Delayed school start times and adolescent sleep: A systematic review of the experimental evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 28, 82–91. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3878844

• University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry. (2018). Department faculty highlight the role of adolescent sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions in risk. https://psychiatry.pitt.edu/news/department-faculty-highlight-role-adolescent-sleep-and-circadian-rhythm-disruptions-risk

• Sleep Foundation. (2023). Later school start times. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/school-and-sleep/later-school-start-times

• Bowers, J. M., & Moyer, C. A. (2020). Effects of school start time on students' sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, and attendance: A meta-analysis. Sleep Health, 6(3), 303–311. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2451965020301009

• Owens, J. A., & Weiss, M. R. (2025). Behavioral sleep problems in children. UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/behavioral-sleep-problems-in-children

• Edutopia. (2023). School start time changes benefit sleep. https://www.edutopia.org/article/school-start-time-changes-benefit-sleep

If you have a topic you would like covered, write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

It has been a six-lesson day and there are still lots of jobs to do, but it's time for an afternoon of professional development. This time you'll be learning about managing student cognitive load. You hope to high heaven that the facilitator doesn't fall victim to the ultimate irony... cognitively overloading you!

In this episode, I talk about cognitive load theory, and how I went about addressing it in professional development.

Literature etc. I consulted for this episode includes:

Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4

Ward, M. & Sweller, J. (1990). Structuring effective worked examples. Cognition and Instruction, 7(1), 1-39.

Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. G. W. C. (1998). Cognitive architecture and instructional design. Educational Psychology Review, 10(3), 251–296. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022193728205

Paas, F., Renkl, A., & Sweller, J. (2003). Cognitive load theory and instructional design: Recent developments. Educational Psychologist, 38(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3801_1

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1

Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2007). Interactive multimodal learning environments. Educational Psychology Review, 19(3), 309–326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-007-9047-2

If you have a topic you would like covered, write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Harvard physics Professor Eric Mazur developed Peer Instruction in the early 90s, after noticing that many of his students weren't deeply understanding concepts despite performing well on traditional exams. He wanted to explore the nuts and bolts of that discrepancy.

In this episode, I talk about my dealings with Peer Instruction to date, what the research says, and some potential pitfalls.

Literature etc. I consulted for this episode includes:

Mazur, E. (1997). Peer instruction: A user's manual. Prentice Hall.

Crouch, C. H., & Mazur, E. (2001). Peer instruction: Ten years of experience and results. American Journal of Physics, 69(9), 970–977. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1374249

Fagen, A. P., Crouch, C. H., & Mazur, E. (2002). The effects of Peer Instruction on student learning gains: Evidence from a range of classrooms. The Physics Teacher, 40(4), 206–209. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1474140

Lasry, N., Mazur, E., & Watkins, J. (2008). Peer instruction: From Harvard to the two-year college. American Journal of Physics, 76(11), 1066–1069. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2978182

Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., Adams, W. K., Wieman, C., Knight, J. K., Guild, N., & Su, T. T. (2009). Why peer discussion improves student performance on in-class concept questions. Science, 323(5910), 122–124. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1165919

Crouch, C. H., Watkins, J., Fagen, A. P., & Mazur, E. (2007). Peer instruction: Engaging students one-on-one, all at once. Research-Based Reform of University Physics, 1(1), 40–95. https://per.colorado.edu/articles/Crouch-2007-PRSTPER.pdf

Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111

Zhang, P., Ding, L., & Mazur, E. (2017). Peer instruction in introductory physics: A method to bring about positive changes in students' attitudes and beliefs. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(1), 010104. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13.010104

If you have a topic you would like covered, write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Curious about what happens to your students when they leave the classroom and start uni life? This episode covers some of the factors that impact on smoothness of school to university transition.

If you have a topic you would like covered, write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

In the last episode of season 4, I answer three listener questions and discuss the plan for season 5 of the podcast.

Enjoy, and happy new year!

Write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

I've got a system for writing report comments, but it takes forever and isn't particularly efficient. Naturally, my problem-solving brain starts looking for solutions during the school holidays when we're both meant to be resting.

The result? I have a system to recommend. It still allows for tailoring of comments so that each student receives the bespoke comment they deserve. But it streamlines various aspects of the process to save me time. Win win.

Enjoyed this discovery? Write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Next year, I'll be moving to a new school. The process is bittersweet - whilst there is excitement at the prospect of learning new things, it has been hard to say goodbye to colleagues and students.

As you can imagine, these last few weeks I have spoken with many colleagues and friends about the move. Everyone seems to have their own unique view on this life event, based on their experiences. So, when do teachers move schools, and why?

Write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

In this episode I talk about two things I do to reduce my marking workload.

Automarked quizzes are a blessing but can be curse so proceed with caution. Exploit the good bits, and don't expect them to solve all your problems.

Peer marking in class is a winner if you set it up right. And if your students aren't too exhausted... like anything, you've got to have buy in if you want it to yield results.

Write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

In this episode I talk about the importance of letting students chart their own course, with guidance of course.

Write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

School holidays are here.

Cue picnics in parks with people, sleeping in (c/o operation recovery from the term that was entirely on Zoom), and changing tyres.

Write to me: [email protected].

Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.