Tes Podagogy

Researcher Catherine Dilnot talks us through her work on the effect of A-level subject choices - and the magic of maths

The perception of creativity among some teachers is that it cannot be taught or assessed – or that is separate to knowledge – that’s all wrong, says Professor Bill Lucas. He explains why we can and should teach creativity, and explains the research that shows we can get better at being creative.

In the latest episode, researcher Caren Gestetner explains how a new programme is setting out to remove harmful stereotypes from schools for good

“There are so many stages that need to be gone through before a child is at a stage when they are ready to sit and write at a desk,” explains Jo Atkinson, research fellow in the school of psychology at Leeds University and lecturer in the school of applied health professionals at the University of Bradford.

Speaking on the latest episode of Tes Podagogy, she explains in detail how complex a skill handwriting is and why the way EYFS professionals and primary teachers facilitate its development is crucial to a child’s eventual success.

“As adults we take it for granted, we think it is an easy skill. But beneath that it is a very complex skill involving many areas of the brain and body,” she explains.

So how should we be teaching a child to write? She details all you need to know.

There are a group of pupils in your school who are at a disadvantage you may have never considered. It impacts their access to the curriculum, their social interactions and their self-esteem. And the worst thing is, schools tend to make things worse, not better.

These pupils are those who do not have a strong background in ‘standard English’

This is the view of Rob Drummond, reader in sociolinguistics a Manchester Metropolitan University, and head of youth language, at the Manchester Centre for Youth studies. He explains all on this episode.

Links mentioned in this episode are as follows:

www.accentism.org

www.manchestervoices.org

Teachers are becoming ever-more comfortable talking about attachment when it comes to students who have experienced trauma, but attachment-aware practice should not just be used with the most vulnerable - every child would benefit, according to Professor Peter Fonagy.

Speaking on this week's Podagogy podcast, the head of psychology and language sciences at University College London, explains that attachment is a fundamental part of successful teaching that needs more consideration

Gaming has a bad reputation, with accusations ranging from warping young minds to inspiring mass shootings, but the data doesn’t back these ideas up, says Dr Peter Etchells

If you want good behaviour in every secondary classroom, the current mantra suggests that creating whole school norms - rigorously enforced through routine, rules and modelling - is the best way of going about it. But how realistic is it that a school can enforce a norm upon a diverse and friendship-seeking group of teens? 

“Well, it is a realistic starting point,” says Brett Laursen, professor of psychology at Florida Atlantic University, and editor in chief of the International Journal of Behavioural Development.

In this podcast, he talks about the complexity of peer influence and the ways it can and cannot be used to manage behaviour in schools.

Could Bananarama be the answer to social mobility?

Lee Elliot Major, the UK’s first professor of social mobility, explores the systemic issues holding back the country’s young people, and how a bit of Bananarama can help their teachers improve attainment

A lot of what you think you know about project based learning (PBL) is likely to be wrong, according to Professor Pam Grossman, Dean of the graduate school of education at the University of Pennsylvania.

In this episode, she explains that this approach to teaching suffers from a wide range of misconceptions, mostly because no-one has really agreed what PBL is and reveals how to do it well.