“Dialogic teaching harnesses the power of talk to stimulate and extend pupils’ thinking and advance their learning and understanding.” - Prof. Robin Alexander

Is great dialogue taking place in your classroom and across your school?

It’s well worth taking the time to reflect on this given the robust evidence that dialogic teaching (more broadly known as classroom talk) is key to improving formative assessment of pupils.

Research shows that there is a direct relationship between dialogic teaching and improved individual and collective academic outcomes. A report recently published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) shows that spending more class time on meaningful dialogue that encourages pupils to reason, discuss, speculate, argue and explain, rather than simply give the expected answers can boost primary pupils’ maths, science and English results.

Feedback is an important and necessary part of any teacher’s career path. Whether they’re in their first, fifth or fifteenth year of teaching, feedback from senior leaders, peers and reviews is critical to identifying performance weaknesses and strengths, providing teachers with opportunities to grow and develop their practice. What’s more, it often improves communication and better understanding of expectations.  

But there is a world of difference between just giving someone feedback and giving them effective feedback.

It’s become increasingly clear of late,  that effective leadership is a linchpin in tackling the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, making this year's Inspiring Leadership Conference a top item on any SLT's calendar.

Guest blog from Business and Wellbeing Consultant, Maria Brosnan - maria-brosnan.com

Metacognition and self-regulated learning are powerful for pupil progress. Evidence suggests that the use of metacognitive strategies can be worth the equivalent of an additional +7 months progress when used well. So, what is metacognition, how does it work, and how can you begin to teach it in your classroom?

The education system is becoming more collaborative. Arguably the profession has always been more open than most, but there is now an explicit expectation for organisations like Teaching Schools and academy chains to foster inter-school collaboration and for school leaders to drive high quality professional learning networks.

Teachers themselves have also been drivers of change. From spontaneous connections via social media to the more formal links via the Chartered College of Teaching, more teachers than ever before are working together to develop professionally and improve outcomes for learners.