KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS MATTER!

We should have learnt by now, and working in Sheffield on the Cutlers' "Made in Sheffield" Programme has simply reinforced the fact, that to create a world class education system we have to place an emphasis on process, not just content. We can’t merely teach students a bunch of facts; we have to show them how to learn and give them the skills they need to use their knowledge.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver

SURVIVAL SKILLS!

In his book ‘The Global Achievement Gap’, Tony Wagner, Innovation Education Fellow at Harvard University’s Technology and Entrepreneurship Center, identifies the “Survival Skills” he says students should learn in school for the 21st century. He gleaned those skills from conversations in which he asked business leaders about what they look for in employees.

HAPPY MONDAY!

Always remember that 

"one day is worth a thousand tomorrows."

COACHING, PRACTICE AND HARD WORK!

The Cutlers ‘Made in Sheffield’ Project builds on a huge body of research suggesting that master coaching, deliberate practice and hard work are the real keys to success.

A PASSPORT TO EMPLOYMENT!

I attended a meeting of the Sheffield City-wide Learning Body yesterday afternoon. They were incredibly positive about the work we are doing and provided strong support for further developing the Cutlers' "Made in Sheffield" Programme which is now working with six schools, the advanced manufacturing/engineering sector and the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS FoundationTrust.

BRILLIANT LEARNING!

People constantly tell me how hard it is to create brilliant learning places but it's easy...

LEARNING ZONES - THE WAY FORWARD!

We must continue to develop co-operative and collaborative approaches where we network and share what works and create 'learning zones' where we learn from our own best practice and what works everywhere and anywhere.

FIVE WAYS TO WELL-BEING!

1. Connect…
With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community.

2. Be active…
Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance.

3. Take notice…
Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling.

4. Keep learning…
Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food.

5. Give…
Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group.

TAKE CARE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER!

This great story reminds us all about the things that really matter...

LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO SHARE THE MAGIC!

"The principal goal of education...

should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things

...men and women who are creative, inventive, and discoverers."

Jean Piaget

Life is never ever dull, and the last few interesting months have shown me outstanding practice, incredible young people, and inspirational colleagues in schools in Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham, Lincoln and so many other places across the country.

MAKE, CREATE, INNOVATE!

I attended the 'Make, Create, Innovate' event at the Advanced Manufacturing Park this evening. It was packed with young people, their parents and carers and teachers all keen to learn more about the importance of science, technology and maths in the advanced manufacturing and engineering and creative and digital sectors.

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten!

"All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

WHAT MATTERS!

"After hard work,

the biggest determinant of success in life

is being in the right place at the right time."

Michael Bloomberg

CRITICAL 'THINKING SCHOOLS'!

I discovered 'Thinking Schools' last night.

NHS "Made in Sheffield" Ambassadors Launch

I attended the launch event for the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "Made in Sheffield" Ambassadors yesterday afternoon at the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre. 

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH!

When we are dealing with the challenges we currently face and when the going gets tough we need to stay positive and stay focused on the things that matter, in our lives, our work, and in our relationships.

"All clouds are not rain clouds"

Latin Proverb

THE IMPACT OF TESTING ON LEARNING AND MOTIVATION!

The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre) is part of the Social Science Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London and they have produced some hugely important research about the impact of testing on learning and motivation.

HAPPY SUNDAY!

Always remember that 

"one day is worth a thousand tomorrows."

Have a GREAT day!

BUILDING BRILLIANT!

Education is a passionate enterprise built on the interaction between human beings: teachers, students and parents. We know that we can't make anyone learn; learners, teachers, headteachers and schools have to be active in their own learning and unless they come to understand through feedback their own strengths and weaknesses, and how they might deal with them, they will never make progress.

NOT MORE! DIFFERENT!

THE ESSENCE OF TEACHING!

THINK TEAM!

Once again today Michael Gove has suggested that we are letting young people fail, particularly those who come from deprived communities.

A FINNISH PERSPECTIVE!

BRILLIANT!

As someone who is always learning, I always ask myself questions after visiting brilliant schools; places whose learning journey has been simply amazing.

• What are the team doing to release such magic? 
• What is it that makes this school so fantastic? 
• What can we learn from what is happening here? 

WHAT WORKS!

 

THE APPLE STORE!

The only place to be in London on a Saturday afternoon!

DO NEW THINGS!

TEAMWORK, COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION AND LEARNING!

THE KEYS TO SUCCESS!

This afternoon, I did the keynote address at the 'Association for Achievement and Improvement through Assessment' Annual Meeting and Conference 2012 at the Marriott Hotel in Leeds.

NATIONAL POETRY DAY!

IF you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,...

MAKING THE EXTRAORDINARY COMMONPLACE!

I was in Sheffield again yesterday looking at the progress we are making with the Cutlers' "Made in Sheffield" programme and again discussion with colleagues focused on 'what works'. I don't know about you but I find it deeply depressing that the UK education system has one of the highest levels of variation in pupil outcomes of the world's industrialised economies, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

THE HOW OF HAPPINESS!

The University of California's professor of psychology Sonja Lyubomirsky has pioneered a detailed yet easy-to-follow plan to increase happiness in our day-to-day lives — in the short term and over the long term. Nothing new but great that her research supports the approach I've been working on over the last fifteen years.

THE FORGOTTEN HALF!

Having listened to Ed Miliband's speech this afternoon I was reminded of the DEMOS report 'The Forgotten Half' which suggested how we might create provision to meet the needs of those young people who aren't suited by the academic pathway from school to university. 

THE QUALITY OF TEACHING MATTERS!

Interestingly, John Hattie's research suggests that only 30% of what makes a difference is in the hands of teachers.

THE MIRACLE!

"The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found

in their industry, application, and perseverance

under the prompting of a brave, determined spirit."

Mark Twain

WHAT WORKS BEST?

In Visible Learning, John Hattie has moved away from the 'What Works and What Doesn't' to look at which strategies work really well, and which have such a marginal effect that it is not worth the bother?