Diary of a Teacher

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

In this episode, I talk about some Zoom wins. Top of mind is the Zoom conference we held for Year 12 Science Extension students last week, where they presented their work to Year 11 students. Breakout rooms and shared screens were the next best thing to the in-person poster session we usually run. This episode is dedicated to our beloved cat Sampson. May he catch many rays of sun wherever he's off to next. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

"I hope this email finds you well sane." In this episode, I'm talking about the joys of remote teaching. Again. If you're sick of this topic, don't worry, so am I.  Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Lockdown continues. Zoom lessons continue. Things are busy, but manageable given that we know it's not forever. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Reflections on two weeks of remote teaching (and hopefully remote learning). Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Title says it all. Lockdown, Zoom lessons, square eyes. Let's do this. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Realisations and reflections on how to engage students who would prefer not to be at school. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Helping students with ADHD isn't rocket science, they just learn differently. This week I reflect on my attempts and their merits. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com. P.S. Hello Yr 12! I was wondering how long it would take you to discover this little project of mine :)

Reflection on term 1 and the school holiday spent horizontal. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

It's pretty much what the title says. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

In this episode I talk about supporting school counsellors. They are the hidden gems of our education system and they need our support. Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.

Six weeks is a long time to spend doing nothing. This year, to avoid boredom, my school holiday survival plan for 2020/2021 has involved some new projects and experiments. A change is as good as a rest, and seeing as I'm not very good at rest, change suits me well. Experiments: - Vegetarianism / eating more plants - Various iPhone settings aimed at discouraging usage With all experiments, I think it's important to approach them without absolutism. At times, it can be tempting to apply unwavering rules and restrictions to our lives in the hope that they will improve, but rules hardly ever reach the root cause of discomfort, nor do they set a person up for improved self-worth. Curiosity is the aim of the game, not scientific rigour! Write to me: hello@spongeeducation.com. Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com.