Free and open online teacher magazine from UKEdChat

"The events in this article are based on actual occurrences. The names and, in some instances, the genders of individuals have been changed to protect the individuals' privacy. The aroma of coffee did little to awake the senses. For a sleepy NQT who was in his first week back at school after the Easter vacation, the old routines were a sharp shock to the system."

"A lot of schools have jumped on buzz words such as metacognition, mindfulness, mindset etc. There is obviously great merit in all these strategies, however as Carol Dweck has emphasised, in a lot of cases these methods are not always understood by school leaders leading to them not being integrated effectively and sustained. These theories are not fads but in many schools, they don't give these methods the planning, time and evaluation that is required for success of any strategies that will benefit learning. Schools are looking for a quick fix and so latch on to 'new, exciting and popular theories'."

"We are social creatures. In most respects humans are an unremarkable species without many amazing abilities, such as great strength, big teeth or flying. But we have each other, and as a result we have prospered. The same is true in the classroom. We can do great things went we work together, but that is only true went we can work independly first. Independent learning doesn't necessararily mean that you must hide away in your hermitage without the aid of the outside world, but instead means that you decide your own path and what resources you need to travel sucessfully along it."

Free and open access magazine for teachers with a special focus this month on independent learning.

"Here are five very simple things to help make the life of a SEND teacher (or primary teacher) a little bit easier"

"Playtime, or break, periods can offer physical, cognitive, social and emotional benefits to primary school children, but those benefits are tied closely to the quality of the playground experience. Playground safety, access to play equipment, peer conflict resolution and quality engagement between adults and students are among the factors that contribute to a quality recess experience, new research from Oregon State University (USA) shows."

"A fascinating discussion which looked at how it is possible to achieve personalised learning within classrooms at all levels. It was evident that the term 'Personalised Learning' had a different meaning to different people from different settings. Although 'official' definitions were offered, the ambiguity still remains. Is it really possible to personalise the curriculum for 30 individuals within a classroom envirnoment? Even more of a challenge to secondary colleagues who are faced with cohorts from different year groups within the same day - being faced with over 100 individual pupils within any day?"

"Ask a group of teachers why they entered the profession and I guarantee you'll get responses like "I had a teacher who was inspirational to me" and "to make a difference to young people". Certainly, I went into the profession with a desire to help and support others and that hasn't changed. In my experience, this is pretty typical of most people who work in education- their motivation is usually based around a selfless and giving attitude and sense of purpose."

"Parents who restrict their children's use of new media technologies may be acting counterproductively in the long run, particularly if they invoke afterschool homework time as the reason. Their children's scholastic achievements at college lag behind the academic performance of same-age peers, a University of Zurich study shows."

"Students from some of England's worst-performing secondary schools who enrol on medical degrees with lower A Level grades, on average, do at least as well as their peers from top performing schools, a new study has revealed. The research also found that students from poorly performing schools who match the top A-Level grades achieved by pupils from the best performing schools, go on to do better during a medical degree."

"Ten tips to beat exam stress"