Recent Posts - page 26

  • Materials writing news and views, June 2020

    Rushed off my feet. No time to put any news and views together in recent months. This one will be more views than news, and a bit loose. So, what’s going on? Work I expected loads more cancelled projects due… Read More ›

  • Peer observation and online teaching

    In my post the other day I mentioned self-observation of online teaching. Paul Ashe commented that all these video recordings are great for peer observations too. Absolutely! The whole online teaching/learning experience is awesome for peer obs, especially for someone… Read More ›

  • Self-observation of online teaching

    Every cloud and all that. Online learning may not be ideal but it provides some great opportunities for CPD. The last time I filmed myself teaching was, wow, during my DipTESOL (2014). I remember filming my lessons to analyse my… Read More ›

  • My new normal

    Talk about a weird situation. I started a new teaching job on April 1st. I haven’t met my students face-to-face (well, you know, apart from virtually). I haven’t met my colleagues face-to-face either. I haven’t set foot in my new… Read More ›

  • All change!

    It’s the end of an era! I’ve spent nearly five years with the same language school (British Council) here in Thailand, which is a pretty long stint. Overall, it’s been a good experience. I mentioned before that the pay and… Read More ›

  • Types of curriculum

    Leslie Owen Wilson’s useful post on types of curriculum is well worth a read. Before I read it my idea of ‘a curriculum’ was narrow. I thought of it as a group of subjects that are taught, plus the skills… Read More ›

  • Useful links: Project-based learning

    I’ve been reading a bit about project-based learning (PjBL) recently. I had to write a critique of an approach used in my context as part of the PGCEi. Our Secondary course now follows a PjBL approach*, so I thought it… Read More ›

  • Bottery’s Educational Codes

    During the face-to-face component of our PGCEi were introduced to Mike Bottery’s Educational Codes and Values (from The Morality of the School, 1990). Bottery outlined four codes which underlie approaches to education in schools. Here’s a grainy snapshot from Bottery… Read More ›

  • App review: Studycat

    Studycat is a language learning app for young learners. It aims to ‘revolutionise the way kids learn a foreign language, by making it fun and engaging’. According to the Studycat website, the app has been downloaded by 11 million families,… Read More ›

  • Parents and online learning

    Soooo much training! In the last 10 days at work I’ve completed five modules of mandatory training on Zoom, had two webinars on using EtonX with YLs, got up to speed quickly with Microsoft Teams (which I had previously neglected… Read More ›