3-Read Friday #38

Feedback, rate of learning, and the curriculum

This newsletter is made possible by Eedi. Check out our brand-new set of diagnostic quizzes, videos, and practice questions for every single maths topic, ready to use in the classroom, and all for free, here.

Here are three blog posts that I found interesting this week.

1. Having the Feedback Conversation by Pete Foster

Those of you who are involved in coaching and lesson observations will enjoy this deep dive into Pete's feedback process. It highlights - yet again - how little thought I used to put into this key component of teacher development. You can read about my current observation and feedback process here.

2. Do Some Students Learn Faster Than Others? by Dylan Kane

This is a fascinating deep dive into research that looks at the rate students acquire new knowledge. One fascinating finding is that the rate at which students learn things is actually pretty consistent, and it is the initial prior knowledge they have of the upcoming topic that makes the difference to the final outcome. Dylan explains it all far better than I could and shares some concrete implications for the classroom.

3. Navigating trade-offs: can we leave curriculum behind? by Clare Stoneman

I have been thinking a lot about the curriculum recently. My view from watching 100s of maths lessons over the last few years is that most of the time the curriculum in maths is okay, and it is the pedagogy that needs improving - checks for listening, mass participation, checks for understanding, responsive teaching, etc. But this post from Clare has made me reconsider this. I will be discussing this with Ollie Lovell in our next monthly podcast chat!

If you found this edition of 3-Read Friday useful, feel free to share it with colleagues. Also, you can check out all the back issues of my Eedi newsletter and Tips for Teachers newsletter here. But, most importantly of all, have a great weekend.

Craig