Understanding the job market for our youth… The future is not what it used to be. I was recently asked to speak at a High School Careers day. The school had invited professionals to come and speak about their jobs, with the aim to help inspire and inform students of career choices for their future. […]

Most of us avoid conflict – maybe we have been conditioned to or maybe wired to, neuroscience has answers for both sides. Lately, however it seems more and more choosing to be uncomfortable is the best choice to make, for the sake of humanity and the planet. I was recently on a flight from Wellington […]

Reading is a key activity for learning, whether you are reading a novel, play, academic text, a text book or instructions from the Internet, kindle or a paper book. Often, the pages and pages of text can seem overwhelming. The great news is there are many ways to read different types of text. Fiction and […]

According to a Harvard study of communication, it only takes seven seconds to make a first impression. Your classroom environment communicates many things about your teaching style, and the learning going on in the classroom. Ron Ritchhart asserts your classroom environment sends messages to your students about what you value, how you think learning happens […]

Team teaching can be both an incredible privilege and challenge all at the same time! One teacher recently described team teaching as going on a blind date and getting married! And it can be like that. However, with some simple structures and strategies team teaching can be the best teaching years of your career. Let’s […]

If great thinking & learning is a part of your agenda for your students, it seems obvious, you need to give them opportunities to think & learn. Ron Ritchhart describes this as ‘Crafting the Vehicles for Learning’. He goes on to say, “Without the right vehicles, learning slows down, loses momentum and in some cases […]

“What feedback did you receive today to help you in your learning?” is a power question I recently heard John Hattie ask – one that he asked his own children after school. So I asked my Miss 16. “Nothing” was the continual reply. I was curious… Couple this with a post I saw on social media (right) […]

According to Ron Ritchhart, seeing ourselves through our students’ eyes is the key to being a great model for thinking. He describes two types of modelling in the classroom. The first is explicit modelling. This is when you are demonstrating and showing a process or procedure that you want the student to adopt. The second […]

This time of year is stressful for students as exams are looming and often the reality sets in that they really don’t know how to study. Yesterday I was asked to help a Year 11 student with an important test coming up in 2 days. Her parents reported that she has been distracted with a TV […]

Your brain loves anything that is funny, different or has a novelty value. Memories that stay with us for a lifetime are those that link with many other memories, and have a ‘slightly weird twist.’ Anything ‘peculiar’ will stand out in your mind. Any ‘one offs’ will also be memorable if they have novelty value […]