Do you have a learning culture in your classroom and school? This might seem to be a pointless question, schools are for learning. That’s what students go there for. Learning is what happens in a school. Isn’t it? Ponder this: Do your students arrive to class learning ready? Do they have note-taking tools ready? Are […]

Being able to take a risk is central to being able to be a learner in a classroom. Learning requires students to move from their comfort zone, the known, into the growth zone or the unknown. Yet for many this can be a scary prospect. In their extensive research, Prof. Art Costa and Dr Bena […]

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 […]

I’ve been pondering… what if education looked different? What if we truly valued what really matters rather than what used to matter? What if we cared more about the progress students are making rather than the marks, grades or number of credits they get? What if we were more concerned about the skills that will […]

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars.” Having great expectations and high standards are proven to help raise achievement in the classroom. Recognising that our beliefs also shape behaviour is a vital key to success. In his book, Creating Cultures of Thinking, Ron Ritchhart discusses the role of expectations […]

Starting your year off with a positive mindset and some proven study techniques can make all the difference. Here are 4 to get you started this year… Be ready to learn Start the year with curiosity and wonderment of what you might learn this year. It is often helpful to look over the text book […]

The 11 of September will always be a date that is remembered world wide, perhaps as the day the world changed. To me, however, it has another meaning – the day I started my business, Spectrum Education, 21 years ago in 1994. As I sit and reflect on this incredible journey and the mission I am on, […]

Modern Learning Environments (MLE) are all the talk in educational circles right now. Schools, around the world, are knocking out walls and creating bright stimulating classrooms with multi purpose furniture and giving students access to technology. On the surface it looks fantastic, however I am concerned that without a big pedagogy shift, students will be […]

I was honoured last month by my speaker colleagues – National Speakers Association- as NZ’s Educator of the Year. Last year I won NZ Speaker of the Year. It is always wonderful to have your work acknowledged by your colleagues and the hundreds of congratulations emails, posts and messages are always lovely to receive. However, […]