Latest Posts
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Direct Instruction’s Limits: A Nuanced Look at Engelmann’s Ideas
When Engelmann developed his popular Direct Instruction1, his principle was that students were capable of learning anything. This seems like a good rule to follow; it removes blame from the student. If they didn’t manage…
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Information theory and why explaining clearly isn’t enough
Claude Shannon’s groundbreaking information theory focused on getting a message from A to B. It’s now one the major underlying theories of the computers we use every day. Its principles also tell us something fascinating…
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Does “checking for listening” help learning?
I’ve attended a couple of training sessions as a teacher in which the trainer would ask “check for listening” questions. They’d tell us things and then ask a question to someone chosen at random. “Seriously!?”…
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How I teach blood glucose homeostasis
Blood glucose homeostasis is a classic concept for teaching about feedback loops that drive stability. But, like all of biology, there are so many new structures and technical terms students may not see the wood…
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How I teach SA:V in biology
Surface area to volume ratio is a fundamental concept that keeps appearing throughout biology. It’s best to get it right the first time. Many times, however, students end up memorising ↑SA is good and ↓SA…
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The illusion of knowing the “best” teaching techniques
Recently, a claim has emerged: if leaders are frustrated with teaching outcomes, the fault isn’t the teacher, but the specific techniques (like turn and talk) they’ve been trained to use. And the proposed solution? Swap…