Daily Mile in the EYFS…so much more than exercise. by @MadeUpTeacher1

Name: MadeUpTeacher
Twitter name: @MadeUpTeacher1
Sector: Early Years, Primary
Subject taught (if applicable): EYFS Curriculum
Position: EYFS Leader SLT
What is your advice about? Daily Mile in the EYFS…so much more than exercise.

1. Walk briskly with stops to teach or allow others to catch up. Go out dressed appropriately whatever the weather and change your lead pair daily so you get to chat with everyone in the class regularly.
2. There is no better way to learn the knowledge and vocabulary of the seasonal cycle than a daily mile in your local park. It’s a real-time, rich and meaningful experience.
3. Classification can be taught year round.
4. The mile can begin/end with book time or just a minute or two listening to birds or the wind in the trees.
5. Daily Mile builds in a slice of regular exercise that sets the foundations for healthy living. Children can learn about road safety and the geography of their local areas too.

Teaching “Literacy” in subjects other than English by @davowillz

Name: David Williams
Twitter name: @davowillz
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English
Position: KS4 English Coordinator
What is your advice about? Teaching “Literacy” in subjects other than English.

1. Teach your subject well. Really – it’s what you’re good at.
2. Identify what pupils need to be better at in your subject in terms of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Seek advice if unsure, but one thing to improve is ideal.
3. Teach pupils what they need to know to improve and find lots of opportunities for practice.
4. DO NOT shoe horn in anything that is unnatural to your subject as that sort of thing will soon be abandoned.
5. Test your teaching has been effective and tweak your approach if necessary.

Starting out in TEFL in Germany by @grumpyteacher17

Name: The Grumpy Teacher
Twitter name: @grumpyteacher17
Sector: EFL
Subject taught (if applicable):
Position: Teacher
What is your advice about? Starting out in TEFL in Germany

1. Do a qualification. You can get TEFL work without one but it’s a very useful experience: just be sceptical of the underlying ideology.
2. Learn enough of the language that you can give instructions in German if necessary.
3. Wear a suit. Yes, you’ll probably be the only one, so Germans don’t expect it, but it does help with your credibility.
4. The conventional wisdom is that lots of time should be devoted to ‘production’ tasks focussed on ‘fluency’. Unless the students are at a very high level already, this is unrealistic; fortunately it’s also unnecessary.
5. Tell ’em they’re wrong all the time. They’ll appreciate it, and you, much more than if you let things go because the meaning is clear: your students want to get it right and they want you to help them get it right.

Being Ill by @MsSFax

Name: Sarah Barker
Twitter name: @MsSFax
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English
Position: Head of Faculty
What is your advice about? Being Ill

1. Don’t come to work when you’re ill; you’ll spread your illness and do a substandard job anyway.
2. Nobody – literally nobody – is indispensable. Don’t worry about being off if you’re ill; the school will still be running when you return.
3. Follow your school’s procedure for calling in sick. Make sure you let your line-manager know, even if this isn’t part of the official procedure.
4. While you’re ill, don’t post on social media, get filmed dancing on the stage at a festival, or return to work with a cake that you made while you were off.
5. It is possible that you’ll have a return to work meeting when you get back. Aim for transparency in this meeting and use the opportunity to discuss any concerns you have about returning.

Teaching Spelling to a whole class in secondary school. by @davowillz

Name: David Williams
Twitter name: @davowillz
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English
Position: KS4 English Coordinator
What is your advice about? Teaching Spelling to a whole class in secondary school.

1. Give pupils a standardised spelling test in Y7 to screen for significant difficulties. Repeat this test at the end of term to check for progress.
2. Identify a sound that some pupils are getting wrong (ie in believe for example. Get pupils to write out all or lots of words with the same sound and spelling (field thief relieve believe etc).
3. Model sounding out aloud and writing these words (beware schwa). Then get pupils to do this themselves.
4. Quiz pupils on this list at random over the next few lessons. Repeat sounding out and writing if necessary.
5. Teach words with the same sound but different spelling at an entirely different time to avoid confusion.

Students with EHC Plans by @whitebug16

Name: Maz
Twitter name: whitebug16
Sector: Primary, Secondary, Special School
Subject taught (if applicable):
Position: SENCO
What is your advice about? Students with EHC Plans

1. Be aware of the contents of the plan. Ask to read it if necessary
2. Find out how best to support the student to succeed in your subject
3. Don’t just leave it to the TA!
4. Be aware of long/short term targets, and how you are helping the student to meet them
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Contact parents to ask for advice if necessary

Who to Get on the Right Side of by @ThisIsLiamM

Name: Liam
Twitter name: @ThisIsLiamM
Sector: Primary
Subject taught (if applicable):
Position: Assistant Head
What is your advice about? Who to Get on the Right Side of

1. Kitchen – Smile, be polite, ask how they are. You may get extra food.
2. Site agent – When you leave, turn off lights and close windows. Offer to help if he/she is shifting something.
3. Office – Don’t only go in when you need something. Do your register on time.
4. Lunchtime supervisors – Step in and help them out if they need it.
5. Everyone – Smile. Say hello. Hold doors. Ask how their families are. Just, you know, be nice!

Instructional design by @mrgsnapmaths

Name: Ben Gordon
Twitter name: @mrgsnapmaths
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): Maths
Position: Lead Practitioner
What is your advice about? Instructional design

1. Practise explaining to small groups or colleagues. Think about breaking topics down into specific skills and allow students to practise these in isolation.
2. Stream line explanations so that they are clear as possible and consider allowing students to read a question or text in silence then you verbally explain it in a different period of time
3. Ensure you use a variety of examples that are carefully thought through that are minimally varied
4. Think of the steps between the steps that we may take for granted and provide purposeful practice on these – I.e labelling base and perpendicular height of a triangle of different rotations
5. Ensure your examples link to the task you are about to provide. Don’t use “bigger” numbers to make things more difficult – instead try to think of problems that involve inversing the process e.g find the total from the mean and number of values rather than just find the mean of 6 large numbers

Observation Etiquette and Good Practice (as a teaching student) by @MissSayers1

Name: The passionately boring teacher
Twitter name: @MissSayers1
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable):
Position: Teacher
What is your advice about? Observation Etiquette and Good Practice (as a teaching student)

1. Try to go into the observation with a specific focus. If you go try to pick up on everything, you’ll end up with very shallow observations.
2. Linked to point 1, try to leave the lesson with one piece of good practice which you want to incorporate into your own teaching. Consider the rationale behind this carefully.
3. Thank you person you’ve observed and communicate the piece of good practice you saw to them; it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been teaching, being observed is still a bit scary and positive feedback is always lovely to hear.
4. Pick your moment to look at books or have discussions with pupils. Even if you whisper, when teachers hear someone talk when they are, they often instinctively go into ‘teacher mode’ and will find it distracting.
5. Write up your notes as soon as you can. Even if it’s just a few sentences, writing up all of your observations will give you a wealth of evidence and will remind of you techniques you can gradually incorporate.

Work life balance by @Shelleyrees001

Name: Shelley Rees
Twitter name: Shelleyrees001
Sector: Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English
Position: Director of English
What is your advice about? Work life balance

1. Plan for ‘me time’ – do not consume your every spare minute with PPA… You need to be happy, healthy and fit to motivate students to learn.
2. Join Twitter – be on top of your game and connect with some awesome practitioners who will inspire you, share outstanding resources and remind you on those tough days why you stepped into the profession.
3. Discover great hash tags! #pedagoofriday and #poundlandpedagogy will provide you with oodles of superb ideas to engage your classes whilst ensuring that you don’t impact on your all-important ‘me time’
4. Bookmark those all-important teaching blogs which will provide you with real-time examples of life on the classroom floor, invaluable advice on how to manage classes/workload/planning and inspire you with innovative teaching ideas.
5. Invest in a learning library – whether hard copy or digital versions, buy into the latest research and publications. Never forget your role as a lifelong learner so that you keep on top of your (pedagogical) game!