Curiosity is something that young kids have in spades - constantly asking ‘why’? They are real little philosophers aren’t they. From ‘why is the sky blue?’, to ‘why do we die?’. Curiosity is not something that needs to be taught - it is something that all humans possess naturally. It’s an important part of our development, in...

Do you sometimes feel a little bit lost in your teaching career? Maybe you feel like you are ready for a new challenge, but are not too sure what the best next step is for you? Maybe you want to expand your teaching practice in order to maximise your impact, but with all of the different information and advice out there on the internet, you’re not too sure what to focus on? 

 

Or maybe you are just soooo busy with the day-to-day tasks that teaching involves, just struggling to keep your head above water, that you don’t have any time to even think about your long-term goals or how you could be progressing your career. 

 

Or, have you ever participated in professional development, and finished with every intention of implementing what you have learnt, only to have had weeks gone by without doing anything, simply because there wasn’t any support or accountability provided for you? 

 

I can honestly and openly say that all of this has...

I’m so excited to share with you something that I have been working on for quite a while now. 

 

I started Future Focused Teaching & Learning for a couple of main reasons. The first was that I wanted to continue making an impact on the world, and contribute towards creating better outcomes for our students, as well as future generations. The second was that I wanted to find a way to help as many teachers as I can, because I know what a challenging and demanding job teaching can be. The fact that 1 in 3 teachers quit within their first 5 years is testament to the fact that there is a huge lack of support out there. So many teachers unfortunately become run down, burnt out, overwhelmed, frustrated, disillusioned, or a bit lost along the way. 

 

My first year of teaching was pretty tough (if you want to read more about it, go here), but no doubt very similar to what thousands of other first year teachers go through. The experience of first year...

When I was studying to become a teacher at university, I remember that one of the assignments was to write a mission statement, that outlined why I chose to become a teacher and what it was that I hoped to achieve. I remember it being a really worthwhile task, as whilst I knew that I wanted to become a teacher and had an idea of why that was, this assignment gave me the chance to articulate it in detail. It pushed me to delve deep and really consider my values, beliefs, motivations, hopes and dreams. 

 

Unfortunately, I now have no idea where that mission statement ended up. It’s such a shame, as I would really love to be able to re-read it and look back on it. I’m sure some of my statements may have been somewhat naive and some of my values and beliefs may have changed over time, but it would be really interesting none-the-less. 

 

Looking back on it, I now know that I underestimated the value of having a mission statement that I could regularly...

 

 

The skill of the month for June 2020 is real-world problem solving. 

 

As the name suggests, real-world problem solving is all about tackling authentic, relevant problems that exist in the real world today, and into the future. Some examples include: 

This month, we will discuss the topical issue of viruses. At the moment, the world has been in...

Jim Kwik’s new book ‘Limitless’ is a great book for any teacher to read, because it is primarily focusing on ‘learning how to learn’. Kwik believes that this is the most important skill that we should be developing within our students, because in order to succeed in the future workforce, our students will need to become self-regulated, life-long learners, capable of adapting and learning new skills when required. The fact is that we are trying to prepare our students for jobs that don’t even exist yet, so anything that is going to help them be able to navigate this uncertain future is going to be beneficial. 

 

The main premise of the book is that everyone’s potential is limitless, with the right mindset, motivation and methods. He then goes on to focus on each of these three areas throughout the book. 

 

First he delves into mindset and explains the important of mindset and how to develop a more beneficial mindset that...

 

This is a gem of a book that is SOOOO applicable to teachers - both in how they live their own lives, and also in regards to how we should be teaching our students. 

 

Brown goes through the findings of her research regarding what it takes in order to live a ‘whole-hearted life’ - if we are to help to develop ‘the whole person’ in our students, then the wisdom that this book offers is very relevant. 

 

If we are to guide our students to be their true selves and to follow their dreams and their passions, and to fulfil their purpose, then the guidance in this book is very relevant. 

 

If we are to teach our students to embrace failures, to learn from their mistakes and to take risks, then this book is very relevant. 

 

If we are to help our students to develop a growth mindset, so that...

1. Be intentional - before you start your prac, think about what you want to get out of it. Are there any particular areas of focus for you?  Write out some goals, and when you meet your mentor teacher, let them know about them, and ask for feedback on those areas regularly. If you aren’t sure what...

Finland has gained a world-wide reputation for it’s educational system after repeatedly performing well in the PISA rankings, as well as it's high level of teacher job satisfaction and retention. Other attractive things about the Finnish education system include the level of respect and autonomy given to teachers, the lack of standardised testing, shorter school days and a more flexible curriculum. As a result of this, many educational researchers have studied the Finnish education system in order to see if their principles can be applied elsewhere in the world.

 

A somewhat recent initiative in Finland is the mandatory incorporation of Phenomenon Based Learning (PhBL) into the curriculum. This involves choosing real-world phenomena to study, such as ‘human’, ‘water’, or ‘energy’. It is integrated across learning areas and includes the use of inquiry, problem based and project based learning. All subjects are taught within the...