"Rarely have I been so convinced by the power of a new theoretical underpinning for a pedagogical technique such as the one presented...

This is because a principal end-goal of KS4 is a grade. But in KS3, the principal goal should be an invitation into the reality constructed by a subject's members.

Questioning often leads to confused students who don't participate. To counter this confusion we need to establish, what Tsui calls, common ground (2004). And there is an elegant method that solves this problem.

In this post, I explain how I've taught enzyme kinetics without slides or worksheets to 14-year-olds. This lesson followed another on...

When teachers step into the classroom, we never act alone. There is no “I do”. Each of our actions is a response, a small arc, in a continual loop consisting of ourselves, our tools, and our students. 

Problems arise in lessons due to transient information, which occurs when information appears and then disappears (Wong et al. 2012). This is common with the presentation of slide decks. A crucial image is shown but vanishes when the teacher moves to the next slide. This puts pressure on the student to retain all the aspects in mind while connecting them to the information on the next slide.

Not long ago a drive emerged against "fun" lessons. The push was to rid the focus on fun and return it to subject knowledge itself. Soon followed the argument that students had to accept boring lessons. Now I hear ever more reports of widespread boring lessons. Often, it seems, following a script of teacher does, students do. With an ontology of controllability comes the urge to pin systems down like an insect to a cork board. While learning through entertainment didn't wor

Two years ago, we began planning the new IB biology syllabus and I shared my initial perspective. Now that we've completed our first...

Podcast: Sense-making in Classroom Teaching

The nephron is a tricky concept for many students but it doesn't have to be. In this post, I explain how I've taught it recently, without...

Podcast: Knowledge Doesn't Equal Understanding

Including metacontent in your teaching will ensure students learn for the long-term.

Oxygen dissociation curves are difficult for students. I often find that difficulty comes from trying to visualise the mechanism through...

Does knowledge = understanding? This simple equation suggests that the extent of a person's understanding is purely equal to the extent...

Teaching about natural selection gives a mechanism for how species change but it doesn't directly address how one species can diverge...

The role of individual organisms is vital to understanding ecosystem functions. Often, the organism—and how it goes about its life—is...

The nervous system is a great topic for exploring who we are and what we can do. It's also great for explaining experience. But to do...

Here's how I taught about enzymes recently with students 14–16 using just diagrams and dialogue . You can read about the benefits of...

The lac operon is a classic of genetics and is common in biology curricula. Yet, students can sometimes find it difficult. I want to show...

If you're teaching Mendelian genetics, monogenic disorders are on the cards. But which ones are good examples? The IB has once again...

The relationship between photosynthesis and respiration—within an individual plant—isn't easy for students. Often I find, they've been...

The peppered moth of industrial England—and the Galapagos finches on Daphne Major during the 1976 drought—are common examples used for...

Often, people discuss schools as centres for optimising students' learning and teachers' teaching. However, I want to share a distinction...

The nitrogen cycle is one of my favourite lessons. There's so much to connect to: history and everyday life. But, students need a clear...