Recently I’ve become quite interested in the significance of cognitive load for learners and teachers. So what is cognitive load? In simple terms, ‘cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory.’ (Wikipedia) All new learning requires use of our working memory, but unlike our long term…
Read MoreNovice to Expert
Have you ever wondered how some people make things look so easy? Recently, I was teaching a group of Year 10 students and whilst modelling the process of annotating an extract from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, one of the students remarked ‘Sir, you make it look so easy.’ I’ll assume that part of what he…
Read MoreMan Talk
Yesterday I went to see the play, Barbershop Chronicles by Inua Ellams. The play’s central theme was how the barbershop acts as a social hub for black men all over the globe. The blurb uses this apt description to define this space: ‘Newsroom, political platform, local hot spot, confession box, preacher-pulpit and football stadium. For…
Read MorePolishing Rocks: A leadership lesson from Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was undoubtedly a brilliant man. I recently watched a rare extended interview during which he recounted the birth and rise of his brilliant career in the computer industry. He retold a remarkable story of an old man in his neighbourhood who once showed him an old rock crusher. The old man once took…
Read MoreThinking Time
Picture my classroom. 25 adolescent boys. Me, standing at the front having just given clear instructions for the students to begin their task. All engaged, scribbling away at their workbooks with an earnestness to complete the task. All except one, Jamar, listlessly rocking back on his chair gazing at the ceiling. I begin to formulate…
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