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31-07-12: Tutor Assessment Scare
Pete's blog 31-7-12: We had a bit of a shock last weekend when an assessment day nearly went the way of the pear...
A Blog article written by Blue Tutors.
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30-07-12: Exam Board Admits Major Grade Errors
OCR has admitted more than 250 pupils will have their grades raised owing to errors in the addition of sub-totals on their exam papers. 4 examiners have been sacked and 78 have been warned regarding their performance.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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27-07-12: Education Increases Happiness
A government study has shown that those who are better educated rate their own happiness as higher, BBC News reports today (06/07/2012). Although the report is clear to make the distinction that education doesn’t lead to happiness as many other factors affect the way people feel, including someone's age, health, income and job.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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26-07-12: England Lagging Behind in Higher Level Maths
England has ranked 26th out of 34 OECD countries for the proportion of pupils reaching the top level in maths, behind other nations like Slovenia (3.9%), the Slovak Republic (3.6%) France (3.3%) and the Czech Republic (3.2%), which were among those scoring around the OECD average. The Sutton Trust study shows teenagers in England are half as likely as those in the average developed nation to reach higher levels in maths.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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25-07-12: ‘Brainbox Test’ - New Fodder for Pushy Parents
A new test which is designed to push those most gifted and talented pupils is being hailed as ‘a dog whistle to the middle class’, according to education expert John Bangs, of the Institute of Education.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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24-07-12: EFL in Primary Schools
Pete's blog 24-7-12: Really started tackling the intimidating job of categorising disciplines last week...
A Blog article written by Blue Tutors.
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23-07-12: English and Maths Teaching to Continue to 18.
Under a new provision by Michael Gove, Education Secretary, pupils who fail to achieve at least a grade C at English and Maths at 16, will continue to receive teaching in those subjects until the age of 18.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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20-07-12: Reasons to be the Best
If you are in need of motivation to work hard and get the best degree you can then you need look no further than a BBC News report yesterday (28/06/2012), which stated that the number of new UK graduates working in jobs like cleaning or bar work has almost doubled to 10,000 in five years, according to government statistics.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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19-07-12: Online Resources
Do you have enough teaching resources? Do you sometimes struggle to think of how you can teach a particular aspect of your subject? The internet has a huge number of teaching resources with teachers and experts in the field willing to share their insights and experience, gained over many years of teaching experience.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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18-07-12: China Outperforms Us All China Outperforms Us All
The 2009 Pisa tests - the Programme for International Student Assessment - show Shanghai becoming a world leader in Education as well as in other more corporate fields. Where Europe once led, the East has begun to take over, causing global comment. The White House responded to the last Pisa results with President Barack Obama's observation that the nation which "out-educates us today will out-compete us tomorrow".
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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17-07-12: Tutors Not Declaring Lessons
Pete's blog 17-7-12: I met with Laura last week, and we got cracking on categorising disciplines...
A Blog article written by Blue Tutors.
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16-07-12: Dyslexia Training for All Teachers?
A new report by the charity Action on Dyslexia suggests that more needs to be done to aid teachers in identifying and teaching children with dyslexia. Writing for the BBC News Education page today (27/06/2012) Judith Burns reports that the charity found ‘Almost two thirds of parents of dyslexic children (61%) said their child had to wait a year for help after being diagnosed.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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13-07-12: Protect yourself from criticism and motivate your students.
Just yesterday I received an email from the parent of one of my students telling me the marks he had received in year end tests. His email sounded disappointed and his comment about next year’s tuition seemed to imply I was to blame for his son’s performance, which incidentally had improved dramatically from when he started with me.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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12-07-12: Lego stage sets a priority? Creative learning gone mad.
Just after the Easter holidays one of my students told me that he hadn’t finished the play they were reading in class as they had been too busy building lego stage sets on the first act. Yep, I was rather mystified too. This was their second lesson, he explained, during which they had built as a group a lego representation of the detailed set in Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’. As a drama student, he had thoroughly enjoyed this task.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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11-07-12: Back & Forth, Back & Forth
Can you believe it? Another call for reform in the field of Education. Michael Gove is being called to comment on a leak from his office in which plans to revert to O Level type qualifications are being discussed.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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10-07-12: All Quiet on the Lessons Front
Pete's blog 10-7-12: Laura was away for three days last week, so I was dealing with all of the admin...
A Blog article written by Blue Tutors.
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09-07-12: Singapore goes from Tiger Teaching Methods to the Great Outdoors
BBC news reporter, Rebecca Lim writes that Singapore, the model of exceptional teaching that outperforms every European country (apart from Finland), is becoming aware of the value of ‘creative’ teaching methods.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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06-07-12: Reading Lists for Summer
While you might not want to overload your student for the summer break, it is good to send them off with the idea that a small amount of something will be beneficial to them.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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05-07-12: Increasing Confidence in Students
Some students come to you brimming over with confidence. They know they are going to get an A but want an A*, or they know they are good but are just struggling with a certain aspect of the syllabus. But then there are others, who can hardly say a word without blushing, whose eye contact is non existent. These students need help to regain confidence in themselves before we can possibly ask them to move on with their learning.
A Blue Tutors article written by Blue Tutors.
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04-07-12: ‘Research doesn’t just mean look it up on Google’
The culture of clicking online for instant answers risks "infantilising" learning, says the head of a charity which runs independent girls schools. Helen Fraser will warn delegates of the Girls' Day School Trust about the risk of pupils relying on "nuggets of information" from the internet.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.
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03-07-12: Gove’s New GCSEs
Pete's blog 3-7-12: It was interesting last week to read about Michael Gove’s plans to revamp the year 11 qualifications in England...
A Blog article written by Blue Tutors.
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02-07-12: Shakespeare for 3 year-olds!
People are often rather aloof about Shakespeare and to them perhaps the idea of Shakespeare for 3 year olds is simply ridiculous. But why shouldn’t some of his plays be adapted for use in earlier learning environments? The stories are intriguing and often teach about morals concerning good or bad behaviour and its consequences.
A Tuition News article written by Blue Tutors.