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Alex Quigley

York, UK
Teacher development: what, why, and how Post feature image

Teacher development: what, why, and how

Every teacher can be sure of cyclical change. Governments come and go and the national curriculum and assessment shifts along with them. Teacher professional development trends come and go too. We are left asking: what trends for teacher professional development will emerge? Whether forms like instructional coaching will last the

Do we need to learn how to listen? Post feature image

Do we need to learn how to listen?

We are in an age of communication. We are connected more than ever before: with the ability to talk to friends and family across the world in an instant. You can publish your unfettered views on X, you can talk about and share your best life on Instagram, or create

Disciplinary literacy: 50 years of failure Post feature image

Disciplinary literacy: 50 years of failure

Every maths teacher recognises the language of their subject is unique. Each teacher of history recognises that they teach pupils reading and writing moves that are different to maths teachers. Primary school teachers must teach the shifting language of subjects and topics from different corners of the curriculum on a

Writing and the 'final mile' problem Post feature image

Writing and the 'final mile' problem

Do your pupils have a problem with 'writing stamina'? The teachers and leaders I work with routinely describe the problem of pupils lacking writing stamina as a vital issue they want to address.  But what is writing stamina anyway? I find it is typically a catch-all for a

Misreading dyslexia Post feature image

Misreading dyslexia

Dyslexia is one of most common special needs that impacts learners in schools. It is an issue, and a label, that is well known, but probably less well understood. So, why are we misreading dyslexia and what can we do about it?  This crucial issue with reading words on the

The rare vocabulary problem in English Literature Post feature image

The rare vocabulary problem in English Literature

What is the connection between the following words:  Coiffured, dowerless, sepulchre, docilely, spasmodically, ardour, lament, apoplectic, prostrate, care-worn, apoplectic, urchin, munificence, and extemporise. Sound familiar? Probably not. They certainly aren’t familiar to most pupils who first encounter them in GCSE English Literature texts (drawn from the 32 choice texts

Streaked tenrecs and improving reading Post feature image

Streaked tenrecs and improving reading

Have you ever seen a ‘streaky tenrec’? Probably not. For pupils sitting the key stage 2 SATs reading assessment, they likely met the tenrec and the wildlife of Madagascar for the first time.  The first text for children to read in their SATs reading assessment was an informational text, entitled