Rupert Knight
View this author's profilePosts by Rupert Knight
Let’s talk about oracy
January 4, 2017
Literacy and numeracy are part of daily life for primary teachers, but in this post Rupert Knight explores what we mean by oracy and considers its possible impact. What do we mean by oracy? Put simply, oracy refers to skills related to talk and learning through talk. Between 1987 and 1993 the work of the …
The importance of memory in learning
December 1, 2016
How often do you feel frustrated that your pupils cannot remember what you have rigorously and carefully taught them, employing your most effective pedagogies to no avail? How often have you employed memory techniques in your pedagogy to aid their ability to remember? In this post Carmen Mohamed demonstrates the importance of employing memory techniques …
Are textbooks in the primary school the answer? To what problem?
November 3, 2016
Primary schools in many ‘high performing countries’ use textbooks in primary classrooms. In this post, Jane Medwell explores the role they may play in English classrooms. In 2014 Nick Gibb told us told to “shed the anti-textbook culture” in primary schools: “In England, 10 per cent of 10-year olds are issued textbooks. In South Korea, …
Subject knowledge for primary teachers: the power of community?
October 11, 2016
In this post Rupert Knight considers how colleagues in primary schools can develop subject knowledge collaboratively. The challenge of subject knowledge Like it or not, we’re working in an educational era where individual subjects are prioritised. The messages are there in documents like the 2016 White Paper and in the very structure of the curriculum. …
Understanding comprehension
September 22, 2016
In the wake of the controversy surrounding this year’s KS2 reading test, reading has been very much in the spotlight once again, as seen in this recent TES story. In this post Jane Medwell explores comprehension as an important aspect of that reading process. What is comprehension? Comprehension is what turns “decoding” into “reading”. Understanding …
