Herding ducks in a barrel (Part 1)

The NCEA standards review, in English, has begun. And about time, too. As challenging as lining up ducks or herding cats? As easy as shooting those fish? Whichever way it goes, it’s got to be done. According to the NZQA website: The review will be carried out according to six principles developed by the expert […]

Sssh…it’s the ‘s’ word

What did you say? Your subject is English? Tsk, tsk. Don’t you know we not allowed to say ‘subject’ now? How very siloed and partisan of you. ‘Subject’ is now a forbidden word, something only to be whispered when no-one can hear you. For now we live in the days of cross-curricular, integrated learning in […]

The meat in the bun

I always thought I knew what an essay was. Long, tightly structured, formalised discussions, unwrapping layers of textual criticism in tightly constructed phrases, a pinch of rhetoric, a spoonful of debate, a pipkin of pep. But what is an essay for? What is the ‘deep learning’ that we would like our students to grasp regarding […]

Reap and sow / compare and contrast

Oh dear. I’ve been so busy churning out essays for the MEd ( a tough master, pun intended), an online workshop for the NZATE conference (more about this soon) and just keeping body & mind together, this poor wee blog has been rather neglected. Still, like the wasteland that is the bottom of my garden, […]

Backwards Planning

In preparation for a workshop this week on how to plan for and manage differentiated learning in the English classroom, I have thinking about the challenges of design by concept. Erickson (2007) explores in great depth ways in which deep, cognitive learning must be deliberately planned for from a conceptualised viewpoint. For example, if you […]

Monday morning. Period 3. The topic today is Effective Pedagogy

– Right. Books open…That’s right, get your books out…What do you mean, which books? The revised curriculum, of course, is there any other?..Right, turn to page 35. Effective pedagogy.Pardon? What did you say? You’re already doing this? Don’t be so foolish, of course you’re not. And even if you are, you need to do it […]

Squid-tastic

Me: If the revised curriculum was an animal, what might it be? English teacher: A squid, obscured by its own ink. Nice response, I thought. It’s tricky to get all the parts moving together, its slippery, its inky-ness makes it hard to see what’s really going on…. The opening gambit was my ‘warm up’ attempt […]

Roger that, Captain…..KABOOM!!!

“lol dude…get a life and go out into the real world if your [sic] looking for a girl .” [FollowTheSon777 , YouTube, 9/1/08] Ah, the quick wit and succinct commentary of feedback on YouTube. This particular gem of formative assessment comes in response to the trailer for Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4, an action-thriller […]

The customer is always right…..

I’m sure you’ve all been waiting with baited breath for the results of last post’s question…..so here is a convoluted response… Last week, I was sitting in Wellington airport, enjoying a quiet moment with a Fuel latte and taking advantage of the free Internet access (just joking, Wild at Heart). The taxi driver, on my […]

We are humble functionaries

Recently, in a discussion about the new Curriculum, someone mentioned that fabulous UK sitcom from the UK, ‘Yes Minister’. Can’t think what she meant… I, at least, have a clear conscience.