recent posts
- From instructors and Powerpoint and whiteboards to mentors: The human future of teaching in an AI-rich world
- The crisis nobody’s talking about (but every IBDP teacher should be)
- The social media ban: A Trojan Horse for digital IDs
- Walking your way through CAS
- Europe’s crisis: Demographics and an imminent banking catastrophe
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Italy has reinstated a “grades for conduct” policy, allowing schools to fail students based solely on their behavior. Middle and high school students who score five or less out of 10 on conduct will fail the year, regardless of their academic performance, while those scoring six will need to take a civic education test. This…
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From 2028, children in Sweden will begin school at age six, a year earlier than the current system, as part of a significant education reform. The Swedish government plans to replace the compulsory preschool year, known as förskoleklass, with an additional year in grundskola (primary school). This shift, initiated by the center-right government and supported…
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Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which claims that individuals possess distinct types of intelligence—such as linguistic, spatial, and interpersonal—has enjoyed widespread acceptance in education. However, the theory’s popularity has overshadowed its lack of empirical support. The Learning Styles myth, born out of Gardner’s theory, suggests that categorizing students as ‘visual’ or ‘kinesthetic’ learners enhances…
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The previous post stated that teachers are professionals. But what does that mean? Teachers should be considered professionals, because they bring significant expertise, ethical responsibility, and commitment to their role. At the heart of teaching is a profound level of knowledge and competence. Teachers are not merely conveyors of information; they are skilled educators who…
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The notion that teaching is merely a trade, best learned through an apprenticeship model, fundamentally misunderstands the essence of the profession. Teaching is not just about mastering classroom management or following a prescribed curriculum—it’s about fostering critical thinking, inspiring curiosity, and shaping future citizens. Reducing the preparation of teachers to an apprenticeship undercuts the complexity…
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The International Baccalaureate (IB) introduces measures to prevent time zone cheating during exams, including adjusted start times, minimum supervision, and calculator memory clearance.
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The report “Wellbeing for Schoolteachers” by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre, commissioned by the IB, emphasizes the crucial link between teacher wellbeing and student success. Dr. Laura Taylor stresses the need to prioritize teacher wellbeing to improve the overall school environment. The report advocates for investing in teachers’ wellbeing to positively impact the educational system.
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Ah, Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. The idea that we possess a plethora of distinct types of intelligence sounds enticing, doesn’t it? Finally, a framework where everyone gets a gold star and nobody feels left out. It’s an egalitarian’s dream come true—except for one minor detail: there’s absolutely no empirical evidence to support it.…
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New research points to the practical importance of a positive error climate in the classroom My primary school teacher used to say often, ‘it’s OK to make mistakes as long as we learn from them’. https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/making-mistakes-easy-aids-teacher-student-relationship
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Why do some students in the same classes have very high attendance and others have very low attendance? Here’s a glimpse into New Zealand’s school attendance issue.
I think, therefore IB 