Chris Chivers (Thinks)

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General interest
Shadowlands; theatre of tears ​
Summer Craze?
Primary Colours An anniversary blog
Of Molehills and Mountains ​
Assessment for Learning without Limits ​a review
​Collections
Education is (not) a religion
​​Looking forward in Anger
Education; problem or project management?
​Autonomy or automata?
A letter to my MP, re Brexit. ​
Wrecksit thoughts ​
Somme-bre Mood
Education and Bletchley Park ​
When Blunkett Trumped education
Behind the Throne? ​
Talking Heads; microphone "diplomacy"
​Talking Heads Avatar "Policy"? ​
Manifestos... ​
Reasons to be Fearful?
I am, Really, Absolutely...
Absolutists; sledgehammers Cracking Nuts? ​
Thinking about stuff
Investigation or research?
Trust
#Twitteratichallenge
On getting older
I don't remember learning
Education purpose?
Education needs a cunning plan...
Interpreting Principles into Practice
Principled education?

The answer is not 11plus.
Educating humanely
A case for moderation
Growing up
Life, Decisions and Character
Grit and resilience
Growing up is becoming so very hard to do

On resilience ​update
Four Remarkable Women. ​
Seeing the world differently
Education; through the looking glass
Life's no panto
​
The bodger came to town. ​
Punch and Judy reflections
A week away 
Tribal memory​
Teaching is a team Game
Collegiate Teachers
Virtuosity; the search for your own tune
​
The mastery mystery
On Workload 
​Workload Thoughts 21.6.17  
Do some systems Embed Excess Workload? ​
Dis-Interest?
I'm free!
Calling a Spad a Spad; emperor's new clothes
Progressively better
Research, anecdote, research...
“growing” education?
In sickness and in health
Teaching and Doctoring
The truth is…
100 word solution
Single question questionnaires
On Childhood

Childhood, Experience, Knowledge
Mapping Childhood to Seven
Mapping Childhood to Eleven ​
Social Mobility or Disposable Income? ​
Life Chances, or "Happenstance" 
A Cautionary Tale; are they ready?
Little Lad
An open letter
A new generation
Getting better at getting better

On Checklists
​

Talking differentiation, on a Saturday. #pedagoohampshire2016 ​
Thinking TLT16 (Teaching and Learning Takeover)
​
​Time for me; wellbeing thoughts
Being reflective on “retirement” ​
Reflections New Year 2017
Past, present and Possible Futures  #nurture16/17
Stocktaking ​#nurture15/16
Nurture 14/15
#teacher5aday
#teacher5aday week 1
#teacher5aday update2
#teacher5aday Visages de Rouen
#teacher5aday Midway reflections
#teacher5aday Succeeded!
 teacher5aday end of month review
 teacher5aday End of holiday update
#teacher5aday annual review
French lessons Volunteer English week in the Limousin

Lost in translation? ​
The value of Downtime
Summer holidays 2016
​BonnesVacances ​
Brexit Wrecksit; Dream breaker
On being Human ​
Well-being thoughts #teacher5adayslowchat
​Strife; a play or Real Life? ​
The kindness of friends, Neighbours and Strangers ​

How To Survive in Teaching, a review and Reflection
It's all about the People... PedagooHampshire2018
Once Upon a Time...
Education House of Cards? Workload... ​
Reinventing the Wheel, or Refining Systems? ​
On qualified Teacher Status
Retention and "Golden Handcuffs" ​
​The Importance of Being (a) Mentor ​
NQT; getting that first job.
Everyone starts somewhere
Every day and In every way
Would you want to be a child in your class?
My story; no mystery

Anniversaries; personal histories
Time to Stand and Stare ​
A Little Bit of Futurology
A lesson from Gran ​
Homage to learning
What do I know? #wdik

Pace Yourself ​
To Whom It May concern ​
On headship
I am not an expert
Personal development

Teach, teacher, "Teachest"
Why teach? ​
Why Stay In Teaching?
​If you can keep your Staff... ​
Meetings ​
An oblique look at Inset
​
A chip off the old block 
​
Copenhagen; Nuclear Physics and Partner Talk ​
Mentoring Mentors
​Planning For Students
Mentoring and Coaching ​
Mentors; Developing In-house Tutors?
​Mentoring can be excellent CPD.
Mentoring; Modelling, Moderating and Monitoring ​
On "mentoring Schools"
Mentors 24652
Mentoring and Apprentice Teachers ​
Moderation, mentoring and Ofsted... ​
A Parrot on the Shoulder ​
CPD; Shared enterprise and Expertise?
2018; A Year For Dialogue (as CPD)?
​Professional Talkers?
Teacher-Think; more Metacognition... ​
Holes, gaps and Cavities ​

1000 years of experience.
1000 years of help from my friends? reprise
#edn1000years gallery1
#edn1000years gallery2
#edn1000years gallery 3
An enemy of the People? ​

Parachute teachers, or patient gardeners?
What do you mean, unsatisfactory?
Schools are organic
Take a look at Yourself 
Don't set up Schools to fail
In praise of Governors
Self-improvement; Schools and People ​
​Why Local Management of Schools is Essential
I nearly Walked Away... ​
Educational Jigs? ​

#29daysofwriting on @staffrm; week 1 summary (9days)
Week 2 on @staffrm  #29days of writing (10-14) ​
Week 3 on @staffrm; days 15-20 #29daysofwriting
Week 4 on @staffrm #29daysofwriting 21-29

​The day that Primary Rocked
Primary Rocks Live; Powerpoint​​
Teaching and Learning

Catch Up...Lockdown. Who’s got the key?
Curriculum 2018? ​
A "Dinosaur" Looks at Curricular Extinction ​
Because; Rational Decisions ​
Bringing children into Their World ​
Review; The Ultimate Guide to Mark Making ​by Sue Cowley
Education; Two Sides of the Coin
Longitudinal thinking
Do system Changes Militate Against School Development?
​Education Knockabout ​
Let teachers Think
Permission to think?
How Did You Do That?
One size Approaches don't suit Every Situation ​
Textbooks Don't Teach
​​Curriculum and Progress?
Cultural Capital
On being a "Progmatist"
In the beginning? looking back 120 years. ​Referencing John Dewey.
Nit Picking And the National Curriculum
Nit Picking and the Primary Curriculum ​
What do (I think) I know?
Building capacity
Hopeful journeying
Apprenticeship to mastery?
Towards a Learning and Teaching Policy
​a simple view of teaching?
Teaching and Learning; a process diagram
Personalisation is a total philosophy.
How Personal Can it Get?
Performance pressures. ​
the middle Muddle
Life is group-work.
Thinking, working and Playing Together
​Groupwork; Talk your Thinking
​Interventions
Those early years! What are they Thinking? ​
You can't see me learning ​
Small thinking harms education
Plug-ins can (seriously) damage your (system) health.
​Immediacy effect; Busyness
Dependence interdependence independence
On independence
Independence
On Baselines
Primary Curriculum; A Child's World? ​
​Challenge?
Challenge Curriculum ​
Collaboration + communication = Better Outcomes? 
Task setting; the key to progress?
Tasking for challenge.
Challenge Might lead to Progress ​
Challenge; something to think about? ​
​Absorbed
Comparing Children; Superficially Attractive?
DIY; Process and Processing
Process and Product can = quality
Quality; a work in progress
Quality, a Long and Winding Road... ​
​Making progress
Processing and Thinking Time ​
On Helping Working Memory ​
On knowing enough and Higher Achievement...
Thinking time and Stress Points
Learning to think for yourself ​​
A question of timing?
Educating By the book?
The loneliness of the long distance worksheet
Just the ticket
Growth Mind-set reflections
Exploring and questing
Talk Thinking
Keep Talking thinking
Whose aspiration is it anyway?
Challenge and Improve
Expectation and anticipation; establishing baselines. ​
Expecting something?
​Feed Forward Expectations?
On creativity
Create or creativity
Projects need direction
Open book? Teaching as storytelling
An oral tradition?

strategic Planning for Learning over Time
​Order, organisation and a Clear Narrative
​Top down order and organisation
Director of education or scriptwriter?
Planning Permission?
Myopic planning?
Time Is Tight; Planning Thoughts​
​Simplify to amplify
​Teacher Interpreters ​

​WALT/WILF/LO/SC?
Don't assume
Pride's place
Displaying ideas
If you’re happy........?
Experiential learning
A sense of place 1
A sense of place, locality ​
Developing and Scaffolding Questions ​
Differentiation explored
​Differentiation as informed dialogue?
Deconstruction and memory ​
Take a risk?
The search for quality

Thinking Plenaries
Interleaving, or going back over things?
Learning between lessons
Homework?
Talking homework
​
Rethinking Homework

Marking; keep it simple
Marking
Is marking moderation step 1
Back to marking
The art of Assessment ​
Memories and Dual Coding

​Imagery
​
​Talk Your Thinking; photograph Prompts.
unpicking progress (for ITE trainees). ​
Thinking logs; (dia)logue?
Vakuous
Learning from PE teaching
Boys; same but different?
Transition/Transfer
Education 4-18; a pedagoo (local) talk
​Teachers and Technology
Thinking Transition in Bath; Learning First

When is a teacher?
​TA or not TA; that is the question.
teacher becomer ​
Thinking back and Making a Start. ​
Build a Teacher; Structuralist to holistic
ITT observations
ITE short experience organisation
​School Direct; Half Way There
​Evidence of Impact? Rational thinking...
Learning To Fly Solo ​
teaching Standards 2012; aide memoire
24652 ; Teacher Standards
​24652 revisited
Bullseye or Double Top? Build a teacher, structuralist to holistic.
Thinking lessons; teaching standards
Investigative Incrementalist ​
​Why Employ Thinkers if you Don't Let Them Think?
Teaching is a human(E) Act ​

BrewEd early Years January 2019 ​
​Wroxham reflections
Developing Lifelong learners
Inspection/judgement or audit/support?
​
Running an After school club...
Don't Mention...
Expect the unexpected?
Five Minute Fillers ​
Stability and sustainability? ​​


SEND, Behaviour, Inclusion
​
Inclusion; Pandora's Box? ​
​Practical SEN(D) Linking ideas into a coherent whole.
SEND 2014; possible class teacher Crib sheet.

Inclusion on the Agenda ​
​
So you think you are an Inclusive School?
Inclusive Learning Environments
Inclusion; Parent Partners
​
Inclusion; Community
​Inclusion; management and governance
​
Inclusion; Children's Attitudes
Inclusion; Children and Progress
​
​Inclusion; Teachers
​Inclusion at Exemplar Primary
Inclusion is just doing your job
Inclusion; does every Child Really Matter? ​

Inclusion and SEN ​
​​SEN means real People
The 2014 SEN framework
SEN changes for 2014
Top Tips for Inclusion
Inclusion reads Factual- reference
Books for Inclusion Fiction

Inclusion by nancy Gedge
​Better Behaviour; Jarlath O'Brien a Review ​
It's Good To Talk ​

When is SEND?
Individual needs
Individual needs; fine tuning
SEN Radio?
SEND Building an individual case study.
SEND Tic-Tac-Toe

ITE and SEND ​
Built in, not bolt on; SEN reflections ​
Bridge Over Troubled Water; SEND reflections 2 ​
Worrying about Children with SEN? ​
SEND 2018; Back To The Future?
​
Voice activated
What's on the label?
SEND Teachers as investigators

Listening To the Experts ​
On exclusion; a Closed File
When The Adults Change, everything Changes
​Managing behaviour
Behave, or else...
Behaviour management and ITE
Behaviour management and "Upward Delegation"
Behaviour management - restraint

Reflections on school Visits; Behaviour Systems ​
Dislocation; Coping With Life's Rocks
Subject ideas
Learning from Experience
​
Five Things
Ideas ​
Topic; the long view
Curricular reminiscences 

Food For Thought ​Cross curricular topics
 Resource Tasks; Know How with Show How ​
English
story into Prose Poem? 
All talk? Every lesson is an English lesson.
​Good communication or Grammar Pedantry
English as a facilitating Subject? ​
As easy as ABC; developing a topic Glossary
Articulating thoughts
Year 6 Book list 
Book lists yrs 7-9
​Year 8 recommended reads ​2017
Year 10 Recommended Reads 2017
Year six book List 2016 ​
Year 6 Book List 2017 ​
Books for Inclusion Fiction
Children’s #authorsontwitter
Developing Reading teachers and Readers ​
Reading, words, Phonics...
Asking for spellings...
Reading; essentials
Get them reading!
​Reading is a personal thing
Reading; between sessions
Reading dynamics
Fifty(ish) reading ideas
Reading; once upon a time...
On reading
​Reading For Pleasure? ​
Readability
Readability. Can they read what they are given?
In for a penny ​
Cloze procedure
Five senses starter
image-based recount
Note making, not note taking...
Draft-check-improve/redraft
National writing project; revival time?
All writing in one exercise book?
Writing process; tweak your books
Exercise books as personal organisers?
Book Reviews; writing ​

Maths
Modelling Maths ​
Maths; making sense of the real world.
​Talking maths
Maths everywhere
Show maths, talk maths, draw maths, image maths.
Investigating mathematically
More maths Activities
Quick (one minute) data

Maths; Race To The Flat? ​
The answer is twelve?
Story maths?

Rule of Thumb
​Going round in circles?
​Simple Maths Resources at Home

Science/Foundation

Introducing Srevihc Sirhc
3D Masks made easily
Five fold 3D masks
Arts for Art's sake
Is colour mixing the only art?

Processing the Visual World
Saleem; The (first) artist who came to school ​

Singing in Primary Schools

Valuing Primary Science? ​
Primary Science; All play and Skills? ​
Creating Primary Scientists ​
Primary Science is a practical subject
Keeping Science on the Primary Agenda ​
In search of the Triantiwontigongolope
Expert witnesses
People and Places; psychogeography
Rafting

Messing About on the River
Making engineers = DT in school
Exploring scientifically
​
November is a rotten month
​
Food and Water
​Observation; get them to look
Creating Nature Detectives
50 things to Do; Thinking Locality
​A Sense of Place; naming things
The world is not wallpaper
​Outside Working
Exploring Science From shiny Things
Geography; Where I live. ​
A day Out in the 17th Century ​​​​​​
Assessment
​
Assessment; simples?
Assessment; recent Thoughts ​October 2017
Like riding a Bike; mastery reflections.
​Year 7 Testing Will Prove Testing
Progressive Assessment
65- grinding out assessment?
Assessment tips; a starter for 14...
​SATs 2016+; Reverse 11 plus?
Here we go round... the mulberry bush.
Assessment, I'll be Watching you...
everything is assessment…
Assessment WITH CHILDREN IN MIND
​Assessment with Trainees and NQTs in mind
​Assessment Blues; It's Not All Possible in ITE ​
Reference Points ​
Assessment; flying by the seat of one's pants
​Take five children
Teachers think...
Goal setting and motivation
Assessing capability
Frames of Reference=FORmative assessment
Assessment=value Judgements
Assessment; words matter
Assessment; Unpicking the Past
Assessment; Simply Rational Decision Making?
School portfolios support assessment.​
Pupil portfolios = public progress.
Assessment or critique?
Assessing a moving target- writing development
Assess and track
Blink
4b or not 4b? that's the question
First there was a level,
Revisiting; If Level-ness became Year-ness?
Instant assessment
Diagnostic assessment in year 4?
Assessment; righting wrongs?
Progress; what does it look like?
Progress and Outcomes
The nearly children.
On testing
Assess or examine
​Terminal Testing and Terminology
If you could read my mind,…….
The "3Gs" assessment system
Parents
​
Sweeping Parents Under the MAT.
On choosing a school
Whose child is it anyway?
Parents and Schools
Walk your school.
Parents want...in a Nutshell
On being a teacher parent

Parent Partnership reflections
What a Difference a Tweak Makes
More questions than answers?​
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