FE Career Advice

A classroom can be a scary place. Walking into a new classroom, with a new teacher and a new group of peers can be daunting for even a confident individual. Equally, I always get butterflies before meeting a new group of students. Preparing the space Before the students arrive, think about…>

Students benefit from a practice-based, active education informed by innovative research that equips them with the knowledge and skills they need to be employable upon graduating. Gaining high quality on-the-job experience through work placement is vital for students as it enables them to enhance and progress their skills and conform…>

When you are applying for teaching posts, or undertaking a programme of teacher training, you should demonstrate in your application and interview that you are familiar not only with different theories of learning, such as constructivism, but also that you understand the implications of them for teaching. In order to…>

We are ALL born creative, yet as we progress through life our creativity seems to diminish. So, what happens to most of us when we reach adulthood? Why do we find it necessary to fit in to an organised set of values and beliefs? Why do we dwell on what…>

Technology is a resource As with any other resource, its use needs to be based on how it can enhance the learning of your students. Technology can be used to personalise learning as well as support collaborative learning. It can be used to gather valuable student feedback. Used as flip…>

Findings from recent Ofsted research (2018) have found that teachers are highly stressed and anxious. Stress in teaching is not new, indeed research into teacher stress dates back to the 1970s. More recently, issues of teacher recruitment and retention are associated with stress. To help manage stress we can help…>

The purpose of education is to help students achieve the best they can, and more! None of us know our own potential, so feedback can be vital, it can be inspiring and motivational, but it can also be devastating. So, here are a few tips on how to give feedback so…>

Feeling the pressure An article in TES reported on a survey carried out in 2018 which found that almost two-thirds of students in FE feel very or extremely stressed about exams. The survey further found the most significant stress factors are, firstly, students putting pressure on themselves and, secondly, teachers….>

Setting home-study tasks brings frustration. Frustration for teachers when students say they have not done it; frustration for students who perhaps do not see the relevance of tasks set. Flip-learning is a new way to approach the setting of home-study tasks. Rather than being retrospective, it is future looking. It…>

New Year. New term. New resolutions. A new start. January offers a time to reset. Take some time before the term begins to review the Autumn term; what has worked well; what has not worked well. You will have met your new groups of students and begun the process of…>