Personalised Learning - Teaching Expertise

Boys and girls learn differently, as Steve Mynard discovered first hand when teaching five-year-old children. Here he explains how equal opportunities in school can be achieved by acknowledging gender differences in school

Steve Mynard considers gender differences in schools by looking at the social, emotional, intellectual and physical contrasts to bear in mind when teaching boys and girls. He explains we may need to treat them differently in order to give equal opportunities in school to both sexes

CPD Week discusses the latest professional thinking regarding the personalisation agenda and personalised learning, and how to encorporate this important issue into CPD

Students with desires to be professional sportsmen need to be encouraged to gain academic qualifications - but this is often no easy job. Chris Wall, Exeter College's sports academy development coordinator, describes how they are doing it

The Personalisation by Pieces (PbyP) system, a personalised learning scheme to give learners control over their own progression, is being used by forty schools around the UK. Its designer, former deputy head Dan Buckley, shares some of its achievements

What is 'ability grouping', why is it necessary and what is its potential impact on students? Kate Wall explains

It's the dilemma every secondary school faces: how do you set an amount of homework that satisfies parents across the board? Roy Tarleton, headteacher of South Dartmoor Community College, thinks he's cracked it

Delivering different pathways within your core curriculum can enable pupils of varying abililties and skills to follow a personalised learning route, say deputy headteachers Paul Ainsworth and Josephine Smith

New technology has made virtual schooling an option for pupils unable or unwilling to attend the 'real' thing. Sal McKeown discovers what's on offer

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This free resource is part of a CPD series to help teachers improve learning environments for children, looking at how to design the most effective classroom layouts and seating arrangements

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This free resource is part of a series to help teachers improve learning environments for children, here focusing on the best use of classroom space

This week's issue of Behaviour Matters looks at the methods you can use to give pupils specific directions − keeping them on task and reducing class disruptions read more

This week’s issue of Behaviour Matters looks at how individual education, behaviour and pastoral plans can be implemented in the classroom to meet pupils’ needs read more

Once a teacher has identified that a child is experiencing difficulty with reading, the next step is often to approach the SENCO for an assessment of the child read more

CPD Week shows the importance of creativity in learning and provides food for thought on how to support creativity in schools read more

SENCO Week explains the pros and cons of using Individual Education Plans (IEPs)

With the increasing emphasis on personalised learning, CPD Week investigates some innovative use of VLEs in Essex, plus we look at the new professional standards

An educational 'road system' for individual gifted and talented children is needed, says Deborah Eyre, so that they can construct their own unique learning journeys read more

After a long standing struggle between learner-centred and standards-led aims for primary education, two papers for the Primary Review note the emergence of a hybrid read more

Developing a common understanding of pedagogy is intrinsic to ensuring continuity and progression along all stages of an individual's learning journey, advises a recent DCSF booklet

With increasing pressure to deliver personalised learning, John Blanchard offers strategies for putting it into practice where it counts: the classroom

In early years especially, boys should not be forced into a "girl-like" model of learning, explains Steve Mynard

John Blanchard looks at the importance of distinguishing underachievers and slow learners and gives examples of techniques and tactics you can use to help pupils reach their potential

Improving your gifted and talented provision depends on being able to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your current approach. The Institutional Quality Standards (IQS) is a self-evaluation tool for doing just that, and supports the introduction of personalised education across the whole school, writes Deborah Eyre read more

Yvonne Spencer looks at a broad scheme to improve outcomes — and explains its effect on local authorities and schools read more

Michael Fielding, professor at London’s Institute of Education, argues that we need to think a lot harder about what we mean by personalised learning if current developments are to engage people actively in their learning

Educational psychologist Alan McLean summarises his model for understanding how teachers can motivate their students

Aisha Ashante of Langtry Children's Centre describes the thinking behind the centre’s approach to quality provision for young children

Jo Smith suggests practical ways of building challenge into every lesson

Marcelo Staricoff describes an inclusive approach for meeting the needs of G&T pupils in primary classrooms read more

Headteacher Peter Kent and deputy Annabel Kay describe how vertical tutoring has moved them towards the extended, cross-age family ethos that they seek to develop within their school

Is the concept of personalised learning really all that new? Roger Smith investigates

The curriculum review section of most direct interest to SENCOs concerns organising the curriculum. SENCO Update reports read more

A recent conference considered how schools can put personalisation at the centre of their strategies for raising achievement

Pedagogy is back on the agenda after a long period of neglect, with new guidance encouraging professionals to think about what should be taught and how it should be taught, writes Cliff Jones read more

Gifted and talented provision faces competition from many other areas for a share of personalisation funding. Josephine Smith and Paul Ainsworth share their tips for raising awareness of G&T in your school read more

'Personalised learning' has been appearing with increasing frequency in policy documents and in discussion about teaching and learning for the last few years. But what is truly meant by 'personalised learning'?

The 2020 Vision report calls for personalised learning to be designed to reduce the ‘persistent and unacceptable gaps in average attainment between different groups of pupils’. read more

In two respects the focus of education has shifted in the 2000s. read more

Charles Dietz examines the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and its implications

Howard Gardner will forever be associated with his theory of multiple intelligences. Charles Dietz discovers that the Hobbs professor in cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has a lot more to say on the nature of giftedness. read more

In his continuing series on gifted thinkers, Charles Dietz looks at the work of Robert Sternberg and how he has influenced the teaching of gifted pupils read more

We are constantly trying to drive up standards of teaching and learning with new approaches, preferably those with a strong evidence base. But is ‘What Works?’ the right question? Should we really be asking ‘How do good teachers get better?’ Elaine Hall reflects on the messages from a meta-analysis of teaching and learning interventions

G&T education has been a precursor of personalised learning, says Tim Dracup, head of the DfES’s Gifted and Talented Education Unit.

Ian Warwick, senior director of development at London Gifted & Talented (LGT), explains his vision of personalised learning and describes LGT’s personalised programmes. read more

Brin Best tries to make sense of the government’s personalised learning agenda, and suggests practical ways of making it work for your more able students. read more

How can personalisation work in practice? Headteacher Paula Allen spoke to Bob Cox to explain how it’s done at Dorney Combined School.

Learners tend to have a narrow view of the relevance of the curriculum and their enjoyment of it decreases across the key stages. These are two of the key findings of an NfER review of the research on pupils’ experiences of and perspectives on the curriculum published in the UK between 1989 and 2005. read more

Richard Bird, former headteacher and now legal consultant to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), looks at the different interpretations of personalised learning and what they might mean in practice. read more

Educational consultant Mike Fleetham shares some interesting ideas about choosing books and looks at some practical ideas for using stories to develop children’s thinking. read more