Author Archives: Greg Ashman

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
An amusing post has been published over at the Australian Association for Research in Education’s (AARE) blog site. It’s amusing for the song beneath the words; for the kinds of values that researchers will…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images On this blog, I have repeatedly expressed unease at the terms ‘no-excuses’ and ‘zero-tolerance’ when applied to schools. I have never visited a school that describes itself in this way,…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images If you are a teacher and you blog or tweet in favour of explicit teaching, stronger discipline or a knowledge-rich curriculum then you are a target. The more prominent you…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images Last week saw the release of the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) collaborative problem solving results. This was accompanied by headlines suggesting that Australia and the U.K. had performed…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images I was struck by a recent interview with Katherine Birbalsingh on BBC Radio 4. Birbalsingh drew attention by making a speech at the 2010 Conservative Party conference in the U.K. in…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images In an ideal world, teacher training should be strongly informed by evidence, setting prospective teachers on the right course from the outset. It doesn’t work that way. There is a…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images We are fortunate to live in an age where medical diagnosis has advanced. Many conditions have similar symptoms but different underlying causes. A disease caused by a virus will not…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images There is an interesting debate raging in the U.K. after the government proposed a wholly vocational route into teaching. Although it is intended to be a ‘degree equivalent’, trainee teachers…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images There are valid arguments against standardised tests. They have the potential to distort the curriculum by focusing teachers on only those subjects that are tested. And they can be unfair…

Originally posted on Filling the pail:
Embed from Getty Images Do students learn more from who their teachers are than from what they actually teach them? This is an appealing idea to many of us and I can see its…