Bill Lucas's Blog, page 2

Schools will teach ‘soft skills’ from 2017, but assessing them presents a challenge

­ Blog from https://theconversation.com/ 20th November Bill Lucas When students go back to school in January 2017 there will be some significant changes to their timetables. As well as learning areas like English, maths and science, there will be some new … Continue reading →

How to praise your child: why simply saying ‘well done’ is not helpful

­ Bill Lucas in The Conversation  How do you react when you hear expressions like “well done”, “another A grade”, “aren’t you clever” and “great work”? Maybe you use them yourself with your children in the belief that it will encourage … Continue reading →

EBac: ‘With what authority is it being argued that art, social sciences, D&T, and the rest, are not “stretching”?’

By Ellen Spencer and Bill Lucas This article originally appeared in TES 11th February 2016  The idea of ‘core academic subjects’ is an example of lazy thinking, argue two education academics The secretary of state’s foreword to the DfE’s recent … Continue reading →

Putting the body back into school

Blog on Intelligence in the Flesh- new book by Guy Claxton, Emeritus Professor, University of Winchester When schools were originally being designed, they incorporated the then-widespread view that minds were totally different from and smarter than bodies. Everything to do with … Continue reading →

‘A “fixed” view of intelligence certainly constrains the potential of educators to develop young minds’

This article originally appearing in TES, 26th November 2015.   The recent TES interview with Robert Plomin raises an old educational chestnut about nature and nurture. The article speculates that genetics research might become an inevitable force in education: maybe one day teachers will … Continue reading →

Guest post: Dr Ellen Spencer looks at the link between anxiety and creativity and asks: how can we strike a healthy balance?

Want to be more creative? Learn to harness your anxiety! We have all tapped into the motivating energy of anxiety at times. Anxiety drives school children to study for exams, technicians to be alert, supervisors to improve their people skills, and scientists or executives to innovate. Continue reading →