Teachers Talk Connect is soon upon us! Saturday 14th March 2026 in Manchester, Teachers Talk Radio brings you our huge annual CPD and networking extravaganza, and it's free for all teachers. Get your free ticket here: lnkd.in/eygxK3tP More information here: lnkd.in/ecJ2RscN

On being stuck in the muddle- not an uncommon feeling at this time of year. And story telling. And hope!

We can employ a confidence ‘trick’ - to kickstart useful habits and routines Teach the content , use focussed study techniques , use assessment so success is likely - potentially supporting positive beliefs, motivation and feedback. @paulclinepsy.bsky.social and @mikehobbiss.bsky.social

I’ve explained what we have changed - and provided some review questions for leaders/teachers here: benjamindwhite.wordpress.com/2026/01/28/g...

Really useful set of questions to ask when exploring the introduction of any product with integrated Gen AI in schools. Worth sharing with your wider teams too as teachers are getting used to using different tools and push back to restrictions is easier to manage when everyone knows why.

How do we develop independent learners - have been left with lots to think about from this with @paulclinepsy.bsky.social and @mikehobbiss.bsky.social Plus practical ideas around task design, effective homework, and how the KBCP model can help us improve course design and teaching in this area

The uncomfortable reality is that very few generative AI products currently being promoted to schools are likely to meet this bar- certainly not without significant redesign. Particularly for student facing Gen AI. Exploring the implications of the DfE’s recent Gen AI products safety guidance…

New for me for Insight Inform: The Data Wave Returns? The data wave has been receding. Are there signs that it may be about to return? www.insightinform.co.uk/2026/01/30/t... Please read, comment and repost!

Great up-to-date research on episodic/semantic memory for any #Alevelpsychology teachers out there!

Teachers Talk Connect is soon upon us! Saturday 14th March 2026 in Manchester, Teachers Talk Radio brings you our huge annual CPD and networking extravaganza, and it's free for all teachers. Get your free ticket here: lnkd.in/eygxK3tP More information here: lnkd.in/ecJ2RscN

This was a fun conversation with @benwhitewaldenkent.bsky.social and @paulclinepsy.bsky.social, picking at the threads of independent learning to reveal the bigger underlying issues of curriculum and assessment design

How can teachers help develop independent learners? Paul Cline and Mike Hobbiss explore why students can struggle to work independently. It isn’t simply a problem of motivation. Drawing on research and classroom experience, they discuss how independent learning needs to be deliberately designed:

This was a fun discussion with @mikehobbiss.bsky.social and @benwhitewaldenkent.bsky.social on how we can foster independent learning in our students, taking in motivational theory, and the KBCP framework along the way (this time with the right post quoted with the actual link!) #EduSky

The uncomfortable reality is that very few generative AI products currently being promoted to schools are likely to meet this bar- certainly not without significant redesign. On DfE’s Gen AI product Safety Guidance

How can teachers help students become effective independent learners? Paul and Mike have plenty of practical, research-informed insights on exactly this question. Well worth a listen @ttradio.bsky.social @paulclinepsy.bsky.social

NEW EPISODE This week, we are joined by the OG and GOAT of education podcasting 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁CRAIG BARTON!! Craig knows so much about great teaching, it was a privilege to interview him: open.spotify.com/episode/7dzR...

This took a long , long time to put together and it was great to see the (largely) sensible debate it prompted over the month after it was published a few months back. The scientific debate is still where it was, but the cultural debate has certainly become even more polarised.

5:1 praise to correction isn’t about being nicer. It’s about shaping behaviour. Specific praise makes expectations visible — what starting well looks like, what focus sounds like, what good learning does. @ttradioofficial.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/2a3A...

5:1 praise to correction isn’t about being nicer. It’s about shaping behaviour. Specific praise makes expectations visible — what starting well looks like, what focus sounds like, what good learning does. @ttradioofficial.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/2a3A...

Not all good questions are open. Not all closed questions are shallow. Robbie Coleman explains why starting with intent — assess or extend — is a better place to begin. open.spotify.com/episode/2a3A... @ttradioofficial.bsky.social

Not all good questions are open. Not all closed questions are shallow. Robbie Coleman explains why starting with intent — assess or extend — is a better place to begin. open.spotify.com/episode/2a3A... @ttradioofficial.bsky.social

100% Assessment open.substack.com/pub/100asses...

Helping Early Career Teachers Thrive Robbie Coleman has an unusually clear window into the minds of early career teachers — not by guessing, but by analysing how thousands of them respond to real-world school scenarios. www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ijf56...

Loving recording ‘Classroom Chronicles’ Series with @ttradioofficial.bsky.social . A monthly exploration of fascinating stories from interesting guests working in and with our schools. Guests seem to enjoy themselves. And I learn something new every time! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Helping Early Career Teachers Thrive Robbie Coleman has an unusually clear window into the minds of early career teachers — not by guessing, but by analysing how thousands of them respond to real-world school scenarios. www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ijf56...

Going to do some threads on psychological barriers to learning. First up... perfectionism. Let me know if you have any questions about perfectionism. And please share for a wider reach!

Podbean: www.podbean.com/eas/pb-yk3md... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/609c... Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2qO...

Why do a minority of students hate AI? Martin Griffin and I explored this question, and wider issues around AI in school. In my show on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social Why do some dislike AI intensely? How is AI being used? What is the ‘Nuthall problem’? #edusky #AIEducation #AIEdu

Calling all psychology teachers out there!

New Show: Why do a minority of students hate AI? Discover why some feel so uneasy about AI as Martin Griffin and I delve into their thoughts and attitudes. We discuss how schools can address these concerns and why AI's use isn't just a simple yes or no. Links below! #AIEducation #edusky #AIEdu

New Show: Why do a minority of students hate AI? Discover why some feel so uneasy about AI as Martin Griffin and I delve into their thoughts and attitudes. We discuss how schools can address these concerns and why AI's use isn't just a simple yes or no. Links below! #AIEducation #edusky #AIEdu

Why do a minority of students hate AI? Martin Griffin and I explored this question, and wider issues around AI in school. In my show on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social Why do some dislike AI intensely? How is AI being used? What is the ‘Nuthall problem’? #edusky #AIEducation #AIEdu

New blogpost from me: The Progress of EdTech Depends on Our Tolerance for Error profbeckyallen.substack.com/p/the-progre...

Wellbeing and stress in young people: you can flourish and struggle at the same time New research shows that well-being and stress in young people are not opposites. You can flourish and struggle at the same time. Schools should take note. wp.me/p2nWPo-5mS

"Just quickly copy that down class." Words spoken by every teacher, yet we all know copying is often pointless. What if there was a better way? One that didn't rely on lots of extra planning, just some simple tweaks. Join me to find out how www.eventbrite.com/e/1848269988...

A large minority of students at my school hate AI. They are not ambivalent or cautiously optimistic. They hate it. Almost all of them, though, report having used it recently to ‘learn something.’ How we are navigating the ‘AI revolution’ benjamindwhite.wordpress.com/2025/10/19/l...

I wrote a short piece for the Observer on the attacks in Manchester. observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

The end of the illusion: Microsoft punctures its own medical AI hype Microsoft’s own research shows that medical AI models like GPT-5 often achieve high benchmark scores for the wrong reasons, relying on shortcuts and fabricated reasoning. theeconomyofmeaning.com/2025/10/01/t...

New on 100% Assessment Substack: Target Grades - Useful or Unhelpful? 100assessment.substack.com/p/target-gra... @head-teach.bsky.social

For AI, “almost safe” is not safe enough OpenAI & Apollo cut hidden AI misbehaviour from 13% to under 1%. Impressive? Yes. Sufficient? Absolutely not. For AI, ‘almost safe’ will never be safe enough. theeconomyofmeaning.com/2025/09/20/f...

New podcast version of my @ttradioofficial.bsky.social show Monday: SEND policy in Europe, Personal development in schools >>> teacherstalkradio.podbean.com/e/send-polic...

“wisdom which will encourage you to think more deeply about learning, rather than just creating ‘lessons’.” Such lovely recent feedback for www.amazon.co.uk/How-Teach-Ps... This was exactly what @paulclinepsy.bsky.social and I were hoping to achieve. #UKEd #Edusky

Session 4: @thebandb.bsky.social on the sober side of AI. A really clear articulation of what AI and LLMs do - and don’t - and what we might want to worry about. A lot that coincides with my own thinking on this and that I am very glad to see others are considering.

@profcoe.bsky.social and Raj Chande at #REd25 There are a *small* number of teachers who we can currently say are statistically (with 95% confidence) better or worse than average for student results… but even the ‘best’ teachers have individual classes who have negative progress, and vice versa!

Looking forward to another great day at rED#25 on Saturday - session timetable, as ever, making it hard to choose! If you'd like to hear how @mikehobbiss.bsky.social and I have tried to taken an evidence-informed approach to developing independent learners, come and see us in M20 for session 3!

Really pleased to see this level of interrogation into an issue that is more complex than headline soundbites often give credit to. I'd recommend anyone who is or will be involved with teenagers - in school or as a parent - reads it.

Repost of this one - @benwhitewaldenkent.bsky.social and I chatting about home education, why people deregister, what the benefits of home educating are, and how the fundamental structure of school is, when you think about it, a little bit weird. teacherstalkradio.podbean.com/e/what-can-w...

NEW: Why beliefs about free will matter We praise students for making good choices as if every child had equal access to self-control, foresight & calm. But free will isn’t a level playing field. It’s a skill. And schools can either build it, or punish its absence. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

7. Our response reflects who we are. “It’s frankly pretty scary when you’ve watched a large language model do something you used to think you were brilliant at.” “The people finding this most difficult are questioning their own intellectual identity.” 7/8

6. This isn’t a fad — it’s structural disruption. “The increase in productivity… is on a scale I didn’t believe was possible.” But hype around speed of change is exaggerated. “This is a 20-year thing, not a 2-year thing.” AI is already changing how white-collar work gets done. 6/8