Another busy but hugely enjoyable week over: Alloa, Aberdeen, Elgin and Windsor. Next week: Oban, Falkirk, Airdrie, Glasgow, Annan and Edinburgh. If you’re interested in professional development on pedagogy, curriculum or leadership, get in touch here: nextleveleducational.com

A very special moment meeting John Hattie at the @innerdrive.bsky.social Teaching and Learning Summit. Professor Hattie wrote brilliant testimonials for two of my books, so it was great to finally meet him in person.

A key message from today’s professional development sessions with teachers in Aberdeen: just because we present something clearly, it doesn’t mean students will learn it (even if they are interested and motivated). Usually, learning requires more. What is that more? THINKING.

A packed day of learning with primary and secondary teachers in the Oldmacher Academy Cluster, Aberdeen. ✅Cognitive science ✅Retrieval practice ✅Generative learning ✅Surface knowledge vs deep understanding ✅Questioning ✅Higher-order thinking Super discussion 😊

Great to be working with primary and secondary schools in the Oldmarcher Cluster, Aberdeen, today. We’re focusing on pedagogical principles and techniques to power up our questioning.

Great to be back at Alloa Academy today for continued work with the extended leadership team. We were exploring practical approaches to power up leadership of teaching, focusing on pedagogy and curriculum. Brilliant to hear about so much positive impact over the last 12 months 😊

A brilliant full-day session with Alloa Academy staff today. Everyone had a copy of Power Up Your Questioning, which we used as our reference text throughout the day. Great discussion, and super to hear about the practical takeaways from so many teachers 😊

I’m delighted to announce… …my new book, Power Up Your Curriculum, is coming soon 😁 Available for pre-order: amzn.eu/d/07SsLBo7

Looking for resources to support teacher self-reflection and coaching conversations? The Reflective Frameworks from Teaching PowerUps might help👇 If you are a school, local authority or trust interested membership, you can find out more here: teachingpowerups.com

A really great comment from a teacher who was part of this afternoon’s Teaching PowerUps train-the-trainer session with Shetland: “I think this resource is a gift for supporting to dive deeper into learning and teaching!” If you’re interested in membership, find out more here: teachingpowerups.com

Great to be working with Park Primary School, Stranraer, again this afternoon for the 6th in our Power Up Your Pedagogy series, this time focusing on expectations, behaviour and relationships. (Sketchnote by Finola Wilson, from Power Up Your Pedagogy: amzn.eu/d/02usf2ig)

I thoroughly enjoyed working with teachers from across 20 schools at the South Birmingham Network this afternoon. We were focusing on formative assessment and retrieval practice. Brilliant discussion and contributions from everyone 😊

Early start! Birmingham bound. Really looking forward to leading professional development on retrieval practice and formative assessment today 😊

Great to work with teachers at Grangemouth High School this afternoon - one of over 80 Teaching PowerUp member schools 😊 We were focusing on techniques to actively engage all students. Interested in becoming a PowerUps member school too? Details here: teachingpowerups.com

🏆 TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK: Bounce 🏆 For use in questioning, to help encourage more students to pay attention and think, and to find out about the thinking of more students. Explore here: teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft... Get in touch if you’re interested in Teaching PowerUps membership.

🏆 TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK: Bounce 🏆 A technique for use in questioning, to help encourage more students to pay attention and think, and to find out about the thinking of more students. Explore it here (with free downloadable infographic): teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft...

🏆 TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK: Bounce 🏆 A technique for use in questioning, to encourage more students to pay attention, think, and for teachers to find out what more students are thinking. Explore here: teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft... Teaching PowerUps membership: teachingpowerups.com/membership

🏆 TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK: Bounce 🏆 A technique to encourage a collaborative learning culture, with every student listening to and learning from one another. Explore it here, with a downloadable infographic: teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft...

Great to be leading an online train-the-trainer session with Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Northern Ireland, today. We were focusing on: 🔵 Differentiated support & challenge 🔵 Retrieval practice 🔵 Questioning If you’re interested in similar input, get in touch: nextleveleducational.com

I really enjoyed working with teachers at Lochend Community High School, Glasgow, today. We had two sessions: one with all staff on questioning; another with a smaller group on impactful professional learning. Great to link Teaching PowerUps with Teaching Sprints so closely 😊

It’s always great to work with teachers at Castlemilk High School. I was delighted to hear about the positive impact the previous session has had on so many teachers’ practice. This afternoon, we were focusing on questioning and the importance of spaced retrieval. Super discussion 😊

This week’s 🏆 Technique of the Week 🏆 is: Last Day, Last Week, Even Longer A technique to enhance retrieval practice, for example, in Daily, Weekly or Monthly Review: teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft... Teaching PowerUps member school have access to over 100 Trusted Techniques like this.

I’m looking forward to this afternoon’s Train-the-Trainer webinar with teachers from Shetland. We’re focusing on differentiated support and challenge. If you’re interested in Train-the-Trainer options for your school, LA or trust, get in touch here: nextleveleducational.com

As a TEACHING POWERUPS member school, everyone gets access to over 100 Trusted Techniques, including examples, notes and top tips. Interested in finding out more? Get in touch here: teachingpowerups.com/membership School, cluster, trust and local authority membership options available.

🏆 TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK 🏆 ‘Last Day, Last Week, Even Longer’ A technique to complement Daily, Weekly and Monthly Review. Explore it here (includes a downloadable infographic): teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft... Membership of TEACHING POWERUPS available here: teachingpowerups.com/membership

“The three sessions you have led for us have been transformative” was especially lovely feedback to get this afternoon from Whitehill School, Glasgow. A really super group of staff to work with 😊 nextleveleducational.com

Great to be back working with Extended Leadership Team members at Caldervale High School. This afternoon’s session focused on Top Tips to power up leadership of teaching and learning.

Another great session with teachers at Wester Hailes High School, Edinburgh, this afternoon. Building on themes from our previous two sessions, we were unpacking ‘differentiated support and challenge’ and ‘adaptive teaching’. Always a super team to work with 😊

Great to spend the morning presenting at the SCIS Leadership Development Conference. My session was about leadership of teaching and learning, with a focus on how middle and senior leaders can lead impactful professional development in their schools. Super discussion 😊

Really looking forward to presenting at the SCIS Senior Leadership Development Day in Glasgow today. We’re going to be unpacking the ingredients of a high-quality professional learning offer in schools, helping everyone power up their teaching.

Another great session with teachers from Park Primary School and cluster colleagues this afternoon. This was the 5th in our Power Up Your Pedagogy twilight series, with today’s focus being feedback and plenary reviews. Super contributions 😊

Great to work with teachers at Belhaven Hill School this morning, exploring ways to power up our pedagogy. It’s hard to imagine nicer feedback than: ‘I came in today to hand in my resignation, but your session has inspired me so much I’ve decided to stay’. 😊 nextleveleducational.com

‘Power Up Your Pedagogy: The Illustrated Handbook of Teaching’ uses sketchnotes to summarise key messages from the text, like this one👇 A really good discount currently available on Amazon if you’re interested in getting a copy: amzn.eu/d/cqQuae1

A great day of professional learning with primary teachers in Midlothian today. ✅ Pedagogical Principles ✅ Differentiated support & challenge ✅ Practice & feedback Super discussion 😊 If you’d like to work with me in 2026, get in touch here: nextleveleducational.com

Really looking forward to today’s Power Up Your Pedagogy training day with primary teachers from Midlothian 😊

🏆 TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK: Chat To A Partner A technique to encourage more students to think, build confidence and a willingness to participate, and make teaching more interactive and collaborative. Explore it here: teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft...

“Might just be the best CPD I’ve ever had” is an especially nice comment to read about the online session I delivered for NavigatED yesterday 😊 If you’re interested in working with me, get in touch here: nextleveleducational.com ➡️ Pedagogy ➡️ Curriculum ➡️ Assessment ➡️ Leadership

A super afternoon working with middle leaders at Our Lady And St Patrick’s College, Belfast, exploring principles and strategies to power up our leadership. ✅ Developing teams ✅ Difficult conversations ✅ Leading teaching and learning Great discussion from everyone 😊🎄

A great morning working with teachers at Our Lady And St Patrick’s College, Belfast. We were exploring principles and techniques to power up our questioning. ✅ More Questions, More Often ✅ Drill Down ✅ Bounce ✅ Spotlight Assessment Activities ✅ Show-me Boards ✅ …and more!

A great afternoon working with teachers at Wester Hailes High School, Edinburgh. We were focusing on practical approaches to power up our interactive teaching. ✅ Rosenshine’s Principles ✅ Show-me boards ✅ Chat To A Partner ✅ Spotlight Assessment Activities Brilliant discussion 😊

I always enjoy working with teachers at Banbridge Academy, Northern Ireland 😊 In this afternoon’s twilight, we were exploring Pedagogical Principles, Trusted Techniques and professional development strategies to power up our teaching. Brilliant contributions and discussion.

The Kindle edition of Power Up Your Pedagogy is currently available on Amazon for £0.99 - no better time to get yourself a copy! amzn.eu/d/cm6aQoO “So much powered into one book and covering all the hot topics using the best evidence from classrooms and the research literature.” -John Hattie

As we near the end of the year, it’s great to see ‘Power Up Your Pedagogy’ in Amazon’s top 10 😊 “A compelling description of what we know about how learning happens and what to do about it in the classroom… clear, practical, easy to apply” -Doug Lemov amzn.eu/d/aBudSoE

Great to get such a positive reaction to the new Teaching PowerUps Infographics 😊 Here’s another one, this time for the Trusted Technique, ‘Chat To A Partner’👇 Download it here: teachingpowerups.com/infographics If you’re interested in Teaching PowerUps membership: teachingpowerups.com/membership

🏆 Technique of the Week: Pique Interest A technique to get lessons off to an active start, with all students thinking. Explore it here: teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft... There are over 100 Trusted Techniques like this on the new Teaching PowerUps website: teachingpowerups.com/membership

An exciting development for Teaching PowerUps: the website is evolving to include infographics 😊 Here’s the first one, focusing on show-me boards, which you can download for free: teachingpowerups.com/infographics

🏆 TECHNIQUE OF THE WEEK: Pique Interest A technique to support use of learning intentions, stimulate interest, and get lessons off to an ‘active start’ (focusing on thinking). Explore it here: teachingpowerups.com/techniqueoft... Want to become a PowerUps school? teachingpowerups.com/membership

I really enjoyed working with a brilliant group of teachers in Lochwinnoch Primary School this afternoon. Our 2-hour twilight focused on adaptive teaching, including use of show-me boards, visualisers and spotlight assessment activities. Super discussion from everyone 😊

It’s been a while since I’ve written a new blog post, but I’ve finally found time to do it: ‘What Makes A Great Lesson?’ Available here: nextleveleducational.com/blog/what-ma...

I’m delighted that every school in Shetland is now a PowerUps school 😊 If you are interested in Teaching PowerUps membership for your school, local authority or trust, get in touch here: teachingpowerups.com/membership Demos available on request.