Tailor to lesson content, not student preferences. An alternative to the learning styles myth: ↓

An excellent discussion from @didau.bsky.social of the important role and influence of national testing which should be very positive provided it is done well.

The whole point of phonics is to teach pupils the tools that will allow them to begin decoding text, the exact thing that they need to do to develop automatic word recognition. >>

Put simply, to get to the point where one can recognise a word (or common chunk within a word) without having to consciously decode it, one first needs to consciously decode it, often multiple times! >>

As with almost every article written about reading in the past few years, this one has inspired a few suggestions that the focus on phonics has caused problems. I'd like to explain why I disagree. >>

CPD: "Great leaders know they won’t get buy-in unless the relevance & purpose are clear & it is connected to what happens within the classroom every day." @greeborunner.bsky.social & @ensermark.bsky.social in www.crownhouse.co.uk/how-do-they-..., out now from @crownhousepub.bsky.social

cochrane1964.wixsite.com/website/post... Wee micro blog on Scottish Education

What is a knowledge-rich curriculum? In any event not just facts, not just math and reading, and not elitist. It is the strongest lever for equity. And thus ultimately a matter of social justice. #EduSky @timsurma.bsky.social, @danielmuijs.bsky.social

Academic papers ask "Does X improve learning?" but schools need to know "Does X improve learning enough to justify its implementation costs compared to alternative Y?"

A somewhat bizarre result from TeacherTapp. 55% say their school improvement plan meets their school’s needs but only 46% are going to act on it. However, that about half selected neither shows bigger problems with the whole school improvement planning process, something I am not surprised by.

New event for me today. Really enjoyed it. Cracking route.

🎙️ Have you listened to our latest podcast? In a fascinating episode, international education expert and author Lucy Crehan shares how she helped review the Northern Ireland Curriculum, and what lessons Wales can learn. 🎧 Listen now - open.spotify.com/episode/7Mc5...

Read our new report here: iop.org/3RS

Yesterday we launched our new report on the physics teacher shortage at IOP HQ in London. Charles Tracy shared key findings, followed by a panel discussion with Jack Worth, Rachel Cave & Hari Rentala - moderated by Dr Judith Hillier - on how to #RetainRecruitRetrain more physics teachers.

Quarter of schools in England lack a physics teacher, analysis finds

Get them apples while this deal is on. Cheap at twice the price. Great book. Buy it.

As technology gets more and more powerful, is there a risk that humans get lazier and less competent? Unfortunately, yes. The obesogenic society has been with us for a while; the stupidogenic society is on its way.

The Curious Teacher Conference Sat 04 Oct 2025 @edinburghnapier.bsky.social, Sighthill Campus £50 (£35 for student teachers). Registration/details: sway.cloud.microsoft/uiY35a9sitDV... Keynotes: @nuthmani.bsky.social (Education is not neutral) and Kirsten Leask (Learning for Sustainability)

New Article

If you or anyone you know is new to teaching Physics, I highly recommend this amazing resource from Richard Brock. Links to hundreds of super useful stuff 🙂 #PhysicsEd #iTeachPhysics #Science docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Congratulations to students in Scotland who picked up their physics qualifications today. The results show that more young people in Scotland are taking on the challenge of physics - with entries increasing at National 5 and Higher levels. Read more here: www.iop.org/about/news/h...

If AI is being used extensively in office jobs, then should we be letting students use AI in the classroom? No - here's why. With reference to 3 papers that show what you do in a job isn't the template for what you do in the classroom. substack.nomoremarking.com/p/education-...

My book summaries are now in one place! Yay! Together with the cogsci reading list of 63 books! And which books, or series, would it be useful to do next? itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-... #iteachphysics #cogscisci

Not all wrong answers are equal. I used to think students just needed the right information to fix misconceptions but then I read the work of Michelene Chi🧵⬇️

A benefit of having my website is that there is a place to put everything. My physics resources are here, and I will gradually upload the things on my laptop and the things in my brain that could be of use to this section. itsalearningcurve.education/physics-teac... #iteachphysics

It has been almost a year since I last posted a StuartPhysics blog. It is quite a long one musing over several interrelated topics about education improvement in Scotland, and how we can ensure important developments are research-informed by good-quality data. stuartphysics.co.uk/2025/08/03/r...

Just because they’re funny doesn’t mean they’re right. The Dr Fox Effect shows we mistake charisma for clarity. The more you know, the harder it is to see what novices don’t. That’s the Curse of Knowledge. Know your subject and how it’s learned. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

MotoGP confirms that from 2027, only fuels from renewable sources will be permitted. Fuel testing will be based on C14 isotope count, which has to be equal to the C14 count in the atmosphere. Original plan was self certification, which has been dropped.

Congratulations to IOP President-elect Professor Michele Dougherty CBE on being appointed Astronomer Royal. 👏 Professor Dougherty succeeds IOP Honorary Fellow Lord Martin Rees who has held this prestigious role for an extraordinary 30 years. 🔗 Read the full statement: www.iop.org/about/news/i...

As we mark 100 years of quantum, Professor Sir Peter Knight, Chair of National Physical Laboratory (NPL)’s Quantum Metrology Institute, looks ahead to what’s next for quantum computing. Learn more about #IYQ2025 and find out how you can get involved: iop.org/quantum

NEW POST: A lot of the evidence on smartphones and kids is correlational but what does that mean for parents and schools? carlhendrick.substack.com/p/banning-ph...

Could you help shape a more inclusive future for physics? We're looking for four new members to join the Panel for the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund. 📅 Applications close 11 August 🔗 www.iop.org/physics-comm...

🌞 Join us next week for the launch of our new summer exhibition, Mimi’s Tiny Adventure! Step into the fascinating world of tiny physics through hands-on experiments, creative arts and crafts, and inspiring chats with real physicists. 📅 Tuesday 29 July 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mimis-tiny...

Two C-17 Globemaster III US military transport planes just buzzed my house and landed at Aberdeen airport, and I saw one take off the other day. Unwelcome chaos and global warming for an unnecessary imminent visitor I fear.

At #UKSC2025, our CEO Paul Bate joined Anne Crean & Louis Barson from the @instituteofphysics.bsky.social for the launch of the IOP's Space Tech for Growth report, which reveals how physicists are at the forefront of innovation in the UK space sector 🛰️ Read the report 👉 www.iop.org/about/news/s...

Not something you will find in the supermarket veg isle. Home grown tatties 😂

Absolutely fascinating piece about the cluster of underlying beliefs that make people hold onto education myths.

*NEW POST* The Enduring Persistence of Neuromyths in Education A new study surveying over 3,000 Spanish teachers provides one of the most detailed snapshots to date. Fantastic work from @juanfernandez.bsky.social @ferreromar.bsky.social and colleagues open.substack.com/pub/carlhend...

If you are a teacher in Scotland please consider participating in @educ-everything.bsky.social’s PhD study into activist teachers. It is important to explore and understand how teachers display agency and activism in a system that can promote compliance and small c conservatism.

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS Seeking #activist teachers who are also qualified, fully registered & working in #Scotland schools. This is for my @unistrathclyde.bsky.social PhD exploring their experiences of #professionallearning & #activism. Grateful for your support! forms.office.com/e/cjNE3UkNyY

If there ever was, there can no longer be any doubt that the proactive and systematic destruction of scientific and educational infrastructure, and the promotion and, indeed, generation of ignorance is a core component of Trumpian politics.

🔬✨ What if quantum mechanics could help diagnose cancer more accurately? Meet Dr Emma Pearce from the @uofglasgow.bsky.social as she explains that quantum mechanics is transforming how we diagnose cancer - making invisible details visible using ordinary cameras.

The Jangle Fallacy: Same Idea, Different Name carlhendrick.substack.com/p/the-jangle...

We need to do all of it at once, but yes: ‘STEM is a great sector to work in’ needs to be true, otherwise outreach projects are lying to children. Historically, this hasn’t been taken seriously enough by the sector, as evidenced by retention rates.

Defending AERO: Evidence-Informed Teaching Isn’t Oppression, It's Empowering carlhendrick.substack.com/p/defending-...

From @agawande.bsky.social ‘Checklist Manifesto’ p30: Compare this with the over-generalisation of teachers and teaching over the same period.

🔥 16 hottest education related research papers from the last 8 weeks: (all open source 🔓) ↓

9/ Report tracking teachers after maternity leave → finds those returning part-time stay longer, suggesting flexible work helps keep teachers. static1.squarespace.com/static/63db...

The Department for Education has published ‘The Writing Framework’. It will be of interest for leaders & teachers in primary looking to improve writing standards and refine their practice (but it’ll be of interest to many secondary school colleagues too). Find it here: lnkd.in/gkBw-QHJ

Influential women engineers from the IET A look at how women are involved in the engineering industry #iTeachPhysics #SciTeachUK education.theiet.org/media/akwjwz...