International Schools Blog

Decades ago, play was something that happened in the school playground during break time. The classroom was emphatically not a place where pupils expected to play games or have fun. Teaching techniques were firmly teacher-centred, focusing on direct instruction. Teachers were the all-knowing source of information and gave lectures or presented information to a class of passive students. Drilling, where students repeat what the teacher says verbatim, and rote learning (memorisation) were key teaching techniques.

In my previous blog post, I explored the challenge of starting students on a journey that leads to deeper, more independent learning by means of open-ended questions. The point is a simple one: if we are going to equip students to be confident, independent thinkers, we are going to have to acclimatise them to the realm of open, challenging, controversial and ambiguous questions – the very questions that tend not to be asked in written examinations, which, as a rule, tend to favour responses that can be learned and matched to a mark scheme.

The lesson starts with a slide showing names of cities from around the world. ‘Which of these are capital cities?’ the teacher asks. Hands shoot up, answers are called out, and a list of capital cities emerges. Once the right answers have been found, the class moves on to a different task.

Would it surprise you to learn that the biggest single influence on a child’s education happens outside the classroom?

Integrating technology into your classroom - We have more technology at our fingertips than ever before, which has the power to radically transform the classroom. But is it actually changing the way we teach?

Many schools across the world are enforcing bans on smartphones due to issues such as bullying, cheating and disruption in class. In July 2018, the French government even passed a law banning mobile phones in schools.

Students with special education needs all bring unique strengths and gifts, but how do we as teachers help these students access learning and connect with others in our classrooms?

Teachers managing autism in the classroom face some complex challenges. We spoke to autism expert Stacey Melifonwu to find out more about the disorder and the strategies you can employ to be inclusive of all your students.

We all know that students get stressed out by revision. They have a lot of important exams to study for, a dwindling amount of time, and – often – they are left to their own devices.

With exam season around the corner it’s time to get your students thinking seriously about revision. Here are our top tips to help improve recall, manage time and energy levels and much more.