Andrew Higgins

Great “trick” to get kids to learn Two groups read the same passage. * Group A was told they'd be tested. * Group B was told they'd have to teach it to another student. Nobody actually taught anything. They were just told they’d have to teach. Group B crushed it. Better recall. Better organization. Advantage concentrated on main points. So just believing they'd have to teach changed how they studied. The researchers' line that stuck with me: students have effective study strategies they simply don't use unless prodded to. So our kids already know how to learn well. They just don't do it when they're told to study for a test. The test framing makes them passive. While teaching makes them active. At @ForgePrep, the highest level of mastery students can demonstrate is teaching another students to competence. It’s part of why we have Montessori mixed age classes as this creates more opportunities for this type of teaching

🔒 SECURING ATTENTION! Students remember what they attend to. This one-page guide summarises strategies that secure attention, ensuring students remain attentive and cognitively engaged throughout the lesson. 🌱 Support my work by tapping REPOST and grab a FREE high-quality copy here: jamieleeclark.com/graphics

Lovely example of the application of hinge questions to coaching in rugby: bit.ly/41fqnXF. Thank you @Mr_Titley!

This is Chaos Theory in a nutshell. What looks like a simple circle is actually a complex engine of divergence. We are all just results of the first few bounces.

Watch this short classroom video clip to see a teacher introducing learning intentions & success criteria. Notice how she makes the content clear & accessible. #visiblelearning #teacherclarity #classroomvideo #teachers

Students who took notes by hand scored ~28% higher on conceptual questions than laptop note-takers. Writing forces your brain to process and compress ideas instead of copying them.

@TaraTeacher1 I agree!

Japan 🇯🇵

Professors John Hattie & Gregory Donoghue published ‘A Meta-Analysis of Ten Learning Techniques’ (2021), which replicated the findings of Dunlosky et al. (2013). Their conclusion stated: “The most effective techniques are Distributed Practice & Practice Testing.” I write about retrieval practice & spaced practice in the article below for @EvidenceInEdu evidencebased.education/resource/retri…

@engteacherabro2 After a morning of Parent-Teacher Conferences, you have to have Yum Cha … and then you have to walk it off cos you ate too much!

After a full morning of medical appointments, you just have to get filthy!

📘 NEW! The ⚗️DistillED Playbook for Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction is now available to download — a 50-page playbook unpacking the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of each principle, with clear examples and practical prompts for planning and coaching. 👇👇👇 newsletter.jamieleeclark.com/playbooks

@engteacherabro2 All the best!

Being observed today with La Belle Vie, which isn't my favourite poem. But 🤞

@tinareed40 I left my rucksack on the MTR a few years ago and thought I was never going to see it again. I reported it and the next day they called and told me where I could pick it up from. Got it back and nothing was missing, including the $7,000 in cash!!

I go to the same bakery most mornings. Yesterday I paid cash which I never do and didn’t realise I left some of the change. Walked in today to be presented with this - they don’t speak English but I understood what she was trying to tell me. It’s about £1 This is why I love HK😭

***FAMILY GUIDE*** In our guide for families we have been explicit about what we do and why we do it to support with conversations at home. In the two example below we have explained our phrases and some of the core teaching techniques. #TheLongdendaleLegacy

Want stronger student mastery? Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction highlight what effective teachers do: review, ask lots of questions, model thinking, and guide practice. Here are 5 principles every educator should revisit. #ScienceOfLearning theviewfrom518.com/2026/03/07/ros…

Grace Hudson has been producing sketchnotes to summarise key messages from my book, Power Up Your Questioning: amzn.eu/d/08cx9CDU Here are the first 4👇 Teaching PowerUps members can download the complete set to support professional development: teachingpowerups.com

Circle Theorems Worksheet now uploaded. Let me know how the students find it! I filmed myself teaching it too so would make a perfect revision homework / cover lesson. static1.squarespace.com/static/67560f5…

🔄 In the next edition of ⚗️DistillED, I’m excited to share a guest post written by @teacherhead and @ValentinaDevid exploring formative action loops and how they help teachers move from simply gathering evidence of student learning to making purposeful instructional decisions. Coming this Friday — along with a FREE one-page guide. Subscribe so you don’t miss this special edition: newsletter.jamieleeclark.com In the meantime, if you’re keen to learn more about formative action, follow @toetsrevolutie and check out: formative-action.com

@MainHilarymain @adamboxer1 Right! Use is limited to simple expressions, but I still think it’s a good time-saving tool in exam situations. I always teach my students how to manipulate equations algebraically, but formula triangles provide a way to solve some problems more quickly.

@Learner_Profile @adamboxer1 V = U + at can't be done by formula triangles

I'm fine with government not requiring equation memorisation but I'd prefer it if they criminalised formula triangles Much bigger fish that needs frying

@engteacherabro2 Sounds like a very good idea💡

I need to pop out for lunch time coffee more often - 20 mins of peace and quiet admist the madness of the day as an educator 🤪