Always learning

I have always been interested in how children learn. I have researched, in depth, all the various forms of pedagogy throughout the ages in order to identify the most successful practices, to ascertain traits that can be identified and fully explored and utilised in the future. A child starting in a Reception class now will enter a world of work yet to be invented. The jobs many of our pupils will be doing simply do not exist yet. It is this notion that has inspired me to research for and write a book on the future of education. I have completed a first draft but I have been distracted recently by the start of a second one. This one is a culmination of everything I have learned in the classroom. All my best lessons, tips and tricks across the years.

As Mathematics governor I find myself drawn to new and innovative approaches to learning within this subject. However, whatever I read on the subject is never as powerful as seeing a teacher teach a component of this in a new way. I have been fortunate to have visited schools all over the country and in many other countries too, always on the lookout for new ideas. I will never forget the sheer joy of a group of teachers in India who asked if I could demonstrate a simple way to explain the concept of doubling numbers. I removed a small bathroom mirror, placed some counters on the classroom table, placed the mirror next to them and asked them to tell me how many they could now see.