Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Peps @pepsmccrea.bsky.social · 3d

Tailor to lesson content, not student preferences.

An alternative to the learning styles myth:

↓

Stuart Farmer @stuartphysics.bsky.social · 4d

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.

David Didau @didau.bsky.social · 4d

NEW: When Sweden scrapped national testing, grades went up but learning went down.
Statutory assessment is how a system keeps itself honest.
Light-touch, high-trust, curriculum-aligned. Tim Oates and intelligent accountability, explained.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Balancing accountability & trust: five principles for effective statutory assessment

Tim Oates argues that national tests should be light-touch, high-trust, and curriculum-aligned in order to keep standards visible without distorting what is taught

open.substack.com

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Christopher Such @suchmo83.bsky.social · 10d

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.

>>

1 1 2

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Christopher Such @suchmo83.bsky.social · 10d

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!

>>

1 1 3

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Christopher Such @suchmo83.bsky.social · 10d

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.

>>

Tes magazine @tesmagazine.bsky.social · 11d

An expert shares five reading fluency strategies to support children to become better readers

Reading fluency: why it matters and how to teach it

A focus on reading fluency can help to bridge the gap between decoding and comprehension, says Penny Slater, who shares strategies for supporting children to become fluent readers

www.tes.com

1 6 9

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Jill Berry @jillberry102.bsky.social · 10d

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

How do they do it?

What can we learn from amazing schools, leaders and teachers?

www.crownhouse.co.uk

4 6

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Paul Cochrane @mrdissent.bsky.social · 17d

cochrane1964.wixsite.com/website/post...

Wee micro blog on Scottish Education

Leo Couldn't Play Guitar!

A very short and gentle article on Scottish Education. Leo Fender in his youth, was fascinated by the advent of radio. Strangely enough, another hero of mine had much the same upbringing - Richard Fe...

cochrane1964.wixsite.com

1 4

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Paul Kirschner @paulkirschner.bsky.social · 19d

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

3 15

Stuart Farmer @stuartphysics.bsky.social · 21d

Loved the ‘full Cinderella across the King’s garden’. Summed it up perfectly.

7

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Carl Hendrick @carlhendrick.substack.com · 27d

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?"

8 10 71

Stuart Farmer @stuartphysics.bsky.social · 28d

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.

1

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Sally Watson @parkrunsally.bsky.social · Sep 6

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

Four pics: the welcome sign to the park, Haste Ye Back, a Titanic themed totem with parkrun volunteers, and decorated concrete hippos.

A view from high up looking down towards the start area and into the park with trees and a big hill in the distance.

1 7

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

ImpactWales @impactwales.bsky.social · Sep 6

🎙️ 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...

1 1

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Institute of Physics @instituteofphysics.bsky.social · Sep 2

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

The physics teacher shortage and addressing it through the 3Rs: Retention, Recruitment and Retraining (England)

A plan to recruit more specialist physics teachers.

iop.org

2 2

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Institute of Physics @instituteofphysics.bsky.social · Sep 2

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.

Image of panel discussion with panel members (L-R) moderator Dr Judith Hillier, Jack Worth, Rachel Cave and Hari Rentala.

Image of attendees at the 3Rs report launch during the table discussions.

IOP's Senior Advisor Charles Tracy sharing the key findings from the 3Rs report.

Opening address from IOP chief executive Tom Grinyer.

1 4 3

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 2

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

Institute of Physics says ‘critical’ shortage means 700,000 pupils are deprived of a subject specialist A quarter of state secondary schools in England will start the new term with no dedicated physics teacher, with schools in poorer areas worst affected, analysis has found. The lack of specialists means more than half (58%) of pupils studying for a science GCSE will have the physics component taught by a teacher who has not studied a physics-related subject beyond the age of 18. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

11 31 79

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Alex Weatherall @aweatherall.bsky.social · Sep 1

Get them apples while this deal is on. Cheap at twice the price.

Great book. Buy it.

Alom Shaha @alomshaha.bsky.social · Sep 1

My publisher is celebrating going back to school by offering “Why Don’t Things Fall Up?” for just 99p on Kindle. It’s perfect for you if you want to freshen up your knowledge of the science you should have learned at school. Also for students who want to deepen what they’re being taught for GCSE

Why Don't Things Fall Up?: Seven fundamental science questions explored and explained eBook : Shaha, Alom: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

www.amazon.co.uk

1 3 4

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo.bsky.social · Aug 27

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.

3 7

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Edinburgh Napier University - Teacher Education @enuteachered.bsky.social · Aug 25

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)

Curious Teacher Conference 2025

Curious about improving your pedagogy? Curious about aspects of inclusion? Curious about thriving in teaching? We have the conference for you!

sway.cloud.microsoft

7 4

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Kris Boulton @krisboulton.bsky.social · Aug 25

New Article

Factual Atomisation (Teaching Facts)

How to atomise facts and 'just tell them' without resulting in rote knowledge

open.substack.com

2 2

Stuart Farmer @stuartphysics.bsky.social · Aug 17

Crowd clearly down on TV. Grandstand under the bull not being used, few on grass banks and grandstands along the top of circuit. Gives the half empty feeling you get at Silverstone.

1

Stuart Farmer @stuartphysics.bsky.social · Aug 17

I am sure the rider behind will be thinking that this is because his ambition outweighs his talent 🤣

1 2

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Dr Dan Jones @hookean.bsky.social · Aug 9

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...

Physics PGCE Useful Links.docx

Physics PGCE Useful Links [If viewing in Word Online, use the to switch to for the best experience] Contents Resources sorted by topic Learning resources General collections of resources Simulati...

docs.google.com

2 9 10

Stuart Farmer @stuartphysics.bsky.social · Aug 8

I think he answered that pretty conclusively from the roof the other day

1

Reposted by Stuart Farmer

Institute of Physics @instituteofphysics.bsky.social · Aug 5

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...

2 3