tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13473950303603606582024-03-18T02:48:15.060-07:00The Emaths BlogMark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-67489418540751846312023-07-22T00:22:00.001-07:002023-07-22T00:22:21.978-07:00Formative assessment does not improve learningEducation in the UK is susceptible to passing fads and fashions, which often results in a knee-jerk reaction from those headteachers who fall into the trap of believing it is important to have in place every new shiny bell and whistle before an inspector rocks up at the gates. The truth of managing a school well is quite different; it is not the job of a headteacher to impose a never-ending Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-32727265620489953452023-07-18T08:02:00.005-07:002023-07-24T13:55:34.289-07:00DifferentiationDuring a recent visit to a school, a head of mathematics explained the school's vision of differentiation as simply pupils ending up with different outcomes - some pupils, for example, would complete the red exercise of problems, some the amber, some the green. The problems in one set were, in the classrooms visited, unrelated to the problems in another. I asked the HoD, 'so, Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-65151143381867956622022-02-20T10:45:00.025-08:002022-02-22T03:11:07.410-08:00Limitless - Part 2Stages of Learning In Part 1 of this blog, I set out an argument that not all stages of learning are the same and that these different stages have different characteristics. It is by understanding this and understanding the specific requirements placed on teachers at each stage that enables us to work with pupils in such a way that every single pupil is able to learn well and attain Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-36620594770257297312022-02-06T08:25:00.028-08:002022-12-17T15:00:58.440-08:00Limitless - Part 1False edictsTime and time again, it has been shown that all pupils, regardless of wealth, sex or ethnicity, can learn well. For thousands of years, it has been understood by the great commentators on teaching and pupillage that all human beings can learn well. With expert teaching combined with serious application and effort from the pupil over the necessary and appropriate amount of time for Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-54878985683735129392022-01-23T03:33:00.004-08:002022-12-14T03:04:37.955-08:00About TimeA short post about time and mastery.All human beings can learn well. But all human beings learn from different models, metaphors, examples and instruction. And, crucially, all human beings learn at different rates.In a mastery approach, time is the key variable.Time is used in many different ways in schools. Cotton's Educational Time Factors provides a useful summary:ALLOCATED TIME is the amount Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-8005971783224343082020-10-18T09:59:00.014-07:002020-10-19T16:59:20.625-07:00Don't pack sausagesI spent nearly all of my teaching career seeking out and working in schools in economically deprived communities – what used to be euphemistically referred to as ‘schools facing challenging circumstances’. These are my favourite types of schools and favourite types of communities.A couple of decades ago, I taught in a school in a small, working-class town where the main employer was the Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-48515697002930968452020-09-14T12:58:00.041-07:002022-12-13T10:54:24.864-08:00What is an education for?The state broadcaster in the UK, the BBC, has lately been campaigning to have additional public funding appropriated for the further expansion of its child targeted television channel under the guise of education output. The BBC has long since created television shows for children, many of which have been given the education badge and many of which have endured for decades. They are Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-45306957118198976732020-07-27T07:04:00.009-07:002020-07-27T08:15:16.045-07:00Models, Metaphors, Examples and InstructionMany people have asked me over the years why I so often use the phrase ‘models, metaphors, examples and instruction’ when talking about mastery approaches to teaching. This short blog is a high-level response to that question. Within every mathematical idea, problem or situation lies technical detail. This technical detail is key to allowing anyone learning mathematics to Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-72283569293331329342019-06-16T00:09:00.001-07:002019-06-16T00:09:57.161-07:00LEJOG
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Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-78425577914638444762018-08-18T06:00:00.002-07:002021-11-22T01:48:20.172-08:00Teaching for Mastery, Part 3<!--[if !mso]>
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Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-57131507091200617292018-03-11T10:30:00.004-07:002018-03-11T16:13:28.154-07:00MathsConf14
Yesterday, 400 maths teachers from across the UK descended
upon Kettering in Northamptonshire for #MathsConf14.
The day follows months of planning and organisation by my
fantastic team at La Salle, with a flowchart of logistical issues to address as
long as my arm. The team tirelessly put
together an event of the highest standards – and they do this four times per
year!
When I Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-32661847602856891022018-01-19T02:24:00.003-08:002022-05-11T04:27:51.902-07:00Some Thoughts on Mixed Ability vs SettingIn the last week alone, I have heard an Ofsted inspector call for maths teachers to move to mixed ability teaching and an apparent ‘official’ government body insist that all pupils within a year group should always be learning the same mathematical concepts.
This has been pretty much a weekly occurrence now for the last year or so.The explanation must be, of course, the striking new evidence Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-18834322217168908972017-12-31T08:31:00.001-08:002018-01-01T11:09:49.993-08:00Thought Provoking Mathematics Educators
I have been in this game a while now. I have the great privilege of working with
mathematics educators around the world and visiting schools of all types. Invariably, whenever I meet a maths teacher or
teacher educator, I learn something new about mathematics teaching. I love this.
I am a bit of a knowledge junkie – I am absolutely addicted to learning. I also love Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-45500340595901359252017-12-29T13:52:00.004-08:002018-05-11T10:20:51.314-07:00A Brief History of Mathematics Education in England
Introduction
The story of the history of mathematics education in England
is also the story of a country moving from a largely laissez-faire position to
a dictatorial one. Since the 1858 Newcastle
report, mathematics education has changed from a system of great diversity to a
highly uniform system controlled from the centre. It is also the story of a battle: a long and
far Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-79560091201115433892017-09-22T10:47:00.001-07:002017-10-29T14:24:16.128-07:00Beluga
In January 2011, I left my director role at Tribal Group and
retired. For whatever reasons – more
luck than judgement – I found myself at a time and place in my life with no
need to make any more money. Since being
diagnosed with cancer in 2006, my other half had continually badgered me to
give up work. We had the means to do
whatever we wanted. Daily I would be
told thatMark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-15275027766029915092017-03-30T12:42:00.003-07:002021-09-23T12:22:29.989-07:00Daniel
My office
is just off Old Street Station. The area
throngs with Shoreditch hipsters and naïve privileged kids using daddy’s money
to fund yet another start up. Their
lives look like magazine covers and their worries sum to getting their hair to
stick just right or finding someone selling truly authentic, ethical coffee. Life is good, life is easy, life is superficial,
life is Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-46012116284466025042017-02-21T14:40:00.001-08:002017-02-21T15:28:15.992-08:00Solving the Teacher Shortage Crisis
The
Education Select Committee today was the latest body to highlight the issue of
teacher workforce numbers. All
headteachers know the difficulties in trying to maintain a full staffing complement
and we all know the impact on student performance when staffing shortages
occur. So, ensuring that there are
enough teachers in the system is extremely important.
A dozen
thoughts on Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-78185677732604297462017-02-04T04:17:00.003-08:002017-02-04T04:20:36.512-08:00On Leaving Teaching
(This was written in 2011 as the introduction chapter to my book, More On Being a Teacher)
It was March 6th 2006 when I died.Mat was a wonderful student and now that he was in his final year, he had become almost a part of the staff on our regular walking trips.A late blast of winter fell on the Peak District National Park with a sudden and complete freeze. The low afternoon sun danced on Mark McCourthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15119349560555964452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347395030360360658.post-22544160232055306742016-10-21T07:01:00.003-07:002021-11-22T01:02:32.051-08:00Teaching for Mastery, Part 2<!--[if !mso]>
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