Joel Kenyon @ Substack

Joel Kenyon @ Substack

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Pedagogy

Understanding: Science is Told, Not Found
In my time as a teacher, I have been repeatedly urged to adopt generic one size fits all methods which fundamentally collapse when applied to the rigour…
 • Joel Kenyon
Hinterland: Teaching Beyond the Curriculum
Science is more than bunch of dry facts. Using Hinterland can help us to develop understanding, create conversations and build science as a world of…
 • Joel Kenyon
Stand Still, Narrate and Stop: Small Classroom Changes with Big Impacts
Forget the lentils and stopwatches. From frontloading to the power of 'we,' here are some tiny, intentional changes that can transform classroom…
 • Joel Kenyon
Battleships, Blind Spots and Bandwagons: Educational Fallacies
An exploration of how logical fallacies like sunk costs and tradition shape our schools, plus practical ways to outsmart these biases for better…
 • Joel Kenyon
Death to the Spreadsheet: Why I Finally Ditched QLA
Question Level Analysis (QLA) is a staple in many schools. It is designed to turn exam results into a roadmap for student progress. But does it actually…
 • Joel Kenyon
The 60-Minute Mental Marathon: What Teachers Have to Juggle
Protecting teacher cognitive load through time-neutrality: why we must prioritise high-quality teaching over performative tasks and administrative…
 • Joel Kenyon
Poor Behaviour: An Argument for the Other 29
Conversations surrounding behaviour are, sometimes rightly, focus on those students who display poor behaviour. However, the conversation doesn't often…
 • Joel Kenyon
Chasing Perfection: Why I Have a Vision of My Perfect Lesson
Defining what "perfect" looks like in my classroom, and how that vision helps me diagnose exactly where a lesson misses the mark.
 • Joel Kenyon
The Attainment/Mixed Setting Paradox: Why Is Popular Practice So Unpopular in Research?
The longstanding debate on student grouping has seen a shift in my department from mixed-attainment to attainment setting. While research suggests…
 • Joel Kenyon
Less Managing, More Teaching: The Case for Whole School Routines
By centralising routines, schools reduce the stressful cognitive load on pupils and teachers, fostering a consistent, team-oriented environment where…
 • Joel Kenyon
The Importance of Subject Knowledge: What Teaching Electrolysis Taught Me
Why is deep subject knowledge so critical for effective teaching? My 'electrolysis moment' taught me it’s the foundation of all pedagogy. This post…
 • Joel Kenyon
More Testing ≠ The Testing Effect: What is the Testing Effect?
The Testing Effect enhances long-term retention through retrieval practice, not frequent testing. Completing more tests doesn't mean you'll get the…
 • Joel Kenyon
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