My Education Exchange | Mark Thompson | Activity

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Getting Students to Think Before They Ask for Help" -

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 20:39:54 +0000

We’ve had reasonable success with a very simple rule: “Show me what you’ve tried.” If a pupil comes over without anything on the page, the first response is usually just that question. It took a while to establish, but pupils… Read more»

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Getting Students to Think Before They Ask for Help" -

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 20:38:45 +0000

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Making Research Evidence Useful for Busy Teachers" -

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 20:23:53 +0000

I agree with Emily. We’ve also found that staff are much more interested when there’s a fairly immediate opportunity to try something. One of our recent CPD sessions looked at retrieval practice. Rather than spending most of the session explaining… Read more»

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Making Research Evidence Useful for Busy Teachers" -

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 20:23:29 +0000

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Making Research Evidence Useful for Busy Teachers" -

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 20:23:25 +0000

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Feedback That Improves Learning Without Increasing Workload" -

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 21:10:20 +0000

We’ve moved quite heavily towards whole-class feedback in Maths. After an assessment, we identify the three or four most significant misconceptions rather than writing individual comments on every question. We then build a short retrieval or correction activity around those… Read more»

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Feedback That Improves Learning Without Increasing Workload" -

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 21:09:59 +0000

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Reducing Cognitive Load" -

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 10:09:02 +0000

We’ve had a similar discussion in Maths. One thing we’re trying is to make the worked example progressively less complete. The teacher models the first example, the second has some missing steps, and pupils eventually have to decide the method… Read more»

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Reducing Cognitive Load" -

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 10:08:51 +0000

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Reducing Cognitive Load" -

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 10:08:50 +0000

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Reducing Cognitive Load" -

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 10:08:46 +0000

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Strengthening STEM Progression Across KS3" -

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:54:52 +0000

The mathematical modelling point is particularly relevant from our side. We’re finding that pupils can perform the mathematical process when it’s explicitly taught in Maths, but don’t always recognise when the same mathematics is useful in another subject. I’d be… Read more»

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Making Practical Science More Accessible Without Reducing Challenge" -

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:44:22 +0000

We’ve had a similar issue in Maths with multi-step problem-solving. Sometimes the barrier isn’t the mathematics — it’s the amount of information pupils have to hold in working memory. The approach you’re describing sounds transferable beyond Science.

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Making Practical Science More Accessible Without Reducing Challenge" -

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:43:38 +0000

Mark Thompson liked forum post "KS3 Curriculum Sequencing – What Are We Prioritising?" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:21:52 +0000

Mark Thompson liked forum post "KS3 Curriculum Sequencing – What Are We Prioritising?" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:21:48 +0000

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "KS3 Curriculum Sequencing – What Are We Prioritising?" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:21:35 +0000

@sarah-lin I like that question, Sarah. We’ve tended to ask what pupils need to know by the end of the unit, but the six-month test probably gives us a better indication of whether the sequencing is actually working. I’ll add… Read more»

Mark Thompson posted a new topic "KS3 Curriculum Sequencing – What Are We Prioritising?" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:17:02 +0000

Colleagues, As part of our curriculum review, I’d like to compare how we’re sequencing some of the key mathematical concepts through Years 7–9. One area we’ve been reviewing is the progression from procedural fluency towards more flexible application. In particular,… Read more»

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Improving GCSE Problem-Solving Performance" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:12:00 +0000

@emily-clarke The point about language is interesting. We’re seeing something similar in English when pupils struggle to explain their reasoning even though they understand the underlying idea. I’d be interested in whether Maths has identified particular vocabulary that pupils consistently… Read more»

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Improving GCSE Problem-Solving Performance" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:10:40 +0000

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Improving GCSE Problem-Solving Performance" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:10:38 +0000

Mark Thompson posted a new topic "Improving GCSE Problem-Solving Performance" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:03:32 +0000

Colleagues, I’d like to start a discussion around GCSE problem-solving performance across the Trust. Our recent assessment review suggests that pupils are generally secure with procedural knowledge, but performance becomes less consistent when questions require them to select and apply… Read more»

Mark Thompson replied to the topic "Operational Planning – Next Term" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:58:52 +0000

Earlier data capture is manageable provided marking deadlines are not compressed simultaneously.

Mark Thompson liked forum post "Operational Planning – Next Term" -

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:58:41 +0000

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Wed, 26 Aug 2026 21:28:45 +0000