This course looks into the research behind why reading matters to all students, from EYFS to sixth form, and explores how we can ensure that we are all teachers of reading, regardless of our phase or discipline. You will look at practical strategies to support students in reading during lessons, as well as finding out ways to make complex reading more accessible to your lower ability readers. There will be subject-specific examples in the sessions, and takeaway tasks for you to use practical in your own lessons. 

Find pre-reading and slides from the sessions so far here: The Principles of Reading

Overview of the course

Supporting our students to think more and think and work harder is a common goal for all educators. Through fostering a culture of high expectations, hard work and no opt out, we can support our young learners in building their academic skills from Early Years to Sixth Form and beyond. This session builds on last years ‘Thinking Hard and Working Hard’ course, continuing to explore the range of strategies available to us as educational professionals in supporting every one of our students to be aspirational in their approach to their learning

This course covers the research behind, and strategies for, getting each and every one of our students thinking harder and working harder than ever before. Cognitive science forms the bedrock of this session, where you will look at how memory works, the complex differences between long-term and short-term memory, and leave each session with easy-to-implement takeaway strategies to use with your own classes. Independence and resilience are also key in these sessions, and you will look at the most effective ways to upskill your students, giving them resilience to face the pressures of the modern-day world of education.

Find pre-reading and slides from the sessions here: Thinking and Working Harder

Overview of the course

Ensuring that every student in our academies is able to succeed and make excellent progress is a core aim of everyone who works at KGA. The aim of the inclusive classroom is to ensure that inclusive quality first education is what every single one of our KGA students experiences. Through expert scaffolding, modelling and other teaching techniques, we can ensure that no student is left behind in their learning, and that all have the building blocks to succeed. All students have the opportunity to reach, if not exceed, their full potential.

This course covers the research into different ways of supporting all our students, including a focus on SEND students and the more able. You will explore techniques such as the different ways to scaffold, how to know when to start removing the scaffold, and the different ways that modelling and metacognition work together to effectively explain the learning process to students.

Find pre-reading and slides from the sessions so far here: Creating an Inclusive Classroom