Improving teaching - a personal list

1. Space

Mental space. A gap in the timetable. An unexpected free period. A brief break in the never ending list of tasks. No big projects (reports, writing or marking exams).

2. Motivation

The constant niggling desire to Do Better. A chance email or remark. A problem to solve. A blog post.

3. Ideas

People. Pupils. Books. Internet. Past projects accidentally stumbled upon. Something entirely different which starts off a "What could be done with this?" train of thought.

4. Community

Staffroom chat. Post-INSET discussion. Teachers' discussion groups. Shared workspaces. Departmental meetings. Blog posts and comments.

5. Planning

What do I want to achieve? What causes people difficulty when they learn this topic? How could we get around that? Time to think about how I can make ideas work in my classroom. Hearing what other people have done in theirs.

6. Reflection & feedback

Did it work? Why or why not? Feedback from observers & pupils - direct or when assessing work.

7. Implementation (short & long term)

How will this change what I do? Is this (resource/idea/link) worth keeping? Does it need tweaking? Remember to use it. Keep examples. Make a note on the scheme of work. Why does it work? Looking back some time later: am I still using that? Why/why not? How has it affected my classroom?

I find the long term implementation hardest: in the headlong rush of a school term, looking back several weeks can seem an unnecessary extra. Something else to slot into the timetable for next year...