On this day: words have precise meanings (or should have)

June 25, 2021

On 25 June 2020 I wrote about words and their connotations. That was in the middle of lockdown, and was prompted by a specific news story. But the general principle still applies.

I wrote:

“I noted in a couple of presentations and a book chapter how newspapers either misreport educational research or report it in such a way as to inadvertently give a misleading impression. Sometimes it’s the words used in the article, or simply the headline. ”

— Terry Freedman

Continue reading: Words Are Important Because They Have Connotations

Recent book reviews

Two reviews in one: Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals -- art and history

One for your colleagues, perhaps: art, art history, ploitics with a small ‘p’.

Two reviews in one: State of Ridicule: A History of Satire in English Literature -- politics, history, English

One for your colleagues, perhaps. Sperrin has provided a wealth of information that can be used to provide a rich experience for students of politics, history and English literature.

Two reviews in one: A Little History of Mathematics

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.

The Learning Rainforest Great Teaching in Real Classrooms Great Teaching in Real Classrooms.jpg

Review: The Learning Rainforest: Great Teaching in Real Classrooms

This is a great book for dipping into in order to read about different teaching and assessment strategies, backed up by research.

Outstanding Formative Assessment Culture and Practice.jpg

Review: Outstanding Formative Assessment: Culture and Practice

This book contains numerous assessment for learning techniques.

New Media in the Classroom Rethinking Primary Literacy.jpg

Review: New Media in the Classroom: Rethinking Primary Literacy

This provides a great deal of information about the different aspects of "literacy” and how digital tools can be brought into the service of literacy in the primary school.

Review: Designing the internet of things

This book takes you through the process of designing connected devices from prototyping to launching.

Quick look: (Un)educated: My Life as a Teacher, and Why You Should Never Become One

“Some of it is laugh-out loud funny, but some of it, about his reference being spiked, made me angry …”

A Heads-up: Hot Type: The Magnificent Machine that Gave Birth to Mass Media and Drove Mark Twain Mad

This is about the invention of linotype, and its consequences.

Are we in, or entering, a post-literate society?

I know that there are people who think that Tik-Tok videos and other (very) short-form content is a kind of literacy that’s on a par with reading, but I have my doubts.