The scourge of curriculum: genericism’s destructive power
It is not difficult to find problems in contemporary education. Many of the problems are acute and obvious and, quite understandably, therefore attract a great deal of [...]
Articles by Michael Fordham
Why can’t undergraduate historians read and write?
Based on some of the feedback I’ve had on Twitter about this post, I want to preface it by saying that – despite the Clickbait title – this article is not a [...]
On Rousseau and ‘progressive education’
In a comment that has become popular in the current debates, E.D. Hirsch noted in Cultural Literacy that the two stand-out names in ‘progressive’ thought are Rousseau and [...]
The setting argument: a classic case of the poverty of genericism
During my summer holidays, I generally try to learn something new in a more structured way. For example, in the summer of 2016, I attended Cambridge University’s excellent [...]
The fundamental weakness of debate about generic pedagogy
Debates about pedagogy are particularly heated at the moment, and one does not need to look hard to find a point of view. Should children be taught via direct instruction? [...]
A general reading list for new (and not so new) history teachers
I have spent some time today putting together a list of books that I would recommend to people about to start training as history teachers. In particular, I wanted to [...]
Are there short-cuts to creating critical readers?
Daniel Willingham recently shared a piece of research by a group at Stanford led by Sam Wineburg. Wineburg’s work is well-known in the history education community, and has [...]
Have recent government reforms improved the lot of history in schools?
Around 2010, the history education community had a fairly cohesive view on what was wrong with history in schools. Pretty much everyone agreed that history did not get enough [...]
Are the Teachers’ Standards fit for purpose?
I must begin on a positive. The whole profession has been crying out for years that the training period teachers have is not sufficient – indeed, one of my very first blog [...]
Solving the history textbook conundrum: a five-point manifesto
There’s been a bit of chat recently on Twitter about the use of textbooks in lessons. In history, this is part of a wider debate that has been going on for some years. You [...]
Another poorly-conceived EEF study?
Today the EEF published a long-term study looking at the relationship between structured teacher observation and pupil outcomes at GCSE in maths and English. This interested [...]
The tyranny of command verbs
I have written before about why I find generic taxonomies of verbs so depressing. Not only are words such as ‘analyse’ or ‘describe’ vague, but they are also [...]
Substantive Concepts at KS2 & KS3
A while ago I ran a small online project to bring together a list of substantive concepts that we think children ought to learn in Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. Ashby and Lee [...]
Decoupling summative and formative assessment
The following post is my seminar notes from a session I ran with Christine Counsell on why ‘summative’ and ‘formative’ assessment need to be [...]
Resisting the pull of the generic: knowledge, specificity and teaching
This is a talk I gave to new trainees on the Future Academies SCITT in July 2017. It is a real pleasure to be invited to speak here today at Pimlico to a new cohort of [...]
Subject knowledge and mentoring: my talk at Teach First
I am delighted to be here this afternoon to talk to this audience. My talk this afternoon proceeds in three stages. The problem of generic approaches to teacher education, [...]
Knowledge as the currency of teaching
In my last post I argued that skill cannot be taught, by which I meant that skill cannot be taught directly. Instead, I argued that knowledge is what is taught, and that [...]
Clio et cetera 