Alex Powley

Meta brought AI to rural Colombia. Now students are failing exams When Meta embedded AI bots in its apps, even students in the most remote corners of Colombia gained access. But rather than boosting learning, it’s getting in the way.

the enshittification of education is underway

restofworld.org/2025/colombi...

The Learning Brief: Research Worth Knowing - July 2025 A monthly roundup of new research on the science of learning for educators

12 New research papers worth knowing
Subscribe for future updates ➡️ carlhendrick.substack.com/p/the-learni...

DfE cuts admission appeals funding for academies Academies fighting more than 20 admission appeals will no longer be able to claim towards the costs

Sorry what? LAs will be able to encourage unlimited families to appeal against unsuccessful academy admissions (managed by the LA). Appeals panels volunteers. The academy will have to pay the LA £200 for every single one.

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

In one of my smaller schools this is £10k.

High-quality teaching is for everyone. But what does it look like in the context of SEND?

This guide provides questions teachers can use to shape collaborative conversations about teaching of learners with SEND, and signposts resources within the GTT.

Download here buff.ly/MhyuMWV

#EduSky

Saw a 'back to school' Tesco ad on the way home this evening. Can we not?

Looking at this it seems possible that the “they all forget everything over the summer holidays” mantra is a myth. Fact is, they struggle to learn anything in the second half of the summer term.

Prior knowledge activation as preparation prior to instruction: does the coverage of relevant prior knowledge affect learning? - Instructional Science Two-phase instructional designs such as Productive and Vicarious Failure employ preparatory activities before explicit instruction. It is assumed that during this preparatory activity, students need t...

Partial prior knowledge activation before instruction can be as effective as complete activation.
V interesting in light of Rosenshine & activating prior knowledge. It seems you can overdo this. The general theory here seems to be; less pressure, same results. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Debunking edu-myths: ‘Emergent writing’ isn’t necessary before teaching children to write “Emergent writing is not a necessary stage that children have to go through before they can be taught to write letters and words.” This statement is often presented as a bold truth – one that…

Debunking edu-myths: ‘Emergent writing’ isn’t necessary before teaching children to write

writing4pleasure.com/2025/07/11/d...

National Curriculum for Y3/4 English: "Pupils should be taught to use the first 2 or 3 letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary"

New DfE Writing Framework: "Pupils should not be asked to correct the spelling themselves by looking it up in a
dictionary"

bender from futurama is holding a purple camera and says neat ALT: bender from futurama is holding a purple camera and says neat

The moment an interesting presentation slide appears at #educationfest

It's that time of the year again #educationfest

AntennaPod is a great app for podcasts if you're looking to change platforms.

Cueing attention in time… AKA the three benefits of a good check for understanding. This piece follows on from my last blog post: ‘Managing attention in classrooms is a social justice issue’ Lots of people have written great pieces about checking for understanding (CFU) in the cla…

📣NEW BLOG📣

Cueing attention in time… AKA the three benefits of a good check for understanding.

hobbolog.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/c...

Using AI in education settings: support materials Support materials to help schools and colleges use AI (artificial intelligence) safely and effectively.

Using AI in education settings: support materials:
In case you missed it, newly published support materials from the Department for Education to help schools and colleges use AI safely and effectively:
www.gov.uk/government/c...

High hopes for Estonia #eurovision

🤯

The 2.8% isn’t fully funded and based on this assumption many schools and Trusts are facing the prospect of having to lower staffing numbers.
4% without additional funds will be an unmitigated disaster

If you Haven't Checked out my Podcast yet, I've had some Cracking Guests!!

Spotify - shorturl.at/EGQq1
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My Website - shorturl.at/Qcb5i

In education governance, more data doesn't always mean better decisions. Governors need clarity, not complexity. In a new article, @jpembroke.bsky.social suggests that we need to shift the focus: from data deluge to meaningful dialogue. Read 'What Data do Governors Need?' here: buff.ly/TW6OqJa

A practical, focused checklist from @mrarobbins.bsky.social on designing CPD that sticks. The emphasis on clarity, reflection, and follow-up is useful. What would you add or leave out?

Getting every kid reading in primary school is one of the most important things that teachers and leaders can do.

So @emmaturner75.bsky.social and I spoke to @suchmo83.bsky.social for @mindthegappodcast.bsky.social to get the lowdown on fluency, myths and a whole lot more.

youtu.be/DyrGjl-U2Xc?...

Totally - dependence on slides can limit flexibility, and that’s a real issue. But I think that’s where the original post risks overcorrecting: the issue isn’t using PowerPoint, it’s when its use isn’t aligned with curriculum thinking or well-designed lesson structures.

That’s a fair point—but I’m not sure the digital tools in question are a fad. If anything, they’ve become the default. The risk now is overcorrecting—framing analogue as inherently better, rather than looking at how both can support adaptive, responsive teaching.

Lots to agree with here—but I worry it risks framing digital as inherently poor practice. I've seen responsive, adaptive teaching with slides too. The issue isn't the tool, it's how it's used—and whether teachers have the time and freedom to use it well.

Worked examples help beginners. Problem-solving helps experts. But mixing correct and incorrect steps? The evidence is less clear.
Incorrect examples may not always help—especially if students lack the prior knowledge to recognise and correct the mistake.
www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15...

Visualising The Science Of Writing: The Writing Map Explained Because of formatting, we can recommend downloading the PDF version of this article: download this article This is a writing map we have started using in our professional development. We tried to c…

Visualising The Science Of Writing: The Writing Map Explained

writing4pleasure.com/2025/02/27/v...

🧵1/ Want to deepen your understanding of how children develop as writers?

We’ve created a comprehensive Writing Map that visualises the science behind writing development….

Yes to all of this. I think the challenge is weighting the evidence well. Children’s lived experience is vital—but so is noticing where adult narratives (staff, governors, parents etc) drift from what the system actually produces. That’s where things can get interesting.

I remember this too...such a ghoul.

🚨NEW: There has been a big spike in schools using funding for disadvantaged pupils to plug budget holes.

Our new research reveals that more cash-strapped schools are cutting back on staff, trips and equipment than in 2024⤵️ 🧵

Our Senior Learning and Innovation Lead Kathleen McBride continues her incredible work exploring how to support vocabulary development at the primary to secondary transition👇

voice21.org/oracy-vocabu...