Paul Kirschner, lead author of the research paper that has perhaps most influenced my thinking, is a bit of an educational hero. Imagine my nervousness when he came to see give a talk on ‘the trouble with transfer‘ at the researchED national conference a couple of years ago. There are few audience members likely to be more knowledgeable or more intolerant of guff. It came as a very welcome relief when he made a few complimentary comments afterwards. I’ve since met him on a number of occasions and have found him to be hugely insightful, incredibly generous and charmingly irascible. So, after speaking at the Making Shift Happen conference in Amsterdam, it felt like a real honour to be asked to write a post about my talk for Paul and Marjam Neelen’s fantastically erudite and useful blog, 3-Star Learning Experiences.

Thought Depends on Knowledge

Two children start school on the same day, mid-way through the academic year. Their new teacher knows nothing about their prior attainment so decides to give them a reading assessment to get a sense of their abilities…

Continue reading here.