Mark Goodrich
@markgoodrich.bsky.social
Was a lawyer, now a primary teacher. Interested in politics, chess, citizenship and education especially reading and maths. Has lived in 🇯🇵🇰🇷and now in 🇱🇦. https://open.substack.com/pub/markgoodrich
Pinned
Why ‘word consciousness’ matters
We can learn language in small increments - word for word and phrase by phrase, making connections for a deeper understanding of rich language patterns. Teachers experienced in communicating the langu...
alexquigley.co.uk
Hi #EduSky. My #Saturday3 comes from the airport this week as I wait for a flight. First, it’s @alexjquigley.bsky.social on word consciousness to help with the fact that we can’t explicitly teach kids all the vocabulary they need.
alexquigley.co.uk/why-word-con...
alexquigley.co.uk/why-word-con...
Hi #EduSky. My #Saturday3 comes from the airport this week as I wait for a flight. First, it’s @alexjquigley.bsky.social on word consciousness to help with the fact that we can’t explicitly teach kids all the vocabulary they need.
alexquigley.co.uk/why-word-con...
alexquigley.co.uk/why-word-con...
Why ‘word consciousness’ matters
We can learn language in small increments - word for word and phrase by phrase, making connections for a deeper understanding of rich language patterns. Teachers experienced in communicating the langu...
alexquigley.co.uk
February 14, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Hi #EduSky. My #Saturday3 comes from the airport this week as I wait for a flight. First, it’s @alexjquigley.bsky.social on word consciousness to help with the fact that we can’t explicitly teach kids all the vocabulary they need.
alexquigley.co.uk/why-word-con...
alexquigley.co.uk/why-word-con...
Ireland really cleaned up there but a bit sorry for Tucker stuck on 94 not out!
February 14, 2026 at 7:11 AM
Ireland really cleaned up there but a bit sorry for Tucker stuck on 94 not out!
I can only read the synopsis but it’s good to have my feeling that Bluesky is now the home of academics backed up by some evidence!
Please enjoy our research paper on how Bluesky is the preferred home of academics of all stripes, including professors of rare moths. (Yes, we actually have lots of entomologists here).
academic.oup.com/icb/article-... 🧪
academic.oup.com/icb/article-... 🧪
February 14, 2026 at 3:20 AM
I can only read the synopsis but it’s good to have my feeling that Bluesky is now the home of academics backed up by some evidence!
Not only is this a very mealy-mouthed apology but he has also not apologised at all for the completely wrong figures that he just spouted out.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Ratcliffe says sorry his language 'offended some people' after criticism of immigration comments - live updates
The Man Utd co-owner said on Wednesday that the UK had been
www.bbc.co.uk
February 12, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Not only is this a very mealy-mouthed apology but he has also not apologised at all for the completely wrong figures that he just spouted out.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Following on from the caffeine can reduce dementia story of a couple of days ago, it’s really been a good news week for me!
February 12, 2026 at 8:43 AM
Following on from the caffeine can reduce dementia story of a couple of days ago, it’s really been a good news week for me!
I correctly predicted which way round this disparity would be….
Exclusive: Ofsted is being urged to review how its inspections are graded after analysis of the new report cards revealed major disparities in outcomes between primary and secondary schools
Ofsted ‘needs to urgently review’ inspections over grade disparity
Headteachers’ union experts raise concern about difference between primary and secondary ratings and watchdog’s approach to grading achievement
www.tes.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:45 PM
I correctly predicted which way round this disparity would be….
Reposted by Mark Goodrich
Calling all science followers and educators, #eduphysics #eduscience I am looking for book titles for a 11y old who is dead keen on science to read before she joins secondary school in September, thanks everyone, PS please share even if you are not sure yourselves
February 10, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Calling all science followers and educators, #eduphysics #eduscience I am looking for book titles for a 11y old who is dead keen on science to read before she joins secondary school in September, thanks everyone, PS please share even if you are not sure yourselves
This might be the best news I have seen in ages! I hope it still holds if you drink 2-3 cups of coffee *and* 1-2 cups of tea…
“People who drank [2 to 3 cups of coffee or 1 to 2 cups of tea daily] for decades had lower chances of developing dementia than people who drank little or no caffeine, the researchers reported.
They followed 131,821 participants for up to 43 years.”🧪🛟
They followed 131,821 participants for up to 43 years.”🧪🛟
February 10, 2026 at 3:27 AM
This might be the best news I have seen in ages! I hope it still holds if you drink 2-3 cups of coffee *and* 1-2 cups of tea…
This is a crazy bit of fun and I say that not only because I am in it. There are more UK teachers and education people than I realised forming a nice cluster on the edge of the galaxy!
I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself!
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
bluesky-map.theo.io
I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
Bluesky Map
Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.
bluesky-map.theo.io
February 9, 2026 at 9:10 AM
This is a crazy bit of fun and I say that not only because I am in it. There are more UK teachers and education people than I realised forming a nice cluster on the edge of the galaxy!
I am a bit late to reading this and very much enjoyed it from a human interest point of view. However, I also thought it was great on how to use AI effectively when studying something on your own. Recommended for law students of any age!
Simply because it was cheap, I did a conversion Law Degree last year.
Have written here about what it was like, how AI did and didn’t help, and why the experience felt like playing 1990s football manager games.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/doing-...
Have written here about what it was like, how AI did and didn’t help, and why the experience felt like playing 1990s football manager games.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/doing-...
Doing A Law Degree at 42 (and with AI)
I’ve always found the law terrifying. Boring.
www.linkedin.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:59 PM
I am a bit late to reading this and very much enjoyed it from a human interest point of view. However, I also thought it was great on how to use AI effectively when studying something on your own. Recommended for law students of any age!
Hi #EduSky - it's time for my #Saturday3 and no real theme this week other than they are all about the nitty-gritty of the classroom. The first one is a short read from the @teachlikeachamp.bsky.social team on how teaching vocab needs to be explicit and implicit.
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
Vocabulary as Knowledge: Explicit, Implicit, and Durable
Hi Champions,
substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Hi #EduSky - it's time for my #Saturday3 and no real theme this week other than they are all about the nitty-gritty of the classroom. The first one is a short read from the @teachlikeachamp.bsky.social team on how teaching vocab needs to be explicit and implicit.
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
Breaking News! @suchmo83.bsky.social now has a Substack. A great start as you would expect and I hope that we might see him on here a bit more.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
The Most Common Reason Why Children Don’t Become Fluent Readers… And What We Can Do About It
There are myriad reasons why a child might struggle to become a fluent reader: they might have extreme difficulties in learning to decode words relating to phonological issues, working memory or other...
substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Breaking News! @suchmo83.bsky.social now has a Substack. A great start as you would expect and I hope that we might see him on here a bit more.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Mark Goodrich
As grown-ups we can often fall into the trap of leaning towards serious or ‘issue heavy’ kid’s books, forgetting that kids also need and deserve books that just bring joy.
So for #KidsBooksFriday this week, what are your top fun / silly / joyful book recommendations?
#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit
So for #KidsBooksFriday this week, what are your top fun / silly / joyful book recommendations?
#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit
February 6, 2026 at 7:43 AM
As grown-ups we can often fall into the trap of leaning towards serious or ‘issue heavy’ kid’s books, forgetting that kids also need and deserve books that just bring joy.
So for #KidsBooksFriday this week, what are your top fun / silly / joyful book recommendations?
#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit
So for #KidsBooksFriday this week, what are your top fun / silly / joyful book recommendations?
#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit
Reposted by Mark Goodrich
Share your love of reading this year. To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we've teamed up with children's reading charity @corambeanstalk.bsky.social. We want to help them recruit 250 extra volunteers to provide one-to-one reading support in primary schools.
February 5, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Share your love of reading this year. To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we've teamed up with children's reading charity @corambeanstalk.bsky.social. We want to help them recruit 250 extra volunteers to provide one-to-one reading support in primary schools.
Add this from @karenvaites.bsky.social to the pile of “don’t use LLMs to accurately answer difficult questions” research. Interesting topic although not something which has affected us in the same way in the UK.
open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...
open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...
Misconceptions about phonemic awareness are everywhere—including ChatGPT
There's no evidence for oral-only phonemic awareness instruction. Time to tell the LLMs.
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Add this from @karenvaites.bsky.social to the pile of “don’t use LLMs to accurately answer difficult questions” research. Interesting topic although not something which has affected us in the same way in the UK.
open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...
open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...
It’s one of those nights in Asia when I go to bed thinking that the whole political picture may look dramatically different in the morning.
February 4, 2026 at 2:54 PM
It’s one of those nights in Asia when I go to bed thinking that the whole political picture may look dramatically different in the morning.
I was really enjoying this fun primary-focused A-Z leadership blog by the @theeducakers.bsky.social until I got to X…. I think you can guess why my mood changed. 🤦♂️
open.substack.com/pub/theeduca...
open.substack.com/pub/theeduca...
An A–Z of School Leadership: Not THE way, just our way.
Built slowly. Lived daily.
open.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:59 AM
I was really enjoying this fun primary-focused A-Z leadership blog by the @theeducakers.bsky.social until I got to X…. I think you can guess why my mood changed. 🤦♂️
open.substack.com/pub/theeduca...
open.substack.com/pub/theeduca...
Interesting. I think, at some point, X’s flouting of laws will result in it being taken offline in some European states.
February 3, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Interesting. I think, at some point, X’s flouting of laws will result in it being taken offline in some European states.
Reposted by Mark Goodrich
I saw today a student-facing behaviour policy that lists as one of its reasons for immediate removal from class “Public refusal to follow rules” and I think this is rather good - that it encapsulates (far better than “low level disruption”) the main reason for sanctions in schools🧵#UkEd #EduSky
February 3, 2026 at 8:08 AM
I saw today a student-facing behaviour policy that lists as one of its reasons for immediate removal from class “Public refusal to follow rules” and I think this is rather good - that it encapsulates (far better than “low level disruption”) the main reason for sanctions in schools🧵#UkEd #EduSky
Reposted by Mark Goodrich
Simply because it was cheap, I did a conversion Law Degree last year.
Have written here about what it was like, how AI did and didn’t help, and why the experience felt like playing 1990s football manager games.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/doing-...
Have written here about what it was like, how AI did and didn’t help, and why the experience felt like playing 1990s football manager games.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/doing-...
Doing A Law Degree at 42 (and with AI)
I’ve always found the law terrifying. Boring.
www.linkedin.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Simply because it was cheap, I did a conversion Law Degree last year.
Have written here about what it was like, how AI did and didn’t help, and why the experience felt like playing 1990s football manager games.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/doing-...
Have written here about what it was like, how AI did and didn’t help, and why the experience felt like playing 1990s football manager games.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/doing-...
It’s only tangentially to do with schools but it’s another funny and insightful @daisychristo.bsky.social piece on mobile phones and shifting social norms. Someone should really give her a newspaper column….
open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
What would Mr Toad make of school phone bans?
Why phones are more like cars than cigarettes
open.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:25 AM
It’s only tangentially to do with schools but it’s another funny and insightful @daisychristo.bsky.social piece on mobile phones and shifting social norms. Someone should really give her a newspaper column….
open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
A long but really long thought-provoking read by @didau.bsky.social on mimicry, performance as a proxy for learning and transfer of knowledge to new contexts. Well worth sitting down with a hot beverage to read!
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Betwixt and between: learning in liminal space
Why flexible understanding emerges slowly, unevenly, and at the cost of what we thought we knew
open.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:09 AM
A long but really long thought-provoking read by @didau.bsky.social on mimicry, performance as a proxy for learning and transfer of knowledge to new contexts. Well worth sitting down with a hot beverage to read!
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Reposted by Mark Goodrich
"Imagine you're taking a test. Question after question feels easy, and before long you're scoring near the maximum. Great news for you, but bad news for anyone trying to measure how much you really know. That problem has a name: the ceiling effect." evidencebased.education/resource/whe...
When tests hit the ceiling: Why ‘ceiling effects’ matter
Professor Rob Coe discusses the ceiling effects in assessments and their impact on measuring student knowledge in educational settings.
evidencebased.education
January 26, 2026 at 9:48 PM
"Imagine you're taking a test. Question after question feels easy, and before long you're scoring near the maximum. Great news for you, but bad news for anyone trying to measure how much you really know. That problem has a name: the ceiling effect." evidencebased.education/resource/whe...
Just got around to looking at this and it’s the inconsistency between subjects that is so striking. Just 2 for English?!? The other weakness is that primary seems hardly represented at all.
This really is disappointing. Hard to believe those chosen are the product of a rigorous process designed to reflect the diversity and experience across subject communities. Full of wonderfully talented people but for a curriculum to serve all schools a range of voices are required.
Sector leaders have criticised the 'limited breadth and diversity' of experts recruited to help write the new national curriculum
February 1, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Just got around to looking at this and it’s the inconsistency between subjects that is so striking. Just 2 for English?!? The other weakness is that primary seems hardly represented at all.