Stuart Farmer
@stuartphysics.bsky.social
Science and Physics education stuff plus a bit of bike sport and veg. Learning and Skills Manager at Institute of Physics Scotland and Honorary Fellow at University of Stirling Centre for Research into Curriculum Making. Comments all own.
Reposted by Stuart Farmer
Delighted to share another summary- a profoundly thought-provoking book.
A must-read for those interested in the the bigger picture of transforming learning.
Thanks to @P_A_Kirschner for his help with the summary.
Download summary and book here:
itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-...
A must-read for those interested in the the bigger picture of transforming learning.
Thanks to @P_A_Kirschner for his help with the summary.
Download summary and book here:
itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-...
October 30, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Delighted to share another summary- a profoundly thought-provoking book.
A must-read for those interested in the the bigger picture of transforming learning.
Thanks to @P_A_Kirschner for his help with the summary.
Download summary and book here:
itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-...
A must-read for those interested in the the bigger picture of transforming learning.
Thanks to @P_A_Kirschner for his help with the summary.
Download summary and book here:
itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-...
After the dreichness of yesterday, today’s drive was in pretty much perfect conditions. Slightly longer route from Wanaka to Timaru as several of the higher more direct routes were still blocked by snow. Arrived in time to meet up with @aweatherall.bsky.social for dinner.
October 28, 2025 at 3:49 AM
After the dreichness of yesterday, today’s drive was in pretty much perfect conditions. Slightly longer route from Wanaka to Timaru as several of the higher more direct routes were still blocked by snow. Arrived in time to meet up with @aweatherall.bsky.social for dinner.
Absolutely miserable day for the drive from Hokitika to Wanaka via Haast Pass. A good day for waterfalls if not for getting out of the car to see them.
October 27, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Absolutely miserable day for the drive from Hokitika to Wanaka via Haast Pass. A good day for waterfalls if not for getting out of the car to see them.
Good drive from Hanmer Springs to Hokitika today through the reopened Lewis Pass where repairs are ongoing. Sunny at both ends but lots of heavy rain and some sleet in the mountains
October 26, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Good drive from Hanmer Springs to Hokitika today through the reopened Lewis Pass where repairs are ongoing. Sunny at both ends but lots of heavy rain and some sleet in the mountains
Lots of evidence of the storms and heavy rain that have recently hit New Zealand on the short flight from Wellington to Christchurch
October 24, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Lots of evidence of the storms and heavy rain that have recently hit New Zealand on the short flight from Wellington to Christchurch
Now that is what I call a volcano - Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki
October 22, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Now that is what I call a volcano - Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki
After a busy but very interesting day discussing curriculum at Victoria University Wellington, the NZ Ministry of Education and at a meeting of the NZ Inst of Physics I am on the start of my road trip around the North Island. heading to New Plymouth via the amazing Southward Car Museum
October 22, 2025 at 12:44 AM
After a busy but very interesting day discussing curriculum at Victoria University Wellington, the NZ Ministry of Education and at a meeting of the NZ Inst of Physics I am on the start of my road trip around the North Island. heading to New Plymouth via the amazing Southward Car Museum
Some other interesting old machines on display. A TR750 Suzuki in Sheene colours (which got a run out on track earlier in the weekend) an XR69 Suzuki in Croz colours and some beautiful road going 916 Ducatis and an MV F4.
October 18, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Some other interesting old machines on display. A TR750 Suzuki in Sheene colours (which got a run out on track earlier in the weekend) an XR69 Suzuki in Croz colours and some beautiful road going 916 Ducatis and an MV F4.
Some interesting bikes taking part in the classic superbikes support races at #AustralianGP RC30, GSXR, FZR, ZX-7R, 851, 888, Katana etc.
October 18, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Some interesting bikes taking part in the classic superbikes support races at #AustralianGP RC30, GSXR, FZR, ZX-7R, 851, 888, Katana etc.
Morning circuit check done #AustralianGP
October 18, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Morning circuit check done #AustralianGP
Reposted by Stuart Farmer
In Search of Vygotsky: How the Zone of Proximal Development Became Education's Most Misunderstood Idea.
👉 carlhendrick.substack.com/p/in-search-...
👉 carlhendrick.substack.com/p/in-search-...
In Search of Vygotsky
How the Zone of Proximal Development Became Education's Most Misunderstood Idea
carlhendrick.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 10:29 PM
In Search of Vygotsky: How the Zone of Proximal Development Became Education's Most Misunderstood Idea.
👉 carlhendrick.substack.com/p/in-search-...
👉 carlhendrick.substack.com/p/in-search-...
A good day at #AustralianGP at Phillip Island #MotoGP
October 18, 2025 at 5:56 AM
A good day at #AustralianGP at Phillip Island #MotoGP
A nice sunny day for a few hours being a tourist in Melbourne before I speak to a Vicphysics meeting for physics teachers at the Deakin University Downtown campus.
October 15, 2025 at 2:39 AM
A nice sunny day for a few hours being a tourist in Melbourne before I speak to a Vicphysics meeting for physics teachers at the Deakin University Downtown campus.
An interesting day visiting Whittlesea Tech School and the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) to find out about how the STEM subjects are being encouraged. Thanks to all the staff who gave of their time so freely to show me around and discuss education in the STEM subjects.
October 14, 2025 at 7:12 AM
An interesting day visiting Whittlesea Tech School and the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) to find out about how the STEM subjects are being encouraged. Thanks to all the staff who gave of their time so freely to show me around and discuss education in the STEM subjects.
It is hard to believe it is week since I left Aberdeen for Australia. After time with family in Adelaide and Bendigo it is on to some of the business part of the trip.
October 13, 2025 at 12:43 AM
It is hard to believe it is week since I left Aberdeen for Australia. After time with family in Adelaide and Bendigo it is on to some of the business part of the trip.
Reposted by Stuart Farmer
Tailor to lesson content, not student preferences.
An alternative to the learning styles myth:
↓
An alternative to the learning styles myth:
↓
October 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Tailor to lesson content, not student preferences.
An alternative to the learning styles myth:
↓
An alternative to the learning styles myth:
↓
An excellent discussion from @didau.bsky.social of the important role and influence of national testing which should be very positive provided it is done well.
NEW: When Sweden scrapped national testing, grades went up but learning went down.
Statutory assessment is how a system keeps itself honest.
Light-touch, high-trust, curriculum-aligned. Tim Oates and intelligent accountability, explained.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Statutory assessment is how a system keeps itself honest.
Light-touch, high-trust, curriculum-aligned. Tim Oates and intelligent accountability, explained.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Balancing accountability & trust: five principles for effective statutory assessment
Tim Oates argues that national tests should be light-touch, high-trust, and curriculum-aligned in order to keep standards visible without distorting what is taught
open.substack.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:18 PM
An excellent discussion from @didau.bsky.social of the important role and influence of national testing which should be very positive provided it is done well.
Reposted by Stuart Farmer
The whole point of phonics is to teach pupils the tools that will allow them to begin decoding text, the exact thing that they need to do to develop automatic word recognition.
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September 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM
The whole point of phonics is to teach pupils the tools that will allow them to begin decoding text, the exact thing that they need to do to develop automatic word recognition.
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Reposted by Stuart Farmer
Put simply, to get to the point where one can recognise a word (or common chunk within a word) without having to consciously decode it, one first needs to consciously decode it, often multiple times!
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September 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Put simply, to get to the point where one can recognise a word (or common chunk within a word) without having to consciously decode it, one first needs to consciously decode it, often multiple times!
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Reposted by Stuart Farmer
As with almost every article written about reading in the past few years, this one has inspired a few suggestions that the focus on phonics has caused problems.
I'd like to explain why I disagree.
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I'd like to explain why I disagree.
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An expert shares five reading fluency strategies to support children to become better readers
Reading fluency: why it matters and how to teach it
A focus on reading fluency can help to bridge the gap between decoding and comprehension, says Penny Slater, who shares strategies for supporting children to become fluent readers
www.tes.com
September 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM
As with almost every article written about reading in the past few years, this one has inspired a few suggestions that the focus on phonics has caused problems.
I'd like to explain why I disagree.
>>
I'd like to explain why I disagree.
>>