Everyone has a comparatively obscure band they can't believe aren't more well known. Mine is Amanda Platt and the Honeycutters. What's yours?

Cheers, I'll get them spooled up ready for my walk to work tomorrow.

I’ll check them out. Where’s a good place to start?

Not a band but I’m amazed Will Varley doesn’t get more attention.

#FridayFive
1.The Stone Roses - Shoot you Down
2.Will Varley - The man who fell to earth
3.Fugazi - Margin Walker
4. Public Enemy - Bring tha Noize
5. The Fall - Hip Priest

Why grades are misleading But grade probabilities are better!

Grades are just lines drawn on a continuous distribution & can end up distorting things.

In this example, Paul is graded as being at the expected standard despite being approx 2 yrs below average & having more in common with students in the lower grade.

substack.nomoremarking.com/p/why-grades...

Why grades are misleading But grade probabilities are better!

People are often surprised by this, but I really really don't like grades.

I think they encourage a (flawed) skills-based way of thinking about education.

More here, including alternatives.

substack.nomoremarking.com/p/why-grades...

Why grades are misleading But grade probabilities are better!

The primary school grading system in England has three grades.

About 60% of students get the middle grade.

So that means a student working at the Y4 standard, and one working at the Y8 standard are both told they are at the expected standard for Year 6.

substack.nomoremarking.com/p/why-grades...

High achieving poor pupils less likely to get top GCSE marks New research by UCL finds a dip in academic performance between ages 11 and 14

schoolsweek.co.uk/high-achievi...
Ladders and ceilings .

Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Do Today's Kids Have Reduced Attention Spans?

Do Students Today Have Reduced Attention Spans? In this American Educator article, I argue they don't. (This piece is mostly a reprint of the one I published last year in Education Next.) www.aft.org/ae/spring202...

If you have ever taught biology, it is obvious that this explanatory model building approach is so much better than just teaching the facts, descriptions and explanations.

youtu.be/Ux2-Y_6IryM?...

Prosody

Super thrilled that my article "Prosody" is now available to read in the Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science!

oecs.mit.edu/pub/1w4cqquc...

Thanks to @asifamajid.bsky.social and @mcxfrank.bsky.social for the opportunity and for creating such an amazing resource for our community!

The receiving end of feedback For the first time in a long time, I’m receiving feedback on my work. Not the feedback on practice that happens as an adult in a school, not co-constructed developmental stuff or for the purposes o…

*NEW*

Being on the receiving end of feedback has left me feeling flat, despite doing well. It made me think how we focus on the theory & rules around giving pupil feedback, but how often do we consider how it lands? #feedback #EduSky #EduBlogShare

impressionthatiget.wordpress.com/2026/04/03/t...

#FridayFive
5 years - Ziggy Stardust - Bowie
Waiting Room - 13 songs - Fugazi
100% - Dirty - Sonic Youth
I wanna be Adored - Stone Roses S/T
As for my soul - Postcards from Ursa Minor - Will Varley

The Ultimate Guide to Adaptive Teaching - Webinar with Sue Cowley Sue Cowley shares ideas about adaptive teaching and gives a range of practical strategies for creating an inclusive classroom

I've just set up a couple of 'pay what you can' online events for next term. The Ultimate Guide to Adaptive Teaching is on 28th April at 4.30pm and you can book tickets here. ⬇️
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985806308...

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

The Great Teaching Toolkit - Evidence Based Education Great Teaching Questioning Challenge Start date: April 27th, 2026. Apply Download Handbook Great Teaching Questioning Challenge Start date: April 27th, 2026. Apply Download Handbook Are you…

We know questioning is one of the most powerful ways to activate student thinking but it’s not always easy to improve it in a busy school week.

That’s why we’re running the Great Teaching Questioning Challenge.

It’s free to participate and applications close on 17th April
buff.ly/K9rpFG1

#EduSky

The 'Good for all, vital for some' series #1b: clarity of expectations at all times - Expanded 'Means of Participation' Examples of how I have supported ECTs to ensure pupils are clear what is expected of them at all times in lessons

As ever standing on the shoulders of giants like @douglemov.bsky.social & @adamboxereducation.bsky.social, I share some specifics about how teachers can be as clear as possible in their expectations of their pupils.

open.substack.com/pub/ldonaghy...

How to combat the decline of drama in schools The number of entries for drama at GCSE and A level has halved since 2010. Hetty Steele explains how teachers can help students to realise the subject’s true value

Why are fewer students choosing drama in schools? Because we haven’t explained the real value of the subject, says teacher Hetty Steele

Teachers can reduce impostor syndrome by:
🧠 normalising struggle
💬 changing feedback language
🎯 focusing on process over talent

Learn how ➡️ www.innerdrive.co.uk/workshops/dealing-with-i...

Screenshot of text from the linked blog post.

New from me
Things Can Get Worse.
Why I'm so worried about the SEND reform direction of travel.
bennewmark.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/t...

What cognitive science says about learning… the Buddha already knew? Over the last fifteen or so years, retrieval practice, spaced distribution (spacing) and interleaving have become omnipresent in educational discourse (Perry et al., 2021; Weinstein, Madan & Su…

Ancient wisdom or modern pedagogy?

How the Buddha advocated retrieval practice, spacing and interleaving, predating cognitive science.

#education #cog_sci #edusky #uked #Buddhism #Buddha

mrjoneswhiteboard.blog/2026/03/21/b...

Be my Spiderwoman I'll be your Spiderman

You just need an Owen Brannigan and a Lindisfarne for the full set!

Way and aye!! Very nice list!

Here it comes again - Amazing Snakeheads
One to another - Charlatans
Granite gaze - Lankum
Two fingers - Jake Bugg
Alright - Cast

#FridayFive

Echo & The Bunnymen - Seven Seas (Official Music Video) YouTube video by Echo & the Bunnymen

Morning all, all the best for a great Friday and restful weekend

youtu.be/LbYxP11rbSM?...

Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting (Live in 1974) [Official 4K Video] YouTube video by DJ S Universe Q

Morning all, had to be this one for me today.

All the best

youtu.be/bCa28vA_GsA?...

James Brown ~ Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (1965) YouTube video by TheOldrecordclub

Incredibly tenuous link this morning (Papua New Guinea). Marks for trying? Good day all youtu.be/QE5D2hJhacU?...

When In Rome, Kill Me YouTube video by Cud - Topic

Here's entry #2

youtu.be/Wnp90WL5aiI?...

New Fast Automatic Daffodils - Stockholm YouTube video by ValiumandCheesecake

Morning all, couldn't choose this morning so here is #1 from me

youtu.be/WD5Y3iiy92Y?...