Lmst

New semester, first set of lectures and tutorials. Long nights of preparation and meditation before each session. Students alert, taking notes, asking questions, joining me "in the zone". So joyfuI.

I have taught these courses many times before, but as always I make sure that I too have a fresh encounter with the material, bringing in each concept like a living creature that wants to talk to me and to the student, at this very moment. The students can feel the reality of it: they sense my own excitement of being in touch with a live subject. It's such a privilege to be a teacher and to have good students. I am so grateful. Life is good.

#teaching #FirstWeek #HigherEducation #AcademicChatter #OhILoveMyStudents

The Well of Sacrifice was listed in Best Books for Children: Preschool-G6 & Best Books for Young Teen Readers
A dead king, a power-hungry high priest, a deep limestone pit used for human sacrifice…and one young girl brave enough to fight the evil that pervades her city.
“The novel shines not only for a faithful recreation of an unfamiliar, ancient world, but also for the introduction of a brave, likable and determined heroine.” – Kirkus
https://storyoriginapp.com/universalbooklinks/0b4ce802-9f5f-11ea-bff8-df0f333bb2f5
#books #KidLit #teaching #history

The book cover for The Well of Sacrifice: A Middle Grade Historical Adventure about the Maya by Chris Eboch, illustrated by Bryn Bernard, shows a Mayan city with tall, a pyramid temples in the background. A girl in orange woven clothing with a long black bread stands on a platform with one arm stretched out. Several people are behind her, including a tall, scowling man in a green and red headrest. Two warrior stand in the foreground.
Text says:
“Well-researched historical fiction and a good read.” – School Library Journal
“This book is not only a great adventure for middle grade readers, but it is a useful tool for classroom teachers... The students’ enthusiasm for this book pushed our curriculum into other disciplines including math. I recommend this book to teachers and to middle grade students.” – Teacher review

UK Department for Education Generative AI: product safety standards updated 19 Jan 2026. I was struck by the section requiring reporting on "cognitive offloading" and "emotional engagement"

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-product-safety-standards/generative-ai-product-safety-standards

#edtech #ducation #llm #ai #moodle #teaching #learning

As stated in the relevant sections of these standards, products should monitor, regularly report on, and provide data to teachers on:

the rate of requests for cognitive offloading and the amount of cognitive offloading delivered
the level of personal and emotional engagement by each user in terms of the nature of information exchanged, without directly disclosing the content of these inputs
the duration of usage by each individual learner

The final lecture of 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 (Einführung in die Wirtschaftsinformatik) ✅🎓 – and still a room full of focus 👏

Exam prep starts now: review, practice, repeat 📖📝🔁

Wishing everyone lots of stamina and perseverance for the study phase ahead — you’ve got this. 💪

#BusinessInformatics #Wirtschaftsinformatik #InformationSystems #ExamSeason #Students #University #Teaching #Learning

When heat shapes learning before school: What a major cross-national study means for ECEC practice

Heat management in early childhood services is usually framed as a health and safety issue, sun protection, hydration, rest, and reducing the risk of heat illness. New research suggests it may also be a learning and development issue, with unusually high temperatures linked to lower rates of being “developmentally on track” for some foundational skills in the preschool years.

Carbon footprints in the preschool years: What a new Scientific Reports study suggests about teaching sustainability through early science

A newly published paper in Scientific Reports argues that the “carbon footprint” can become a practical, age-appropriate entry point for sustainability learning in the early years, when educators translate abstract ideas into everyday routines such as switching off lights, saving water and sorting waste. Based on interviews with award-winning early childhood science teachers across three Middle East countries, the study proposes a framework for embedding carbon footprint concepts through experiential learning, cultural relevance and consistent practice.

Marking Over

Well, that wasn’t too painful. I’ve completed my marking duties. The fact that it has been pouring with rain most of the day made it easy to concentrate on this task. I was going to have a break for lunch, but I decided to keep on going until I was finished, though I did have to take a break for a telecon this afternoon. I also had to dash out to the shops, primarily to replenish my stock of food for the garden birds but also to get some groceries for myself. Having skipped lunch I bought myself something nice for supper.

Looking at the departmental database I see that I appear to be the first member of staff to have finished and uploaded all their Semester 1 examination marking. Normally I’m just happy if I’m not the last!

It feels good to have finished this task. It’s definitely a weight off my mind. I can’t say anything about the results of course but the change I made to continuous assessment, from take-home assignments to class tests, does not seem to have had a negative effect on either group of students I have been teaching. The opposite may indeed have been the case, as the class tests perhaps provide better preparation for the final assessment than the previous method. I think some other lecturers might make a similar switch in future. Anyway, I definitely plan to do something similar for my Semester 2 module on Particle Physics.

Now I have a couple of weeks before teaching resumes so I can get on with other things. For the rest of this week my priority is to finish revising a paper that I hoped to do before Christmas. I’ll see how that goes before deciding what to do next.

I’ll also have to prepare teaching for Semester 2. That shouldn’t be too difficult, as I’ve taught both modules before, but I do have to give some thought as to precisely how I’m going to word the instructions on the use of AI for my Computational Physics module. That can wait a little while, though, as it mainly affects the mini-project to be done towards the end of the Semester. In the meantime I’ll be thinking about other things…

#assessment #Examinations #GenAI #Marking #teaching

Teaching introductory archaeology is so fun. You get to flit back and forth between theory and practice and introduce students to many different skills. And get out in the fresh air!

My preparation for next semester's first year course includes organising two excursions, coordinating with a field school abroad, servicing survey and photography equipment, finding interesting artefacts to practice on, and dying play-dough to teach stratigraphy.

#Teaching #Archaeology

I'm having one of those "through the looking glass" moments with one of my children's schools.

Children's books aren't marked - so children can go months without getting feedback on their work. School insists only marking an assessment (a test) once a term is sufficient. It's so normalised that when I tell them that it's not good enough, they bristle with indignance.

Imagine being a kid and putting effort into your school work and no one looks at it or gives feedback?

#school #teaching

New on our website
The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away by Sophie Anderson.
https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/childrens-book-reviews/the-house-with-chicken-legs-runs-away/
#education #teaching #kidlit

New on our website
Whole Class Reading.
https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/resources/whole-class-reading/
#education #teaching #kidlit

New on our website
Children’s Literature News January 2026.
https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/childrens-literature-news/childrens-literature-news-january-2026/
#education #teaching #kidlit

Your rights when settling your child into child care or kindy

It’s natural to feel nervous about transitioning your baby or child into early childhood education. Knowing some settling techniques, as well as what you can advocate for on behalf of your child, can help their transition.

@debflicker

🙋🏽‍♀️ Here we are!

#Teaching
#TransRights
#ETTD

(America) What You Need to Know: NYC's Free Child Care Pilot for Kids Under 2

Last week, New York City launched the Birth-to-2 initiative, offering free child care for children ages 2 and under, regardless of their parents’ income or immigration status, at 15 sites in “neighborhoods with the greatest need.” Here’s how to apply.

A smartphone program helped reduce short-term eczema relapses in young children, what ECEC services can take from it

A large randomised controlled trial has found that a structured, smartphone-based eczema education program for caregivers reduced relapse risk over the first 12 weeks for children aged 0–6 years with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. While the benefit did not remain statistically significant beyond 12 weeks, the study adds to growing evidence that scalable digital education can strengthen early flare recognition and timely management, an insight with practical implications for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services working alongside families.

Looking ahead: What the ECEC sector can expect in 2026

As 2026 begins, early childhood education and care (ECEC) services across Australia are preparing for a year of substantial reform, focused on strengthening child safety and raising the bar on national standards. Following a series of agreements by Education Ministers in 2025, new changes to the National Quality Framework (NQF) and the Education and Care Services National Law will take effect progressively throughout the year. These reforms reflect the shared commitment of educators, families, communities and governments to place child safety and wellbeing at the centre of early learning environments.