The early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework provides a basis for the school curriculum. It’s what the school system hopes to build on. So getting the best out of it ensures the best start for school and so on. Development Matters in the  Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a PDF explaining the key aspects of the EYFS. I believe sport is an education and sport is preparation …
Classroom Game Design: Paul Andersen at TEDxBozeman
A fascinating talk treading the path I want to see. Applying the concepts of good games to learning design and teaching in the classroom. Paul is even handed in his discussion presenting what worked and what didn’t but remembering that he must learn and evolve as much as his students. He provides the playground and games but they need to …
Australian Open: Heat is not the primary problem
A timely piece by tennis commentator Richard Evans named Heat is not the primary problem  touches on the continual question in tennis. Is it too physical. Does tennis at the top level push the human body too far? I feel it will be an eternal question given the continual march of progress in all sports. I’m a formula one and athletics fan …
Fit the learning style to the individual. How to use a semicolon – The Oatmeal
I am a big believer in fitting the message to the person you are trying to connect with. This very much informs my philosophy on teaching. So I like to use play as much as I can. Put a student in a place where they are playing with a subject or skill and they will push their boundaries without realising. …
It’s not about the talent, it’s about the opportunity
In the article  Legacy of son’s success motivation for Judy Murray Judy points out that despite her sons incredible success Scotland has yet to take advantage of the major opportunity this presents. Building the sport in Scotland and improving the nations health and life opportunities as a result. She says: I want to help inspire another generation of kids, I want …
What I am learning from my injuries
I am active therefore I get injured. That’s probably the best way to think about it. So injury is part of life and something I need to learn about and overcome. To that end I have started to document what I have learned from my injuries The other posts focus on specifically treating that injury including: wrist sprain, ankle sprain, toe …
Exercise produces immediate changes to DNA
Just had to log this nugget. Exercise actually produces immediate changes to DNA. The amount of detail in this article is fascinating. Recording the epigenetic changes to muscle after exercise. Learn more about the effect of physical inactivity on disease worldwide References
Learning: Is it Online or Offline. Are we letting fear get in the way?
Just a short post inspired by reading notes from an upcoming e-assessment faculty meeting. A question came up about offline learning and ereaders in particular. How far can we go with them. A very informed answer was given by Niall Sclater taking reference from his existing article making ebooks more interactive: logistics and ethics. Niall is a key influence in …
Learning is innate. How the changing world can help education
The evolution of learning is a fascinating topic. Learning is my strength because I was brought up to think that learning is innate and every challenge is surmountable. In fact learning is never really changing, only the tools and processes we use to learn will change. The education industry has been struggling to figure out how these new tools can …
Exercise alters metabolism in minutes
Exercise has an impact on your health within minutes. That is the insight I take from a New York Times piece explaining how exercise changes fat and muscle cells.It is in interesting piece exploring the extra detail we are now gaining about just how exercise affects muscle and fat cells. Of course that mostly means extra detail about something we …
Learning on demand (LOD)
Following on from a previous article on 21st century learning I feel we’re moving to an area where learning on demand will be as normal as Video on demand (VOD). I see the emergence of 24-7 tutorials and motuto as early attempts at this. I can’t vouch for the quality and economic viability yet but I do see that the learning market is biased towards young …
A vision for 21st century learning
So I had a vision over Christmas of the kind of learning and teaching I’ve always wanted. As I wrote it down I became more and more convinced that this is possible right now. It also pulls together my passion for understanding human excellence with my experience in taking ideas to deliverables. It’s still very much a work in progress but I’m …
Neural Darwinism: is this how we learn?
I’m excited to have just discovered Neural Darwinism through an interview with Gerald Edelman on all in the mind. The idea that our brain constantly adapts to our environment using the same evolutionary principles described by Darwin is what I’ve been coming to believe. It’s clear that we create and remove connections every day during sleep and that our brains are constantly evolving from the …
Jeet kune do in tennis
I watched all the Bruce Lee films over the weekend. I just love his approach. I really relate to his approach. I didn’t realise but I’ve been putting a lot of the concepts into my tennis game recently. I was inspired to do even more. I really focused today on using my whole body. I started generating my swing from …
Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything
Another excellent example of someone just asking ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ and just doing what they feel is right. I just love being inspired and I like to share things that inspire me.
By pushing ourselves too hard do we cause irreparable harm?
A common cause of irreparable cell damage seems to be when it’s pushed too far. When a cell is pushed a little beyond it’s limits it grows stronger when allowed to recover. Yet push them really far beyond their limits and there seems a threshold above which many cells sustain damage they can’t fix. This was implied in my previous …
Can you train your skin to resist sun damage?
I Just had an urge to understand Melanoma the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Not sure why just seemed like a good idea. Partly because I’ve been wondering what new developments there are in our knowledge and what trends are associated with this kind of cancer. I’m glad I checked it out. Turns out that it’s intermittent exposure to the sun that’s …
Why do we age? genetics v lifestyle
Not sure if I’ve made this point clear before so here goes. As I see things there’s a strong possibility that aging and its symptoms could be largely related to levels of activity and the balance it has with nutrition and recovery. The link I see is that old age is linked with both reduced activity and reduced levels of human growth hormone (HGH). HGH encourages …
Train your brain for a vigorous mind
Ooh I’m having a day today. I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot. I’ve always felt I could train my brain, so imagine my joy when I find yet more research that supports this notion. I have a very long and intense concentration span when I want it. There have been many times that I’ve used it and found that …
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