Category: School improvement

Leadership, especially in schools, is rarely toxic by intent. Most of us step into roles of responsibility with a deep sense of moral purpose — to improve the lives of young people, to shape culture, to build something better. Yet in the noise and haste of modern school life, even experienced leaders can fall into patterns that, over time, corrode trust, hinder initiative, and sap morale.

This article offers not a diagnosis but a mirror. It’s grounded in the school environment — where I have spent my career — but the signs explored here are not unique to education. They are recognisable across many professional domains and can be adapted by leaders in any setting seeking to build trust and lead with clarity and intent.

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Learning is a discreet endeavour. It happens invisibly, in the privacy of students’ minds, and often with little outward sign. This is the central dilemma of teaching: we are tasked with fostering a transformation we cannot directly observe. The classroom may be busy at work, the teaching captivating, the tasks engaging—but are students actually learning?

This is why lesson planning must be about more than choreography or performance. A good lesson is not one that merely looks effective, but one that is structured to maximise the likelihood that learning takes place. As I’ve argued before, good teaching is grounded in purposeful design, deliberate practice, and cognitive realism.

So how should we plan and deliver lessons to create the conditions for learning? In the last twenty years of practice, I have settled on the following central tenets as the keystones of good learning:

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While listening to Sticky Words, a fascinating podcast discussion between Matthew Abraham and Ada Aka from Stanford university on the power of words and memory in the context of marketing, I found myself reflecting on its implications for teaching and learning. The conversation explored why some words and messages stick while others fade, touching on cognitive science, emotion, and even the surprising role of informality in retention.

The words we choose shape not only the way our messages are received but also the likelihood that they will be remembered. Some lessons linger long after they are spoken; while others fade into the ether, barely registering at all. Why? What makes certain words, phrases, and concepts stick while others slip away?

Cognitive science offers some intriguing answers, and its implications for education are profound. If our goal is for students not just to hear but to retain, then understanding how memory interacts with language is vital.

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Learning walks provide valuable insights into what’s happening in classrooms. But what should an observer look for to get a true sense of teaching and learning quality?

Here are some key aspects that I tend to focus on:

Clarity of Learning Intentions

• Are lesson objectives clearly communicated to students?
• Do students understand what they are learning and why it matters?

What to look for:

• Students able to articulate what they’re working on.

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