Tag Archives: whole person learning

What Can Human Teachers Do That AI Cannot?

Part 2: Understanding Performative Skills in Education If we want to defend the importance of the human teacher, it is not enough to say that teaching is “human”, “relational” or “creative”. These words matter, but they can also remain vague. … Continue reading

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Does your classroom need a Dragon?

Wake Up the Room, Wake Up Your Voice: Breathing Activities for Teachers Teaching needs energy. Energy comes through breathing. There are moments when a class needs lifting: the point after lunch, the final hour of the day, a difficult transition … Continue reading

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Breathing Techniques for Teachers: Enhance Your Teaching Presence

Teaching Artistry Tip: Breathe to better teaching Everything starts with a breath. When you enter a classroom breathless, tense or rushed, that appears in your voice. You may speak too quickly, over-explain, raise your volume unnecessarily, or sound less available … Continue reading

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The Missing Skill in Teacher Education

Meta-Performative Awareness Most teacher education programmes help teachers think carefully about planning. What are the aims? What language is being taught? What problems might learners have? What instructions are needed? What interaction patterns will be used? What will the teacher … Continue reading

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Errors Are Not Just Errors: They Are Performative Moments

Error correction is one of the most powerful performative moments in teaching In language teaching, we often talk about errors as if they are purely linguistic events. A learner uses the wrong tense. A word is mispronounced. A sentence is … Continue reading

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Every Teacher Action Sends a Signal

Meta-Performative Awareness In the previous post, I argued that “good rapport” is not enough as a way of talking about teaching. Not because rapport is unimportant. It is extremely important. But when we say a teacher has “good rapport”, we … Continue reading

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Good Rapport Is Not Enough

Why teacher education needs a better language for what teachers communicate. “You have a great rapport.” “Create a warmer atmosphere.” “Try to be more engaging.” “Encourage more participation.” “Don’t undermine learner confidence.” These are all important comments. The problem is … Continue reading

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What Are Performative Skills — and Why Do Teachers Need Them?

Performative skills are essential in teaching, enabling educators to influence how learning is experienced in real time. These skills encompass voice, gesture, timing, and response, significantly affecting students’ feelings of safety and engagement. Teachers need meta-performative awareness to understand the implications of their actions, fostering a supportive learning environment. Continue reading

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Presence Is Not Personality: The Missing Language in Teacher Education

When we mystify presence, we make teacher development less accessible A lesson can be well planned, well staged and well resourced — and still fall apart. Every teacher educator will recognise the moment when… The trainee teacher stands in front … Continue reading

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We Don’t Yet Have the Language to Talk About What Teachers Do to Learners

Meta – Performative Awareness in Teacher Education Teacher education talks endlessly about methods, planning, aims, staging, outcomes, materials, and technique. But some of the most powerful things teachers do are still described in frustratingly vague terms:good rapportpositive atmospherestrong presencesupportive manner … Continue reading

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