The Friyay Mindset - Issue #22

September 03, 2021

Earlier the corridors were a hive of chaotic activity... now, they are once again lifeless. Dropped masks lurk in dusty corners, the office staff are sharing a Colin the Caterpillar and every teacher in the world has gone to the pub. It can mean just one thing - it’s Friday afternoon… time for the newsletter!

Here’s something to try…

Over the summer we dived deeper into the study habits and behaviours we've seen strongly associated with those who thrive in difficult times. (You might have seen us discussing these on Twitter.) What we thought we'd do is make them available here for further discussion and exploration. We're referring to them as the #100behaviours, and we'll be sharing them here, 20 at a time, vision first.

How are these useful? Well, there's a bunch of ways you might use them:

  • Students could complete a simple never-sometimes-always analysis

  • Students could arrange them into three groups 'comfort' (I already do this) 'stretch' (This is unfamiliar but I could give it a try',) and 'daunted' (I'm uneasy/challenged by the thought of doing this')

  • Coaching conversations could revolve around a discussion of them

  • Students or staff could pick which ones they think are most important

  • They could be modified and shared with parents

Today we've just completed a session in which staff across three key stages organised the behaviours under KS3, 4 or 5. It's a task we've done a few times recently - if you'd like to see the results of their endeavours, get in touch at [email protected] and we'll send an anonymised version through to you.

OK, here they are. The first 20 behaviours are all around Vision:

Here’s something we’ve been reading…

Gary Latham and Edwin Locke's work seems to be foundational in terms of goal-setting and its relation to performance. It's elderly stuff - the paper we've been digging into was published when we were regular attendees at the Hacienda - but there's plenty here to get your teeth into. The full paper is a long read, but a good one. Those of us not down the pub who want a longer read can have a look at the Researchgate pdf - the first one of the two.

However, being the nice guys we are, we've also fileted out a shorter section for you. Fancy a quick skim? The second link should scratch that itch:

PDF | Whether you're a manager, company psychologist, quality control specialist, or involved with motivating people to work harder in any... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

Our latest offer…

A reminder, fresh for a new term, that our publishers are now offering the digital licence for both GCSE and A-Level workbooks. If you teach vocational courses, there’s also an FE version that has no references to A-Levels. The licence means you get an electronic copy of the materials that you can re-write! The price is a flat rate, calculated at 60p per student. It's a top-draw offer - you can re-badge the material, take out activities you don’t want, re-word stuff, add your own material, re-order the activities… the possibilities are endless! To order, you can contact Jess at Crown House, at [email protected].

Have a great weekend!

Steve & Martin

Here’s our latest offer…

A timely, start-of-September reminder that our publishers are now offering the digital licence for both GCSE and A-Level workbooks. If you teach vocational courses, there’s also an FE version that has no references to A-Levels. At a one-off fee (calculated at 60p per student using the materials), we think this is a top-draw offer: you get electronic, writeable versions of every activity. You can re-badge the material, take out activities you don’t want, re-word stuff, add your own material, re-order the activities… the possibilities are endless! To order, you can contact Jess at Crown House, at [email protected].

Cheers all. Have a good weekend!

Steve and Martin