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Colin McGill

@colinmcgill

Associate Professor of Teacher Education (Chemistry) at Edinburgh Napier University (@ENUTeacherEd)

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14.08.2024
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Latest posts by Colin McGill @colinmcgill

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Lessons learned, opportunities to be grasped - Enlighten A recent blog post by Paul Argyle McDonald regarding the mathematics curriculum in Scotland got me thinking about how the physics curriculum and its assessment, particularly in relation to Higher and ...

Some thoughts about the physics curriculum and its assessment in Scotland with some observations and questions about standards and how this impacts on things like subject choice. Can we address some of these longstanding issues in the Curriculum Improvement Cycle?
www.enlighten.scot/lessons-lear...

10.03.2026 11:05 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

A blog post for @enlightenscot.bsky.social about the physics curriculum and its assessment. @drewburrett.bsky.social @physicsdrew.bsky.social @andrewkbailey13.bsky.social @colinmcgill.bsky.social @mrdissent.bsky.social @mrdegsy.bsky.social @brucenextlevel.bsky.social @lynnej0nes.bsky.social

10.03.2026 11:16 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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1987 I did an investigation as a student teacher into Teacher Stress. The main cause was "Pressures of Time."
This year, an extensive survey by @sstatradeunion.bsky.social HWB Committee did a massive survey investigating teacher well-being. Conclusion? Excessive workload.

@jennygilruth.bsky.social

24.12.2025 09:47 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Confusion abounds as to whether iodine sublimes or evaporates at 1 atm. In fact, it melts and flows. A little microscale triumph. See tinyurl.com/2nw2hram

#ChatChemistry, #ITeachChem
@cleapss.bsky.social @rsc-educomscot.bsky.social @sfed-rsc.bsky.social @beyondbenign.bsky.social

18.10.2025 19:38 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Postgraduate Events Learn more about postgraduate study by attending a postgraduate event with Edinburgh Napier. Meet academics, student support teams and current students.

Want to find out more about our PGDE programmes in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths & English? Want to find out what it's like to study to become a teacher at @edinburghnapier.bsky.social? Come and meet us on Thu 20 Nov at our Merchiston campus.
www.napier.ac.uk/study-with-u...

25.09.2025 13:28 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Train the Trainer: pedagogy for practical chemistry Thursday 27 November or Friday 28 November, 9.30am-4pm GMT, University of Strathclyde

Chemistry teacher in Scotland? Interested in leading professional learning around the use of practical work? Check out this course from @rsc.org
edu.rsc.org/events/train...

24.09.2025 13:07 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones? In β€˜The Anxious Generation’, Haidt makes the case that social media and smartphones have β€˜rewired’ today’s teenagers, but his critics say the evidence tells us something very different - and that bann...

Essential reading from @jonsevers.bsky.social - 'Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones?' www.tes.com/magazine/tea... @tesmagazine.bsky.social

03.09.2025 06:07 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The RSC Education Community (Scotland) is excited to share that applications are open for the Inspiring Young Chemists Fund for 2025-2026 (Deadline 3 October 2025).
In the 2024-2025 session, the IYC Fund provided over Β£3000 of support for the 14 successful applicants.
forms.office.com/e/Y9XnquQ7yM

03.09.2025 07:11 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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If you can't find what you are looking for, make it.

New improved dressCode pupil portal coming soon.
#TogetherWeCanCloseTheGenderGap

01.09.2025 10:16 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Curious Teacher Conference 2025 Curious about improving your pedagogy? Curious about aspects of inclusion? Curious about thriving in teaching? We have the conference for you!

The Curious Teacher Conference

Sat 04 Oct 2025

@edinburghnapier.bsky.social, Sighthill Campus

Β£50 (Β£35 for student teachers).

Registration/details: sway.cloud.microsoft/uiY35a9sitDV...

Keynotes: @nuthmani.bsky.social (Education is not neutral) and Kirsten Leask (Learning for Sustainability)

25.08.2025 07:41 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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What should you expect as a new student teacher in Scotland? With many students starting their teacher education journey in Scotland, Colin McGill offers some words of advice and says it’s an exciting time to join the profession

www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

18.08.2025 05:31 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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What should you expect as a new student teacher in Scotland? With many students starting their teacher education journey in Scotland, Colin McGill offers some words of advice and says it’s an exciting time to join the profession

What should you expect as a new student teacher in Scotland?
@colinmcgill.bsky.social of @enuteachered.bsky.social offers some sound advice in @tesmagazine.bsky.social
(and subscribing to TES weekly is something I'd add to his advice!)
www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

17.08.2025 09:37 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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How to thrive in the early years of your career Beyond Survival: The New Teacher Podcast Β· Episode

New episode of Beyond Survival: The New Teacher Podcast.

A great summer listen for new teachers: myself and @khairbused.bsky.social discuss how to thrive in the early years of your career.

open.spotify.com/episode/3nwo...

26.06.2025 15:37 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Systematic inclusion:Β Is literally everyone thinking, talking, practising, learning?Β How much does it matter to you. I’m often struck by just how deeply embedded some ineffective teacher habits are.Β Β I see it as a collective more than an individual problem. Faced with the inherent challenges that teac…

Systematic inclusion: Is literally everyone thinking, talking, practising, learning? How much does it matter to you?
teacherhead.com/2025/06/25/s...

25.06.2025 05:26 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2

Thanks for writing this - it hits many nails on the head.

10.06.2025 06:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

"The science of learning empowers teachers to make better decisions in their classrooms. Decisions grounded in how students actually learn, not in how we might wish they did."

This is a fantastic blog post.

10.06.2025 05:59 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Eventually got around to listening to this yesterday. Well worth a listen if you teach in Scotland.

10.06.2025 05:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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There’s a limited time 33% discount on all three of The Teaching Delusion books on Amazon just now:

TTD: amzn.eu/d/6YiH3fq

TTD2: amzn.eu/d/7yL7ta5

TTD3: amzn.eu/d/2XFBwF8

If you’re interested in them, it’s a great chance to get yourself a copy of each one 😊

07.06.2025 12:32 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Excellent explanation and rebuttal from @carlhendrick.substack.com of views which are unfortunately still too prevalent in much of the educational establishment.

08.06.2025 08:40 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Another really interesting episode of 'Talking Scottish Education' from @stuartphysics.bsky.social and @dnleslie.bsky.social speaking about #curriculum #reform with Andy Creamer from @educationscotland.bsky.social
Many shortcomings of #CfE identified and discussed. Need for clarity and decluttering

04.06.2025 16:20 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

It's great - really enjoying it!

25.05.2025 05:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Epiphone Les Paul Custom.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom.

Treated myself today. Great service from @guitarguitaruk.bsky.social in Edinburgh.

18.05.2025 17:10 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Last call for #MICER25

#ChemEdResearch
@cerg.bsky.social

12.05.2025 21:07 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Last call for #MICER25

#ChemEdResearch
@cerg.bsky.social

12.05.2025 21:07 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Why does your sweat smell? Sniff out the science of body odour, deodorants and antiperspirants

Engage your learners with the science of smelly sweat with this story and accompanying TikTok: edu.rsc.org/everyday-che...
#scienceteachers #sciteachuk

30.04.2025 05:00 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The third episode of Talking Scottish Education is available now.

In it @stuartphysics.bsky.social & I speak with Carole Ford & Lindsay Paterson on the importance of a knowledge-based curriculum, the role of assessment, and the need for coherence in educational practices.

29.04.2025 20:05 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Dr Audrey Cameron: Teaching Deaf Children Chemistry
Dr Audrey Cameron: Teaching Deaf Children Chemistry YouTube video by RSC Chemical Education Research Group

Recording of @aud2526.bsky.social presentation "Signing to Know: Unlocking chemistry concepts" from symposium in her honour last week is now on @cerg.bsky.social YouTube channel. Thanks to Dr Helen Pain for her warm introduction to Audrey and the symposium youtu.be/9cWN4oD39kw

29.04.2025 09:49 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The finalised programme for Methods in Chemistry Education Research #MICER25 at @edinburghnapier.bsky.social

micerportal.wordpress.com
#chemsky #chemedresearch

28.04.2025 18:54 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

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26.04.2025 10:37 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Final #MICER25 speaker announcement To complete the MICER25 line-up, we have a double act of Prof. Jacquie Robson and Dr Helen Cramman from Durham University. Prof. Robson and Dr Cramman will be leading a workshop on the use of focus…

#MICER25 speaker announcement!
micerportal.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/f...

#chemedresearch #chemsky

23.04.2025 17:24 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0