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Welcome to Episode 1 of our Teaching Methods series. Today we speak to John Fleming, a leading advocate for education reform and someone whose views are highly sought-after by education professionals throughout Australia, about the method known as explicit instruction.

Teaching Methods - John Fleming

By building strong professional learning communities (PLCs) school leaders can improve not only the quality of teaching, but also student outcomes. So, what does an effective PLC look like and how do you go about building one? My guest is Dr Lawrence Ingvarson, a Principal Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). He’s developed ACER’s Professional Learning Community Framework (PLCF). The framework covers five key domains: professional culture; leadership; a focus on student learning, wellbeing and engagement; a focus on improving professional knowledge and practice; and teachers who think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

School Improvement Episode 10: Effective professional learning communities

Stacey Epstein is the CEO @ Zinc, the secure communications platform for workers in front of customers, not computers. They have backing from some of the best in SaaS investing including the likes of Jason Green @ Emergence, CRV with George Zachary and GE Ventures. Prior to Zinc, Stacey was CMO at Banjo. Before Banjo, Stacey was CMO at ServiceMax where she helped fuel 5 consecutive years of triple-digit growth. Finally, before ServiceMax, Stacey was the Vice President of Global Marketing Communications at SuccessFactors. During her tenure with SuccessFactors, Stacey pioneered the marketing function in 2005, and was instrumental in the company’s successful IPO in 2007, which led to a $3.4B acquisition by SAP in 2010. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:  How Stacey made her way from Executive Assistant working for another Executive Assistant before moving to CMO and today as CEO? What were the fundamental lessons Stacey took from her career as CMO to now being CEO/ What were some of the hardest elements of the transition? What role should the CEO play in the marketing strategy and execution? What do CEO’s most often get wrong about CMO’s?What is the optimal and most efficient working relationship between CEO and CMO? How does Stacey create alignment and strong and successful communication between the traditionally conflicting sales and marketing? How does transparency help drive better business results? How can one look to instill these values and communication standards on inherited organisations they they did not found? Are there any drawbacks to transparency and communication?  60 Second SaaStr  What hires does Stacey wish she had made earlier? What can females do to master the art of negotiating? Recruiting in the valley today, how tough and top tips? When is the right time to hire your CMO?  If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Stacey Epstein

SaaStr 136: What Role Should The CEO Play With The Marketing Strategy, What Do CEOs Most Often Get Wrong About CMOs & What Makes The Optimal CEO-CMO Relationship with Stacey Epstein, CEO @ Zinc

Professor Simone Reinhold joins Teacher to discuss inquiry based learning in primary mathematics, including the benefits of students working on a common task with differentiated outcomes, and the role of the educator in finding a balance between explorative and informative learning.

Teaching Methods: Inquiry based learning with Professor Simone Reinhold

In this episode we visit Western Port Secondary College – one of 21 government schools involved in the Australian initiative The Paradigm Shifters: Entrepreneurial learning in schools – to talk to assistant principal Hannah Lewis and student Harry Hainsworth.

Teaching Methods: Entrepreneurial learning

Dr David Armstrong from Flinders University is our guest in today’s Behaviour Management podcast. We explore how certain behaviour management models are simply ineffective, particularly for students with learning or mental health difficulties, and discuss his research in this area.

Behaviour Management Episode 4: Behaviour approaches for children with disabilities

The team’s on the road this week at the ACER Research Conference in Sydney, where the theme for 2018 is ‘Teaching practices that make a difference: Insights from research’. In this special episode, we share highlights from the ‘In Conversation’ session on evidence-based teaching practices between Laureate Professor John Hattie and ACER CEO Professor Geoff Masters AO. The facilitator was Tony Mackay AM, of the Centre for Strategic Education in Melbourne.

Podcast Special: John Hattie And Geoff Masters In Conversation

Moving to a new school is an important time in any child’s life. For students from a migrant or refugee background it often means learning a new language or joining outside of the normal transition period, at different points throughout the school year. In this podcast we're at Noble Park Primary School to speak to Principal David Rothstadt about how staff support new students and their families, and create a safe and secure learning environment.

School Improvement Episode 17: Supporting migrant and refugee students

In this episode of The Research Files, we're joined on the line by Professor Helen Christensen, The Director and Chief Scientist at Black Dog Institute. Black Dog Institute is an Australian organisation focussed on identifying, preventing and treating mental illness. They’re also pioneers in mental health research, and one research area is concerned with suicide prevention. This area is named CRESP, which stands for the Centre of Research Excellence in Suicide Prevention and brings together key researchers to focus on projects and trials with the aim of lowering suicide rates. Professor Christensen is currently leading a phase of CRESP research – which she labels CRESP 2 – that aims to deliver suicide prevention strategies across the country, taking a technology-based approach. Their work will include intervening at both primary and secondary school levels, with strategies centring on the use of different smartphone apps.

The Research Files Episode 45: Suicide prevention strategies in schools

Welcome to the first ever episode of 'The Classroom Chat' by Kirsty Hall and Jonny Ross-Tatam, two teachers in their second year of the Teach First programme. This is where we talk about the big issues in education and gather  top tips for your classroom, from the research and fellow teachers. 

In this episode, we will be talking about why there are fewer girls pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects. This is both a moral and economic issue, particularly with the rise of well-paid technology jobs in the future. We'll be breaking down the research behind why girls are being discouraged in STEM subjects, while gathering tips from the research and fellow teachers for what we can do about it in the classroom. 

Music credits to: Audio Jungle - MorningLightMusic - Upbeat Inspiring Corportate Uplifting (AJ Preview)

For more on the research behind this podcast, see the articles below:

Suzanne Choney (March, 2018), ‘Why do girls lose interest in STEM? New research has some answers – and what we can do about it’, Microsoft;  https://news.microsoft.com/features/why-do-girls-lose-interest-in-stem-new-research-has-some-answers-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/ 

Nathalia Gjersoe (March, 2018), ‘Bridging the gender gap: why do so few girls study Stem subjects?’, The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2018/mar/08/bridging-the-gender-gap-why-do-so-few-girls-study-stem-subjects. 

Catherine Hill, Ph.D. (2010), ‘Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)’, American Association of University Women (AAUW); https://www.aauw.org/research/why-so-few/ 

For a summary of the Manchester Metropolitan University research see this article; Amy Packham (March, 2018), ‘7 Practical Ways Parents Can Inspire Girls To Get Into STEM’, The Huffington Post, https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/inspiring-girls-into-stem_uk_5aa7b5a7e4b03c9edfaf8584?guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_cs=fzpgFS6YhkwWZgVt66ipsA. 
Anni REINKING, Barbara Martin, ‘The Gender Gap in STEM Fields: Theories, Movements, and Ideas to Engage Girls in STEM’, Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, [S.l.], v. 7, n. 2, p. 148-153, july 2018. ISSN 2254-7339. Available at: <https://naerjournal.ua.es/article/view/271>

The Classroom Chat - Girls in STEM - Episode 1

In this episode of Global Education, we're joined on the line by Dr Louise van Rhyn from Cape Town, South Africa. She’s the founder of a program named Partners for Possibility, which pairs business leaders with principals for a 12-month structured leadership development program. The program was recognised internationally after winning a WISE Award for innovative solutions to education challenges and their positive social impact.

Global Education Episode 16: Principal partnerships in South Africa

Our guest for today’s episode of the Research Files is Dr Carol Newall, a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at Macquarie University. She joins us today to talk about a study she led which investigates how a child’s gender impacts an adults’ perception of their ability and their enjoyment of Science. The 80 adult participants in this study were all Macquarie University students, 20 of whom were education students and 60 were studying psychology. 

These adults were given a fictional profile of an eight-year-old child with the task of teaching that child over Skype. Each child’s fictional profile was experimentally manipulated depending on whether they were boy or girl, and the stereotypes associated with that gender. For example, one child liked tea parties and the colour pink and another liked climbing trees and the colour blue.

As Dr Newall will explain in today’s episode, the results from this study revealed that participants rated girls as less academically capable than boys in Physics, and they delivered less scientific information during their teaching module when they believed they were teaching a girl.

The Research Files Episode 47: Gender bias in Science education

Welcome to the second episode of the Classroom Chat, where two young teachers talk about the big issues in education, the research behind them and gather tips from fellow teachers for our classrooms.  

This episode - learning through play - takes a deep dive into the debate about educating young children. Do they learn best through play or structured teaching? Or a bit of both? 

We'll be looking to learn from the research and by talking to our guest, a Year 1 teacher called Katie, who has become renowned (in the Leeds area) for striking a balance between learning through play and structured teaching - through an approach called 'continuous provision'.

We talk to Katie about the benefits of this approach, its potential challenges and pick up tips that can apply to teachers of all age groups. 

We hope you enjoy listening and would love to hear what your thoughts. We would also love to hear your ideas for future topics!

References:

Sarah Aiono (2017), ‘Play misunderstood: the divide between primary classrooms’, New Zealand Education Review;  http://educationreview.co.nz/play-misunderstood-the-divide-between-primary-classroom/


Bruce Fuller (2017), ‘Do academic pre-schools yield stronger benefits? Berkeley Graduate School of Education; https://gse.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/users/bruce-fuller/Fuller_academicpreK_JADP_May2017.pdf

Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) (2010), ‘CMEC statement on play-based learning’, CMEC; http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/282/play-based-learning_statement_EN.pdf

Barak Rosenshine (2012), ‘Principles of Instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know’, American Educator https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Rosenshine.pdf

Pomerance, Greenberg and Walsh (2016), ‘Learning About Learning: What Every New eacher Needs to Know’, National Council on Teacher Quality; https://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Learning_About_Learning_Report

Deans for Impact, ‘The Science of Learning’, Deans for Impact; https://deansforimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The_Science_of_Learning.pdf

Beth Morgan Russell (2015), ‘Supporting play and executive function – it’s how children learn’, Texas Child Care Quarterly; https://www.childcarequarterly.com/pdf/winter15_play.pdf


Leah Shafer (2018), ‘Summertime, playtime’, Harvard Graduate School of Education; https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/06/summertime-playtime


Ofsted (2015), ‘Teaching and play in the early years – a balancing act? Ofsted; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-and-play-in-the-early-years-a-balancing-act

The Classroom Chat - Learning Through Play - Episode 2

My guest today is Dr Jeff Thomas, a lecturer in the Master of Teaching and Graduate Certificate of Education at the University of Tasmania. Jeff’s research and teaching interests include the relationship between engagement and classroom behaviour, and reengagement approaches for disengaged students.

With the start of the school year fast approaching here in Australia, many teachers will be busy preparing for those first, initial weeks in the classroom. And according to Jeff, the beginning of the year is an amazing opportunity to engage students, to build relationships and to establish explicit expectations around student behaviour. But, he says, it’s important to plan for positive behaviour. 

Our discussion today covers many different areas including how to plan for that positive behaviour in your classroom, which routines are critical to establish in the initial weeks of the year, and practical things to keep in mind when responding to particularly challenging behaviours as they arise in class.

Behaviour Management Episode 5: Planning for positive behaviour

Most teachers can agree that reading is vital to a child's academic and future success. But how do we teach pupils to read well and to enjoy reading?

In this episode, we will be breaking down the research on reading - how important it is and the most effective ways of teaching it - and Jonny will be interviewing Kate Robinson (pictured as a young reading enthusiast here!). Kate is the Head of Main School at Ormiston South Parade Academy in Grimsby, who has been integral to their well-above average reading SATS results. She is a reading enthusiast (as you can see from the picture) and has some great insights to offer teachers for how to teach reading and promote a love of reading in your classrooms. She has also been commended by the Prime Minister for her outstanding contribution to teaching!

We learnt a lot about reading from making this episode and we hope you do too!

All our best wishes,

Jonny and Kirsty
The Classroom Chat

The Classroom Chat - Recipes for Reading Success - Episode 3

We’re taking you to the Northern Territory in this episode of Teaching Methods, where a primary school was purposefully built to house classrooms of students taught by co-teachers. The school, Rosebery Primary, is in its ninth year this year, and Principal Gail Smith joins us on the line today to discuss how co-teaching has improved outcomes for students, how trusting co-teacher relationships are maintained and some possible hurdles to adopting the process. We begin this episode with Gail providing some context of her school.

Teaching Methods: Co-teaching to improve student outcomes

Seen by some as 'Britain's strictest school' (The Guardian) and by others as a bastion of high standards and academic excellence, the Michaela Community School has made a big impression on the U.K.'s educational landscape. 

The school certainly divides opinion, but with staff who loudly proclaim its ethos and an excellent set of recent GCSE results, it seems that there might be more to the Michaela School than some critics believe. 

In this episode of the podcast, we interviewed Jozef Butterfield, an English teacher at Michaela, who gave his insight into the school's principles, ethos and approach to teaching. 

If you want to find out more about Michaela, then we would heartily recommend a visit!

The Michaela Community School - The Classroom Chat - Episode 4

Our guest today is Ashley Stewart, a Mathematics teacher from Newton Moore Senior High School in Bunbury, Western Australia. Just recently, Ashley was named in the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize and, in fact, she was the only Australian educator to make the coveted list for 2020. In today’s episode we talk about how she focuses on dissolving the gender gap in STEM at her school by boosting girls’ uptake and engagement in these subjects. Ashley also shares details of some of the STEM programs she’s introduced, including a spatial training program and an international school partnership, which have improved academic achievement, but also student engagement and enjoyment in their lessons. 
Host: Rebecca Vukovic
Guest: Ashley Stewart
Sponsor: EnhanceTV

Podcast Special: Dissolving the gender gap in STEM

Year 10 gifted and talented students at St Matthews Catholic School in regional New South Wales collaborated with academics at the University of Sydney on a research project. In today’s episode we speak with Professor Patrick Brennan and Brooke Colley about how the collaborative nature of this project strengthened students’ STEM skills in areas like data analysis, experimentation and scientific writing.
Host: Dominique Russell
Guests: Professor Patrick Brennan and Brooke Colley

Teaching Methods: Team teaching with university academics

Our guest today is Lisa Seewraj, a teacher at Child Side Playgroup and School in Boyanup, Western Australia, about 200 kilometres south of Perth. Child Side School is an independent, co-educational school covering Kindergarten to Year 10.

The school was founded in 2002, with a focus on relationships, engagement and connectivity. The school’s founders and co-principals Karron McDonald and Leonie O’Connell say they strongly believe that each person’s story matters to them and should matter to the students themselves; they help children value their own story and communicate and advocate it’s worth over and above any reports, grades, scores and other stats and data.

Lisa Seewraj teaches a multi-age class of 23 students across Years 7-10. She does this with a co-teacher who teaches maths and science, and the two teachers are in the class for most of the week. Lisa also teaches these students for the four years they are in this year range. In today’s episode we discuss how she manages the classroom on a daily basis, the range of abilities that she caters for, and how she provides each student with the appropriate level of challenge to progress in their learning.
Guest: Lisa Seewraj
Host: Rebecca Vukovic

Teaching Methods: Inquiry based learning with Professor Simone Reinhold

Teacher Magazine (ACER)