In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Zach Groshell for the third of their trilogy of conversations together. In their first episode, they unpacked the nuances of teaching effectively. In the second one, they spoke about coaching, culture and change. In today’s podcast, you will hear them discuss the complex world of school leadership! They explore the key elements that contribute to a positive and productive school culture. From going beyond superficial evaluation methods to building a diverse team that leverages everyone's strengths, they cover a range of important topics that will help school leaders create a thriving learning environment for both students and teachers.

Zach’s four points were:

1. Leaders need to start minimizing evaluations and start maximizing teacher performance
2. Leaders should view behavior as a system that involves everyone, including them
3. Leaders don’t have to be the best teachers on earth, but they do have to know something about instruction
4. Leaders should move away from one-off PD as the primary means of teacher training.

Brendan’s 4 points were:

1. Leaders need to have their fingers on the pulse
2. Clear Communication is key
3. Leaders need to build a diverse team
4. Good leaders don't care about who is right or wrong

Resources mentioned:

• Zach’s newly released book: Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching
• Viviane Robinson - Reduce change to increase improvement
• Daniel Kahnemann - Thinking, Fast and Slow
• Progressively Incorrect S4E10: Nathaniel Swain, Steven Capp, and Katie Roberts-Hull on Harnessing the Science of Learning

You can connect with Zach:

Twitter: @mrzachg

Podcast: Progressively Incorrect

Website: educationrickshaw.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Leslie Laud. She is the founding Director of ThinkSRSD, a writing program built upon Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). The discussion covers ThinkSRSD's key strategies, including mnemonics and how to apply them across different grade levels and writing genres. Furthermore, Dr. Laud addresses implementation challenges and provides advice for teachers, emphasising a gradual release of responsibility, the significance of teacher collaboration and the need for professional development that respects teachers' unique contexts.

Resources mentioned:

• thinksrsd.com
• Facebook Group: think SRSD "Self-Regulated Strategy Development": Releasing Writers
• Facebook Group: ThinkSRSD New Zealand and Australia
• SRSD
• Charles Haynes from Talking to Writing
• Judith Hochman
• Writing Revolution
• Karen Harris
• Steve Graham
• Amy Thomas
• Pooja Patel
• Nate Hanford, Leslie Laud, and Elizabeth Rinstra: ThinkSRSD A Secondary Analysis Cohort Investigation
• Carol Sue Engler
• Linda Mason
• Linda Darling Hammond and Anne Lieberman
• Dr. Charles Haynes

• Dr. Kay Wijekumar

• Gemma Maddocks - GEM Literacy

You can connect with Leslie:

Twitter: @LeslieLaud

Bluesky: @leslielaud.bsky.social

Linkedin

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Bluesky: @learnwithmrlee.bsky.social

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

Register for my upcoming course: A Systematic and Structured Approach to Teaching Primary Mathematics

Use the code: MATESRATES for a 10% discount.

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Nathaniel Swain. He returns for the third time and this time it’s to unpack his new book Harnessing the Science of Learning. However, as you will hear, they actually go beyond the book and dig into some of the critical considerations that schools and teachers need to be making. They explore how to make teaching and learning the top priority in your school, reclaiming valuable instructional time often lost to distractions. They also unpack the essential elements of effective literacy and numeracy instruction, going beyond the surface level to understand the importance of a knowledge-rich curriculum, explicit teaching techniques, and structured implementation processes.

They look at why teaching should be “Fun in the service of learning, not in spite of Learning” and some of the common barriers that school leaders face when initiating change.

Resources mentioned:

• Think Forward Educators
• Bentleigh West PS
• Riverwood PS
• Churchill PS
• Challis Community PS
• Steve Capp
• Lyn Stone
• David Morkunas
• Core Knowledge Foundation
• Toni Hattan-Roberts
• Doug Lemov
• Tom Sherrington
• Dr. Zach Groshell
• Dr. Simon Breakspear
• Katie Roberts-Hull
• Helen Hughes

You can connect with Nathaniel:

Twitter: @NathanielRSwain

Facebook

Linkedin

Order Nathaniel's book, "Harnessing the Science of Learning"

Website: www.nathanielswain.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

This is the second conversation between Dr. Zach Groshell and Brendan Lee. For those that don’t know, Zach is the host of the Progressively Incorrect Podcast and also the author of Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching. In this episode, they take a deep dive into some of the key considerations that schools need to take when it comes to instructional coaching.

For this episode, Zach’s four items were:

• Schools need an instructional focus for coaching to be successful.
• Coaching is not only about teaching techniques, but also about fostering teacher judgement.
• Relationships with teachers should not overshadow the goal of coaching
• Coaching cycles and drop ins don’t need to take all that long

Brendan’s four points were:

• Coaches need to shrink the change
• Coaching should feel like a development process, rather than a judgemental one
• Participants need to own the problem
• Get granular with goal setting

Resources mentioned:

• Steplab
• Josh Goodrich - Responsive Coaching
• Teach Like a Champion
• Peps Mccrea
• Jim Knight
• Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli - Teaching Walkthrus

You can connect with Zach:

Twitter: @mrzachg

Podcast: Progressively Incorrect

Website: educationrickshaw.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

10% off Discount code: MATESRATES

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Professor Nancy Jordan. She has been at the forefront of all things to do with early numeracy research including looking at screeners and intervention. Many of you come from the science of reading world and are fans of Scarborough’s Reading Rope, Nancy and colleagues have put together a Number Sense one! I’ve popped the citation in the show notes.

Throughout this conversation she delves into what number sense is, why it’s important, how we can develop it and how to assess it. Nancy also covers the role of manipulatives and the transition to understanding fractions.

Resources mentioned:

• SENS: Screener for Early Number Sense
• Number Sense Interventions
• Jordan, N. C., Devlin, B. L., & Botello, M. (2022). Core foundations of early mathematics: refining the number sense framework. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 46, 101181.
• ICME
• Ginsburg, Greenes, & Balfanz - Big Math for Little Kids
• Bob Siegler
• Nora Newcomb
• Chelsea Cutting.
• What Works Clearinghouse

You can connect with Nancy:

Twitter: @Dr_nancyjordan

Email: njordan@udel.edu

Website: https://sites.google.com/a/udel.edu/nancy-jordan/

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Rhonda Filmer, a gifted education consultant and teacher, she discusses her journey into the field and the importance of understanding neurodiversity and twice exceptional students. She has recently released a book, “Neurodiversity and the Twice-Exceptional Student” and they delve into some of the key points from the book throughout the episode.

Resources mentioned:

• Center on the Developing Child - Harvard University

• Tom Bennett
• Michelle Ronksley-Pavia
• Gifted Education Resource Center at New South Wales University
• Miraca Gross
• SPELD NSW

You can connect with Rhonda:

Linkedin

Book: Neurodiversity and the Twice-Exceptional Student

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast, Brendan Lee and Dr. Zach Groshell (Host of the Progressively Incorrect podcast) collaborated in the first of a series of episodes together. The theme for this episode was around what are the main principles that teachers need to understand about how learning happens and what are the key mechanisms of effective instruction.

Zach’s 4 points were:

1. Intrinsic motivation is a lofty goal but can't be depended upon.
2. Use generative learning strategies after building prior knowledge - and without the help of AI.
3. The environment is not the "Third Teacher" but it can be designed optimally.
4. We might underestimate how much students appreciate receiving feedback.

Brendan’s 4 points were:

1. The instructional hierarchy is the single most important thing for teachers to know
2. Desirable difficulties optimises learning
3. Attaining and retaining attention is easier said than done
4. Designing learning is more than just sequencing concepts in small steps

Resources mentioned:

• Haring and Eaton’s Instructional Hierarchy
• Bjork and Bjork’s Desirable Difficulties
• Fiorella and Mayer - Eight Ways to Promote Generative Learning
• Stanislas Dehaene - How we learn
• Daniel Willingham - Why don’t students like school
• Amanda VanDerHeyden
• Dylan Wiliam

You can connect with Zach:

Twitter: @mrzachg

Podcast: Progressively Incorrect

Website: educationrickshaw.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

* This was originally published on 15 Sep 2024 with poor sound quality, it was re-published on 20 Sep 2024 with improved sound quality! Hope you enjoy the episode!

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Charlotte Peverett, an experienced learning specialist and inclusion outreach coach, who shares her journey into teaching and special education. Charlotte discusses the significance of structures and routines in creating a safe and consistent learning environment. Charlotte also emphasises the importance of high expectations for all students and the role of teachers in preparing them for adulthood and functioning in society. In this conversation, Charlotte and Brendan discuss the importance of positive reinforcement and effective implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in schools. They also speak the role of leadership in planning and using data to drive improvement.

Resources mentioned:

• Tom Bennett
• La Trobe University - SOLAR Lab
• Sherrington & Caviglioli - Teaching Walkthrus
  • You can listen to Tom speak about this on episode 5 of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast
• Christopher Such - The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading
  • You can listen to Chris speak about this on episode 17 of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast
• Rosenshine’s Principles

You can connect with Charlotte:

Twitter: @lifeoflottie

Facebook: Science of Learning - Special Education Australia

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

Charlotte is an autistic, special education Learning Specialist/Inclusion Outreach Coach in South-West Victoria. Her specialty is literacy and language intervention with a passion to introduce research and evidence-based practices into mainstream and specialist settings. Charlotte has her Master of Education (LIHI) and is a postgraduate research student with the Latrobe University SOLAR Lab and is an Honorary Affiliate member of the Institute of Special Education (InSpEd). Charlotte has presented at numerous conferences and works with schools to change systems and practices to ensure all students are reaching their full potential.