Beyond Good

Femi and Matt discuss the utility, pros, and cons of looking at lessons through a simple 'attention, participation, thought' lens, discuss other approaches to diagnosis, ask if we are over-complicating things, and consider an alternative lens focussed on creating conditions for independent practice. Contact us at: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

Matt and Femi discuss the importance of quiet independent practice for students, and get into the challenges and preconditions for getting this happening in lessons.

Matt and Femi catch up with Rachael Southern two years after her first appearance on the pod and she shares her knowledge around improving reading and thoughts about leading on it whole-school.

Author, teacher, trainer, and expert coach Sarah Cottinghatt joins Matt and Femi to discuss her book 'Ausubel's Meaningful Learning in Action', and coaching! Follow Sarah's Coaching Cuts on Substack: https://cognitivecoaching.substack.com/ Contact the pod: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

In this double episode Matt and Femi explore the arguments for students sitting in rows facing the front vs sitting around tables in groups, and then turn their attention to the issues around the effectiveness of issuing detentions vs a prompt and stern conversation with the student. As always please send your thoughts to beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

We've all experienced it!  Matt and Femi lay out some of the most important characteristics of poor leadership in schools as they see it.

Sometimes it really is a struggle to get through all the content.  But there's also possibly room for improvement when that claim is used to justify not giving students adequate time for independent practice in lessons, or building in regular mixed revision consolidation lessons to the scheme of work. Matt and Femi discuss! beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

Matt and Femi discuss episode 3 of the great Teaching: Unpacked documentary series. Watch the documentary at steplab.co/watch Get in touch: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

Matt and Femi discuss some of the most common problems they've noticed over the course of many years of lesson visits and drop-ins. Contact us by email: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

Matt and Femi chat about a rarely-discussed characteristic of teachers; having respect for the learners.

Femi and Matt explore the idea that some people are more coachable than others...

Matt and Femi discuss episode 2 of the Great Teaching Unpacked Documentary - which focuses on behaviour, norms, routines and merits. Watch the documentary for free at: steplab.co/watch

Matt and Femi discuss the idea of first success, and whether the copncept can inform thinking around teacher development and student learning.

Matt and Femi discuss Episode 1 of the Great Teaching, Unpacked documentary. Watch the documentary for free at: steplab.co/film Get in touch with Matt and Femi: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

Matt and Femi discuss the critical importance of not letting behavioural incidents go unchallenged.

Femi and Matt discuss the concept of school policies and policy documentation, and what makes them more or less effective. We're not on social media but we love to hear your thoughts, feedback, reflections and requests so please send us a message at: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

Matt and Femi discuss those brief interactions with students that set the tone for the lesson, or help transform the way students think about themselves.

Matt and Femi dive into the phrase that you so often hear amongst senior and middle management in schools: "Holding people to account".

Matt and Femi speak to the executive head teacher and founder of Cobham Free School, Michaela Khatib, about the remarkable journey to plan, start and grow a school from nothing to over a thousand pupils.

Matt and Femi discuss the need for teachers to have a basic understanding of how learning happens, as well as barriers and solutions to the problem.

Matt and Femi discuss Femi's experience of working in both state and private schools, what the major differences are for teachers and what each can learn from the other.

This episode has 2 unrelated topics...  In the first half of the episode Femi and Matt discuss what it means to have a culture where you can 'hold colleagues accountable' for the benefit of the whole team.  In the second part of episode (starting at 20:30), Femi and Matt turn their attention to the Power of Video - particularly with regards to modelling and feedback for teachers.

Femi and Matt discuss why improving our teaching (or anything) can be so difficult, and how that influences their thinking around coaching and PD.

Femi and Matt ponder the all too common phrase "people just aren't doing it"!

Femi and Matt discuss the concept of 'disagree then commit' in the context of working in a school team or SLT.