Knowledge for Teachers

In this episode of Knowledge for Teachers podcast, Brendan Lee is joined by the legendary Craig Barton—maths educator, best-selling author of How I Wish I Taught Maths and Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain, creator of variationtheory.com and tipsforteachers.co.uk, and one of the original voices in education podcasting. In this conversation, Craig opens up about the highs and lows of teaching, the le...

In this episode, I’m joined by Jeanette Breen — Learning Specialist at Templestowe Heights Primary School and Head of Global Partnerships at No More Marking — to unpack insights from her recent tour of some of the highest-performing schools across the UK. From standalone primaries to schools within trusts like Ark Academy, and even the renowned Michaela Community School, where she met Katharine Bi...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Carl Hendrick, a leading voice in education and co-author of What Does It Look Like in the Classroom?, How Learning Happens, and How Teaching Happens. Carl has been instrumental in helping teachers bridge the gap between research and practice, addressing the key question: That all sounds great, but what does it mean for me? Together, they explore five e...

In this episode, we're focusing on a key element of successful schools: understanding and supporting positive student behaviour. Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Brandi Simonsen, a professor of special education at the University of Connecticut and co-director of the National Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Brandi shares her practical insights into PBIS, exploring the c...

In this episode, get ready to dive deep into the world of assessments with Dr. Matthew Burns, as we explore the different categories of assessments, their intended purposes, and how they can be used to inform instruction. Dr. Burns, a researcher with extensive experience in the effective use of assessment data and interventions, shares his expertise on bridging the gap in understanding assessments...

In this episode of Knowledge for Teachers, Brendan Lee speaks with Liana McCurry, a passionate advocate for primary school maths education. Fresh from her Churchill Fellowship, Liana shares findings from her research into mathematical practices across six countries. Listeners will gain insights into the systemic issues contributing to Australia's declining maths performance and discover how to bri...

This episode features a compelling conversation with Murat Dizdar, the head of the New South Wales Department of Education. Murat shares his inspiring journey from being the son of Turkish immigrants to leading Australia’s largest education system. He discusses the experiences that shaped his vision for public education, his deep passion for the teaching profession, and the key initiatives he’s ch...

In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast, Nick Hart takes us on an inspiring journey from his beginnings in sports science to becoming a school leader in Dubai. A respected voice in educational leadership, Nick shares insights from his blog and books, delving into the evolution of his leadership style. He discusses the critical role of context in decision-making, introduces the concep...

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 po...

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 te...

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 scho...

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...

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.    Throug...

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...

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...

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...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Professor Jonathan Sharples from the Education Endowment Foundation. He has led the recent update to the EEF’s A School’s Guide to Implementation and in this conversation we unpack the paper. Professor Sharples details the updates and why they were made. He also digs into each of the key elements. As Jonathan highlights, how something is done is as importan...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Bethany Rittle-Johnson, a professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University. Bethany has led a lot of the research around conceptual and procedural knowledge. In this chat, she delves into this topic and also discuss other high impact strategies such as worked examples, self-explanations and the power of comparisons in supporting student learning.   Resource...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Professor Pamela Snow. She has been at the coalface fighting for evidence-based reading instruction to be common practice for a number of years and throughout this conversation, she provides nuggets of gold in describing how when we talk about phonics we need to be using it as an adjective with a noun following it. Pamela unpacks why this debate about readi...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Jamie Clark, an English teacher and lead practitioner specialising in pedagogy and digital learning. They discuss his recently released book, One Pagers and unpack how it could be used. Jamie breaks down a number of the techniques mentioned in the book and describes his thinking process in putting it all together. He also provides some super useful tips on...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Emina McLean. Emina works with systems, schools, leaders, and teachers to develop ambitious and rigorous assessment, curriculum and instruction practices in English and literacy. In this chat, Emina discusses her focus on implementing effective systems and practices for teaching reading and writing. She highlights the importance of aligning curriculum, asse...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Bronwyn Ryrie Jones, an instructional coach who supports teachers and instructional leaders to develop their expertise. She discusses the importance of responsive teaching and shares techniques to effectively check for understanding in the classroom. She emphasises the need for teachers to have a deep understanding of the principles behind responsive teachi...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Trisha Jha who currently works with the Centre for Independent Studies and recently released a couple of reports titled: What is the Science of Learning? And Implementing the Science of Learning: Teacher experiences . Trisha unpacks these papers and discusses her journey into education research and the importance of focusing on what happens in the classroom...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Mark Dowley (Associate Head – Staff Development at the Crowther Centre for Applied Educational Research) who has recently released the book, “ The Classroom Management Handbook ” that he co-authored with Ollie Lovell. In this chat, they unpack the book and how it’s what Mark and Ollie wish they had when they started teaching. They also discuss ten impor...

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Rebecca Birch, a teacher of English and the Director of Research and Practice at a top 50 independent school in Sydney, Australia. She shares her journey from a career in fashion and advertising to becoming an English teacher. Rebecca emphasises the importance of evidence-based practice and the need for teachers to be sceptical and critical of educational t...