Behavioural Deep Dive

Schools invest significant time and resources into professional development, but how do we know whether it's actually changing classroom practice? In this episode of the Behavioural Deep Dive, I'm joined by Sarah Wood, Educational and Developmental Psychologist and Head of Allied Health at the Learning for Life Autism Centre, to explore how schools can move beyond traditional professional...

Australian teachers estimate losing an average of nine minutes of learning time for every 30 minutes of teaching due to classroom disruption. What does this reveal about student behaviour in Australian schools? In this episode of the Behavioural Deep Dive, Jake Lewis is joined by Blaise Joseph, Director of the Education Program at the Centre for Independent Studies, to unpack findings from his res...

What does it actually mean to design instruction around how students learn? In this episode of the Behavioural Deep Dive, I sit down with Brendan Lee, educator, consultant and host of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast, to explore instructional design and the different types of learning that sit behind successful student performance. We discuss psychomotor, simple cognitive and complex cognitive l...

Opportunities to Respond (OTRs) are often talked about as a way to increase student engagement, but their impact goes much further than simply keeping students involved. In this episode of Behavioural Deep Dive , I’m joined by Karina Stocker to explore how Opportunities to Respond create the practice opportunities students need to acquire and strengthen both academic and behavioural skills. We unp...

Behavioural escalation is one of the most challenging situations educators face, but effective responses don't begin at the point of crisis. In this episode of Behavioural Deep Dive , I sit down with Paul Leitch, an educator with more than 35 years of experience supporting schools, to explore practical, evidence-informed approaches to preventing and responding to escalating behaviour. Drawing...

School attendance is one of the biggest challenges facing schools today; but why do students stop attending, and what can schools actually do to help? In this episode of Behavioural Deep Dive, I sit down with Associate Professor Lisa McKay-Brown, teacher and leading researcher in school attendance, to unpack the growing issue of school attendance problems and the practical, evidence-informed strat...

What does it actually take to successfully implement a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in schools? In this episode, I sit down with Dr Lorna Hepburn, founder of The Behaviour Coach and author of Implementing School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support: A Practitioner's Guide to Tier 1  to explore how schools can move beyond individual programs and build sustainable systems that improve outcom...

What does it actually mean for a school to be trauma-informed? In this episode of Behavioural Deep Dive, I’m joined by Dr Erin Leif to explore trauma and trauma-informed practice within educational settings. Together, we discuss how experiences of adversity can influence learning, behaviour, relationships, and emotional regulation, and the important role schools can play in promoting safety, conne...

Which classroom practices provide the strongest foundation for student success? In this episode of Behavioural Deep Dive, I’m joined by Dr Adam Feinberg to explore three of the most impactful classroom practices educators can use to support student learning, behaviour, and wellbeing. Together, we discuss how clear expectations, effective routines, and behaviour-specific feedback help create the co...

In this episode of Behavioural Deep Dive , I sit down with Jennifer Payne, teacher, psychologist, and Director of Rypple, to unpack student motivation, acknowledgement systems, and some of the common misconceptions around rewards in schools. We explore the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the research often linked to the “rewards undermine motivation” debate, and how acknowle...

In the first episode of the Behavioural Deep Dive , I sit down with Dr Russ Fox to explore function-based thinking and how it can be applied in classroom settings. Russ describes behaviour as something that is shaped by the environment, emphasising that students are always responding to what is happening around them. The conversation explores how being curious about what occurs before and after be...

In this debut episode, host Jake Lewis introduces the Behavioural Deep Dive, a podcast exploring the systems and habits that drive high performance in schools, teams, and organisations. Jake makes the case that the most effective teams aren't just the hardest working, but the best designed, and outlines his mission to bridge behaviour science research with practical, real-world strategies.