Beyond Good

Femi relays some very concrete pedagogical observations from his daughter's drum lessons which apply equally well to teaching students in every day subject lessons in school. Matt and Femi will be taking a little break over the Christmas period and wish all listeners a restful break over the holidays.  The next episode will be released mid-January.

Femi tells Matt about his visit to The Totteridge Academy, which he was thoroughly impressed by.

Following their visit to Copleston High School, Matt and Femi discuss how they would each approach a hypothetical situation of being a newly appointed VP in charge of teaching and learning:  How would they get started and what would they be trying to achieve in the first few months.

Matt and Femi reflect on what they would say if asked the question "What's the single most important thing teachers should know?", and in the end come up with 3 things between them.

Matt and Femi respond to a listener question about steps to improve the quality of teaching in their department as a new KS3 lead or second in department.

Matt was in a reflective mood recently and shared a few of the things he has been working on and thinking about with Femi.

Prompted by listener feedback, Femi and Matt explore the idea that when it comes to teaching we are making something simple more complicated than it needs to be. Get in touch by emailing us: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

Matt and Femi discuss what comes to mind when one hears a teacher say "We had a great discussion today about ...". Contact us by emailing beyondgoodpod@gmail.com

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.