Chalk Dust

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by renowned mathematician, educator and founder of JUMP Math, John Mighton. Drawing on classroom footage from Canadian primary classrooms, John shares the instructional principles that underpin his work: breaking complex ideas into manageable steps, ensuring every student experiences success, and building confiden...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Laura Stam, a third grade teacher in Wyoming, writer of The Knowledge Exchange on Substack, 2024–2025 Goyen Fellow, and founding board member of The Reading League Wyoming. Laura takes us inside a knowledge-rich history lesson on the earliest Native American peoples of North America, with a particular focus...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Hannah Pointon, a Year 3/4 teacher at Woodstock School in Hamilton, New Zealand. Hannah shares how her school has moved towards structured literacy, structured maths, explicit teaching, and teaching behaviour as a curriculum in its own right. Using early-year classroom footage, the episode explores how clear...

Summary In this second part of their conversation with Adam Boxer, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain move from behaviour and presence into the micro-detail of questioning, participation, and formative assessment. Using a retrieval practice clip, Adam unpacks how tightly structured classroom talk—particularly through “name at end” questioning, deliberate wait time, and systematic student selection—...

Summary In this special episode of Chalk Dust , Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch sit down with Adam Boxer to explore the thinking behind Carousel Teaching ’s new video library. Rather than simply showcasing polished classroom clips, Adam explains how the platform is designed to pair tightly curated footage with explicit professional learning, commentary, and guidance so teachers understand not ju...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Jo-Anne Dooner and Geoff Ongley from Get Reading Right , Training 24/7 and Learning 24/7 . The conversation explores how high-quality, knowledge-rich literacy instruction can be made accessible at scale — including in remote and international contexts. Using training videos rather than live classroom footage...

Summary In this Season Two opener of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain unpack what it means to start the year “right” through classroom routines that are warm, efficient, and culturally responsive. Drawing on classroom videos from AERO, they analyse entry routines, explicit logistical instructions, and minimally invasive behaviour corrections (the look, gesture cues, deliberate paus...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by educator, designer, and author Peps Mccrea , Director of Education at Steplab and writer of the High Impact Teaching series. Together, they watch and unpack classroom footage from two outstanding UK teachers—Primary English teacher Isla Lago and science teacher Pritesh Raichura. The conversation explores why th...

Summary In this episode of the Chalk Dust podcast, Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch are joined by Teach Well General Manager, Katie Webster , and Western Australian primary teacher Kaitlin Rowan to explore the transformative impact of instructional coaching and deliberate practice on classroom teaching. Through a before–and–after analysis of Kaitlyn’s filmed lessons, the conversation highlights h...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Denarius Frazier , Regional Superintendent of Instruction for Uncommon Schools in New York City and Senior Advisor with the Teach Like a Champion team. Denarius, co-author of Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging , shares how routines, feedback, and culture can transform clas...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Dr Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch are joined by John Hollingsworth, co-founder of DataWorks Educational Research and co-author of Explicit Direct Instruction: The Power of the Well-Crafted, Well-Taught Lesson . Known widely as the “Purple Book,” his work has shaped how teachers worldwide think about whole-class explicit teaching. Together, the team analys...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Dr Carl Hendrick , Professor of Education at Academica University of Applied Sciences and co-author of How Learning Happens and How Teaching Happens . Together, the team explore real classroom footage from Australian classrooms, reflecting on how teachers respond when learning doesn’t go exactly to plan. They...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by instructional coach, author, and classroom management expert Dr Mark Dowley. Together, they step inside classrooms across Australia to see how great teachers start their lessons, from Year 9 maths to a Northern Territory prep class of fifty students. They unpack the anatomy of an effective entry routine, from gr...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust , Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by instructional coach and Knowledge for Teachers podcast host Brendan Lee. Together, they step inside a Year 3/4 classroom at Morwell Central Primary School, where Brendan delivers a real-time maths lesson on the commutative property of multiplication. They unpack the anatomy of a high-impact lesson, covering how...

Summary In this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain explore effective teaching practices in secondary education, focusing on engagement strategies; the importance of chess for listening and thinking; and the application of self-determination theory. They discuss the significance of structured lesson plans, guided note-taking, and fostering student participation. The conversati...

Summary In this conversation, Manisha Gazula, principal of Marsden Road Public School, analyses examples from her classrooms. Together with Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain, the team discuss the unique challenges and strategies of her school, which serves a diverse and transient student population. Manisha emphasises the importance of phonics and structured teaching methods for literacy developme...

Summary In this episode of the Chalk Dust podcast, Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch visit the classroom of Queensland primary school teacher, Rebecca Sloots, the first teacher to be featured on the Teach Like a Champion practice archive. By exploring checking for understanding (CfU) and checking for quality (CfQ), the hosts unpack effective teaching practices, focusing on explicit instruction, CF...

Dr Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch are teaming up for a new podcast series where we break down real classroom footage to uncover what makes great teaching great . Each episode, we pause the play, slow things down, and analyse the moves teachers make—connecting them to the research on how students learn best. ✨ Teaching is both an art and a science, and this podcast lives right at that intersect...