The Unteachables Podcast

Joining me is Avril Waite, a secondary science teacher from regional New South Wales who is leading the integration of artificial intelligence across her school, while also being a strong advocate for trauma-informed practice and student wellbeing. Avril also coordinates the New Marine Pathways program, helping create university access opportunities for students pursuing marine studies across New...

Joining me is Carmel McGee, a Tasmanian educator and certified lead teacher who has spent much of her career chasing one question: how do we actually create the conditions for curiosity to thrive? Carmel works at Riverside Primary School in Launceston, where she helps build classroom cultures where kids are curious, capable, and courageous. Her thinking has been shaped by some seriously impressive...

Okay, so this one's a little different. I'm not the one asking the questions today. I'm coming to you live from EduTech 2026, booth 1216, and before I put a single educator, leader or keynote speaker in the hot seat, my best friend and fellow teacher Jess decided it was only fair I sit in it myself first. Jess grabbed all the questions you've been sending me on Instagram and in...

If you can grab them in the first five minutes, everything feels easier. That's the magic of a great starter activity — and this episode is Claire's full Q&A on how to do them well. Starter tasks are one of Claire's absolute favourite things (her words). Done right, they communicate your expectations before you've said a single word, shift whatever energy students are walki...

Teachers are constantly being told to move away from punitive approaches — but rarely given the actual, practical skills to replace them with. And that gap? It's leaving teachers feeling disempowered, lost, and like restorative practice just doesn't work. This episode is Claire's answer to that. She's breaking down her exact framework for helping students build real accountabil...

Classroom management can feel like this big, intangible, confusing beast that no one can seem to nail down. Claire gets it — and this episode is her antidote to that. Five non-negotiable moves. Five things she'd hand you immediately if you came to her tomorrow and said "I'm struggling, what do I do?" No fluff, no theory — just the actual things that are within your control and...

Mentioned Resource: The Engagement Bundle Engagement slumping? You're not alone. Whether you're in the final push to summer or just hitting that mid-year wall where motivation has quietly packed its bags, this episode is for you. Claire shares four no-prep (or low-prep) whole class games that gamify your lessons, bring back buy-in, and make the last stretch of the year actually fun, for...

What does it actually mean to be a professional in teaching? Not just "treated like one" — but what does professional knowledge, professional growth, and professional community actually look like in practice? I got to sit down with one of the most cited education scholars alive — the incredible Andy Hargreaves — and honestly, I could have talked to him for hours. Andy is an author or edi...

Okay, I'm going to say something that might surprise you. The most powerful differentiation strategy I know is also the most boring one. No fancy tech. No elaborate lesson design. No creating multiple versions of anything. Just one simple, evidence-backed approach that, when you actually use it, has the power to dramatically reduce the low-level disruptions, work refusal, and off-task behavio...

Let me be real with you for a second, the word "differentiation" has a bit of a reputation problem. For most teachers, hearing it conjures up images of three separate lesson versions, colour-coded ability groups, and a to-do list that never ends. No wonder it sends a shudder up your spine. But here's the thing: that version of differentiation? It's not what I'm talking abo...

Every teacher has been there. The class that makes you want to crawl under your desk. The student who seems hell-bent on dismantling every lesson you've planned. And the horrible, shameful moment when you realise you've snapped, yelled, or just completely lost the plot… and it didn't help at all. Here's the thing: it's not because you're a bad teacher. It's becau...

When a student pushes a piece of work off their desk, puts their head down, pulls out their phone, or starts cracking jokes, it can feel personal. Like, really personal. Especially when you've poured your heart into that lesson. But here's the thing: none of that behaviour is random. And it's definitely not about you. In this episode, I'm giving you a front seat to something I...

What if the biggest shift you could make for your most complex students had nothing to do with behaviour charts, consequences, or reward systems — and everything to do with the way you see them? In this episode, I'm sitting down with the incredible Verity Harvey — an educator with over 20 years of experience in inclusion and disability, a passionate advocate for neurodiversity, and one of the...

What if the reason classroom management feels so bloody hard… is because you were never actually taught how to do it in a way that works and aligns with your values? In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to a live training I recently ran called Turn Your Teaching into a Classroom Management Machine — and honestly, it was too good not to bring onto the podcast. If classroom management has ev...

A few weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of jumping on the Teacher Takeaway podcast for a proper behaviour-nerd chat… and the second we wrapped, I knew I wanted you to hear it too. Because if you’ve ever walked into a lesson feeling like you’re doing crowd control (and then gone home thinking, “Why am I like this?!”)… this one is for you. In this conversation, Aaron and I unpack the biggest mis...

What if I told you that you could build connection, boost buy-in, reset the vibe, AND reduce low-level behaviour… in five minutes flat? No prep. Just you, your class, and a little bit of magic. ✨ In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to 10 of my favourite grab-and-go community builders, the ones that get students laughing, talking, connecting, and (without even realising it) building the k...

In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to the teaching assistants I’ve had in my classroom for years… except they’re not people. They’re systems. Predictable, powerful routines that quietly run the room so I can actually teach with FAR fewer low-level disruptions. I’m walking you through the non-negotiable routines that have transformed my classroom from chaotic to calm, and how you can star...

What if the class everyone labels “unteachable”… becomes your favourite group of the year? In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to one of the most formative stories of my teaching career—back when I was fresh out of uni, wildly underqualified, and somehow ended up turning the “low class” into the class that changed everything for me. This episode is a big one. It gets to the heart of how c...

Here’s a spicy but honest truth: sometimes, we don’t like every student we teach. And while we’re trauma-informed, values-driven, compassionate educators — we’re also human. And navigating complex behaviour, bullying, defiance, or students who constantly derail your lessons? It takes a toll. In this episode, I’m opening up the very real conversation about what to do when you find a student… unlika...

In this episode, I’m giving you a front-row seat to how I break the ice with my classes without forcing kids (or me!) into anything awkward, loud, or fake. Whether you’ve got a class full of students with complex needs, or just want something low-stakes and actually useful — this is the episode for you. I’m walking you through the exact back-to-school icebreakers I’ve used for years with huge succ...

That quiet calm at the start of the year? Yeah, it won’t last... unless you do this . Welcome back to The Unteachables Podcast . It’s still back-to-school season, and this episode is for every teacher who wants to avoid the classic Week 7 spiral when behaviours suddenly spike and everything feels a bit… cooked. I’m giving you a front seat to the real reason that early-term magic fades—and what to...

Feeling like last year’s behaviour battles stole your joy? Let’s change the energy at the door. We kick off the new season with a grounded, practical roadmap to reset expectations, reclaim credibility, and build calm with routines that do the heavy lifting—even if you’re returning to the same challenging group. In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to: What to do when you’re dreading going...

In last week’s episode, we talked about what to do when student energy is flat, motivation is MIA, and you're pulling teeth just to get through a lesson. This week, we're flipping the script and tackling the other end of the spectrum, those wild, chatty, off-task end-of-year vibes that have you asking: 🫠 “Why is everyone shouting?” 🫠 “Why can’t we sit down for longer than 2 minutes?”...

We’ve officially entered the end-of-year zone... You know, the part where students are either bouncing off the walls or slumping over their desks like they’ve pulled three all-nighters in a row. And let’s be honest, we’re right there with them. In this week’s episode, I’m unpacking a common (and deeply exhausting) classroom vibe: student apathy . That “ugh, why are we even here?” energy that rolls...

This episode is a big warm hug and a practical roadmap for every teacher who’s ever thought: “How the heck am I supposed to stay calm when they’re pushing ALL my buttons?!” I’m diving into a juicy listener Q&A all about what to do in those real-deal, fight-flight-freeze moments in the classroom. And spoiler alert: it’s not about becoming a Zen monk who never reacts. It’s about having scripts ,...