Inspiration 4 Teachers Podcast

Kelly Long chats with Rae Pica, host of Studentcentricity and founder of BAM Radio Network.  Rae is an education consultant, keynote speaker, and author specializing in the development and education of the whole child.  Together Kelly and Rae discuss how connecting the Mind and Body is crucial for learning.

Kelly Long chats with Debra Kidd about developing cross curricular assessment models that help children with philosophical learning.

“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.”  ~ Daniel H. Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Autonomy based motivation models are a proven method of increasing motivation, innovation and creativity.  The Australian software company, Atlassian pioneered an autonomy based motivation model and dubbed it the FedEx day because participants have to create and deliver overnight.  FedEx days are an interesting model for educational professional development!  In this episode I will share with you how the autonomy based model of motivation can lead to an innovative school, with the purpose of genuinely adding value to teaching and learning and the wider community. In this podcast workshop you’ll learn: How autonomy based motivation models can drive professional learning sessions How to launch your own

Over the last eight months your dedication and thirst for knowledge has ensured that I have continued to drink lots of coffee, late into the night to ensure that the amazing thought-provoking, heartfelt ideas that my guests and I share on the show continue to be delivered to you on a weekly basis.   And now for some AWESOME news! 

Cross curricular collaboration is necessary to help students form connections between pillars of knowledge, and to drive the creativity that exists within all of our learners.  To achieve this we can provide our learners with continuous cross curricular learning experiences.  And guess what, it doesn’t require a whole school cross curricular day or week, but regular implementation within your own lesson planning.  It’s not only fun, exciting, and creative, but brings your subject to life without huge amounts of collaborative effort. In this podcast workshop you’ll learn: A practical model for cross curricular lesson planning Overcoming the challenges of cross curricular lesson integration Extending cross-curricular learning beyond the classroom Want to learn more?  Sign up for more cross curricular lesson ideas, activities and resources

If the brain is the lock, the Mind Map is the key! If you are interested to learn about a method that helps to foster independent learners in your classroom or if your pupils struggle to memorise facts, figures and curriculum content, or if you want to better develop a technique to help with revision this podcast workshop will enhance your teaching toolkit. In this podcast workshop you’ll learn: ·                What is Mind Mapping and its power to aid learning ·                How to create a basic Mind Map ·                Using Mind Maps to enhance learning, improve revision and exam technique, improve feedback, assessment and classroom planning Get ready for this practical workshop in our series of summer CPD bonuses with your host, Kelly Long

“The role of a creative leader is not to have all the ideas; it's to create a culture where everyone can have ideas and feel that they're valued.” ~ Sir Ken Robinson Creativity is not just associated with the arts.  It is the "generation of novel, useful ideas“ That means creativity is problem solving, that being the case, it means that it is a skill which can be taught.  It means that as teachers we can enrich our classrooms by constructing creative environments where our learners thrive on problems solving to develop new, innovative ideas as part of their learning journey.  As a teacher, the chances are that you are already being creative in your thought process in order to help your learners understand your subjects.  Teachers are the most creative beings when it comes to developing lessons resources that deconstruct topics, scaffold and reassemble to help students to learn.   But challenging learners to think creatively about a problem adds a new

Time is the biggest barrier to educational innovation!  Teachers are too busy, working hard to ensure that students receive the best possible suite of academic outcomes.  There is little, to no time to investigate new technologies, online learning environments or to develop active learning opportunities that expand our learner’s experiences, essential skills set and knowledge.    But when the need to introduce a new idea into our teaching practice is recognised, the temptation to immerse ourselves in the excitement and charge into using a new application or integrating a piece of technology is often the biggest risk that leads to failure.  Before we know it, the mountain we have discovered is so enormous to climb that we simply do not have the tools or time to achieve innovative learning opportunities.  Stefan Caspar, Enhanced Learning Production Manager at the University of Southampton, recognises the need for teachers to have the luxury of time so that they can explore an

“Failure is a future attempt at learning.”  In ten years of teaching I can specifically recall on one hand the names of pupils who had me down and out on the classroom ring floor in terms of their excessive challenging behaviour.  Each teaching moment with these pupils created a daunting sensation in the pit of my stomach and overwhelming emotions of incompetency, where I believed myself to be ill equipped to manage their behaviour.  Those un-teachable moments can shatter your confidence and make you question your ability to teach effectively.  Experience has taught me that the repertoire of behaviour strategies is often not creative enough to tackle and address the challenging behaviour of some students.  Sometimes a re-thinking of the problem is what is required and often it can be as simple as meeting the child where they are, on a cultural, social, morale and peer hierarchical level. Steve Beckles-Ebusua is an expert in helping teenagers and young adults to overc

Accountability measures for teachers, pressures of inspection, and narrowing curriculum options are collaborating to foster competitive classroom environments where educators may indeed be forced to teach to the final outcome, the exam and not to the benefit of the learner or their community.  Exams can be passed, it requires sustained practice over time and technique, none of which amounts to deep learning where students encounter a journey rich in problem solving, cross curricular excitement, creativity, innovation and above all autonomy of challenge. But how do we construct learning environments where students think independently, fail and try again through sheer determination and grit to succeed?  Bill Lucas Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning and Professor of Learning at the University of Winchester shares his experience of teacher research groups to divulge his discoveries of fostering rich environments for learning. Together Bill and I discuss thought-provoking ideas on engaging l

What does it mean to be successful and how do we measure the success of our learners? Considering how happy our learners are is a priority that is often over looked in favour of academic achievement.  Albert Schweitzer, the German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary, stated that: “Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”  Happiness is not an immediate state of mind that our learners can instantly acquire.  The good news for all of our learners is that happiness can be cultivated whilst learning. But how do classroom teachers successfully integrate these positive psychology messages in a highly engaging manner? Ashley Manuel, Head of PE & Sport at Immanuel Primary School, Adelaide, Australia and founder of Growing with Gratitude has developed a new revolutionary approach to help teachers and learners build positive habits.  Together Ashley and I

Engaging learners whose mindset is entrenched with reluctance requires an arsenal of leadership and teaching strategies.  But reluctance is not a phenomenon that is confined to the classroom.  This negative force permeates every level of the school hierarchy.  School leaders, Heads of Department and teachers alike, regularly encounter reluctance when introducing new teaching and learning concepts and initiatives.  But how do you minimise reluctance and avoid wasting precious energy?  Julia Skinner, former Headteacher and now founder of the 100 Word Challenge, understands the enormity of the challenge and has developed tools to decipher the potency of reluctance. Together Julia and I discuss the tools to overcome reluctance to engage. Episode take-aways: ·         Deciphering reluctance to engage ·         Identifying positive wizards and using them to your advantage ·   

We push ourselves to the limits to serve our learners, but with mounting pressures on our time and greater teacher accountability, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that burnout can strike.   Recognising the signs before crashing into a wall at full throttle is important for your well-being, but also for your ability to excite and challenge the learners in your classroom. Angela Watson, former classroom teacher and now Educational Consultant , knows what it feels like to reach burnout and lose the passion for teaching!  But through a series of events she found purpose and clarity in re-defining her role as a teacher.  Angela discovered workable strategies that re-ignited her passion for teaching.   Together Angela and I discuss being intentional with your time to avoid burnout and the steps you can take to re-igniting your  passion for teaching! Episode take-aways: ·         Transformational ideas to overcome teacher burno

I have no special talent.  I am only passionately curious! ~ Albert Einstein Talent is debatable!  What is not, is the hours and hours of investment it takes to be good at what you are passionate about.  If that is becoming a great leader, then it takes grit and determination!  But quite often what prevents us from pursuing that leadership path is the nagging doubt of fear chattering in our heads.  Those concerns over increased responsibility, competency, judgement and fear of not meeting the standards are the internal barriers we create that prevent us from reaching our leadership goals.  The interesting fact about fear is that it is a useful barometer of what we need to do in order to improve.  Creating a framework within a school where staff are allowed to passionately pursue their interests is the basis by which ideas can flourish and talent can be nurtured.  Jill Berry, former Headteacher has first-hand experience of what it takes to nurture talent in a school an

If you watched Channel 4’s fly on the wall documentary, Educating Essex that followed a group of GCSE students, and the staff who taught them, then you certainly will remember the infectious enthusiasm of Vic Goddard, the Principal of Passmores Academy. Vic has a strong ethos of serving his school community, which hasn’t always been easy!  In one story, Vic reveals how an evening with parents to celebrate their child’s catering success and sample their culinary delights turned to disappointment, when parents failed to attend and show their support.  Faced with the challenge of engaging the parent community, Vic and his team set about working the problem!  Vic shares how serving the community beyond the school gate requires evolution, not revolution.  Together Vic and I discuss how Passmores Academy has worked to engage their student and parent community, but also how they have sponsored struggling primary schools in their local area, to provide them with guidance on how

Do you constantly evaluate and develop your own teaching practice?  Are you willing to push learning boundaries?  How about if those boundaries come in the form of social media or online technology, would you incorporate those mediums into your lesson planning, or does the thought of technology plague your mind?   If I told you that you could use online social media platforms and technology simply to advance pupils learning, give formative feedback or to allow enhanced learning collaboration would you join me on a journey of discovery?  If the answer is yes, then join Scott Hayden, a nominee of the 2015 TES (Times Educational Supplement) award and I on episode 20. Together Scott and I discuss how to weave technology into the fabric of learning; through lesson planning, assignment development and collaborative learning techniques.  Episode take-aways: Embedding technology into schemes of work (SOW), lesson plans and assignment writing Using differentiated technology approaches for le

“After seven experiments with hundreds of children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance…”  ~ Carol S. Dweck, Professor of Psychology Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Mindset has an enormous influence over a pupil’s ability to learn, as does praise!  But the type of praise that is received by a pupil can hinder their ability to progress.  In some cases, it can be destructive to future learning. Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, investigated the impact of praise on a child’s development.  She discovered that there are different forms of praise that a child receives; much of it is un-intentionally destructive and can inhibit a child’s ability to develop into a resilient learner. Trevor Regan of Train Ugly and Tammie Meehan of AusMinds have put Carole Dweck’s research on mindset and praise to the te

How do you use mobile technology to enhance pupils’ engagement and facilitate learning, without creating a funding crisis in your school?  Mobile technology and the debate surrounding Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) is highly topical in many schools.  Weighing up the pros and cons of implementing one technology echo system that all staff and pupils use vs. the idea of allowing pupils to bring their own devices into the classroom, presents a myriad of challenges.  In particular, how does a school protect and manage the safety of a child and develop appropriate learning behaviours around mobile phones as a learning tool.  With so many challenges, you can forgive a school for not wanting to step into the unknown, but are we missing an opportunity to engage pupils on the social media platforms and technology circles in which they interact?  Can our schools do a better job at developing digitally literate learners?     David Rogers is an Assistant Headteacher,Explorer,

Disenfranchised staff, low morale, poor attainment, imminent school closure and rebrand on the horizon.   These were just some of the challenges that the former Headteacher of Grange Primary School faced when he stepped into his new Headship.  In the face of adversity and mounting school criticism the then Headteacher, Richard Gerver stood in front of his staff and announced, “why is our school not as exciting as Disneyland?”   No doubt, a number of eyebrows were raised, but did enough heads lift to focus on the task of transforming the fortunes of the school?  Richard Gerver, is an innovator, educator, advisor to the UK government and author of ‘Change: learn to love it, learn to lead’ cited by Sir Ken Robinson as the very embodiment of his high-thinking on unleashing creativity and human potential.  Together Richard and I discuss the steps he took to radically transform the failing primary school into one of t

“We should focus on the greatest source of variance that can make the difference – the teacher. We need to ensure that this greatest influence is optimised to have powerful and sensationally positive effects, but they must be exceptional effects.” - Professor John Hattie, researcher in education and Director of the Melbourne Educational Research Institute, Australia Much of a teacher’s professional development focuses on how to teach and strategies for learning.  But how frequently do we experience training that focuses on the human element of teacher-student interactions?  Professor John Hattie’s research on what influences and effects student achievement ranked teacher-student relations 11th out of 138 influences.  James Sturtevant, a Veteran Teacher of 30 Years and Author of ‘You’ve Gotta Connect’, discusses strategies to help you connect with your students to create a calm and nurturing environment for learning.    T