In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Zach Groshell for the third of their trilogy of conversations together. In their first episode, they unpacked the nuances of teaching effectively. In the second one, they spoke about coaching, culture and change. In today’s podcast, you will hear them discuss the complex world of school leadership! They explore the key elements that contribute to a positive and productive school culture. From going beyond superficial evaluation methods to building a diverse team that leverages everyone's strengths, they cover a range of important topics that will help school leaders create a thriving learning environment for both students and teachers.

Zach’s four points were:

1. Leaders need to start minimizing evaluations and start maximizing teacher performance
2. Leaders should view behavior as a system that involves everyone, including them
3. Leaders don’t have to be the best teachers on earth, but they do have to know something about instruction
4. Leaders should move away from one-off PD as the primary means of teacher training.

Brendan’s 4 points were:

1. Leaders need to have their fingers on the pulse
2. Clear Communication is key
3. Leaders need to build a diverse team
4. Good leaders don't care about who is right or wrong

Resources mentioned:

• Zach’s newly released book: Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching
• Viviane Robinson - Reduce change to increase improvement
• Daniel Kahnemann - Thinking, Fast and Slow
• Progressively Incorrect S4E10: Nathaniel Swain, Steven Capp, and Katie Roberts-Hull on Harnessing the Science of Learning

You can connect with Zach:

Twitter: @mrzachg

Podcast: Progressively Incorrect

Website: educationrickshaw.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Leslie Laud. She is the founding Director of ThinkSRSD, a writing program built upon Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). The discussion covers ThinkSRSD's key strategies, including mnemonics and how to apply them across different grade levels and writing genres. Furthermore, Dr. Laud addresses implementation challenges and provides advice for teachers, emphasising a gradual release of responsibility, the significance of teacher collaboration and the need for professional development that respects teachers' unique contexts.

Resources mentioned:

• thinksrsd.com
• Facebook Group: think SRSD "Self-Regulated Strategy Development": Releasing Writers
• Facebook Group: ThinkSRSD New Zealand and Australia
• SRSD
• Charles Haynes from Talking to Writing
• Judith Hockman
• Writing Revolution
• Karen Harris
• Steve Graham
• Amy Thomas
• Pooja Patel
• Nate Hanford, Leslie Laud, and Elizabeth Rinstra: ThinkSRSD A Secondary Analysis Cohort Investigation
• Carol Sue Engler
• Linda Mason
• Linda Darling Hammond and Anne Lieberman
• Dr. Charles Haynes
• Dr. K. Wedgikumar
• Gemma Maddox

You can connect with Leslie:

Twitter: @LeslieLaud

Bluesky: @leslielaud.bsky.social

Linkedin

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Bluesky: @learnwithmrlee.bsky.social

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

Register for my upcoming course: A Systematic and Structured Approach to Teaching Primary Mathematics

Use the code: MATESRATES for a 10% discount.

In this episode, Brendan Lee speaks with Dr. Nathaniel Swain. He returns for the third time and this time it’s to unpack his new book Harnessing the Science of Learning. However, as you will hear, they actually go beyond the book and dig into some of the critical considerations that schools and teachers need to be making. They explore how to make teaching and learning the top priority in your school, reclaiming valuable instructional time often lost to distractions. They also unpack the essential elements of effective literacy and numeracy instruction, going beyond the surface level to understand the importance of a knowledge-rich curriculum, explicit teaching techniques, and structured implementation processes.

They look at why teaching should be “Fun in the service of learning, not in spite of Learning” and some of the common barriers that school leaders face when initiating change.

Resources mentioned:

• Think Forward Educators
• Bentleigh West PS
• Riverwood PS
• Churchill PS
• Challis Community PS
• Steve Capp
• Lyn Stone
• David Morkunas
• Core Knowledge Foundation
• Toni Hattan-Roberts
• Doug Lemov
• Tom Sherrington
• Dr. Zach Groshell
• Dr. Simon Breakspear
• Katie Roberts-Hull
• Helen Hughes

You can connect with Nathaniel:

Twitter: @NathanielRSwain

Facebook

Linkedin

Order Nathaniel's book, "Harnessing the Science of Learning"

Website: www.nathanielswain.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast