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.

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Matt and Femi discuss what comes to mind when one hears a teacher say "We had a great discussion today about ...".

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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.

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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.