Beyond Survival: The New Teacher Podcast

Today is the second episode in the A-Z of teacher skills and focusses on b: belonging. It looks at why creating a culture of belonging is a vital teacher skill. It then goes on to give some practical strategies for how you can ensure young people feel they belong in your classroom. 

Today's episode is fantastic conversation between Colin and Hayley Guy. Hayley just completed her PGDE (teacher-education/training) year in Scotland with us at Edinburgh Napier University. In this practical and helpful conversation Colin and Hayley discuss:

1. What was the most important piece of learning during your PGDE?
2. What advice do you have for managing the PGDE workload while raising a young family?
3. What was the biggest challenges you faced during your PGDE and how did you overcome them?
4. How has your PGDE year prepared you for being a probationer teacher?
5. If you could go back in time to August 2023, what advice would you give yourself?

Thank you for listening, please do pass on the episode to others if you found it helpful. 

This is the first in a new series, which explores the A-Z of teacher essential skills. Each short, ten minute episode will be recorded by Colin or Jamie, and give an overview of the particular skill that coincides with that letter in the alphabet. 

Today's episode is about assertiveness. It unpicks what exactly assertiveness means in the classroom, and how it needs to be balanced with respectfulness. It then gives some practical strategies on how you can be more assertive, looking at both non-verbal and verbal tips. 

We hope you find it useful in your practice! 

Welcome back to Beyond Survival: the new teacher podcast! Colin McGill, my wonderful new co-host and I, are delighted to welcome you to season three. 

This episode looks at new starts, exploring the following:

1. What are some of the aims of the podcast in series 3?
2. How can teachers make the best start to a new academic year? 
3. What are some important routines to introduce at the start of the academic year? 
4. What are some of the intentions you can set at the start of the year to support your well-being and work-life balance. 

We hope you really enjoy the episode. Jamie's new running coaching business, Run With Company, that he mentions in the episode can be accessed here: https://www.runwithcompany.com. 

Thank you for listening!

This talk gives a brief overview of an online event on Thursday May 23rd from 4 o'clock to 5 o'clock 'A Teaching and Learning Masterclass'. 

All the money raised from this event will go directly to charity. For just five pounds you can support the brilliant charity 'Health in Mind' and have an hour of practical guidance no how to improve your teaching from one of the UK's best authors, education consultants and Headteachers Bruce Robertson. You can see all of Bruce's brilliant books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Bruce-Robertson/author/B0CK2MJ2RV?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1715939722&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

You can buy a ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-teaching-and-learning-masterclass-tickets-906718578677?aff=oddtdtcreator

Any donations for my marathon run for Health in Mind would also be massively appreciated: https://www.justgiving.com/page/jamie-thom-1714850068670.

You can read more about Health in Mind and the services they offer to support mental health here: https://health-in-mind.org.uk

As always, thank you so much for listening and supporting the show. We will be back in August, so have a wonderful summer! 

This week's guest is Alex Quigley. Alex is a former English teacher and school leader, who now works for the Education charity Education Endowment Foundation. He has written many best selling books, including his latest 'Why Learning Fails'.  Alex's website is: https://alexquigley.co.uk

In this episode we answer the question: why does learning fail? In answering that central question , Alex also answers:

What inspired your new book Why Learning Fails?

What role does 'patchy prior knowledge' have in learning and what can teachers do about it? 

What role does 'overconfidence' have in learning and what can teachers do about it? 

What role does an inability to work independently have in learning and what can teachers do about it? 

What advice might you offer teachers at the start of their careers to enjoy a positive career in education?

I hope you really enjoy the episode, if you do please do pass it on. You can get in touch with me via my website https://jamiethom.co.uk

Today's episode of 'Beyond Survival: The New Teacher podcast' is the monthly episode with Colin McGill. Colin is my colleague in the PGDE at Edinburgh Napier University, and is the programme leader. You can follow him on Twitter @colinmcgill.

Today we are answering the question: what feedback will really help my learners? In answering that question we also answer:

What is the purpose of feedback? 
What are some mistakes teachers make in giving feedback?

What makes verbal feedback effective? 

What makes written feedback effective? 

How does whole class feedback work and what will help give it impact?

I hope you enjoy the episode! You can also watch it on the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov3zjup2V3s.

Colin and I are both running the Edinburgh Marathon in two weeks for a brilliant charity Health in Mind. Any sponsorship for us would be massively, massively appreciated!

Jamie: https://www.justgiving.com/page/jamie-thom-1714850068670
Colin: https://www.justgiving.com/page/colin-mcgill-1706570297927

Thank you so much. 

The guest on this week's episode of 'Beyond Survival: the new teacher podcast'  is Adam Boxer.  Adam is a Lead Practitioner, author of 'Teaching Secondary Science: A Complete Guide' and an educational consultant. He is also the director of Carousel Learning: https://www.carousel-learning.com. Adam's blog is https://achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk.

In this episode we answer the central question: What are some of the most common actions from lesson observations?  In answering that, we also explore: 

1. What does education mean to you? 

2. What inspired your series of blogs on most common actions from observations? 

3. Your first most common action is 'step away from the speaker'. What does this involve?  

4. What does 'filling the silence' involve and how do teachers step themselves from doing this? 

5. What is the issue with students calling out, and how can teachers stop it? 

6. What is Carousal and how can it benefit new teachers?

Thank you for listening - please do pass on the episode and consider subscribing. If you would like to contact me I have a new website: https://jamiethom.co.uk. 

The guest on this week's episode of 'Beyond Survival: the new teacher podcast'  is Pete Foster.  Pete leads secondary teacher development across a large multi-academy trust. He is also the author of a superb book called 'What do new teachers need to know?'. 

For his second interview on the podcast, Peter answers the central question:

1. What does education mean to you? 

2. What are some mistakes new teachers make in planning lessons? 

3. What helps in planning for better behaviour? 

4. What helps in planning for better learning? 

5. What other tips have you got for new teachers to thrive in their classrooms?

The interview is also on the new YouTube channel (Beyond Survival: The New Teacher), so you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzWFAhH8Qk. Pete was also a guest on the first series of the podcast, and explored what new teachers need to know about cognitive science: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-do-new-teachers-need-to-know-about-cognitive-science/id1643514835?i=1000609311411.

Thank you for listening - please do pass on the episode. If you would like to contact me I have a new website: https://jamiethom.co.uk

This week I launched a new website: https://jamiethom.co.uk. This video introduces the coaching service I offer for teachers and leaders. It explores the benefits of coaching and why you might consider being coached by me. You can read more about the service, and read testimonials from individuals who have been coached by me here: https://jamiethom.co.uk/coaching/. 

Thank you for listening, please do get in touch via the website if you are interested in doing some coaching: https://jamiethom.co.uk/contact/.