Naylor's Natter

Full unedited transcript here:naylorsnatterpodcastjusttalkingtoteachers.wordpress.com

This is a book about educational fads, why they arise, and how we might learn to live with them.

Those working in schools are subject to perpetual waves of novelty in the name of school improvement. And yet, in the long term very little actually changes. Big ideas come and go, leaving only faint clues as to their existence. The trouble is that the appealing stories that take hold will never solve the fundamental problems of modern schooling. The school system is too complex, too diverse, and too uncertain to be fixed by any Big Idea. Before too long, the Next Big Thing replaces the Last Big Thing.

’The Next Big Thing in School Improvement’ brings together the unique perspectives of a policy analyst, a headteacher, and a classroom teacher, to explain why it is that the school system often resists our attempts to improve it. Drawing on the recent history of English education policy, a variety of disciplinary traditions, and the emerging field of complexity science, the authors present a new take on why the school system behaves in ways that defy our attempts to change it.

This is a book about finding a better way to improve our schools. It is not the Next Big Thing, but it does explain why there will inevitably be one, and what to do when it arrives.

Full Transcript here pna1977.wordpress.com

Celebrating Teachers: Making a difference, written by Gary Toward and Chris Henley, is a feel-good celebration of all that is great about teachers and teaching – and an exploration of the difference teachers make and how they do it.

Forewords by Ben Bailey Smith (aka Doc Brown) and Sir Anthony Seldon.

This book celebrates the superhero of the classroom: the teacher.

Teachers make a difference, and often that difference is life-changing. In this book, Gary and Chris look at some of the many cases where such a difference has been made and examine exactly what it was that made such an impact on the life of the young person – and they also highlight the key approaches that teachers might want to try out in their own classroom, with their own pupils.

The authors link the real-life case study stories to what educational research and cognitive science tell us, and point the way for all teachers to adopt, adapt and develop these effective strategies and approaches in their own practice.

And, in sharing these inspiring stories, Gary and Chris hope to offer an antidote to the negativity that too often circulates in the media around education and the teaching profession.

Full transcript available here (unedited) pna1977.wordpress.com

Andrew Cowley, author of The Wellbeing Toolkit and co-founder of Healthy Toolkit (@HealthyToolkit), presents the ultimate guide to help primary schools develop a practical, principled and values-driven wellbeing curriculum for their pupils. Schools are responsible for giving children the tools and emotional resilience to cope with the changes and challenges they will face in the future. Developing an explicit wellbeing curriculum for primary-aged children is crucial: when taught how to make good life choices and care for their physical and mental health, children will thrive both at primary school and beyond. The Wellbeing Curriculum covers a range of issues from self-awareness, looking after others and building trust, to exercise, healthy eating, cyberbullying, leadership, diversity and empowerment. It offers practical ideas for embedding a wellbeing curriculum into lessons, assemblies, PSHE and RSE sessions and as part of the school ethos. This is the must-have book for schools looking to adapt their pastoral approach, and put pupil wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum.

Homeschooling, virtual lessons , teams and zooms . These necessary and vital educational lifelines

have receded from view on the vista of most teachers for the moment . Technology played a vital

and essential role in supporting schools and students during lockdowns. As a profession we have

settled on various ‘keepers’ from this period, notably virtual parents evenings. What we have

developed in the authors view from this period is a culture of 24/7 ‘contact-ability and consequent

accountability due to the misuse and over-reliance on email.

During the periods of partial closure, schools immediately and successfully flipped to an online

learning model . This was facilitated primarily by email accounts allowing access to the suite of

services offered by Google/Microsoft or other providers. At the time , schools were also able to

bolster their contacts for parents/carers with email addresses . The speed at which contact could be

made was a huge advantage for attendance, safeguarding and of course learning . These email

addresses also became a lifeline for families to gain support for free school meal vouchers, access to

services and a direct line to teachers .At the time , there was also limited access to many external

agencies. Schools stepped into this void , notably in the area of healthcare becoming testing centres

overnight. They also plugged gaps in many other areas helping to support the most vulnerable in

society at a time when it was needed the most.

As schools returned to normal in September , the normal business of schools resumed . Leading

schools in 2021 is hugely demanding and rewarding . It requires fortitude , strength of will , huge

reservoirs of energy and to maintain this a healthy work-life balance. The number of adverts

currently in TES for senior leaders is testament to the size and scale of the challenge

.Alongside the everyday work schools do in providing quality of education, personal development,

curriculum and outcomes and behaviour , many of the expectations added during partial closures

have continued to be the expected ‘norm’ for school leaders . I noticed this building during the

summer holidays of 2021 when significant numbers of emails would land in my inbox daily from

external agencies , parents and teachers . These extra expectations are demanding in and of

themselves but the added accountability and contact-ability have the potential to considerably add

to the challenges leaders and teachers already feel . There is also the added expectation of

immediate contact from both parents and students. Having engaged parents and keen learners is

obviously a very positive situation fro schools , however issues can arise when emails are not

returned immediately and there is also the potential for misunderstanding on both sides . During the

lockdowns and partial closures , working patterns shifted and life was restricted . Now that society

and schools are fully open, we need to regain the work/life balance that is essential to maintain

equilibrium in a very demanding job , the use of email needs a fundamental reassessment

Schools need to have purchase on the curriculum: why they teach the subjects beyond preparation for examinations, what they are intending to achieve with the curriculum, how well it is planned and enacted in classrooms and how they know whether it’s doing what it’s supposed to.

Fundamental to this understanding are the conversations between subject leaders and their line managers. However, there is sometimes a mismatch between the subject specialisms of senior leaders and those they line manage. If I don’t know the terrain and the importance of a particular subject, how can I talk intelligently with colleagues who are specialists?

This book sets out to offer some tentative answers to these questions. Each of the national curriculum subjects is discussed with a subject leader and provides an insight into what they view as the importance of the subject, how they go about ensuring that knowledge, understanding and skills are developed over time, how they talk about the quality of the schemes in their departments and what they would welcome from senior leaders by way of support.

We have chosen this way of opening up the potentially difficult terrain of expertise on one side and relative lack of expertise on the other, by providing these case studies. They are suggested as prompts rather than the last word. Informed debate is, after all, the fuel of curriculum development.

And why Huh? Well, 'Huh?' may be John's first response when he walks into a Year 8 German class but, in fact, we chose 'Huh' as the title of our book as he is the Egyptian god of endlessness. As Claire Hill so eloquently comments in her chapter, 'Curriculum development is an ongoing process; it's not going to be finished, ever.' And we believe that 'Huh' captures a healthy and expansive way of considering curriculum conversations.

A welcome return to Naylor's Natter for Doug , we talk about TLAC 3.0 and we get an exclusive!

Doug talks about the tracks that influenced him when he was writing the book and we play them for you. This is a Vinyl Suite exclusive!

Teach Like a Champion 3.0 is the long-awaited update to Doug Lemov’s highly regarded guide to the craft of teaching. This book teaches you how to create a positive and productive classroom that encourages student engagement, trust, respect, accountability, and excellence. In this edition, you’ll find new and updated teaching techniques, the latest evidence from cognitive science and culturally responsive teaching practices, and an expanded companion video collection. Learn how to build students’ background knowledge, move learning into long-term memory, and connect your teaching with the curriculum content for tangible improvement in learning outcomes.

The new version of the book includes:

Read this powerful update to discover the techniques that leading teachers are using to put students on the path to success.

For students to benefit from lessons, they must attend, listen and try their best. But at times, almost all teachers struggle to manage classroom behaviour and to motivate students to learn. Drawing on decades of research on behavioural science, this book offers teachers practical strategies to get students learning. The key is students’ habits. This book reveals simple yet powerful ways to help students build habits of success.

Harry Fletcher-Wood shows how teachers can use behavioural science techniques to increase motivation and improve behaviour. He offers clear guidance on topics such as using role models to motivate students, making detailed plans to help students act and building habits to ensure students keep going. The book addresses five challenges teachers face in encouraging desirable behaviour:

Workshops, checklists and real-life examples illustrate how these ideas work in the classroom and make the book a resource to revisit and share. Distilling the evidence into clear principles, this innovative book is a valuable resource for new and experienced teachers alike.

Blog:

https://improvingteaching.co.uk/about/

Book 

https://www.routledge.com/Habits-of-Success-Getting-Every-Student-Learning/Fletcher-Wood/p/book/9780367444983

We all know the education system has its flaws, but they shouldn't stand in the way of providing the very best learning experiences for your pupils. This book presents a ground-up approach to help you manage the obstacles you might encounter and implement day-to-day methods to maintain your love for the profession, teach effective lessons and ensure pupil progress.

Omar Akbar, author of The (Un)official Teacher's Manual, offers a wealth of hard-won practical advice for avoiding frustration and developing teaching techniques that have a real impact in the classroom. Full of hilarious anecdotes and exploring hot topics such as pupil apathy, enriching the curriculum, Ofsted, data and behaviour, this book is a refreshing and uplifting take on what NQTs can do to have a happy, healthy and successful career in education – starting now.

Contents: