Teacher Toolkit founder Ross McGill interviews Jelmer Evers at the GES forum in Dubai. Jelmer is editor of the successful book Flip the System, and as well as elaborating on how he’d like to see the education system change, he shares a personal story about how he struggled at school, the teacher that helped him to feel seen and how teachers can do the same for their students.

For this week’s podcast I chatted to Andy Milne, a British PE teacher currently living and teaching in Chicago. Find out why Andy quit teaching after 7 years and what made him come back, and listen to him speak passionately about how we can encourage more teachers back to the profession and start to improve the education system for children.

This week you can listen to my interview with Debra Kidd, teacher trainer and founder of Norther Rocks. Listen to us discuss the good and the bad about the education blogging work and Twittersphere, why it was time for Northern Rocks to finish and the new CPD project Debra is launching, as well as how we can work towards creating a more diverse and inclusive representation of teachers online and at conferences.

Episode 36: Ross Morrison McGill interviews Ben Turner, headteacher at a Ministry of Defence School in Germany. The discuss what it's like to work in this context, why Ben promotes Verbal Feedback and how teachers can apply to work in a Ministry of Defence School.

Episode 35: Ross Morrison McGill interviews Dr Sarah Vohra, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, for the 100 Years, 100 Women series. They discuss what life as a junior doctor is like, how to help children talk about their mental health and Sarah describes a really useful strategy for helping children show you they are struggling without having to say a word.

Episode 34: Ross Morrison McGill interviews Teach Like A Champion author Doug Lemov. They talk about how Teach Like A Champion came to life, the importance of evidence-based teaching and the tough decision Doug had to make when he realised that the trio of being a dad, leading a school and doing teacher training and research was unsustainable.

Episode 33: Holly Gardner interviews Team GB Basketball player Azania Stewart for the 100 Years, 100 Women series. Azania explains how she was talent spotted at the age of 16 and went on to play basketball around the world. She reveals what it was like to play in the London Olympics in 2012 and win a silver medal at the Commonwealth games, and discusses the challenges the game faces.

Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat does the Global Teacher Prize Winner say about the English Baccalaureate?

Our 20th podcast is an interview for the 100 Women series with Andria Zafirakou. She teaches Art and Textiles and is a member of the senior leadership team at Alperton Community School in Brent, London. Andria was awarded the Global Teacher Prize earlier this year in Dubai, UAE.

Global Teacher Prize Winner!

In this episode you can hear Andria and Teacher Toolkit founder Ross McGill:

Talk about the early signs that Andria was destined for teaching

Explain why the Global Teacher Prize isn’t her proudest achievement

Detail the ways in which the English Baccalaureate fails young people

The impact a narrow curriculum has on pupils

Express the attitude the attitude Andria thinks young girls should adopt

Reveal what the centenary of some women’s right to vote means to Andria

Andria tells what would be on the menu at a dinner of her, her mother, the Queen and Oprah.

Remember, our podcast is available on iTunes!

Are we supporting all our pupils?

In a follow up question we asked Andria: What effect do you think decreasing the amount of arts subjects students can study will have on our society values? Andria said:

“It is quite simple, if we do not stop this downward spiral of students not taking up the arts, we will be punishing our students by not equipping them for the workplace. We will be encouraging a society which will not value or appreciate critical thinking; appreciation of an inclusive society; the importance of a creative nature; and inquisitive mindsets.

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You can find out more about Andria’s charity, Artists In Residence and follow her on Twitter @AndriaZaf.

How can teachers focus on what matters to them and their students?
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We agree with Andria; we cannot have a world full of mathematicians or artists – schools much strike a balance.

Reading Time: 1 minuteIs a results-based education system a good idea?

Our 19th podcast is an interview for the 100 Women series with Alice Ferguson. She is Head of Science at The Piggot School and specialises in teaching physics.

In this episode, you can hear Alice and Teacher Toolkit editor, Holly Gardner:

* Talk about the inspiration behind Alice’s decision to become a teacher

* Explain the personal challenges Alice faces balancing her teaching and leadership role

* Discuss the differing level of engagement of boys and girls in science lessons

* Explore the effects of a results-based education system

* Reveal Alice’s favourite class experiment

* Look back on the personal achievements Alice is most proud of.

Remember, our podcast is available on iTunes!

In a follow-up conversation, we asked Alice: What piece of advice would you give to a teacher taking on a new leadership role?

“My piece of advice would be to try to focus on the bigger picture; to not get caught up in the smaller issues. Your department will always have complaints and its easy to get taken over by them when it isn’t necessary. It’s hard but so important to maintain positivity.”

If you were not a teacher, what would you be?
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Reading Time: 2 minutesHow common is ‘over-marking’ for teachers?

Our 18th interview for the 100 Women Series is with Lola Ogutuga, a secondary school English and performing arts teacher.

Podcast Summary

In this episode, you can hear Lola and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill:

* explore what great teaching was to Lola as a student and is now as a teacher

* the importance of building relationships

* explains her largest burden as a teacher

* define what Lola’s current priorities are around her career and why

* discuss what books and audiobooks they are both about to begin.

Listen (10 Minutes)

My problem was I over-marked because I feel I need to comment on everything.
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Reduce marking workload

In a follow-up conversation with Lola we asked: You mention in the podcast you struggle with over-marking. Is there a strategy or marking approach you’ve tried out or implemented to help reduce your marking workload?

“I have used many strategies to try to decrease the time I spend marking books but in English, it sometimes seems like the marking of essays or creative pieces is never-ending. Two techniques that have really worked for me is live marking because it reduces the number of books I am marking and gives me a clearer idea of where students are in their learning in the lesson.

Additionally, yellow box marking, which is an idea I came across in Ross McGill’s book Mark. Plan. Teach. The concept of focusing my comments and feedback on one area of a student’s work is something I had never thought of. I used to think I had to mark everything and for a long time, I did. No one ever corrected me and soon it became an expectation I felt I had to meet. Yellow box marking has assisted me in providing clearer and more concise feedback to my students because I am zooming in on one area. This has reduced the time I spend marking and contributed to more effective responses from my students.”

You can find out more about Lola and follow her on Twitter.