Podcasts Archives - TeacherToolkit

How can you improve school standards by 'going slow', and during a pandemic?

Our 99th interview is with Patrick Ottley-O'Connor, a headteacher in the North of England for 17 years and a practising teacher for 37! In this podcast, listen to Patrick and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss Patrick’s route into teaching, starting in the 1980s and when the 'headship conversation' was first raised for him. Plus, the types of headship and working with new teams as incoming headteacher.

We hear his views on the government support and teacher isolation during COVID-19, Patrick’s views stance on recovery curriculum and when to address the knowledge gaps, plus learn more about pupils' general attitude and behaviour during the pandemic. When pushed, we ask 'How has the government supported your school?' and the reply? "I am appalled. There has been nothing to support us..."

You can follow and connect with Patrick on Twitter; learn from some of his wisdom. Thanks for listening.

How we can teach our young people about stereotypes?

Our 98th interview is with Mehreen Baig, a former teacher, blogger, television and radio presenter. In this podcast, listen to Mehreen and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss how Mehreen went from wanting to be a doctor to becoming a teacher and why Mehreen chose to teach at a school near her community, Tottenham.

We ask about the role teachers have had to play in tackling knife crime and the pressure on women getting married, plus how Mehreen found her voice and started writing about the unfair standards we hold women to and breaking stereotypes. We discover why she featured on ‘Muslims Like Us’ and Mehreen’s television career, including her BAFTA speech, writing a book and top tips for freelancers - especially during COVID.

To find out more about Mehreen, follow her on Twitter and Instagram or listen to her new podcast series, The Secret Life of Teachers

What is it children want to know about COVID-19 and post-lockdown curriculum?

Our 97th interview is with Professor Barry Carpenter CBE who has had a career in education spanning 40 years. Once, the youngest headteacher in England at just 26 years old, he is the UK’s first professor of mental health in education.

In this podcast, listen to Professor Carpenter and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss the challenges headteachers are facing in the autumn term of 2020 during COVID-19, nimble leadership, managing teacher-anxiety and loneliness, plus 'What is recovery curriculum?'

We also unpick the trauma of lockdown for children and hear Barry's thoughts on writing two children’s books for Books Beyond Words - ’Lenny and Lily In Lockdown’ and ‘Lenny and Lilly Return To School.'

You can find out more about Barry on his blog, his books and more about his new role. Thanks for listening!

How can we improve teacher-happiness and a love of learning in our young people?

Our 96th podcast is with Shafina Iqbal, an A-level psychology teacher and Lego Education lead practitioner and part-time PhD student at Imperial College.

In this podcast, listen to Shafina and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss:

Becoming a teacher to give children a better learning experience than she did

Education in the U.K. versus the Middle East

Why Shafina started using Lego in her classroom and the 5 Minute Lego plan!

Balancing teaching and PhD during the lockdown

The importance of finding a department that aligns with your research

Being a researcher and a classroom practitioner

The over-emphasis on retrieval practice

The day-to-day challenges of being a teacher during COVID and,

Plagiarism and citation and referencing in the social media era.

Shafina is passionate about LEGO in education! Follow her research on Twitter.

How do television presenters use memory to remember broadcast scripts?

Our 95th interview is with Luxmy Gopal, a BBC news reporter and video journalist who has been reporting on COVID from various school locations across Northern England.

In this podcast, listen to Luxmy and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss what a typical day is like for Luxmy on BBC's ‘Look North’ programme and Luxmy’s life as a student and how one can progress as a reporter.

We also hear Luxm't views on the characteristics of a good teacher, plus her path into journalism and industry role types. We learn tips for remembering and presenting, perfect for teachers wanting to learn more about memory, plus reporting on COVID at various school locations across England.

During COVID lockdown, we ask Luxmy how she has been looking after her mental health and how our young people can avoid being tripped up by fake news - some good advice for us all! To finish, we hear about some of Luxmy's memorable mistakes on television and the most 'starstruck moment' in Luxmy’s career.

Luxmy has spent her career carrying out investigations, interviews, and has reported live on big breaking stories for BBC. You can watch Luxmy in action on this showreel and find out more about her work on her website: https://www.luxmygopal.co.uk/

Thanks for listening.

Our 94th interview is with Eric Donald Hirsch, an American educator and academic literary critic. Founder of the Core Knowledge Foundation, Hirsch is most known in the U.K. for his work on cultural literacy. In this podcast, listen to E. D. Hirsch and  Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss how Hirsch became interested in children’s contextual understanding of language in the classroom and why he 'stays away from gurus and turns towards scientists'!

We learn more about Hirsch's experiences working in Black colleges in America and their role in evidencing cultural literacy, plus what is meant by the term ‘knowledge-rich’? and the knowledge bases of language and why 'skills' itself, is knowledge.

Hirsch also busts a few myths about influencing Michael Gove and Nick Gibb and child-centred education and student accommodation and why we cannot leave children’s learning to chance, and how to mitigate this outcome.

Getting deeper into conversation, Hirsch explains the construct of the ethnicity and the need for a group ethnicity in schools, plus his theoretical and pragmatic tips for teachers.

E. D. Hirsch highlights that in order to understand, we must create classrooms which are speech communities. In order to have a knowledge base, you must have the language base, and one cannot exist without the other. Make sure you take a look at Hirsch’s new book “How To Educate A Citizen."

Thanks for listening.

Our 95th interview is with Daniel Stone, Graduate of the University of Oxford and Product Manager at the University of Birmingham. In this podcast, listen to Daniel and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss Daniel’s work on the Universities Civic Hub project and the Knowledge Exchange Framework and his route to attending the University of Oxford.

We learn more about the positive aspects of Oxford’s education style and Daniel’s thoughts on addressing institutionalised racism. We hear what books on race are worth reading and his school’s and HR hiring policies towards people of colour. Daniel is also self-published, with “After Oxford”, his new book about his life and his experiences at university.

We understand why racial inequality and BAME attainment gaps at the University of Birmingham being addressed and is a core message everyone must hear. Daniel highlights how working-class people can study at some of the top universities in the world, and pursue a career with purpose and integrity.

Thanks for listening.

Our 92nd interview is with Martin McKay, founder of Texthelp, an edtech organisation which helps people with communication difficulties. In this podcast, listen to Martin and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss Martin's childhood growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and his education.

We learn how Martin taught himself to code and why he switched from biology to education technology, plus what influenced Texthelp and why focus on dyslexia? Unpicking how Texthelp products can help pupils, and how the software works and supports pupils, we discover Texthelp has over 10 million active users on a daily basis!

From a teaching perspective, Martin explains how dual-coding improves comprehension and Why schools should invest in literacy-improvement tools, plus Martin's message for teachers working during the pandemic. Martin has spent work life developing education technology. He wants to use his influence and expertise to have a positive impact on one hundred million people! We think Martin and Texthelp are well on their way...

Thank you for listening.

How can teachers improve the way they help English students?

Our 91st interview is with Dr Min Du, a PhD graduate of the University of Cambridge, a freelance researcher and teacher in the U.K. for 15 years. In this podcast, listen to Min and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss growing up in the Chinese education system and teaching in China. Dr Min’s transition into the UK education system and foreign nationals learning English online.

How Min chose a doctoral subject and developing a social-cultural competence course through design-based research. We also ask what the stress of exams does to student’s mental health and her favourite aspects of research, as well as putting together a curriculum for an international school in London.

The aim of Min's research was to design and develop an online virtual English Enrichment Course to develop Chinese English learners’ communicative competence.

Thanks for listening.

Our 90th interview is with Diana Osagie, former head teacher, founder of the Academy of Women’s Leadership and author of ‘Courageous Leadership’.

In this podcast, listen to Diana and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill discuss what women in leadership roles experience, having to find confidence from an early age, being female and tall. Diana's exam results as a child and the transition from science into teaching.

We also quiz her on life as a headteacher and what headship is really like, including being ostracised by school staff as a head teacher. We ask 'What Diana wants to see from a racial equity perspective in schools?' and the ‘White lives matter’ response to Black Lives Matter.

We learn 'Why Diana stepped away from headship?' and the self-employed journey, plus Diana's first encounter with coaching. You can find out more about Diana on her website, Courageous Leadership.

Thanks for listening.