In my classroom, SEL forms an integral part of each lesson’s structure and delivery, and today I’m sharing ten practical ways you can integrate it into your teaching too!

One massive part of the work we do as teachers is the finding, storing and organising of resources for use in our lessons. These could be worksheets, slides, exam papers, tools to help with reporting, learning games, and a whole array other valuable items. It takes a while, however, for teachers to learn how to manage all of this in a way that is efficient - so that precious time is not wasted re-finding resources, or doing things from scratch (again). In today's episode, I delve into the techniques and systems I use, and have used, to successfully organise all of my resources (paper-based, physical and digital).

From time to time you may find yourself in a situation in which you must have a delicate conversation with one, or more, of your teaching colleagues. Sometimes this can happen when you least expect it, and a colleague chooses to divulge something (or rant) to you. Sometimes such conversations arise due to a cascade of unavoidable (and, sometimes, avoidable) events. How do we navigate such conversations in a professional manner? Find out, in this episode!

Is it possible to apply a consistent structure to every lesson we teach, whilst still retaining our creative freedom as teachers? I believe so. That's why I've created the Basic Lesson Structure (BLS), which can be applied to any lesson, at any level.

Starting your teaching career is an exciting adventure, but it can also feel overwhelming. When I first starting teaching high school science back in 2005, for example, I soon found myself struggling to succeed at (what I see today as) basic tasks, such as marking, lesson planning and managing behaviour. So many aspects of the job were completely new to me, despite the limited teaching experience I gained from the Army Cadet Force as a teenager. The reassuring news is that every teacher makes mistakes – it’s part of the learning process. To give you a head start, I will describe ten of the most common rookie blunders new high school teachers make (and, that I have made at some point on my journey!), along with some friendly advice on how to avoid them!

As educators, we’re always on the lookout for strategies that can enhance our students’ understanding and retention of information. One such strategy that has gained significant attention in recent years is dual coding. But what exactly is dual coding, and how can it be applied in our classrooms to make a tangible difference? Drawing from my own experiences since I started teaching Science and Maths in 2006, let’s dive into the concept and its practical application.

As teachers, we often form strong connections with our students as we guide them on their learning journeys. This can be incredibly rewarding for us – we gain much joy from helping our students to improve. However, it’s essential to maintain a professional distance to ensure that our relationships with students remain appropriate and conducive to learning. The ten guidelines explored in this episode have been adapted from research by Willing and Haney (1994). They provide a framework for maintaining this balance. Please note that William and Haney’s research was aimed at ABE (Adult Basic Education) teachers, so I have attempted to back-extrapolate the guidance to cover high-school teaching.

Demonstrating confidence in the classroom is the cornerstone of any effective lesson you will deliver. When we, as teachers, are confident, then that naturally builds a sense of confidence that the students will have in our abilities. Our lessons are also more engaging, more organized and more effective when we are confident. In today's episode I describe three ways in which we, as teachers, can boost our classroom confidence.

Is it acceptable for a teacher to have a dating profile? After all, recent statistics by the Pew Research Centre found that in 2023, 53% of singles who were actively seeking relationships had some kind of online dating profile. What is acceptable conduct when it comes to dating app usage by teachers? How can we, as teachers, protect ourselves from unwanted attention and complaints when using dating apps? I aim to answer these questions, and more, in this podcast episode.

Even as far back as 2020, during the height of the pandemic, research was being conducted on the effectiveness of video conferencing in education, and some such research concluded that online meetings would remain popular long-after the pandemic was over. My personal experiences have certainly mirrored these predictions – tutoring has moved mostly online, online meetings are still being used by many schools for parent-teacher conferences and schools still find that an online meeting is the most convenient way to bring everyone together efficiently, even if everyone is in the same building! Some schools are still using online meetings for assemblies too – an efficient approach as all of the students can remain in their classrooms and simply ‘enjoy the show’ on the classroom smart board or projector.