Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) return from the winter holiday to discuss FlipCon NZ the Flipped Classroom and teachers using Twitter to build a Professional Learning Network.   

Pete:

Flip Your Classroom - John Bergman and Aaron Sams

https://www.amazon.com/Flip-Your-Classroom-Reach-Student/dp/1564843157 

John:

3 Things Teachers Can Do To Get More Out of Twitter - Karen Nelson

https://www.weareteachers.com/3-things-teachers-can-do-to-get-more-out-of-twitter/?utm_content=1499810161&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter 

In an uplifting episode of the podcast, John (@jfcatto) talks about some of the traits that can be found in the "best" and "worst" teachers. Pete (@mr_van_w) talks briefly about ways in which to get students to think in the classroom.   

Articles:

John: The 'Best' and 'Worst' Teachers, According to Reddit - Brenda Iasevoli

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2017/06/the.html 

Pete: Cultures of Thinking: Project Zero - Ron Ritchardt 

http://www.pz.harvard.edu/projects/cultures-of-thinking 

via Ryan Gill (@ryanagill) & Carla Gagliano (@carlagagliano)

Project Zero Sydney (#pzsyd)

Pete (@mr_van_w) highlights the lack of flexibility and possible victim blaming of school uniforms. John (@jfcatto) worries that exam stress may be completely unnecessary and pose little benefit to teaching and learning at a whole. Then Pete leaves everyone on a downer with a new study showing the worryingly high rate of teacher suicide.  

Articles:

Pete: My conservative school uniform does not protect me - Jacqueline Rousselot

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/my-conservative-school-uniform-does-not-protect-me-20170601-gwhtvj.html 

John: Majority of teenagers have cried due to exam stress, poll finds

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/majority-teenagers-have-cried-due-exam-stress-poll-finds 

Pete: Primary school teachers' suicide rate nearly double national average, figures reveal - May Bulman

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/primary-school-teachers-suicide-rate-double-national-average-uk-figures-a7635846.html 

Pete (@mr_van_w) calmly deals with the downfall and reinstating of Healthy Harold before asking; what are we expected to teach at school? John (@jfcatto) then replaces the outdated concept of digital natives with three further tech subsets of modern students.   

Articles:

Pete: Australian 15-year-olds declining in financial literacy PISA report - Pallavi Singhal

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/australian-15yearolds-declining-in-financial-literacy-pisa-report-20170523-gwbqem.html 

John: Forget "digital natives." Here's how kids are really using the internet - Alexandra Samuel

http://ideas.ted.com/opinion-forget-digital-natives-heres-how-kids-are-really-using-the-internet/ 

Pete (@mr_van_w) is back and unsurprisingly primed for a rant despite feinting to the contrary. He then espouses the benefits of corporate-speak in the classroom. John (@jfcatto) discusses the complicated issue of specialty teachers in primary education.

Spoilers: Together the solve "Australia's Primary Challenge" #yourewelcome 

Articles:

Pete: Why My Classroom Needs A Mission Statement - Joel Speranza (@JoelBSperanza)

http://joelsperanza.com/classroom-practice/mission-statement/ 

John: Time For Teacher Educators to Step Up on Primary Specialisation - Jacqueline Magee (Learning First) 

https://learningfirst.com/blog/2017/5/15/australias-primary-challenge 

Affirmative: Should We Have More Specialist Teachers in Primary Education? - Greg Ashman

https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/should-we-have-more-specialist-teachers-in-primary-schools/ 

Negative: Secondary Science and Maths Teachers in Primary Schools are Not the Solution - Dr Charlotte Pezaro

https://cpezaro.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/specialist-science-and-maths-teachers-in-primary-schools-are-not-the-solution/ 

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) is busy, so John (@jfcatto) is carried through the podcast by first year teacher, colleague and regular listener Rich Watkins (@Cambourne26).  

Articles:
John: Where is the evidence to support differentiation? - Greg Ashman

https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/where-is-the-evidence-to-support-differentiation/ 

Rich: Energy and Calm: Brain Breaks and Focused-Attention Practices - Lori Desautels 

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-breaks-focused-attention-practices-lori-desautels 

In an episode discussing the dangers of taking absolute and polar opinion; Pete (@mr_van_w) talks about the Michaela School and the torrents of vitriol that are directed at the school and more importantly the staff. John (@jfcatto) presents a point of view that he surprisingly doesn't agree with.

Articles:

Pete: I reject your experiences and substitute my own - Mark Johnson (@markxsyst)

https://disengagededucator.wordpress.com/2017/05/07/i-reject-your-experiences-and-substitute-my-own/ 

John: Are Progressive Teaching Methods A Bit Like Fast Food? - Andy Warner

https://andywarner78.wordpress.com/2017/05/06/are-progressive-teaching-methods-a-bit-like-fast-food/  

Pete (@mr_van_w) continues talking about the politicisation of education on the release of Gonski 2.0. John (@jfcatto) brings to the podcast some hard evidence about the benefits of 1:1 computers in Science whilst trying not to mention the DER.

Articles:

Pete: "A range of articles that quote slightly different numbers"

John: Direct link between teaching and learning with laptops and HSC results in Biology, Chemistry and Physics - Simon Crook

http://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=2060 

John (@jfcatto) looks at some of the ways you can tell if Personalised Learning is working in your classroom. Pete (@mr_van_w) laments the end of the Safe Schools program and discusses the politicisation of education.

Articles:

John: 3 Simple Ways You Can Tell If You're Suceeding Wityh Personalized Learning - Lee Watanabe Crockett

https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/3-ways-succeeding-personalized-learning 

Pete: Safe Schools program ditched in NSW, to be replaced by wider anti-bullying plan - Nour Haydor

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-16/safe-schools-program-ditched-in-nsw/8446680 

After some catching up after missing out on recording an Ep last week, John (@jfcatto) talks about some of the enthralling tabletop games CIA recruits get to play. Pete (@mr_van_w) talks about L3 and other one-size-fits-all solutions sold to schools by corporate interests. 

 Articles:

 John: The CIA Uses Board Games to Train Officers - and I Got To Play Them - Sam Machkovech

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/03/the-cia-uses-board-games-to-train-officers-and-i-got-to-play-them/  

Pete: What We Can Learn From the L3 Debacle - Greg Ashman

https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/what-can-we-learn-from-the-l3-debacle/