In this mini episode, we chat about ways we have been using AI as a genuine planning partner — not a quick fix (because it's often not quick), and not a replacement for your professional judgement.

We unpack when AI can actually save time, when it doesn’t, and why investing time into setting up tools like Agents or Gems can lead to more meaningful, efficient planning in the long run.

From refining prompts to building personalised AI systems, this episode focuses on practical strategies that help you collaborate with AI to enhance your teaching — not replace it.

Planning lessons when you're sick is one of the least enjoyable parts of teaching — especially when you're trying to do it at 6:30am with a splitting headache and a box of tissues.

In this mini episode of our Practical Planning series, we talk about the reality of preparing cover lessons and share practical ways to make the process easier.

We discuss the key ingredients of a good cover lesson, why context matters for casual teachers, and how setting up systems can save you time and energy when you need it most.

The way we plan lessons on placement doesn’t always translate to real classrooms.

In this episode, we reflect on how our planning has changed from our placements and early teaching days to now. We discuss why many teachers feel pressure to reinvent the wheel every week, and how developing repeatable lesson structures can make teaching more sustainable and still allow for deep thinking to happen! Rather than creating something new for every lesson, we discuss how consistent frameworks can support both teachers and students by reducing planning time, increasing clarity, and allowing more space to focus on learning.

If you're a pre-service or early career teacher feeling overwhelmed by lesson planning, this conversation is for you.

Helpful Links 💡

Thinking Routines (as usual!)

Recording this as PD? Here are the relevant APSTs:

2.2 – Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence

3.2 – Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

3.3 – Use teaching strategies

6.1 – Identify and plan professional learning needs

6.2 – Engage in professional learning and improve practice

Sadly, not every good idea is a good fit, and sometimes the best thing you can do with a routine is let it go.

In this episode, we talk about the routines we’ve tried, we've loved, we've worked hard to practise, but ultimately had to ditch. Sometimes, letting go of a routine feels unbearable, because of the time and effort (and let's face it, sometimes money) that we have spent to set it up. But if you are wondering whether your routine or system is working for you, then it probably isn't...

Sustainable teaching isn’t about doing things just because that's what other teachers do, and it's certainly not about trying to do everything — it’s about doing what works.

Okay, so we all know routines matter… but how do you actually get them to stick?

In this mini episode, we chat about some of the classroom routines that we have tried (and sometimes failed) to make everyday teaching feel more sustainable. We discuss the importance of teaching routines explicitly, and probably even more explicitly than we think we need to, in order to genuinely relieve some of the cognitive load for both ourselves and our students.

If you’re looking to reduce friction in your classroom and avoid repeating yourself, this episode is for you!

As always, you can connect with us @teachingtogetherthepodcast 🤍

Let’s be honest… one of the most draining parts of our job is the admin.

In our first mini episode of this Sustainable Systems topic, we unpack the small but constant tasks like emails, registers and classroom tracking that quietly take up so much mental space, and share some of the simple systems that we have implemented to reduce workload and cognitive load.

We would love to hear from you! What systems do you use to stay on top of your admin or make those repetitive tasks less time consuming and more manageable? Let us know by commenting below or reach out on any of our socials @teachingtogetherthepodcast 🤍

Teaching often rewards survival — getting through the day, the week, the term — but survival isn’t the same as sustainability.

In our very first episode for 2026, we spend some time unpacking the difference between systems and routines, and why so many of the things we do as teachers “work”… but only in a barely-keeping-your-head-above-water & I-don't-have-time-to-come-up-with-a-better-solution kind of way.

We reflect honestly on the systems we don’t have (but know we desperately need) the ones that have taken a few years to refine, and the routines we’ve tried, abandoned, and rebuilt.

This episode isn’t about doing more. It’s about setting up structures you can rely on and routines that work for you so that you can make teaching something you can imagine yourself doing for the long term 🤍

Helpful Links 💡

Classroom Procedures and Routines

Recording this as PD? Here are the relevant APSTs

• 6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice

• 7.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice

• 4.2 Manage classroom activities and behaviour

• 6.4 Apply professional learning to improve student learning

In this final episode of 2025, we’re doing a Teaching Together take on Spotify Wrapped and reflecting on the moments that really shaped us as teachers this year. The minutes we have spent in teacher mode, the top emotions, routines on repeat, and pedagogical “genres” that have defined our year. As Grayce would say, this episode is all about cognitive closure — reflecting, putting 2025 down gently, and giving ourselves permission to properly rest and recover before kick-starting the 2026 school year.

We had a lot of fun reflecting on the year that has been, and we hope that this episode helps you find some cognitive closure of your own before resting, resetting, and heading into whatever comes next.

See you next year!

It's nearly Christmas🎄which means most of us are just coming out the other side of report writing, probably a little worse-for-wear. In today’s episode, we chat about one of the trickiest parts of the process: reporting on the qualitative stuff.

We chat about why it’s hard to assess and measure attributes like student mindset, attitude to learning and positivity as we reflect on our own recent report-writing experiences. We also explore simple strategies we can put in place for 2026 to make reporting on these less-tangible qualities more consistent, fair, and meaningful for all of our students—not just the enthusiastic or bubbly ones.

If you know the weight of trying to decide whether someone 'always, usually or sometimes' shows a positive attitude to their learning, then this one is for you!

Recording this as PD? Here are the relevant APSTs:

Focus Area 1.1 – Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students
Focus Area 5.5 – Report clearly, accurately and respectfully to students and parents/carers
Focus Area 6.2 – Engage in professional learning and improve practice

In this episode, we’re pulling apart one of the biggest assumptions in education right now — that we can standardise our way to better teachers. 🎓

The Strong Beginnings report argues that high-quality, uniform Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs will create more effective teachers — and in turn, solve the teacher shortage. But that idea misses a huge piece of the puzzle.

Today we unpack why “teacher effectiveness” can’t simply be built through university content or policy frameworks. Whether you’re in ITE, mentoring a graduate, or somewhere in between, this episode challenges the myth of the “perfectly prepared teacher” and reminds us that teaching is as much art as it is science.

💡 Helpful Links