Tes Podagogy

Motivation matters: naturally, we all know this. It’s what drives us, as humans, to behave and act in a certain way. In schools, you’d struggle to find a teacher, or even a pupil, who would say that motivation doesn’t have a part to play in teaching and learning. 

However, up until recently the science behind motivation was a mystery to classroom teachers. Peps Mccrea, the dean of learning design at the Ambition Institute, and director of research and development at Steplab, has been a key player in this change.

In 2020, he published Motivation Teaching, a book which shifts through the science to bring educators practical advice about motivation. In this episode of Tes podagoy, Mccrea explains his findings, and shares the approaches to boosting motivation in your classroom.

Tes Podagogy is back with a new season and this week, we return to a 2019 episode with expert John Dunlosky to find out what works - and what doesn't - when it comes to revision.

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• Why schools were subject to hacking attacks.
• The link between vocabulary and behaviour.
• Why some people end up leading by accident.

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• Why remembering names of pupils is important - and harder than it sounds
• The importance of form time to enhance learning
• Why ventilation is such a big issue in school this term

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• Why not all research works in all settings
• What are life-long skills - and do we need to teach them?
• The perils of teaching a subject that's not your specialism

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• How to create a focused wellbeing approach in school
• What a jungle school in Indonesia can teach us
• Books that make you feel good and are worth re-reading

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• Why sometimes less is more for school management
• Why telling stories within lessons can help boost learning outcomes
• How to use creativity to bring maths to life
• How to make Cornish pasties

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• Why a switch to admissions could be the change we need to get equitable outcomes from education
• An innovative programme that trains parents to help excluded children re-integrate into school
• The what, why and how of financial education

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• The value of playtime - for socialisation and education
• Why we should talk about careers with students
• Spelling list - how can we make them work for all pupils

In this week's episode of the Tes magazine debrief podcast, we discuss: 

• Can we motivate boys to achieve girls level of attainment
• How to tackle staff conflicts fairly
• Using words to reframe how we perceive difficulties - in life and in lessons