The Educators

The Educators episodes:

• 12.23.2015

  The First Teachers

  The most important educator in most children's lives is their parents, and the first five years is deemed to be critical. Sarah Montague meets Margy Whalley, the co-founder of Pen Green Children's Centre and Research Base in Corby, Northamptonshire. For...

  
• 12.15.2015

  The World's Best Teachers

  Studies have shown that the most important thing in a child's education is the quality of their teacher. A child at a bad school with a good teacher can learn more than someone at a good school getting bad tuition....

  
• 12.08.2015

  Turning Schools Around

  Schools in England have been warned that if they coast, rather than improve, they risk being closed down. Sarah Montague meets the new head teachers of a Birmingham secondary school involved in the so-called Trojan Horse scandal. Golden Hillock School...

  
• 12.01.2015

  What Finland Did Next

  Since the first international comparisons in 2000, Finland has been at or near the top of league tables for the abilities of its teenagers in reading, maths and science. Experts and politicians flocked to its schools to discover what was...

  
• 11.24.2015

  Character Lessons

  The KIPP school movement began 20 years ago in the US. It stands for Knowledge Is Power Program, and the schools focus on two things; academic achievement and building strength of character. They work in the most disadvantaged districts of...

  
• 10.01.2014

  Salman Khan

  Sal Khan worked as a hedge-fund analyst before he set up the Khan Academy, almost by accident, when his cousin in another city needed help with her maths homework. Since then, his online video lessons have been watched half a...

  
• 09.24.2014

  Jo Boaler

  Is our attitude towards maths killing the subject for children? Professor Jo Boaler believes a widespread belief in the existence of a 'maths brain' is ruining pupils' chances of success in the subject. She tells Sarah Montague that anybody can...

  
• 09.17.2014

  Sugata Mitra

  Professor Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University, imagines a future where children teach themselves. Famous for his Hole-in-the-Wall experiment, he believes when young people are given the right tools and encouragement, their innate sense of wonder can...

  
• 09.10.2014

  Paul Howard-Jones

  Most parents will have witnessed the magnetic effect of computer games on children. The combination of skill, memory and risk, leading to an eventual prize, can engage people of any age for hours at a time. Paul Howard-Jones is a...

  
• 09.03.2014

  Daisy Christodoulou

  It's a relatively new dilemma for teachers. If the answer to almost anything is available with a search, should children be taught to remember facts, or how to find and use them? Teacher and writer Daisy Christodoulou tells Sarah Montague...

  
• 08.27.2014

  Tony Little

  Eton College in Berkshire is one of the world's most famous schools. With so many of its old boys having distinguished careers, an Eton education carries the expectation of success. The school's name has also become a cultural shorthand for...

  
• 08.20.2014

  John Hattie

  What really works in schools and classrooms? How much difference can homework and class size make to a child's ability? Sarah Montague interviews John Hattie, Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne and Chair of the Australian Institute of...

  
• 08.13.2014

  Sir Ken Robinson

  A talk for the online lecture series TED in 2006 launched Sir Ken Robinson's ideas to a global audience. He spoke about creativity in schools for 20 minutes, and the video has been watched more than any other TED Talk,...