In this episode, I’m talking to Benita Chick. Benita is the CEO and Founder of Encompass, a social enterprise in Hong Kong, which supports different social causes and NGOs financially as well as advocating for how Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be better implemented in businesses and schools. Benita is also a Board Member at KELY Support Group and Youth Arch Foundation, Education Director of Pink Alliance, Mentor for HKUST HeadStart Fellows and a mentor at the RESOLVE Foundation, here in Hong Kong. 

I was lucky enough to hear Benita speak earlier this year and was overjoyed to gain a conversation with her in light of the constant desire to make MYP English as authentic as possible, by integrating and exploring the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

We discuss:

1. The extent to which Hong Kong people are aware or unaware of the SDGs

2. Benita’s opinion regarding whether there is a hierarchy in the city in terms of which SDGs need to be addressed more often or immediately

3. How schools can go about reviewing or auditing the way in which they are engaging with the SDGs

4. Any lesser known but pressing issues that the city is facing in relation to a few of the SDGs that schools might be able to highlight in their curriculum

5. Routes young people can take to become involved in service that aids some of the SDGs 

6. And finally, after the 2030 deadline set by the UN, where do Benita feels the world will go from there

This was a succinct and in-depth discussion for someone like me who is on talking terms with the SDGs but would really benefit from speaking to those who work with or advise on the SDG targets on a regular basis. Thank you to Benita providing just as well as plenty of resources or extra reading that I will link to in the show notes. 

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Encompass, Hong Kong

SDSN Hong Kong Commissions Youth Survey on SDGs

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

Hong Kong is diverse, but far from inclusive; here’s how we can change that

Learning to transform the world: key competencies in education for sustainable development (p43)

Kids for Kids (Hong Kong)

Become A Young Leader for the SDGs Fellowship (International)

In this episode I’m speaking with Nadia Abdallah. Nadia is a former Head of Department for English, Director of Teaching and Learning and MYP Principal in Jordan. She has also worked as a workshop leader for the IB and is currently Chief Education and Development Officer for Junior Achievement Worldwide, a nonprofit organisation providing hands on learning in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship skills

I wanted to speak to Nadia about the IB’s MYP and more specifically the Inter Disciplinary Unit that is expected in each year of the course. Nadia recently ran an excellent 2 day training seminar that I attended and was kind enough to share more of her time discussing it for the podcast.

We discuss:

- A quick introduction to her career to date

- Some of the common misconceptions or mistakes teachers make in respect of the IDU and what the most important things to remember as a school attempting to implement it  are

- How and when Nadia sees the assessment criteria of evaluation, synthesis and reflection actually taking place in a unit 

- Examples of the ways in which different subjects can come together to form an IDU

- Advice on the mechanics of actually timetabling IDUs

- What constitutes action or service in an IDU and examples from Nadia’s own practice

- And final advice for Heads of faculty, coordinators and teachers in respective departments embarking on their first forays into an IDU

Thanks again to Nadia for an extensive and firsthand account of considerations that are needed when approaching the Interdisciplinary Unit. Despite the time, resources and collaboration required, it is an undertaking that can massively benefit students and their appreciation of the respective subjects. 

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

In this episode I’m talking to Eoin MacCarthaigh. Eoin is a Head of Department in Bangkok, teaching the IGCSE and IBDP. He is an active participant on Twitter and can be relied upon to ignite, continue and support conversation for international teachers. 

We discuss:

- The best text he’s ever read, taught or been taught

- A quick introduction to his career to date

- What he has seen or read in the last 12 months that has had the biggest impact on his practice

- The significant challenges he is working on with an IGCSE / IB English department

- One area of his department's routine or approach that he’s most satisfied with

- What his department do in the Key Stage 3 years in terms of curriculum 

- And finally, Eoin’s perception on why improving teaching and learning can be a challenge in the international sector

Thanks again to Eoin who can always be relied upon to maintain the healthy culture of debate, sharing and discussion on Twitter as well as the time he took to talk to me today. 

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov

Walkthrus by Tom Sherrngton and Oliver Caviglioli

Teaching and Learning Playbook By Michael Feely and Ben Karlin

Tips for Teachers by Craig Barton

In this episode I am talking to Amber Rhinehart. Amber is an MYP Coordinator in an international school in Accra, an MYP Workshop Leader, an IB Site Visitor, MYP Personal Project Examiner and teaches Language and Literature as well as individuals and Societies. I was really keen to speak to someone as experienced and knowledgable as Amber owing to the many valuable but demanding aspects that the MYP framework has to offer.

We discuss:

- A short introduction to Amber’s career to date

- Whether Amber recommends combining the likes of analytical and producing texts strands from the outset of MYP or waiting until these respective skills have been developed and therefore consolidated

- How to marry GRASPS with the assessment strands when aiming for valid and reliable assessments

- How teachers can ensure they are covering global contexts in the same depth as they would the related or disciplinary concepts

- My school’s recent struggles with Criterion Biii and the need to assess formatting and/or referencing twice a year in the curriculum.

- And finally, what Amber thinks is the best approach to implementing ATLs in individual units and the curriculum holistically

Thank you again to Amber who speaks with a fantastic degree of balance, nuance and passion about the curriculum as well as her ongoing contribution to IB’s online community of teachers.

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

In this episode I’m talking with Tanay Naik. Tanay is Secondary School Deputy Principal for Teaching and Learning at United Nations International School of Hanoi. He has recently co-authored an article in The International Educator and is a  contributor and advocate for the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color.

In the show we discuss:

- A quick introduction to Tanay’s career in education to date

- As a school, why and how UNIS Hanoi recently decided to gather staff demographic data

- What unconscious bias training is and what Tanay took away from it personally

- What a UNIS Hanoi interview looks and sounds like

- The most common advice Tanay had for people who wanted to join the school but weren’t yet suitable

- And finally, advice Tanay would give to teachers or Heads of Department that want to move into whole school teaching and learning roles in the future

Thank you again to Tanay for sharing some excellent best practice, plenty of management insight and his school’s ongoing commitment to DEIJ approaches. 

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Tanay’s co-authored article for The International Educator

Tanay’s presentation on behalf of AIELOC

Overview of common hiring biases

In this episode, I’m talking with Dr Daniel Rosen. Dan is currently Head of Secondary at St George's Düsseldorf. He also writes a brilliant blog entitled Musings of a Dr and more recently hosted the International version of TeachMeet Icons. Over the course of the conversation, we discuss:

• A quick introduction to Dan’s career in teaching
• How recruitment for schools in Germany has been affected by the pandemic and Brexit
• The extent to which international schools struggle to keep pace with teaching and learning improvement seen in the UK state sector
• What granting teachers more autonomy means in practical terms
• What schools need to establish in order to be ready to roll learning communities out as an initiative
• Good and bad proxies for promotion when appointing new members of middle or senior leadership
• And finally, advice Dan would give to teachers or Heads of Department that want to move into whole school teaching and learning roles in the future

Thanks again to Dan for giving up part of his weekend to elaborate on some of his excellent blog posts that I’ll link to in the show notes as well as practical advice on how to approach  any ambitions people may have about accessing middle or senior management.

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Dan’s blog - musingsofadr

TeachMeet International Icons recording

Drive by Daniel Pink

Nick Hart’s blog

In the episode I’m talking with Dr Rick Smith. Rick is a former teacher and now provides individual counselling for students working with stress and anxiety. He specialises in ADHD and attention-related disorders and has helped a great many students from his practice in Hong Kong and beyond.

The conversation with Rick came about due to watching him in a fantastic seminar he did earlier this year and also a longstanding sense that despite my efforts, I may never have been doing enough to support some students who struggle to adapt to the demands of school.

We discuss:

1. A quick introduction to Rick’s career in education 

2. Whether there is a recurring need or concern that families often bring to his practice regarding school and schoolwork

3. How teachers can prepare for a new academic year with regard to implementing: regular breaks, written instructions or task checklists for some students.

4. How to manage the balance between tailoring lessons for a student and not alienating them through different treatment

5. How a form tutor and/or teacher should deal with the likes of unfinished homework or incomplete class work 

6. And finally, the role that the rest of the class play in accommodating students with certain learning needs

I found this conversation and Rick’s advice to be revelatory. Some of what is said goes against what I have been taught to believe about certain students in my classes and yet reflecting on my experience and reference to research, I found myself nodding to everything that Rick had to offer. Thanks again to him for giving up some of his valuable time to make this information more readily available.

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

This is the latest in a series of podcasts where I focus on a particular part of English instruction or English related matters in detail. In this episode I’m talking with Trevor MacKenzie. Trevor is a world-renowned speaker and author and is best known for his work with inquiry based teaching approaches. As an IB educator, inquiry is a word, strategy or concept that comes up on a daily basis with students and colleagues. Given its fundamental role within the MYP and DP, getting Trevor on to ask him questions and learn from his experience was a massive privilege. 

We discuss, 

1. What is the best literary text he’s ever read, taught or been taught? 

2. What does an inquiry classroom look like and sound like in Trevor’s experience? 

3. Typically what would be the ratio between need-to-know or non-negotiable skills/knowledge and the inquiry process time wise? 

4. How do teachers strike a balance between non-negotiable exam / coursework specification in English and student passion?

5. What are the difficulties or challenges Trevor’s faced with asking students to design their own assessment in middle-school?

6. What Trevor thinks of statements of inquiry and real world assessment in MYP unit planning.

7. And finally, what Trevor thinks of the increasingly popular explicit instruction over the inquiry approach. 

From beginning to end, this conversation continually clarified things I’d heard about the inquiry approach and left me with plenty of considerations for how to enhance my own approach to the classroom. Thanks again to Trevor who spoke concisely, passionately and transparently throughout. 

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga

Trevor’s books

Kath Murdoch’s YouTube Channel

In this episode I’m speaking with Rosie Georgiou. Rosie is an English teacher, KS5 Lead and PhD student living in London. She first came to my attention during the most recent TeachMeetEnglishIcons event, in which she discussed the process and benefits of creative writing in English.

During our conversation we discuss:

• The best text Rosie’s ever read, taught or been taught?
• The ways in which creative writing can be metacognitive
• The relationship between creative writing and pastoral matters
• The advantages of journaling and free writing and how they play a part in Rosie’s practice
• How she has led students to legitimately reflect on the creative process and why
• And lastly, how often does Rosie’s dept explore creative writing in a year level or across KS3

It was real pleasure to speak to Rosie at length about the creative process as well as how that translates into teaching practice, feedback and assessment. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I’d really recommend her presentation for TeachMeets too. 

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Rosie’s TeachMeetEnglishIcons Appearance

Colloquium by Katherine Stockton

In this episode I’m talking to Natalie Obiko Pearson. Natalie is a journalist and bureau chief at Bloomberg Vancouver. Natalie’s work came to the attention of lots of International educators this year after writing an article entitled: Elite International Schools Have a Racism Problem. This provoked a lot of discussion online as well as amongst my colleagues and friends in the industry. 

Having spent time at an international school herself, Natalie’s incredibly well informed and wide ranging investigation confirmed a number of growing doubts that people within international schooling may have had as well as introducing a variety of other issues within the system that were yet to come to light. 

We discuss: 

• Natalie’s observation that ‘The more elite the school, the less diverse the staff’ and whether it can be said of any global hub’s international schools
• Whether the efforts of the International Baccalaureate or other curricula designed to produce world citizens are undermined by a lack of cultural diversity in recruitment
• The role of parental expectations and how they influence or validate decisions made by school management teams
• What the appeal of working in an international school is for those who would be deemed a ‘local hire’
• Natalie’s opinion on what would be a truly fair or meaningful way to approach recruitment for schools in future
• And finally, whether staff professional development can ever deliver on the promise of ensuring a more diverse approach to international schooling.

For anyone who is yet to read Natalie’s article it is an essential piece of journalism for those of us who have made a life abroad or plan to in the future. It explores the role of parents, students, teachers and school management in terms of the questions we should be asking of ourselves and the sense of self-identity we’re guiding our young people towards. 

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Article: Elite International Schools Have a Racism Problem.