The Unteachables Podcast

This is the final one. My last episode live here at EduTech 2026, and I cannot think of a better way to wrap it up.

Joining me is my teachergram turned real life friend Aaron Johnston, who popped his head into the booth yesterday and got roped into coming back for an interview. If you don't already know Aaron, you should. He is a deputy principal at Talara Public School, now in his 18th year of teaching, and he is well known across the teacher podcast space for leading the way on Aboriginal education, so much so that in 2024 he was recognised as Primary Educator of the Year at the Koori Curriculum Awards. Many of you will also know Aaron through Mr J's Learning Space and the Teacher Takeaway podcast, where he interviews leading educational experts, including me, not that long ago.

We get into classroom management from a leadership lens, including the biggest mistakes schools make when supporting teachers through behaviour challenges, why rescuing a struggling teacher too quickly can actually disempower them, and why "what's your approach to behaviour" needs to start long before the first warning is ever given.

Aaron also opens up about the loneliness of school leadership, the unseen burden leaders carry every single day, and why he genuinely loves it when a teacher cries in his office, because it means they feel safe enough to be honest with him. We close out with a brilliant rapid fire win or bin round covering open door policies, whole school behaviour systems, reward systems, observations, unscheduled learning walks, staff meetings, and yes, the dreaded staff morning tea as a wellbeing strategy.

What you'll learn:

• Why time, not more resources, is the thing teachers need most from school leaders right now
• The "pruning principle" and why letting go of something is often more powerful than adding something new
• Why rescuing a struggling teacher too quickly can actually disempower them and damage student relationships
• What good quality support from senior leadership actually looks like when a teacher says "I am drowning"
• Why compliance built on fear isn't the same as respect, and why it makes long-term classroom management harder
• The loneliness of school leadership, and why Aaron genuinely wants teachers to feel safe enough to cry in his office
• What teachers often misunderstand about the pressures and competing demands placed on school leaders
• Aaron's honest win or bin verdicts on open door policies, whole school behaviour systems, reward systems, observations, learning walks, staff meetings, and staff morning teas
• The most underrated leadership quality, and the one thing every teacher wishes their leader understood

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

I am still here at EduTech 2026, and today's conversation has completely lit me up.

I'm sitting across from the wonderful Andrea Vandenbohl, deputy principal at Northam Grammar School, where she has spent the last five years leading initiatives that weave wellbeing science and character education into every part of school life. Andrea's work is built on the belief that educating young people is about so much more than academic achievement. Through her leadership of student leadership programs, character education, and curriculum innovation, she has helped shape a school culture where wellbeing, character, and growth aren't side programs, they're essential. Outside of school, Andrea shares honest reflections on leadership through her blog, The Heeled Deputy.

We start with Andrea's own journey into teaching as a second career after years as a professional musical theatre performer, and why that experience gave her a kind of grounded, lived-in teaching presence you can't get from a textbook. From there we dig straight into a phrase we hear constantly but rarely unpack properly, educating the whole child, and what it actually means to stop teaching "from the neck up."

Andrea opens up about being one of those unseen kids at school herself, and how that experience shapes everything she now believes about belonging, safety, and character in education. We talk about why culture, not curriculum, is what really shapes who a child becomes, and Andrea shares the five character traits she believes are non-negotiable for every student.

Then we get into something I think every school is quietly struggling with, how do you actually measure character, leadership, and wellbeing the way we measure academic data? Andrea shares the exact system her school uses, plus her honest take on why student voice is so often confused with student expression, and why handing kids a microphone without ever teaching them what to say into it is setting them up to fail.

We finish with one of my favourite lines from the entire conversation, the idea of asking "who is the student becoming" instead of "how is the student performing," and Andrea closes things out with a beautiful explanation of her blog, born out of a six-day solo walk through Italy, several wild horses, and a whole lot of thinking about leadership.

What you'll learn:

• What educating the whole child actually means, beyond the buzzword, and why teaching can't stop "from the neck up"
• Why culture, not curriculum, is what truly shapes who a child becomes, and why staff have to live their values rather than just speak them
• The five character traits Andrea believes are non-negotiable in schools: courage, perseverance, empathy, humility, and responsibility
• How Andrea's school actually tracks and measures character and wellbeing using a simple, visible system
• Why student voice is so often confused with student expression, and what genuine, non-tokenistic student agency actually looks like
• Practical ways to co-construct success criteria and classroom norms with students instead of just for them
• Why compliance in the classroom can actually be corrosive to character development
• The one mindset shift Andrea wants every teacher to make tomorrow: stop asking "how is this student performing" and start asking "who is this student becoming"
• The story behind Andrea's leadership blog, The Heeled Deputy, and the wild horses that helped inspire it

Resources mentioned:

• The Heeled Deputy (Andrea's leadership blog)

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

This one almost didn't happen, and I am so glad it did.

Today's guest literally walked past my booth at EduTech 2026 to introduce herself, and within about two minutes I knew I needed her energy on this podcast. Her name is Kate Stockman, and she is deeply passionate about helping young people find their voice and helping schools build cultures where communication actually thrives. Kate is a secondary educator, communication specialist, and founder of Communicators. Having taught drama, English, and performing arts across both the UK and Australia, Kate has spent her career helping students build confidence, develop communication skills, and engage more meaningfully in learning, drawing on dialogic teaching, oracy, and inclusive education.

So let's roll the tape. We start with what oracy actually is, why it's a much bigger conversation in the UK already, and why it's starting to gain real traction here in Australia too. Kate breaks down the difference between top-down, teacher-led talk and genuine dialogic, co-constructed discussion, and why so many classrooms are still stuck firmly in the first category.

We dig into the real barriers stopping students from speaking up, including a gap in empathy and self-expression that Kate is seeing more and more, and how technology is quietly reshaping the way young people connect face to face. Kate shares one of her favourite classroom strategies, the discussion chain, a deceptively simple, fully student-led technique that gets a whole class genuinely contributing without the teacher having to facilitate a thing. I make her walk me through exactly how to run it, live, so you can take it straight into your own classroom tomorrow.

Then, because I couldn't resist, we run a full bin or win round covering talking sticks, drama games, rote learning, homework, cold calling, and copying off the board, and Kate doesn't hold back on any of them. We finish with her best piece of teaching advice, the one mindset shift that completely changed how she shows up in the classroom, and the single thing every teacher can do tomorrow to immediately improve the quality of classroom conversation.

What you'll learn:

• What oracy actually means, and why dialogic teaching is becoming a much bigger conversation in education
• The real barriers stopping students from speaking up in class, including a growing gap in empathy and self-expression
• How to run a discussion chain, a fully student-led strategy that gets a whole class contributing without teacher facilitation
• Why practising discussion strategies early in the year matters more than just introducing them once
• How smartphones and digital communication may be reshaping students' confidence to connect face to face
• Kate's honest bin or win verdicts on talking sticks, drama games, rote learning, homework, cold calling, and copying off the board
• Why cold calling can work well as a revision tool, but becomes harmful when used as a "gotcha" moment
• The best piece of teaching advice Kate ever received, and why "being consistently good is outstanding"
• The one shift every teacher can make tomorrow to immediately improve classroom conversation

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Joining me is Avril Waite, a secondary science teacher from regional New South Wales who is leading the integration of artificial intelligence across her school, while also being a strong advocate for trauma-informed practice and student wellbeing. Avril also coordinates the New Marine Pathways program, helping create university access opportunities for students pursuing marine studies across New South Wales. She does so much, and at the heart of it all is a commitment to equity, opportunity, and helping young people see what's actually possible for their futures.

We start with something I had honestly never heard before, using AI as a reflective practice tool for teachers. Not for lesson planning or worksheets, but as a non-judgmental sounding board after a lesson that completely fell apart. Avril walks through the exact prompts she uses, why it's lowering cortisol levels and cognitive load for her staff, and why it's never a replacement for professional judgement, just a faster way to find your own solution.

Then we go somewhere much deeper. Avril shares the story of becoming a guardian to a 14-year-old girl she met at a party, who was sleeping on benches at McDonald's, and how that experience completely shaped the way she shows up for students today. We talk about what trauma-informed practice actually looks like day to day, beyond the buzzword, including the small, consistent things her whole school does together that genuinely change outcomes for kids doing it tough.

We also get into Avril's experience teaching in a fully open learning environment, the real challenges of that model, what it took to get it working well, and why she's actually come around to loving it. And we close out with something every teacher, leader, and school exec needs to hear about regional education, opportunity, and why a free conference ticket doesn't mean access when the flights alone cost thousands.

What you'll learn:

• How teachers can use AI as a non-judgmental reflective practice tool after a tough lesson, including the actual prompts Avril uses
• Why reflecting with AI can lower cognitive load and cortisol levels for teachers, without replacing professional judgement
• The personal story behind why Avril is so passionate about student wellbeing and trauma-informed practice
• What trauma-informed practice really looks like in the day-to-day, beyond the buzzword, including the Berry Street model
• Why greeting students by name is one of the most powerful, low-cost relationship-building tools a teacher has
• What it's really like teaching in a fully open learning environment, including the early chaos and what fixed it
• Why "you can't be what you can't see" matters so much for students in regional and disadvantaged communities
• The hidden cost barriers that mean a "free" opportunity for low socioeconomic or regional schools often isn't free at all

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Joining me is Carmel McGee, a Tasmanian educator and certified lead teacher who has spent much of her career chasing one question: how do we actually create the conditions for curiosity to thrive? Carmel works at Riverside Primary School in Launceston, where she helps build classroom cultures where kids are curious, capable, and courageous. Her thinking has been shaped by some seriously impressive influences, including Project Zero at Harvard, UC Berkeley, and inquiry learning legends Kath Murdoch and Susan Engel. If you've ever wondered how we move students beyond just complying and into genuinely wanting to learn, this episode is for you.

We get into why curiosity isn't some lucky personality trait some kids are just born with, and why it's something we can either deliberately nurture or accidentally shut down without even realising it. Carmel doesn't hold back when I ask her what's quietly killing curiosity in schools right now, and her answer about systems measuring answers instead of valuing thinking is going to make you rethink a few things about your own classroom.

We also get really practical. What does a curious classroom actually look like? What is the teacher doing, and what are the students doing? Carmel breaks down why curious teachers create curious kids, why modelling "I don't know, let's find out together" matters more than we think, and why something as simple as not rushing to fill silence can completely change how your students engage.

And because I couldn't let her go without asking the big stuff, we dig into Carmel's brilliant question: are we measuring what we value, or valuing what we measure? If you've ever felt like the things that matter most in your classroom don't fit neatly into a spreadsheet, you are going to feel so seen by this conversation.

What you'll learn:

• Why curiosity isn't an inherent trait, and how it can be deliberately nurtured or accidentally shut down in the classroom
• What's quietly killing curiosity in schools right now, according to Carmel
• Why curious teachers create curious kids, and how modelling "I don't know, let's find out together" shifts classroom culture
• The danger of measuring what's easy to count instead of valuing what actually matters, like curiosity, belonging, and engagement
• Why wait time is one of the most underused, free tools available to every teacher
• Practical, explicit strategies to get more students contributing, including the "sticky note slam" and extended think-pair-share
• Why less than 5% of questions in most classrooms come from students themselves, and how to change that
• How Carmel approaches modelling a curious relationship with AI in the classroom, rather than ignoring it or banning it outright
• The one tiny shift Carmel would want every teacher to make tomorrow to bring curiosity front and centre

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Okay, so this one's a little different. I'm not the one asking the questions today.

I'm coming to you live from EduTech 2026, booth 1216, and before I put a single educator, leader or keynote speaker in the hot seat, my best friend and fellow teacher Jess decided it was only fair I sit in it myself first.

Jess grabbed all the questions you've been sending me on Instagram and in my inbox — the big ones, the spicy ones, the ones you've been dying to ask — and she fired them at me with zero warning. No prep. No notes. Just me, a microphone, and a best friend who knows exactly which buttons to push.

We cover everything from the biggest classroom management mistake teachers make, to whether you can be "too nice," to the one strategy that doesn't get nearly enough credit (hint: it's not what you think). And then — because Jess clearly wanted to see me sweat — we close it out with a rapid-fire game of Bin or Win, where I had to give my gut reaction to seating plans, phone bans, reward systems, homework, restorative conversations, AI in schools, and more. No hedging allowed. Well — mostly.

If you've followed the Unteachables for years, this is the closest thing to a "getting to know me" episode you're going to get. And if you've just stumbled across us here at EduTech, well — welcome. Buckle up.

What you'll learn:

• The biggest mistake teachers make when trying to manage behaviour (and why it's not actually about the behaviour at all)
• Why "too nice" usually isn't the real problem — and what's happening instead
• The one strategy Claire believes is the absolute heartbeat of every lesson, but rarely gets talked about
• Where to start if you want to overhaul your routines but don't know which one to fix first
• The biggest myth about low-level disruption — and why responding to it is the wrong move
• Why a lack of control as a teacher is really a nervous system problem, not a discipline problem
• Claire's instant gut reactions in a rapid-fire Bin or Win: seating plans, phone bans, reward systems, group work, homework, icebreakers, whole-class consequences, open plan classrooms, teacher content on social media, restorative conversations, and AI in schools
• The one hill Claire will die on as an educator (and it's a big one)

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

If you can grab them in the first five minutes, everything feels easier. That's the magic of a great starter activity — and this episode is Claire's full Q&A on how to do them well.

Starter tasks are one of Claire's absolute favourite things (her words). Done right, they communicate your expectations before you've said a single word, shift whatever energy students are walking in with, and create the kind of consistency and predictability that makes your classroom feel safe — for your students and for you.

In this episode, Claire covers:

• Why starter activities are classroom management magic — not just a nice-to-have
• The guard dog analogy — why routines are "friends for the amygdala" and what that means for your most dysregulated students
• The most frequently asked questions about starter tasks: 
  • Do they have to relate to the lesson? Claire's honest answer
  • What if students don't take them seriously? How to get buy-in by explaining the why
  • What actually makes a quality starter? Claire's criteria — achievable for every student, no extra input from you, pen to paper, three to five minutes, no prior knowledge required
• Five starter activities you can try this week: 

Resources mentioned:

• 📦 [Routines Bundle]— entry routines, transitions, exits, early finishes, starters, and more — every routine your classroom needs in one place

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Teachers are constantly being told to move away from punitive approaches — but rarely given the actual, practical skills to replace them with. And that gap? It's leaving teachers feeling disempowered, lost, and like restorative practice just doesn't work.

This episode is Claire's answer to that.

She's breaking down her exact framework for helping students build real accountability after big behaviour moments — in a way that's realistic, respectful, and actually works in a real classroom.

In this episode, Claire covers:

• Why restorative conversations alone aren't enough — and what's actually missing
• What real accountability looks like (hint: it's not a forced apology or a lunchtime detention)
• Her four-step framework: Regulate, Reflect, Repair, Record
  • Regulate — why you can't skip this step, and how to support a student's nervous system before any conversation happens
  • Reflect — getting students to genuinely understand what happened and why, using scaffolds that don't feel like an interrogation
  • Repair — letting students choose their own pathway forward so there's real buy-in and ownership
  • Record — why documentation isn't punitive, it's protective — for you and for them
• Why students shut down in behaviour conversations — and how this framework changes that
• The difference between compliance and genuine change over time

Resources mentioned:

• 🛠️ [Reflect & Repair Toolkit] — think sheets, regulation tools, reflection scaffolds, repair notes, and Claire's Classroom Management Digital Hub, all in one place

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Classroom management can feel like this big, intangible, confusing beast that no one can seem to nail down. Claire gets it — and this episode is her antidote to that.

Five non-negotiable moves. Five things she'd hand you immediately if you came to her tomorrow and said "I'm struggling, what do I do?" No fluff, no theory — just the actual things that are within your control and that you can take into your classroom today.

Because here's the thing: you can't control your students' behaviour. You can't control what they're dealing with at home, or how they're showing up. But there is so much you can control — and that's exactly where this episode lives.

In this episode, Claire covers:

• Why classroom management feels so overwhelming — and the one reframe that changes everything
• The five non-negotiable moves Claire comes back to again and again: 
  • Ready-to-go scripts — one-liners that keep you regulated when a student pushes every button you have
  • Routines — not just toilet passes, but the actual bones and heartbeat of your lesson
  • Buy-in first — why engagement and connection have to come before everything else
  • Community building — dripping in little moments of felt safety and belonging every single lesson
  • Crystal clear expectations — and knowing exactly how you'll respond when behaviour happens
• Why leadership telling you to "get your class under control" is the wrong ask entirely — and how to feel proud of what you are doing

Resources mentioned:

• 📥 [Calm Scripts PDF] — 20 ready-to-go one-liners for tricky behaviour moments
• 📦 [Routines Bundle] — everything you need to build routines that work the room for you

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Mentioned Resource: The Engagement Bundle

Engagement slumping? You're not alone. Whether you're in the final push to summer or just hitting that mid-year wall where motivation has quietly packed its bags, this episode is for you.

Claire shares four no-prep (or low-prep) whole class games that gamify your lessons, bring back buy-in, and make the last stretch of the year actually fun, for you and your students.

And yes, she's also addressing that "hard pass, kids don't need more dopamine" comment she got on Instagram. Spoiler: these aren't video games.

In this episode, Claire covers:

• Why engagement gets so hard towards the end of the year (and why it's not your fault)
• Why gamification is a great way to boost engagement 
• Why neurodivergent students thrive with novelty — and why what works for them works for everyone
• Four whole class games you can use today, no prep required: 

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website