View from the lab

In this episode, the host talks to Lucinda Powell, an Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning in a boys school in South Oxfordshire, England.

Lucinda's interests lie in the intersection between psychology and education and include memory and learning, special educational needs, social influence and pupil-teacher relationships in schools, mental health and wellbeing. She shares this passion through her podcast ‘Psychology in the Classroom’ which aims to make psychological research on learning and education accessible to all. Lucinda was recently named ‘Psychology Teacher of the Year’ by the British Psychological Society.

This episode will explore these topics, as well as other related talking points derived from Lucinda's career and expertise. Press play!

In this episode Andy Woods talks to practical science champion Bob Worley from CLEAPSS. He's a true superstar in the world of school chemistry practicals and is at the vanguard of the microchemistry approach and inspires technicians and teachers in school laboratories in the UK and across the world with his approach. Bob taught Chemistry for many years before joining the school safety organization CLEAPSS. At CLEAPSS he has worked on debunking many myths about practicals including which are safe or unsafe to carry out with or by students. In this episode we talk about his career and his microchemistry escapades that have inspired so many across the world. Don’t delay – just press play.

In this ‘half century’ edition of the ‘view from the lab’ podcast I talk to Professor Jonathan Osborne, the Kamalachari Professor of Science Education and Emeritus at the Graduate School of Education, University of Stanford, California.

In our conversation we look back on Jonathan’s career in science education from Physics teacher to teacher trainer and science education academic. Jonathan has worked on many high-profile reports and initiatives and has been an influential member on the international PISA test committee for several years. More recently he has been working on challenging the prevalence of misinformation in science in our digital world and devising approaches to help young people spot this misleading information.

In this episode of the pod Andy Woods chats to Alex Gray – a true ‘early adopter’ in the application of AI to science education. Alex is an experienced Biology teacher who has taught both in UK and International schools and is currently based in Dubai. Not only does he teach, but he also contributes to the CPD world with his digital content found at www.deepprofessional.com. Alex has embraced the world of AI and explains in this episode how it has transformed his practice and how it can transform yours too. We talk about the seismic shift it has had on the education world and discuss how teachers today can leverage the power of these new tools to elevate their teaching. It’s a fascinating discussion that will develop your understanding of AI and what it can do to make your teaching life better!

In this episode Andy Woods is joined by a titan of the science education world – the widely respected Professor Michael Reiss! Michael currently works for University College London’s Institute of Education. His whole career has been deeply embedded in the science world from starting off as a teacher in Cambridgeshire to becoming a well-respected voice in science education and particularly the field of ‘bioethics’. We delve into his thoughts on integrating the three main sciences as well as taking a ‘side road’ to discuss the benefits of ‘psychodynamic counselling’, we also have an opportunity to discuss the friction we sometimes see between science and religion. There’s so much to discover in this enlightening episode!

Yes, we’re talking electricity and the wonderful world of circuits with former teacher and ‘current’ (haha!) entrepreneur Julian Hamm! Julian has been fascinated by the world of Physics and especially circuits for much of his working life. He’s worked in and out of the education sector throughout his career but has always been most passionate about circuits and the best ways to explain how they work. Through his pioneering site ‘furry elephant’ to its current incarnation – electricityexplained.com Julian has dedicated himself to demystifying this area of the science curriculum. In this episode we have a deep-dive conversation in how science teachers can model and explain the common topics that come up at the senior school level.

WARNING: some explicit language is present in this episode. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode Andy Woods is joined by the effervescent behaviour expert - Adele Bates. Adele is known for her engaging teacher training in schools and her popular book on behaviour “Miss, I don’t give a s*t" Engaging with Challenging Behaviour in Schools, Adele has learnt her craft by working in several mainstream secondary and primary schools as well as holding roles in local authority Pupil Referral Units (PRUs).

In this conversation we talk about the many challenges of dealing with difficult pupil behaviour in schools. We discuss the multiple reasons behind why young people and whole classes can present challenging behaviour for teachers. In addition to this, we look at some pragmatic approaches that both teachers and school communities can apply to shape positive learning environments for the young people in their charge.

Don’t delay just press play!

Miss I Don’t give a Sh*t! - Adele Bates - "Miss, I don’t give a sh*t": Engaging with... by Bates, Adele (amazon.co.uk)

Home - Adele Bates Education - Adelebateseducation.co.uk

On X - @AdeleBatesZ

In this episode Andy Woods is joined by a high-profile enthusiast for STEM subjects and STEM careers Dr Anne Marie Imafidon!

Anne -Marie is a champion of underrepresented groups in STEM and co-founded Stemettes in 2013, a social enterprise supporting and advocating for more girls and young women non-binary people between 5-25 and to participate in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) disciplines.

In our conversation we hear about her love of maths and computing and her journey from school to receiving her masters in Maths and Computing from the University of Oxford at just age 20. She’s a published author of 2 books and has also been the resident maths expert on the well-loved UK quiz show Countdown. And if she wasn’t busy enough, she’s also the current President of the British Science Association! There’s so much to talk about in this episode of view from the lab so let's go!

Anne Marie’s books...

She’s in CTRL

How to be a Maths Whizz

In this episode of VFTL I was lucky enough to catch up with Dr Jasper Green. Jasper is currently an Associate Professor and Head of Initial Teacher Education at the Institute of Education at UCL in London.

Jasper has had a significant impact on the world of science teaching in the numerous roles he has held in his distinguished career. He has been a science teacher, head of department, network lead for a large MAT, and an author of a recent book called ‘Powerful ideas in science and how to teach them’. He is the creator of the respected website- thescienceteacher.co.uk and not only that but he was also the science lead for Ofsted between 2020-2022. What a CV! There’s so much to discuss in this full to bursting episode of... view from the lab.

Powerful Ideas of Science and How to teach them – Dr Jasper Green

Children’s Ideas in Science – Roaslind Driver

Alex Johnstone’s Triangle

On today’s podcast I have an icon of progressive science pedagogy from the UK –Adam Robbins. Adam is a well-respected and knowledgeable practitioner, who for 20+ years has been committed to understanding how students learn most effectively, especially in science. He has held many different roles in schools, is a published author and is one of the founding members of the active science teaching group ‘cogscisci’. Adam regularly contributes thoughtful ideas to help teachers across the UK and beyond deliver our jam-packed science curriculum.

Links...

Adam’s Book – Middle Leadership Mastery - Middle Leadership Mastery: A toolkit for subject and pastoral leaders : Adam Robbins: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Adam’s book recommendations:

Why don’t students like school – Dan Willingham - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Don%E2%80%B2t-Students-Like-School/dp/1119715660/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1691508238&sr=8-1

Teaching Secondary Science: a complete guide – Adam Boxer - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Secondary-Science-Complete-Guide/dp/1913622789/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=adam+boxer+teaching+secondary+science&qid=1691508808&sprefix=adam+boxer+%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-1

Running the room – Tom Bennett - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Running-Room-Teachers-Guide-Behaviour/dp/B0B1MJMFT4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=running+the+room+tom+bennett&qid=1691508853&sprefix=runni%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-1

https://adam-robbins.com/