The Leading, Language and Literature Podcast

In this episode, I’m speaking with Shanice Welsh. Shanice is a director of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum here in Hong Kong and an active sharer of good teaching practice on the likes of X where she posts under the handle @Edu_byCreation. She is an experienced Middle Years Programme teacher and has done lots of work to integrate the framework into her own department’s output but also across the school as a whole.
My chat with her is the third conversation in a series of discussions designed to learn more about secondary subjects and their possible interdisciplinary links with English.
My intrigue in having these chats is seeing whether there are possibilities for connections across subjects that are at least shared in passing during class or actually and more excitingly, the basis of complex interdisciplinary units.
We discuss:
The products, processes or texts that are at the heart of studying Design
The deep concepts that an expert in Design uses to make meaning from these phenomena
The potential links that Design and English share from a conceptual or disciplinary point of view
And lastly, possible projects that students could work on to better understand both subjects, simultaneously.

Thanks so much to Shanice who speaks with an excellent clarity, which speaks to both experience with interdisciplinary planning as well as a deep expertise in her subject.
If you’d like to be kept up to date on when chat like this happens, feel free to subscribe to the podcast and follow me on LinkedIn @chrisjordanhk or X @chrisjordanhk
Additionally, if you would like a head start on learning how to prioritise your middle years English curriculum, head to the bottom of this podcast’s show notes or top of my stream on X to find a beta copy of my forthcoming book: Make Middle Years English Matter. You can read as much as you want and even highlight elements that you like, dislike or find confusing to help make it better.
Links:
Beta version of Make Middle Years English Matter

In this episode, I’m talking to Eoin MacCarthaigh. This is the latest in a running series of conversations between Eoin and I, where we share 3 things each from the world of education that have been causing us some consideration.
We discuss:
1. Eoin’s pedagogical priorities for the new year
2. Why everything is downstream from a concept-led curriculum
3. How schools should approach the challenge of inclusion
4. Why ‘Read Alouds’ are a great gauge of text suitability
5. The role of homework in English
6. And finally, why teachers benefit from learning things that are cognitively demanding
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 X @chrisjordanhk and Eoin @EMCTeach
Additionally, if you would like a head start on learning how to prioritise your middle years English curriculum, head to the bottom of this podcast’s show notes or top of my stream on X to find a beta copy of my forthcoming book: Make Middle Years English Matter. You can read as much as you want and even highlight elements that you like, dislike or find confusing to help make it better.
Links:
Beta version of Make Middle Years English Matter

In this episode, I am talking to Tama Karena. Tama is a Director of Music at an international school here in Hong Kong and has 30 years of experience in the classroom, twenty of which have been spent in international schools. My chat with him is the second conversation in a series of discussions designed to learn more about secondary subjects and their possible interdisciplinary links with English.
My intrigue in having these chats is seeing whether there is possibilities for connections across subjects that are at least shared in passing during class or actually and more excitingly, the basis of complex interdisciplinary units.
We discuss:
The products, processes or texts that are at the heart of studying Music
The deep concepts that an expert in Music uses to make meaning from these experiences
The potential links that Music and English share from a conceptual or disciplinary point of view
And lastly, possible projects that students could work on to better understand both subjects, simultaneously.

Thanks so much to Tama for speaking with his customary soul and passion for the subject and allowing me to consider the less obvious connections that are two subjects share.
If you’d like to be kept up to date on when chat like this happens, feel free to subscribe to the podcast and follow me on LinkedIn @chrisjordanhk or X @chrisjordanhk
Additionally, if you would like a head start on learning how to prioritise your middle years English curriculum, head to the bottom of this podcast’s show notes or top of my stream on X to find a beta copy of my forthcoming book: Make Middle Years English Matter. You can read as much as you want and even highlight elements that you like, dislike or find confusing to help make it better.
Links:
Beta version of Make Middle Years English Matter

In this episode, I am talking to Louis Wong. Louis is a STEM Coordinator, DP Physics teacher, IB Examiner, author and speaker. My chat with him is the first conversation in a series of discussions designed to learn more about secondary subjects and their possible interdisciplinary links with English.
My intrigue in having these chats is seeing whether there is possibilities for connections across subjects that are at least shared in passing during class or actually and more excitingly, the basis of complex interdisciplinary units.
We discuss:
The products, processes or texts that are at the heart of studying STEM
The deep concepts that an expert in STEM uses to make meaning from these phenomena
The potential links that STEM and English share from a conceptual or disciplinary point of view
And lastly, possible projects that students could work on to better understand both subjects, simultaneously.

Thanks so much to Louis, who is nothing short of a local legend in STEM circles. I was somewhat nervous going into the conversation given my limited appreciation of the field but he does an incredible job of explaining his field in a clear and accessible way.
If you’d like to be kept up to date on when chat like this happens, feel free to subscribe to the podcast and follow me on LinkedIn @chrisjordanhk or X @chrisjordanhk
Additionally, if you would like a head start on learning how to prioritise your middle years English curriculum, head to the bottom of this podcast’s show notes or top of my stream on X to find a beta copy of my forthcoming book: Make Middle Years English Matter. You can read as much as you want and even highlight elements that you like, dislike or find confusing to help make it better.
Links:
Beta version of Make Middle Years English Matter

In this episode, I’m speaking with Richard Bustin. Richard is a Geography teacher as well as being Director of Pedagogy, Innovation and Staff Development at Lancing College in the UK. Most recently, he has authored a book entitled: What Are We Teaching? Powerful Knowledge and a Capabilities Curriculum.
It was an interview I’d heard between Richard and James Mannion that led me to Richard’s work and reading his book was of great interest to me as someone who works within the IB framework. Although nominally a Geography teacher, Richard’s book takes a broad look at the way we approach subjects in the secondary curriculum and considers where our priorities lie and what this means for what students actually learn.
We discuss:
How self-aware teachers are about their priorities when designing and teaching the curriculum
What Richard understands ‘powerful knowledge to be’ and how it should be implemented in the curriculum
What the term ‘capabilities’ covers for students’ education
And finally, whether there is a way to overcome the binaries of traditional progressive pedagogies in the age of social media

Thanks so much to Richard for taking the time to chat to me about striking a balance between the rigorous drive to provide students with empowering subject knowledge at the same time as recognising the role that interdisciplinary ideas and collectively achieved academic capabilties.
If you’d like to be kept up to date on when chat like this happens, feel free to subscribe to the podcast and follow me on LinkedIn or X @chrisjordanhk
Additionally, if you would like a head start on how to prioritise your middle years English curriculum, head to the bottom of this podcast’s show notes or the top of my stream on X to find a beta copy of my forthcoming book: Make Middle Years English Matter. You can read as much as you want and even highlight elements that you like, dislike or find confusing.
Links:
Richard’s book What Are We Teaching?
Richard’s conversation with James Mannion for the the Rethinking Education podcast
Beta version of Make Middle Years English Matter