The Leading, Language and Literature Podcast

In this episode I am talking to Tom Needham. Tom is an assistant headteacher in London, former Head of English and author of two fantastic books. His first, Explicit English Teaching, looks at how to take the findings of cognitive science and apply it to the secondary English classroom. And his second, Direct Instruction in Action, was my major motivation for getting in touch with him, as it breaks down the legendary work of Siegfried Engelmann and how highly technical curriculum frameworks can create foolproof learning for all students.
We discuss
The distinctions between explicit instruction, direct instruction and Direct Instruction
Tom’s experience working with off-the-shelf DI curricula
The possibilities for Direct Instruction in secondary English
And finally, what all this means for holistic curriculum design

Thanks again to Tom for speaking with me for the podcast but also writing two incredible books in the context of English teaching. These will no doubt garner more and more deserved attention in the coming years as the theory of Direct instruction gains greater attention in wider education circles.
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: Reinforcing Middle School English 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 Reinforcing Middle School English
Tom’s book on Explicit English Teaching and Direct Instruction in Action

In this episode I am speaking with Doug Lemov. Doug is one of my all time teaching heroes and an incredible person in the world of education. He is the founder and leader of Teach Like a Champion, an organisation that studies exceptional teachers and translates their practice into replicable techniques. Most notably, these are shared via the Teach Like a Champion books which are now on their 3.0 version.
Whilst the TLAC books are an exceptional example of how to improve any teacher’s classroom instruction and curriculum design, Doug has also authored and co-authored the likes of Practice Perfect, The Coach’s Guide to Teaching, Teaching in the Online Classroom, Reading Reconsidered and The Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of Reading. It was on the topic of the last two books that I most wanted to speak to Doug. Reading and the associated knowledge students gain from it has always been of great importance within English, but this has never been more prevalent in the age of smartphones, the internet and its associated economy of attention.
We discuss
What the biggest oversights English teachers might have about reading instruction
Why solid advice, effectively communicated, isn’t enough to improve reading instruction in schools
Any prerequisites an internal canon of literature should adhere to
Why engaging with a contiguous, 300 page text is better than a unit filled with diverse extracts exploring a common theme
And finally, when and how we release our level of control and encourage students to read more challenging books at home

Thank you so much to Doug for speaking with me and the legendary support he has given to teachers down the years with his team at Teach Like a Champion.
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: Reinforcing Middle School English 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 Reinforcing Middle School English
Doug’s books

In this episode I am speaking to Dr. Claire Badger. Claire is the Head of Teacher Professional Development at InnerDrive, a UK-based education and coaching company that specialises in bridging the gap between cognitive science, psychology, and the classroom. She is also a former assistant head and now specialises in helping schools develop their evidence-informed practice.
Claire has also co-authored a book entitled Creativity for Teachers: A Cognitive Science Approach. It was this book and the discussion of creativity in schools that prompted me to contact Claire and arrange what proved to be a fantastic conversation.
We discuss:
1. The varying definitions offered up by all sections of society regarding creativity and what it actually means in academic terms
2. What different manifestations of creativity look like on a global, professional and educational level
3. How knowledge and creativity are akin to the amount and type of lego blocks a child owns and what this, therefore, means for curriculum design
4. How domain specific creativity is and whether it can be achieved through interdisciplinary projects
5. What 'Legacy Projects' are what they require to be done well
6. And finally, the extent to which we need to be planning with creative opportunities in mind and how much of it will come out naturally as a matter of teaching a knowledge-rich curriculum
Thanks again to Claire for taking the time to write the book and talk with me about it today. Creativity, as we discuss, is such a valuable and necessary part of everyone’s experience in education or their profession, so helping to dispel the myths from the meaningful evidence makes her work exceptionally useful.
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: Reinforcing Middle School English 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 Reinforcing Middle School English
Claire’s book: Creativity for Teachers: A Cognitive Science Approach

In this episode I’m talking with Gaurav Dubay. Gaurav is a Trust Director of English and Evidence Lead in Education based in Birmingham, England. He is an active and passionate voice both online and in-person when it comes to enhancing all students outcomes through the Key Stage 3, literacy, oracy and much more.
I have followed Gaurav for a long time now but what prompted our chat was a post I recently wrote regarding the intersection between English disciplinary skills and the vast background knowledge that also needs to be understood for kids to access many texts. This prompted an exchange between Gaurav and I that has led to this week’s episode.
We discuss:
Where Gaurav stands on recent advice to shift towards a concept-led curriculum in English
Where he sees oracy playing a role in this or other forms of curriculum design
How departments can supplement their curriculum with the vast background knowledge needed to make meaning from texts in language and literature
And finally, Gaurav’s thoughts around AI implementation in the classroom and around the curriculum

Thanks again to Gaurav for taking the time to chat about all things English as well as all the fantastic sharing he has done over the years on X and beyond.
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 and newly renamed book: Reinforcing Middle School English 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 Reinforcing Middle School English

In this episode, I’m explaining What I Learnt From: Making Good Progress? The Future of Assessment for Learning by Daisy Christodoulou. This is the fourth episode that sees me go through my annotations and notes for a book that explores an area of English teaching or leadership.
This time, it’s a text that I think is absolutely fundamental to understanding assessment and therefore curriculum design in our schools. Even better, it is written by Daisy Christodoulou MBE, a former English teacher and one of the most prominent and important voices in education from the past twenty years. Much of the examples that she offers are written through the lens of her time as an English teacher and are therefore very instructive when it comes to improving our approach to teaching and learning.
Expect to hear:
Why assessment for learning or formative assessment has failed in many schools
The fundamental differences between summative assessments and formative assessments
Why descriptor-based assessments are problematic
How to create a model of progression in our curriculum
And finally, how to create the best system of integrated formative and summative assessments

This is an absolute monster of an episode and I did consider dividing it into two parts. However, as a regular listener of podcasts myself, I know that depending on everyone’s respective listening habits you will choose to either listen and relisten to the whole thing as desired or break it up according to your commute, runs, walks or whatever you do whilst listening.
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 and newly renamed book: Reinforcing Middle School English 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 Reinforcing Middle School English
Making Good Progress? by Daisy Christodoulou