Chris Youles - How to teach story writing - Taipei
In this episode, I’m taking to Chris Youles. Chris has experience being an assistant head, english lead, writing moderator, and a specialist leader in primary education. He is also a published author having penned: Sentence models for creative writing: A practical resource for teaching writing and more recently Teaching Story Writing in Primary: Curriculum-aligned, classroom-ready resources and strategies. It was regarding this latter book that i reached out to Chris for a chat, knowing that just like his first book, the more recent one would be packed full with practical insights that I could go about implementing in class as soon as possible.We discuss:1. Given that the vast majority of the book would be pertinent for my Y10 and 11 IGCSE cohorts, why did Chris go with 'Primary' in the title2. What does he make of Joe Nutt's observation that there is a vanishingly small number of students who will actually go on to be writers and therefore, time spent in the English classroom might be better spent on more practical or relevant modes of communication3. What are the constituent concepts that we can break story down to and introduce across the curriculum4. Why plotting is described as the most difficult aspect of planning or writing a story5. When Chris thinks classes or students can embark on truly independent writing6. And finally, Chris’ advice for best practice around student sourced ambitious vocabularyThanks a lot to Chris for the taking the time to talk with me as well as writing yet another excellent book about not just the how of expressing yourself through writing, but the why too. Keep an eye out for his next publication too: Sentence models for non-fiction writingIf 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 @chrisjordanhkLinks:Chris’ books
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41:54
David Didau - How to assess in middle school English - Somerset
In this episode I’m speaking to David Didau. David is a well-known and well-respected consultant in the world of English teaching and teaching more broadly. He has authored numerous books about education and the subject of English more specifically. Most recently, his book Bringing the English Curriculum to Life: A Field Guide for Making Meaning in English, with contributions from Claire Woozley, James Hibbert, Emma Levins, Kate Moloney, Tom Pinkstone, Amy Rose and Daniel Blackburn, has helped to outline how cognitive science and a concept-led English curriculum can be implemented in secondary schools.David is an educational hero of mine and as such it was a great privilege to speak with him again, this time on the topic of assessment in middle school English.We discuss:- Whether discussing themes is more suited to PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education) as opposed to the English curriculum- How mastery assessment works and the way it shifts focus onto good teaching and learning- The amount of question level analysis needed and conditions assessments are done in- Whether there needs to be opportunities for kids to ‘play the whole game’ in English- What the data collected reflects about students’ learning through the external summatives done- And since writing Making Meaning in English, is there anything David has changed his mind aboutThanks again to David for taking the time to talk with me as well as his continued work within the subject. For me, all of this has helped English teachers better understand how the curriculum could look and how best to enact it in truly practical ways.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 @chrisjordanhkLinks: David’s interview with EduPulseDavid’s books
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57:23
A Zoom with a View #4
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. The purposes for teaching English and what this subsequently means for writing instruction2. My attempts at suggesting the core concepts at the heart of English curriculum3. The semantics of ‘knowledge’, direct instruction’, ‘inquiry’ and whether conversations about teaching approaches can overcome the biases associated with such terms4. Whether questioning and planning for misconceptions is worthwhile in English classroom preparation5. And finally, the necessity of teaching hip hop as way for students to more deeply appreciate poetry’s evolutionIf 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 and Eoin @EMCTeach
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1:41:11
Tom Sherrington - Mode A and Mode B Teaching - London
In this episode, I’m talking to Tom Sherrington. Tom is a former headteacher, current education consultant and author. He writes the popular blog teacherhead.com and his books include The Learning Rainforest and best-seller Rosenshine’s Principles in Action. He also co-authors the Teaching WalkThrus series with Oliver Caviglioli and edits the In Action series of education books.I was really excited to talk to Tom after Eoin MacCarthaigh reminded me of his Mode A and Mode B teaching advice in the book The Learning Rainforest. I subsequently reread this and was immediately struck by how such a distinction and reframing of supposedly conflicting pedagogies could help with ongoing debates in IB education and beyond.We discuss:1. The distinction between Mode A and Mode B2. Whether The Learning Rainforest and the Mode A / Mode B distinction was informed by Tom’s experience of teaching abroad3. His recommendations for the amount of time spent on Mode B teaching as well as when this occurs in a scheme of learning4. Tom’s view on Mode B style assessments in the curriculum5. And finally, any recommendations Tom has for other writers who have explored the Mode B approachThanks again to Tom for giving up his time to chat as well as for the fact that his insights and the semantic solution of Mode A and Mode B could be incredibly valuable to departments seeking to have productive conversations about designing student learning.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 @chrisjordanhkLinks:The Learning Rainforest by Tom SherringtonTom’s other booksTom’s blogsTrivium 21c by Martin RobinsonHywel Roberts’ books
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59:29
Anthony Cockerill - Director of the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) - York
In this episode I’m speaking to Anthony Cockerill. Anthony is the new director of NATE, which is the National Association for the Teaching of English. NATE is an independent, non-funded, not-for-profit educational charity that provides publications and training for English teachers at all key stages that has helping English teachers from around the world since 1963. I wanted to talk to Anthony following a flashback I had to reading one of his articles 5 of so years ago about constructing a thematic based curriculum. Since then, we’ve seen the rise of a concept based curriculum gain traction and I wanted his take on how such a development factored into his planning. We discuss: - The original themes Anthony chose for his curriculum, the reason behind them and who was involved in the decision- Whether themes always need to be closely tied to common ideas in literature- If a set selection of disciplinary concepts was chosen for every unit in his school’s curriculum too - How texts are selected, taught and how assessment is done in this setup- And finally, from its inception to when he left the post, what were the main changes Anthony made to the thematic curriculum approachThanks again to Anthony for giving up his time to speak to me and good luck to him in his new post at NATE. If you’re interested in gaining a NATE membership I can attest that it is more than worth it and will only cost you a couple of pounds per month for some outstanding ongoing CPD.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 @chrisjordanhkLinks: Anthony’s original blog postNATE official websiteAnthony’s subsequent blogs about the curriculum
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