Richard Bustin - Powerful knowledge and the capabilities students need - West Sussex
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 curriculumWhat Richard understands ‘powerful knowledge to be’ and how it should be implemented in the curriculumWhat the term ‘capabilities’ covers for students’ educationAnd finally, whether there is a way to overcome the binaries of traditional progressive pedagogies in the age of social mediaThanks 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 @chrisjordanhkAdditionally, 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 podcastBeta version of Make Middle Years English Matter
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1:05:19
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1:05:19
Morgan Whitfield - What is Challenge for All? - Ho Chi Minh
In this episode, I’m talking with Morgan Whitfield. Morgan is an author, consultant, CPD trainer and senior leader. Her recent book, Gifted?, advocates for challenging all students through an inclusive approach to teaching, whereby every student is given the opportunities to reach mastery.I really wanted to chat with Morgan having read her book, which is possibly the most robustly researched piece of writing I’ve ever come across, as well as the global trend towards personalised learning through technology.We discuss:1. Why terms like 'most able' and their devoted interventions are so problematic2. Morgan’s experience in teaching and why it led her to this topic3. What ‘Challenge for All’ is theoretically and what it looks like practically4. Oracy, the Harkness model and PBL’s part in challenge for all, respectively5. And finally, what Morgan makes of Alpha Schools and their apparent attempts to challenge all students through AI driven instruction? Thank you so much to Morgan for speaking with me as well as leading the way on an issue that has its roots in centuries old problems around equity and social justice.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 X @chrisjordanhkAdditionally, 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:Morgan’s book: Gifted? Beta version of Make Middle Years English Matter
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Mary Myatt -Education adviser, Writer and Speaker - Wales
In this episode, I’m talking with Mary Myatt. Mary is nothing short of a patron saint of curriculum design in the uk, with her books including The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence, Huh: Curriculum Conversations Between Subject and Senior Leaders and Back on Track: Fewer Things, Greater Depth.I find myself quoting things Mary has said in discussions with colleagues on a regular basis and was elated with the chance to speak with her. Particularly of interest was her focus in middle school and her insistence that with the right planning, it can become the ‘intellectual powerhouse’ of secondary schooling. We discuss: The extent to which schools have taken the advice of a 2015 paper entitled ‘KS3: the wasted years?’Why as a profession we were getting curriculum coherence wrong for so many yearsThe advice Mary typically gives to identify the powerful knowledge a curriculum should be organized aroundWhat she feels are the strengths and weaknesses of units or assessments that are planned with authenticity or a real audience in mind.Her work with the University of Sussex's Just Reading strategiesAnd finally, where does Mary stand on interdisciplinary learning?Thanks again to Mary for her indefatigable online presence, her writing and taking the time to talk to me today. 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 @chrisjordanhkLinksMary’s booksOfsted’s ‘KS3: the wasted years?’
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A Zoom with a View #5
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 challenges of instructional coaching2. The challenges of achieving improvement in education3. Handbooks versus playbooks and what this means for professional development4. Whether themes can be considered hinterland in English curriculum design5. The relationship between direct instruction and EnglishIf 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 @EMCTeachLinks:Carl Hendrick’s X post regarding coachingCraig Barton’s podcast with Adam BoxerClaudia Lewis’ blogpost on playbooks and handbooks
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1:25:25
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1:25:25
Sam Gibbs - Curriculum / Development Leader for The Greater Manchester Education Trust and Author - Manchester
In this episode I’m talking with Sam Gibbs. Sam is a former English teacher and curriculum / development leader for a school trust in Manchester. Additionally, she co-authored the brilliant The Trouble with English and How to Address It: A Practical Guide to Designing and Delivering a Concept-Led Curriculum. As we go onto discuss, making the shift to concept-led curriculum in English is a paradigm shift that ensures deeper learning for students. Consequently, Sam and Zoe’s book offers an excellent introduction to this change as well as practical advice for how to go about doing it. We discuss:How Sam advises on starting the shift to a concept-led curriculumWhether she suggests teachers start by exploring foundation concepts initially before then bringing in second-order ideas over timeExamples of how schools have taken on the concept-led curriculum and subsequently tried to build in assessmentWhether 'argument' is a foundational concept of EnglishAnd finally, the difference between 'structure' and 'pattern' as conceptsThanks again to Sam for giving up her time today as well as the amazing work she and Zoe Helman have done in bringing this book to the subject. 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: Sam and Zoe’s book: The Trouble with English and How to Address It
Ireland