The Unteachables Podcast

What does it actually mean to be a professional in teaching? Not just "treated like one" — but what does professional knowledge, professional growth, and professional community actually look like in practice?
I got to sit down with one of the most cited education scholars alive — the incredible Andy Hargreaves — and honestly, I could have talked to him for hours. Andy is an author or editor of 40 books, an education advisor to governments across multiple countries, and the co-creator of the concept of Professional Capital — a framework that has genuinely changed the way educators and systems think about what it means to invest in teachers.
This is one of those episodes that I think is going to hit differently depending on where you are in your career. Whether you're in your first few years wondering if it's all worth it, or you're a seasoned teacher who's lost a bit of your spark, or you're a school leader trying to figure out why your staff keep burning out — Andy has something for you.
Here's a taste of what we got into:
In this episode, you'll learn:
What professional capital actually is — and the three types every teacher already has (and needs to grow)
Why staying in teaching longer than three years isn't just "getting expensive" — it's where the real expertise is built
The chess metaphor that will completely reframe how you see your early career (and honestly, any career stage)
What Andy believes schools are profoundly getting wrong about teacher wellbeing right now
Why "wellbeing add-ons" like yoga and meditation won't fix what's actually causing teacher ill-being
The three biggest causes of ill-being in schools — including one that hits way too close to home for Australian teachers
What collective autonomy means and why individual autonomy alone isn't the answer
Why the most powerful thing you can do as a teacher might be to fight for your autonomy together, not alone
What Andy will be sharing at EduTech Sydney — including his fascinating "teaching as repair work" framework
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
Shop all resources
Join The Behaviour Club
My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
Check out my website

Okay, I'm going to say something that might surprise you.
The most powerful differentiation strategy I know is also the most boring one.
No fancy tech. No elaborate lesson design. No creating multiple versions of anything. Just one simple, evidence-backed approach that, when you actually use it, has the power to dramatically reduce the low-level disruptions, work refusal, and off-task behaviour that's making your days harder.
Welcome to Part 3 of the differentiation series, and today I'm giving you a front seat to scaffolding, what it actually is, when to use it, and the dead-simple framework I use to implement it in any lesson, in any subject, with any group of students.
Let's roll the tape on the I-We-You model, because once you get this, you're not going to be able to unsee it.
If you haven't listened to Parts 1 and 2 yet, I'd really encourage you to start there, this episode builds on both of them and will make a lot more sense with that context in place.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why scaffolding is the "boring" strategy that's actually classroom management magic
What scaffolding actually is, and the stepping stones analogy that makes it click
When to use scaffolds and what they can look like across different subjects and tasks
The I-We-You model: the three-phase teaching framework that builds student skills and confidence before they ever work independently
Why assumptions about what students "should" be able to do are quietly making your classroom harder to manage
How the I-We-You model reduces the constant stream of "what do I do?" questions during independent work time
Why this isn't extra work, it's just really good teaching
How to access Claire's full Differentiation Toolbox and 50+ Canva scaffold templates inside the Behaviour Club
Resources mentioned:
The Behaviour Club — full differentiation training + 50+ Canva scaffold templates: https://www.theunteachables.com.au/tbc
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
Shop all resources
Join The Behaviour Club
My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
Check out my website

Let me be real with you for a second, the word "differentiation" has a bit of a reputation problem.
For most teachers, hearing it conjures up images of three separate lesson versions, colour-coded ability groups, and a to-do list that never ends. No wonder it sends a shudder up your spine.
But here's the thing: that version of differentiation? It's not what I'm talking about. And it's not what's actually going to help your students, or you.
This is Part 2 of my differentiation series, and today I'm giving you a front seat to what differentiation actually looks like when it's done in a way that's realistic, sustainable, and genuinely effective. We're busting the biggest myths, reframing the whole concept, and I'm walking you through my Differentiation Toolbox, the strategies I actually use to embed adaptive learning into lessons, not on top of them.
If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, I'd recommend starting there, because it sets up the whole behaviour-learning link that makes this episode make sense.
But if you're ready to stop feeling guilty about differentiation and start actually doing it? You're in exactly the right place.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why the way we've been taught to differentiate is setting us up to fail — and what to do instead
The biggest misconceptions teachers have about differentiation (and why they're holding us back)
What "true differentiation" — or adaptive teaching — actually looks like in practice
Why differentiation needs to be hardwired into your lesson design, not added on afterwards
The ladder analogy that reframes scaffolding in the most practical way possible
The tools inside Claire's Differentiation Toolbox: scaffolding, success criteria, learning maps, starter activities, visible learning, and more
How one lesson can meet every student at their level — without creating multiple versions of anything
What's coming up in Part 3 of the series (spoiler: it's all about scaffolding and modelling in detail)
Resources mentioned:
The Behaviour Club — differentiation training + 50+ Canva scaffold templates: https://www.theunteachables.com.au/tbc
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
Shop all resources
Join The Behaviour Club
My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
Check out my website

Every teacher has been there. The class that makes you want to crawl under your desk. The student who seems hell-bent on dismantling every lesson you've planned. And the horrible, shameful moment when you realise you've snapped, yelled, or just completely lost the plot… and it didn't help at all.
Here's the thing: it's not because you're a bad teacher. It's because you're a human with a brain, and that brain is doing exactly what it's designed to do under stress.
This week, I'm joined by the incredible Jessica Sinarski, award-winning author, innovative educator, and founder of Brave Brains, who has spent more than 20 years translating complex neuroscience into practical, I can actually do this strategies for educators and child welfare organisations around the world. Jess is one of those rare humans who can take the most brain-melting research and make it feel completely accessible. And honestly? This conversation gave me goosebumps more than once.
We get into why chaotic classrooms aren't a discipline problem (and what they actually are), the surprising sensory input that could completely change your most challenging class, and the mindset shift that will help you stop taking student behaviour personally, even when it feels very personal.
This one is a must-listen, friends.
What you'll learn in this episode:
Why YOUR brain goes on autopilot when students kick off, and why that's completely normal (not a character flaw)
What's actually going on neurologically in a class that feels constantly dysregulated and chaotic
The "pack leader" concept and why calm authority is your most powerful classroom tool
How to shift your internal narrative from "this kid is out to get me" to something that actually helps you respond well
The anchor phrases that will help you stay regulated when students push every button you have
What proprioception is, why it's the hidden classroom management tool you didn't know you needed, and how to use it today
A super simple movement break that works even with secondary students (yes, really)
Why connection between students, not just between you and your students, changes classroom behaviour
The "brain builder" mindset shift that will transform how you see your most challenging students
Where to find more from Jess:
Free Teacher's Guide to Proprioception
Light Up the Learning Brain (also available at all major online retailers)
Behavior Rewired 
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
Shop all resources
Join The Behaviour Club
My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
Check out my website

When a student pushes a piece of work off their desk, puts their head down, pulls out their phone, or starts cracking jokes, it can feel personal. Like, really personal. Especially when you've poured your heart into that lesson.
But here's the thing: none of that behaviour is random. And it's definitely not about you.
In this episode, I'm giving you a front seat to something I wish I'd known back in my second year of teaching, when I planned what I thought was an epic observation lesson, complete with immersion stations, bells, whistles, the lot… and watched it completely fall apart in real time (yes, a kid literally jumped out the window).
This episode kicks off a three-part series on differentiation, and before you click away because that word makes you want to lie down on the floor,  stick with me. Because this is not the differentiation that has you creating 180 individual lesson plans. This is the real, doable kind.
But first, we need to talk about what's actually going on in your students' brains when they see a piece of work and decide nope. Because once you understand the link between the learning you're designing and the behaviour you're seeing, everything starts to shift.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why "work refusal" behaviours (avoidance, disruption, withdrawal, escalation) are almost always a stress response — not defiance
What actually happened in my chaotic observation lesson and why it was always going to go that way
The four ways students' stress responses show up when they feel set up to fail
Why you cannot separate classroom management from teaching and learning, and why that's actually good news
Why differentiation has such bad PR (and why that's making things harder for all of us)
What's coming up in parts 2 and 3 of this series (spoiler: it's practical, it's doable, and it's going to save you time)
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
Shop all resources
Join The Behaviour Club
My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
Check out my website