Thinking Deeply about Primary Education

Guests from Season One return for an education themed quiz. They discuss improving primary education, including revamping Ofsted and teaching complex subjects. The Golden Age of Baghdad and diversity in history education are explored. They also talk about the versatility of bar models in math and play a word association game.

Shannen Doherty, a Year 2 teacher and author, talks about teaching math in a mastery way and shares interesting practices. They discuss the challenges of implementing new strategies, understanding standard and non-standard examples in math, and the importance of professional development in education. The speakers reflect on discovery learning and the need for clear instruction in teaching.

Jack Harker, a Year 4 teacher and archaeologist, discusses teaching, learning, curriculum, pressure on schools, misconceptions about seasons, challenges teaching history and computing, awakening to research, and valuable resources for teachers.

Elliot Morgan, experienced in teaching and leading, shares insights on task-design, planning, professional development, and his teaching career. They discuss the importance of task design, exploration of dual coding and retrieval practice, and the need for individualized task design to suit specific classes and cohorts.

Christopher Such, a teacher and school leader, shares his experience and advice for meaningful professional development. They discuss the differences between being a teaching assistant in primary and secondary schools, the value of instructional manuals, finding a balance between traditional and progressive teaching methods, and the announcement of a new book on teaching primary reading.

Guest Neil Almond, a teacher and curriculum expert in London, discusses teaching, learning, and curriculum. Topics include: essential behaviors of school leaders, the power of pre-testing and silent teaching, the significance of task design, the importance of high-quality textbooks, quick checks of understanding, and the birth of the box set curriculum.

Lisa Coe, a mathematics specialist in Norfolk, shares her teaching experience and mathematical expertise. She discusses her journey into mathematics subject leadership, reflections on teaching mathematics, the challenges and benefits of subject specialization, the role of a mathematics subject leader across multiple schools, discovering educational books and starting a blog, changes in mathematics subject leadership over the past decade, and the use of espresso in the classroom.

Lloyd Williams-Jones, a Deputy Head Teacher living in Kent, shares his experience of teaching and leading in the South-East of England as well as the impact engaging with education research has had on the course of his career.