Mind the Gap: Making Education Work Across the Globe

For this episode, special guest Sarah Cottingham joins Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner to discuss Sarah’s work and expertise in recent research, learning design, retrieval practice, neuroscience, learning schema, and professional development. The conversation begins by exploring Sarah’s explosion onto the educational scene, her beginnings as a teacher, trying different strategies to enhance student learning, her movement into neuroscience, and her work with the Ambition Institute. A primary focus of this conversation is Sarah’s framework for neuroscience and learning which connects cutting-edge research with classroom realism. In the second part of the episode, the trio discusses student learning, existing knowledge, teaching strategies, and professional development.  The episode closes with a discussion on the necessity of time to explore topics. As Sarah explores, self-explanation is essential, and there are hundreds of similar strategies in which you are rehearsing the connection between new content and existing knowledge. Sarah is truly a wealth of neuroscience, learning, and teaching knowledge. About the participants: Sarah Cottingham is a former English educator, researcher, writer, and author. She works as the Associate Dean of Learning Design for the Ambition Institute and is a professional development consultant. She runs the Overpracticed Blog, focusing on memory, retrieval practice, and learning design. She has an ‘In Action’ book with John Catt Educational in production that will be published in 2023.  Follow Sarah on Twitter: @overpractised  Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers,’ a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners, Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education. Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75.

For this episode, special guest Dylan Wiliam joins hosts Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner to discuss good teaching practices, theories of student learning, and implementation. The conversation begins by exploring the concept of “good teaching.” The trio discusses differentiating good teaching from successful teaching, student engagement, humility, successful teaching strategies, research on the value added of good teaching, and the quality of different assessments. In the second part of the episode, the trio discusses the background of effective learning. A primary focus of this discussion is understanding the purpose of data and the importance of cognitive load theory. A key insight in this conversation is tackling the disparate learning skills of students and how understanding the factors of learning can increase student achievement. The episode closes with a discussion on Dylan's upcoming book, Making Room for Impact: The 9p Deimplementation Guide for Educators, which will publish later this year. The book focuses on how implementation makes way for great teaching and learning. About the participants: Dylan Wiliam is an emeritus professor of educational assessment at the UCL Institute of Education. Dylan’s research and authorship focus on the professional development of teachers. His book, Inside the Black Box, is a seminal work on formative assessment. He has served in various leadership roles in the UK and has written numerous books, articles, and academic papers on development, assessment, and teaching. His most recent book Making Room for Impact: The 9p Deimplementation Guide for Educators, is expected to publish this year. Follow Dylan on Twitter @dylanwiliam Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers,’ a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From 

For this episode, special guest Efrat Furst joins hosts Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner to discuss useful learning from a neuroscience perspective. The conversation begins by exploring Efrat’s work at the Mofet Institute- a national institute in Israel that provides teacher training and research for teacher colleges. Efrat’s work at the Mofet Institute builds off her previous work at The Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Jerusalem. Efrat’s specialty is working with educators to teach the science of learning, utilizing her neuroscience background to create change in college, primary, and secondary classrooms. In the second part of the episode, the trio discusses retrieval, effective teaching strategies, and useful learning. A major focus is making the most of learning moments. Efrat points out that the key to creating useful learning in the classroom is figuring out how students learn and building learning habits to ensure they can process, retrieve, and reconcile information. About the participants: Efrat Furst is a cognitive-neuroscientific researcher focusing on human learning and memory. Efrat’s expertise bridges the sciences of learning with teaching and learning in classrooms. Follow Efrat on Twitter @EfratFurst Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers,’ a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners,  Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, and Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum & Effective Subject Leadership. Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75. Watch this episode of Mind The Gap on edCircuit.

For this episode, special guests Richard Selfridge and James Pembroke join hosts Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner to discuss the effective uses of data. The conversation begins by exploring the context for much of the data practices and initiatives. The beginning of the episode focuses on what Richard and James have seen in the past and how schools & governing bodies have taken the lessons of the past to create the systems in play across education in the UK today. Some topics include the data wave, challenging assumptions, data efficiency, and levels-based data. About the participants: Richard Selfridge is a primary school teacher and writer on education. He has written on education for several publications and has been a speaker at events across the UK. His books Databusting for Schools and Dataproof Your School (co-authored with James Pembroke) look at the purpose and uses of data in education. Follow Richard on Twitter @Databusting. James Pembroke is an independent Data Analyst and Advisor with 14 years of experience in primary, secondary, and post-16 sectors. James is the co-author of Dataproof Your School. He currently works with both Insight Tracking and Sig+, working through educational data and trends. Follow James on Twitter @jpembroke. Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75

As a special wrap-up of 2022, Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner reflect back on 2022 and celebrate an excellent year of Mind The Gap! Instead of their normal education ‘sparring session,’ Tom and Emma took this opportunity to discuss the topics, resources, and people that made an impression on them this year. Tom’s discoveries focus on events, conferences, blogs, and individuals. Emma’s resources primarily focus on books and reading lists for teachers and use in the primary classroom. This conversation highlights issues, questions, and various debates across education in 2022 and the people leading the charge to a brighter future in education. We look forward to more guests and thoughtful education discussions in 2023! About the participants: Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers,’ a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners,  Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, and Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum & Effective Subject Leadership. Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75 To watch the video of this episode and get links to all of the resources mentioned, visit edcircuit.com.

Special guest Jamie Thom joins hosts Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner to discuss slow teaching strategies, supporting teachers and the profession of teaching, and bringing joy to the classroom. The conversation begins by exploring supporting teachers and how to attract extremely talented individuals into the profession. Jamie’s focus on joy in the classroom brings out some key insights into the roles of the teacher and how to best support the expansion of the teaching profession. About the participants: Jamie Thom has taught English and worked in leadership positions in schools across the UK. He is the host of both the TES English teacher podcast and The Well Teacher podcast and writes regularly for TES and a range of other publications. He is the author of Slow Teaching and, most recently, A Quiet Education. Follow Jamie @teachgratitude1. Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom  @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners,  Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, and Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum & Effective Subject Leadership. Follow Emma @emma_turner75 

For this episode, special guest Amarbeer Singh Gill joins hosts Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner to discuss Singh’s new book and the newest book in the ‘In Action’ series for JohnCatt Educational, Dunlosky's Strengthening the Student Toolbox in Action. Visit edCircuit.com to watch this episode.  The conversation begins by exploring Dunlosky's theories of learning and their applicability to the foundations of learning. Although education theory can be weighted and often quite academic, Singh focuses on the practical perspective of Dunlosky’s theory, contextualizing the work with effective strategies and a well-rounded framework for teachers. Amarbeer Singh Gill is a lead practitioner of secondary maths and a teacher educator. Amarbeer has written blogs for the Education Endowment Foundation's research schools and worked with teachers and school leaders to help think about how to make even more teachers evidence-informed, always with the goal to keep getting better outcomes for the students they work with. His book, Dunlosky's Strengthening the Student Toolbox in Action, was published with JohnCatt Educational this year. Follow Amarbeer @InspiredLearn_ Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners,  Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, and Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum & Effective Subject Leadership Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75

Special guest Becky Allen joins hosts Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner to discuss teaching, learning, and constructs of instruction from an academic perspective. The conversation begins by exploring the large questions of education that Becky has a unique perspective on as an academic and in her role at Teacher Tapp. Becky specializes in the complexities and evidence-based understanding of large issues like curriculum, teacher training, parent communication, teacher feedback, student psychology, and more. Visit edCircuit.com to watch this episode. In the second part of the episode, the trio discusses breaking down the assumptions of education and the roots of disagreements on curriculum. The data behind this discussion primarily comes from Becky’s experience with Teacher Tapp, and her strong resolve to rectify misconceptions goes hand in hand with her everyday work with surveying teachers.  Participants: Becky Allen is a Co-founder and Chief Analyst of Teacher Tapp. In addition to her entrepreneurship, she is a professor of education at Brighton University and an author of several books, including The Teacher Gap and The Next Big Thing in School Improvement. Follow Becky @profbeckyallen Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners, Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, Follow Emma @emma_turner75

For this episode, Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner continue their Q&A series, asking each other questions based on pressing issues they see in education today. Tom’s questions primarily focus on budget allocation, student directed learning, reading fluency, and teaching displays. Emma’s questions primarily focus on national curriculum, examination, professional development, and primary/secondary collaboration. This conversation highlights issues, questions, and various debates across education in a true MTG mind meld. Join the conversation and tell us your favorite teacher topic on Twitter with #MindTheGap, your question might end up on the next Q&A! Visit edCircuit.com to watch this episode. About the participants: Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world.  Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners,  Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, and Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum & Effective Subject Leadership Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75

For this episode, Tom and Emma welcome author, leader, and English specialist Jennifer Webb to the podcast. They open the podcast with a discussion on grammar and how the teaching of grammar has changed from description and memorization of grammar parts to more student-led creation-focused lessons. Jennifer’s interesting background and her time at Oxford led her to develop a unique perspective on grammar and how it is taught in primary and secondary. In the second part of the conversation, the trio discusses English teaching and learning from a more curriculum perspective, diving deeper into Jennifer’s beliefs on reading lists, explicit diversity, developing literary pallets, CPD, and creating reading cultures. Visit edCircuit.com to watch this episode. About the participants: Jennifer Webb is an English teacher and Assistant Principal with expertise in CPD, whole school T&L policy, literacy, and research. In addition to teaching and school leadership, she is the author of several books, including The Metacognition Handbook, Teaching Like A Writer, How to Teach English Literature: Overcoming Cultural Poverty, and more. You can learn more about her projects like The Reading List at her website: https://funkypedagogy.com/. Follow Jennifer on Twitter @FunkyPedagogy Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of  Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners, and Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75