Knowledge for Teachers

David Morkunas discusses the negative attitude towards teaching math among teachers and the importance of explicit instruction. He shares his approach to teaching primary math using explicit direct instruction and the impact of effective teaching on student outcomes. The podcast also explores the importance of building automaticity in math facts, managing classroom pace, and supporting teachers in developing strong content knowledge. The discussion includes the New Waves program for teaching primary math concepts and the role of instructional coaching in improving classroom practice.

In this episode, listen to Emeritus Professor Kevin and Dr. Robyn Wheldall as they discuss their careers, co-founding MultiLit, and their book on effective instruction in reading. They share insights on laying reading foundations, teaching reading effectively, differentiation, positive behavior approach, tiered instruction, phonics, and maintaining instructional continuity. A must-listen for teachers interested in evidence-based literacy instruction.

In this episode, I chat with Christopher Such. He is the author of, “The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading” and an experienced teacher, school leader and educational consultant. In our conversation, Chris touches on teacher workload, professional development and he goes through the thought behind his book and how his thinking has developed since its release. We then take a deep dive into teaching reading fluency and look at what it is, common misconceptions that teachers have and what it looks like across different year levels. After that, we somehow manage to fit in an overview of comprehension! This episode is not to be missed! Resources mentioned: Kathy Rastle: https://www.rastlelab.com/ EPS mid-career prize lecture 2017: Writing systems, reading, and language Reid Smith, Pamela Snow, Tanya Serry & Lorraine Hammond (2021) The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension: A Critical Review, Reading Psychology, 42:3, 214-240, DOI: 10.1080/02702711.2021.1888348 Chris’ free curriculum resources: https://primarycolour.home.blog/category/free-resources/ Debbie Hepplewhite’s Phonics International: https://phonicsinternational.com/ Lynn Stone Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 5–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271 MultiLit: https://multilit.com/ The Science of Reading: A Handbook, 2nd Edition John Walker - Sounds-write You can connect with Chris: Twitter: @Suchmo83 Website: https://primarycolour.home.blog/   You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net

This is the final instalment of the three-part series that has focused on the Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn. Across the 3 episodes, I have delved into Catalyst which is the term used that encompasses their approach to teaching and learning across the system.    In the first part (Episode 14), Ross Fox, the Director described how and why Catalyst came about. Then (Episode 15), Education Lead, Patrick Ellis went into detail about the implementation process.   Today, you will hear about how the messages from Catalyst are being translated into the classroom. Throughout the episode, Johanna Wain (Principal), Jennifer Smith (Coordinator) and Rebecca Brady (Teacher( describe St Bernard’s Primary School's transformation, what they have done to support staff in the change journey and how they have benefited from Catalyst.   Resources mentioned: Teach Well EDI Lorraine Hammond Brooke Wardana Let’s Decode Ochre Think Forward Educators RSiS FB group ERRR Podcast Bringing Words to Life - Beck, McKeown and Kucan Dataworks

This is the second of a three-part series that focuses on the Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn. Across the three episodes, Brendan Lee will delve into Catalyst, the term used that encompasses the system's approach to teaching and learning across the system.   In the previous episode, Brendan spoke with Ross Fox, the Director, and he gave an inspiring recap of how Catalyst was initiated and the vision behind it. In this chat with Patrick Ellis, the Education Lead for Catalyst, you will hear in detail about the implementation process, the challenges they have faced, and what they have learned from it.   Resources mentioned: Catalyst COG Learn Shaping Minds Teach Well How Learning Happens - Paul Kirschner and Carl Hendrick   You can connect with Patrick: Twitter: @ellis_patrick Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/patellis1/   You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net

This is the first of a three-part series that is focused on the Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn. Across the 3 episodes, Brendan Lee will delve into how they have changed their approach to teaching and learning across the system under the banner of Catalyst.  For this episode, Brendan chats with Ross Fox the Director of the Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn. He is the visionary behind Catalyst and you will hear about his journey. He will also discuss the process that he and his team have gone through in implementing Catalyst across 56 schools.   Resources mentioned: https://catalyst.cg.catholic.edu.au/ Deans for Impact - The science of learning Ochre Education Spelling Mastery Knowledge Society E.D. Hirsch Jr - Why Knowledge Matters Cognitive Load Theory https://www.ollielovell.com/errr/lorrainehammond/   You can connect with Ross: Twitter: @Rossefox   You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net

In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast, Brendan Lee chats with Jordan O’Sullivan from Shaping Minds. Together with Jared Bussell and now Brooke Wardana, they have been supporting teachers in implementing the science of learning in the classroom through practical professional learning combined with lesson demonstrations. For this podcast, Jordan goes through the simple memory model, the process of building a mathematics curriculum, delivering effective PL and much much more.   Resources mentioned: Willingham’s Simple Memory Model (Article by Tom Sherrington and graphic by Oliver Caviglioli) Fred Jones - Tools for Teaching Ybarra and Hollingsworth’s Explicit Direct Instruction  Archer and Hughes - Explicit Instruction Guskey, Thomas. (2002). Professional Development and Teacher Change. Teachers and Teaching. 8. 381-391. 10.1080/135406002100000512 Sarah Cottingham - https://overpractised.wordpress.com/ Craig Barton - How I wish I’d taught maths Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational psychologist, 41(2), 75-86. Ollie Lovell - Cognitive Load Theory in Action   You can connect with: Twitter: @ShapingmindsAus Facebook: @ShapingMindsAustralia/ Website: https://shapingminds.com.au/   You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net

This is the second episode of the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast, which focuses on Marsden Road Public School. In the previous chat, Brendan Lee spoke with Marsden Road’s Principal, Manisha Gazula. Her story has inspired thousands of educators around the world. In this conversation, you will hear from Deputy Principal, Troy Verey. He is a highly respected educator in his own right and is also a shining example of Manisha’s ability to support the development of her staff. Throughout the conversation, Troy details the Core Program and describes what it looks like in the classroom.   Resources mentioned: www.training247.com.au/ Get Reading Right Pr1ME Maths Doug Lemov John Sweller Daniel Willingham’s Why Don’t Students Like School Rosenshine’s Principles Ybarra and Hollingsworth’s Explicit Direct Instruction Lorraine Hammond Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 5-51.   You can connect with Troy: Twitter: @TVtheTeacher    You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net

In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast, Brendan Lee had the opportunity of visiting Marsden Road Public School and then speaking to the Principal, Manisha Gazula. Marsden Road has recently featured in a number of reports from the Grattan Institute on role-model schools from around the country. This is the first of a two part series on the school. In the next episode, you will hear from Deputy Principal Troy Verey.  Manisha’s leadership style has been compared to Katherine Birbilsingh from Michaela Community School in the UK. However, in this conversation you will hear how Manisha’s clear vision, high expectations and relentless care have turned the schools results and culture around. Manisha also details their behaviour curriculum called The Marsden Way and their whole school curriculum - the  Core Program.   Resources mentioned: Joanne Dooner - www.training247.com.au/ Dan Willingham Mark Seidenberg The Grattan Institute - Jordana Hunter and Amy Haywood How to implement a whole-school curriculum approach  Ending the lesson lottery: How to improve curriculum planning in schools   You can connect with Manisha: Twitter: @manisha_gazula   You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net

In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast, Brendan Lee speaks to Kieran Mackle. Kieran is a primary mathematics specialist teacher from the UK, an author and is currently working with Complete Maths. He is also the host of Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, a podcast that should be on your playlist, and this episode is actually the second part of our conversation. In the first part, Kieran quizzes me for his podcast. However, in this episode you will get an in-depth look at how deeply Kieran has thought about primary mathematics. We look at a number of topics including:  Concrete, context, pictorial, abstract, language Threshold concepts Depth and Challenge Storytelling Word problems  In this episode, Kieran also analyses the lesson structure that I recently proposed.  Resources mentioned: Christopher Such Neil Almond www.thinkingdeeply.info/threshold-concepts Jonathan Hall - mathsbot.com Gareth Metcalfe - https://garethmetcalfe.wordpress.com/ Dan Willingham Nick Hart   Part 1 of the conversation: Episode 120 Thinking Deeply about Primary Education - In search of the Science of Mathematics (Teaching) with Brendan Lee Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/thinking-deeply-about-primary-education/id1546748470?i=1000609050064 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6De7GSKd2DlEoTxUFI4w0m?si=1RmPR-P3S6aYE54CsV1aDQ&fbclid=IwAR0yZzIAvzTgDrP3aN8_myL-3ZLBDi6KpAmJBYEfrGii2ObTkr1ABqplfhY&nd=1 My original blog post on A Systematic and Structured Approach to Teaching Primary Mathematics: https://www.learnwithlee.net/a-systematic-and-structured-approach-to-teaching-primary-mathematics-part-1/   You can connect with Kieran: Twitter: @Kieran_M_Ed Website: thinkingdeeply.info   You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net