Emma & Tom Talk Teaching

For episode 12 of the podcast, we're joined by Fiona Heath-Diffey, Programme Leader for PGCE Secondary PE at Cardiff Met. Fiona is doing her PhD research on the concept of physical literacy, and has come in to talk to us about how we can transform the way people think about being physically active, their motivation and the way they view the interface between mind and body through physical literacy. This has big implications for the way subjects such as PE are delivered in school in order to have the most positive effect, and we take a deep dive into what this looks like and how the philosophy translates into good teaching - and how a lifelong love of being physically active is vital for our health and wellbeing.If you want to read more about physical literacy, check out the work of Professor Margaret Whitehead, and indeed the research being carried out by Fiona and many of her fine colleagues from our very own Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences right here at Cardiff Met.See you next time, when we'll be reviewing another book: Tom Sherrington's 'The Learning Rainforest' - why not get reading your copy now? ----------Recorded at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 29th January 2019

It's episode 11 of the podcast, and Emma and Tom are joined by June Hurcom, senior lecturer in early years education, for her first podcasting experience!This episode is for anyone who's ever felt that they might like to embark on the journey to becoming a teacher, and is full of great advice for things to do (and not to do!) when preparing to apply for a programme that will get you that all-important teaching qualification. From the different routes into the profession to what to do when you get an interview, our podcasters have everything you need to know to help you take those first steps towards teaching.We've also been back out to our excellent Cardiff Met colleagues who have each given their top tips for applicants - in both English and Welsh - so it's worth a listen in case you find one of them doing your interview...It's become a PGCE Podcast tradition for our guests to provide their take on the regular slots at the end of the episode, and June has clearly done her homework, rattling through her wellbeing tip, shoutout and something-to-try like a pro. Canine companionship, a fantastic lesson set in space, and an evergreen teaching method to stretch your more able pupils - June's got it all covered!If you'd like to find out more about how we can help you on your way to becoming a teacher, check out our range of courses here: https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/education/Pages/Department-of-Initial-Teacher-Education.aspxWe'll be back next time looking at physical literacy, health and wellbeing - see you soon! ----------Recorded in studio B1.12 at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 15th January 2019

Happy new year! The podcast is back with an extended episode featuring not one, but two special guests. Emma and Tom are joined by Dr Judith Kneen who runs the PGCE Secondary English course, and Sharne Watkins, Deputy Head of Initial Teacher Education, PGCE Primary literacy specialist... and Tom's line manager - gulp!Emma, Tom, Judith and Sharne bring us a meaty 57 minutes in which they review a fairly controversial publication: Daisy Christodoulou's 'Seven Myths about Education' - a book that ruffled a fair few feathers on its publication in 2014, propelled its author to instant fame as a darling of the traditionalist wing of the education world, and had commentators even tipping her as the next head of Ofsted.The book itself aims to set out seven 'myths' which are apparently dearly-held by 'progressives', and to demolish them with evidence and science. Focusing mainly on the first two myths for reasons of time ('facts prevent understanding' and 'teacher-led instruction is passive'), our intrepid podcast quartet interrogate Christodoulou's work and try to get to the bottom of whether this really is 'the most important book of the decade on teaching' (Dylan Wiliam).Sharne then provides us with her wellbeing tip, which involves getting your trainers on and going for a walk, a shoutout to a student who changed careers to become a teacher and press-ganged her giant-vegetable-growing friend into participating in a memorable lesson, and looks at how to grab pupils with a memorable 'hook'.See you in a fortnight, when we'll drag yet another guest into our studio, and provide some sage advice for anyone considering applying for a PGCE. ----------Recorded in studio B1.12 at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 14th December 2018

It’s that weird bit between Christmas and New Year, and it’s time for a bumper PGCE podcast special! Emma and Tom are here with a 68-minute epic that contains the absolute bare minimum of wholesome educational content, and an enormous number of self-indulgent treats.In place of the usual slots, we recommend a few of our favourite podcasts, and Tom tells the story of how the PGCE Podcast came to be. We welcome our special guests, Becky and Amy from ‘And Then What? - the podcast all about stories’, and they bring us the hilarious tale of when a hotel stay went horribly wrong courtesy of a flock of seagulls.Colleagues from the Department of Initial Teacher Education at Cardiff Met weigh in with their favourite teachers from fiction (in both English and Welsh!), and then it’s time to hear Emma and Tom’s biggest classroom disasters. Be prepared for two sorry tales involving floor polish, rainwater, an infamous Chilean dictator… and the inevitable trips to hospital.To round off the episode, Becky and Amy return with a Brothers Grimm fairy tale that didn’t quite make it into the pantheon of classics.You can follow us on twitter: @ethayer_cmu and @thomasbreeze - and our department is @itecardiffmet.Please do leave us festive thoughts via ratings and reviews, as we haven't got any at the moment...Thanks for listening, and see you next year! ----------Recorded at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 14th December 2018

Emma and Tom have taken the PGCE Podcast on the road again (and are hankering after their own PGCE tour bus) - this time to the brand new Ysgol Nantgwyn in Tonypandy. Nantgwyn is a 3-16 school that's a hotbed of innovation for the new curriculum in Wales. Its Head of Expressive Arts is Kath Lewis, a curriculum pioneer who's spent the last few years co-developing the new expressive arts Area of Learning and Experience (AoLE) for the new curriculum here in Wales.Kath talks to Emma and Tom about what it's been like co-constructing a whole new expressive arts curriculum in heated debates with her fellow pioneers, how you keep school colleagues around you on board when selling major change to them, and brings her own wellbeing tips for us to take on board.Kath has plenty of talented colleagues at Ysgol Nantgwyn, so the shoutout slot is no problem for her, and her 'something to try' is an approach to differentiation that gives us all food for thought.Something for everyone in here, hopefully - not just those working in the expressive arts - as being a pioneer is something we might all find ourselves doing at some time in our careers.Join us next time for a special podcast Christmas treat! ----------Recorded at Ysgol Nantgwyn, Tonypandy on 23rd November 2018

Emma and Tom are joined by Dr. Kate North to discuss creative writing: its place as a creative art, its interdisciplinary nature, and the fact that everyone has the right to write!Kate tells us how creative writing can be used as an innovative way of collecting research data, and how in the process of doing so it can gently break down language barriers, throw light on competing priorities and level the playing field between powerful professions and the public they serve.In the wellbeing slot, Kate tells us how she keeps motivated to write when nobody's cracking the whip on her, she shouts out to a student for whom an unfortunate diagnosis was the stimulus for becoming a writer, and gives us a creative writing prompt that has us all cringing even while we acknowledge its genius.Plus, as an added bonus, we didn't want to miss the opportunity of asking Kate to read one of her poems to us! We hope the one we asked for has something to say to all of you - we loved it.We hope you'll be back next time, when we'll have another special guest who'll be telling us what it's like to be pioneering the new curriculum in Wales.Kate's latest collection of poems is 'The Way Out' published by Parthian Books: https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/the-way-outBarbara Stensland's blog is stumblinginflats.com Main discussion (Creative Writing as an Expressive Art): (2:05 - 28:50)Wellbeing Slot (motivating yourself to write): (28:50 - 32:30)Shoutout (Barbara Stensland): (32:30 - 34:55)Something to Try (Writing Prompt): (34:55 - 38:40) ----------Recorded in studio B1.12 at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 1st November 2018

In their longest episode yet (a massive 51 minutes, so settle in!) Emma and Tom discuss the work of Australian educationalist John Hattie, and look into his famous 'visible learning' ranking of factors affecting pupils' learning and progress. The main focus of the discussion is 'jigsaw technique' - a highly-ranked strategy for pupil-led learning of content.The wellbeing slot takes a turn for the slightly bizarre, with an excellent tip from the world of outdoor survival that involves hot beverages. Our shoutout this time around goes to everyone at Teach First Cymru, and Tom gives us some ideas for thinking more systematically about how we put our pupils together to work in groups.Join us again next time for a very exciting guest episode featuring Dr. Kate North, Chair of Literature Wales, who'll be talking to us about creative writing and its place in your life!John Hattie's website is visible-learning.orgThe Belbin website is belbin.comJigsaw technique is fully explained at jigsaw.org Sections:Main discussion: 0:00 - 34:53Wellbeing: 34:53 - 40:24Shoutout: 40:24 - 43:03Something to Try: 43:03 - 50:30 ----------Recorded in studio B1.12 at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 1st November 2018

Episode 5 is all about the joys of working in a cross-curricular (or interdisciplinary) way. Tom makes his way upstairs from his decidedly humble ground-floor room to Emma's glorious penthouse corner office, and proceeds to be rude about the view from the window...With that small misunderstanding ironed out, Emma and Tom describe a project they have been working on to bring drama and music together, and discuss how the proposed new education system in Wales encourages a breaking-down of the traditional dividing lines between subjects. What does effective cross-curricular teaching and learning look like?The wellbeing slot focuses on the importance of being aware of your mood, being able to label your emotions, and making the right decisions about what to do when you feel a certain way. The calorie-free takeaway is a warm-up that'll get your classes focused and having fun whatever your subject. And we shout out to the PGCE students starting to take on their full teaching load next week and wish them good luck.If you want to read more about Emma and Tom's cross-curricular project, Tom's article about it is here: https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/media/university-of-cumbria-website/content-assets/public/education/images/documents/research/tean/Breeze.pdf ----------Recorded at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 27th September 2018

Emma and Tom tackle all things digital in episode 4! The introduction of the Digital Competence Framework in Wales, and the rise of digital technology in general, means that teachers need to be able to use a variety of techie tools with confidence and panache. Where do we stand on the debate about technology in the classroom, and how should we approach the arguments on both sides?The wellbeing slot takes a look at using social media to build a support community while on placement (though it works for serving teachers too!), Tom gives a shoutout to the PGCE Music class of 2018 with a montage created on their mobile phones, and Emma tells us about Finding Nemo round the back of a maths classroom in the Swiss Alps.If you want to find the book chapter we used today, it's:Anderson, M. (2011) ‘The Challenge of Technology’ in Masterclass in drama education : transforming teaching and learning. London: Continuum.See you all in a fortnight, when we'll be taking a look at cross-curricular teaching and learning! ----------Recorded at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 29th August 2018

Emma and Tom are joined this week by guest contributor Sally Bethell, Senior Lecturer in PGCE PE at Cardiff Met.Sally's research specialism is the relationships between student teachers and their mentors on placement, so she has plenty of good advice for student teachers about how to make the best impression, as well as tips for school mentors about how to ensure the student/mentor relationship is a productive and happy one.One of Sally's many claims to fame is that she teaches an enormous cohort of around 40 student PE teachers each year, and rarely loses a single student from the course. She shares her secrets to ensuring the wellbeing of her students, and celebrates a football specialist who tried her hand at teaching dance with spectacular results. Finally, in the 'something to try' slot, Sally suggest we all take a good look at the presentation of our resources.Follow us on twitter: @BethellSally, @ethayer_cmu and @thomasbreezeSee you in a fortnight, when we'll be talking about all things digital! ----------Recorded at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus on 28th August 2018