Inside Education - a podcast for educators interested in teaching

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I speak to Gert Biesta who is Professor of Public Education at Maynooth University. Among the topics we discuss on the programme are: Why he took up a position in Ireland The work of the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy at Maynooth University How he’ll get to know the Irish education system How teacher education in Ireland differs from teacher education in England The emergence of a competitive mindset in education across countries What good education is in an age of measurement Balancing three purposes of education The place of equity, diversity and social justice in education Implications of the disappearance of teaching and the rise of learning over the last 25 years The gift of teaching

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme music by David Vesey This week I bring you my third and final episode from the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network. First of all I step inside the Aquaculture Remote Classroom to find out what's in store for schools when the mobile classroom visits and I speak to John Hurley of H2 Learning who was involved in designing the experience. I also speak to Damian White who is Deputy President of the Irish Primary Principals' Network. Among the topics we discuss are: The highlight of the conference for him Prioritising initiatives for schools The role of a school in a community How the IPPN has encouraged cooperation across schools Teachers who taught him How he’d like to be perceived by students in his school

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I continue my conversation on teaching literacy in the early years with Dr. Tara Concannon-Gibney from Dublin City University. The occasion was to mark the publication by Routledge of Tara's book Teaching Essential Literacy Skills in the Early Years Classroom: A Guide for Students and Teachers. Among the topics we discuss on this week's programme are: Her definition of literacy Digital texts and literacy Why some children struggle with reading How parents can help their child to read How a parent should react to a child reading when the child comes to a word that is not known Advice for choosing a book for a child The benefits of repetitive reading of texts Poetry and literacy skills How she became interested in the area of literacy How she went about writing the book In the course of our interview Tara mentioned texts by the following writers: Mem Fox, Georgia Heard, Lucy Calkins, Oliver Jeffers, Hervé Tullet, and Julia Donaldson.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey The guest on this week's programme is Dr. Tara Concannon Gibney who is an assistant professor in Dublin City University. The interview is to mark the launch of Tara's new book Teaching Essential Literacy Skills in the Early Years Classroom: A Guide for Students and Teachers, which is published by Routledge. Among the topics we discuss this week are the following: Why she wrote the book Phonological awareness and how to develop it using games Using big books to teach literacy (e.g. Owl Babies) How to teach phonics Sequence for teaching phonics Developing fluency Teaching concepts of print Tier 2 vocabulary Comprehension strategies – Gradual release of responsibility model High frequency – Dolch - words Guided reading literacy centres Role of play in developing language and literacy    

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. Theme tune by David Vesey. On this week's programme, the guests were two of the keynote speakers from the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network, the IPPN, Adam Harris and Patrick O'Shea. Adam Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of AsIAm, an organisation set up to give people with autism a voice. My conversation with Adam included the following topics: His message for primary school principals The importance of school culture The “scattered skill sets” of people with autism The value of focusing on a student’s strengths Disclosing the having of autism Support for students with autism A student’s relationship with their SNA The work of As I Am Awareness of versus Understanding People with autism Coping mechanisms for difficult situations and places Being diagnosed as having autism   Professor Patrick O'Shea was appointed President of University College Cork in 2017 following a three-decade career in academia in the United States. My conversation with Patrick included the topics below: Why he sees Brexit as a tremendous opportunity for Ireland and Irish education Why he emigrated to the United States and how Ireland changed while he was away His impression of University culture in the United States The mission of University College Cork How learning will happen without teaching Educating explorers rather than training tourists Motivation of Students The role of a School of Education in a University Comparing leadership of a university with leading a primary school A typical day Junior Conferring Why history is what’s left when the noise and the news are gone

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey. This week I bring you the first of my interviews recorded at the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network. The theme of the conference was Sustainable Leadership: Challenges and Opportunities. My interview today is with the Chief Executive Officer of the Network, Páiric Clerkin. Among the various topics discussed this week are: Relief from teaching duties on one day a week for teaching principals Restoration of posts of responsibility in larger schools Establishment of the Primary Education Forum (Calendar of reform) Problems in schools arising from children who are homeless or in direct provision His priorities for the year ahead (mentoring and the Centre for School Leadership; redeveloping online services) Members’ positive response to the address by the Minister for Education and Skills Applying for a position as School Principal Prioritising for principals and making school leadership "doable" Teachers’ developing their expertise in areas they’re passionate about Transitioning into the role of CEO of the IPPN The writings of Andy Hargreaves

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I bring you the second part of my interview with Paul O'Donnell, Principal of St. Patrick's National School in Slane. Among the topics we discuss on this week's programme are: His work with the CPSMA Numbers applying for principalship Principals acting as gatekeepers Challenges of being a principal with full teaching duties What schools are for (and a sense of place) What inspires him Being outdoors in poor weather Outdoor education in the United States Questions to ask yourself before applying for principalship Favourite book, writer Among the books he recommends are The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli and Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday on leadership and Messy Maths by Juliet Robertson. He follows Tom Bennett (@tombennett71) and Pasi Sahlberg (@pasi_sahlberg) on Twitter.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I speak to Paul O'Donnell who is principal of St. Patrick's National School in Slane, Co. Meath. He is the author of Wild Teaching: Cross-curricular Lessons Outdoors for Agoraphobic Teachers which is published by Meath County Council. Among the topics we discussed are: How his upbringing fostered a love of the outdoors The influence of Paddy Madden on his work as a teacher How tempting it is to teach indoors all the time Having students gather resources for lessons Specific lessons in Wild Teaching Making the transition from teaching to being principal Challenges of principalship Eliciting voices of children in running the school Learning about life and death through keeping hens in school The school garden Minimising rubbish in the school Earning six green flags for the school

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune David Vesey On this week's programme I speak to two teacher educators, Anja Swennen from the University of Amsterdam and Professor Kay Livingston from the University of Glasgow. Kay Livingston talks about innovative teaching with specific reference to a cross-European research study she is conducting with colleagues in her Research Development Community of the Association of Teacher Education in Europe. Anja Swennen continues the discussion which was begun on last week's programme and among the topics discussed are the following: How she goes about her work as a scholar of the history of education Using “memorial books” to write about the history of institutions Teacher education in the Netherlands during the Second World War. Returning to “normal” after the Second World War Teachers who had significant impacts on her How her father inspires her Why she likes the work of Michael Apple and especially his book Education and Power and John Loughran, whose book is titled Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding Teaching & Learning about Teaching.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme music by David Vesey On this week's programme I discuss teacher education with Anja Swennen from the VU University, Amsterdam. I met up with her at the annual conference of the Association for Teacher Education of Europe in Gavle, Sweden in August 2018. Among the topics we discuss in this part of the interview are the following: Jean Murray’s idea of first-order and second-order practitioner The move from expert teacher to novice teacher educator Recruiting a teacher educator The curriculum for a course in Teacher Education Preparing for registration as a Teacher Educator in the Netherlands Identity of Teacher Educators (Subject specialist; pedagogue; a teacher in higher education; researcher; and teacher) Teacher Educators and researching practice and research in schools How history of education can help teachers understand their work