Good morning,

This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I’m joined by Matthew Best, a P7 teacher and maths for a conversation about effective teaching, mathematics, curriculum reform and the opportunity created by TransformED.

We explore why primary teaching has so often been pulled towards novelty, activity and engagement, and why this can distract from the harder, more important work of securing learning. Matthew makes the case for calm, predictable classrooms, explicit teaching, worked examples, careful questioning and responsive professional judgement.

We also discuss workload, differentiation, inspection culture, curriculum design, the problem with proxies for learning, and why teachers need to be freed up to focus on what matters most: helping students know more, remember more and do more.

This is a conversation about putting teaching and learning back at the centre of everything we do in schools.

The episode is called The Principles of Effective Teaching and Learning and is available now via the links below and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hope you enjoy!

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.”

Sweller, J., & Cooper, G. A. (1985). “The Use of Worked Examples as a Substitute for Problem Solving in Learning Algebra.”

Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). “Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention.” Psychological Science, 17(3), 249-255.

Didau, D. (2015). What If Everything You Knew About Education Was Wrong?

Barton, C. (2018). How I Wish I’d Taught Maths: Lessons Learned from Research, Conversations with Experts, and 12 Years of Mistakes

Oates, T. (2014). Why Textbooks Count. Cambridge Assessment.

Mccrea, P. (2023). “Orchestrating Attention.” Evidence Snacks.

Tickets are available for TDaPE Conference Online.

This brings together a brilliant collection of on-demand workshop sessions from across the world of education, featuring thoughtful, practical and evidence-informed professional development that you can access in your own time.

Every ticket gives you access to the full collection of sessions, and all funds will be donated to Velindre Cancer Centre, a cause that means a great deal to many of us in the TDaPE community.

So, if you are looking for meaningful professional development, want to hear from a range of brilliant educators, and would like to support an excellent cause at the same time, this is a lovely way to do all three.

Thank you, as always, for your support.

TDaPE Online Eventbrite

TDaPE Online Workshops

A huge thank you to everyone who shared last week’s episode. It really does help the podcast reach more thoughtful primary teachers and leaders. If there’s someone you know who cares deeply about teaching, learning or leadership, I’d be very grateful if you passed the episode on.

That’s all from me this week. I’d love to know what you made of it, so do leave a comment wherever you listen, or simply hit reply and share your thoughts.

Until next time, thanks for listening.