Good morning,

Season 7 begins with Tom Langlois, a teacher who has spent the best part of 14 years steadily thinking about, testing and refining what happens in his classroom.

That probably undersells what makes this conversation so interesting. Tom isn’t presenting a model of teaching or claiming to have found the answer. He’s a classroom teacher who has spent years talking to colleagues, listening, reading, trying things, keeping what works and changing what doesn’t. The result is a conversation that gets properly into the detail of teaching, while never losing sight of the pupils sitting in front of us.

We talk about how his teaching has changed over time, what he now pays attention to that he didn’t earlier in his career, the thinking behind some of the approaches he uses, and what he believes really matters when schools are trying to improve. There’s also plenty on reading, mathematics, professional learning and the value of having colleagues who are willing to think deeply about the work with you.

It’s exactly the kind of conversation I hoped Season 7 would produce: one teacher, nine questions and an opportunity to really understand how they think about their craft.

Hope you enjoy!

Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert - Anne Castles, Kathleen Rastle & Kate Nation (2018)

Guiding Readers: Layers of Meaning - Wayne Tennent, David Reedy, Angela Hobsbaum & Nikki Gamble

The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading - Chris Such

Primary Reading Simplified - Chris Such

Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2 - EEF

Bringing Words to Life - Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown & Linda Kucan

Adam Boxer’s science booklets - Adam Boxer

This autumn, we’re taking our mathematics professional development programme on the road, with a four-session programme for primary and secondary teachers in Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff and Glasgow.

When pupils begin to struggle with mathematics, it can be tempting to make the mathematics easier, slow everything down or give them something different. That may help in the moment, but over time it can leave pupils with fewer opportunities to develop the understanding they need to catch up.

We think there is a better way.

Across four sessions, we’ll explore how stronger subject and pedagogical content knowledge can help teachers make better instructional decisions within everyday classroom teaching. The aim is simple: to help more pupils develop genuine mathematical understanding without lowering ambition.

The first programmes begin in November, with dates in Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff and Glasgow over the coming months.

You can find all the dates, venues, prices and booking information here:

https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/

We’d love to see you there.

Thinking Deeply about Primary Education is coming to Edinburgh.

Join us for a day of thoughtful, practical professional learning, bringing together teachers, leaders and some brilliant voices from across education to explore the ideas that matter most in classrooms and schools.

If you enjoy the podcast, this is the chance to be part of those conversations in person.

Tickets are available now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thinking-deeply-about-primary-education-conference-edinburgh-tickets-1994538692922

A huge thank you to everyone who shared last week’s episode. TDaPE continues to grow through those small recommendations from one teacher or leader to another, and every share helps these conversations reach people who might otherwise never come across them. If this week’s episode makes you think of someone, I’d be very grateful if you passed it on.

That’s all from me for now. As always, I’d love to know what you made of the conversation, so feel free to leave a comment wherever you listen or simply reply to this email.

Until next time, thanks for listening.