This week Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) find some synergy in their holistic digital projections. Embracing the uber-efficient strategic programming of a blended asset matrix approach to "blue-sky" policy processing. It's king of our brand.
They also talk about the culture of teacher "wellbeing"; both within a personal and school-wide context.
Pete: Building a Positive Staff Culture Takes Work - Mary Davenport
https://www.edutopia.org/article/building-positive-staff-culture-takes-work
John: Why it's important to switch off from work - Rebecca Vukovic
https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/why-its-important-to-switch-off-from-work
"Wellbeing" is a weasel word [sic] - @RobWard79
https://twitter.com/RobWard79/status/998072612235415552
Apologies for the sound quality this week. The work experience kid (John) was left in charge of monitoring the audio. The self absorbed millennial that he is only really listened to himself, who sounds great BTW - On reflection, I'm not sure that was even an apology.
This week Pete (@mr_van_w) talks about Malcolm Roberts' idea to restrict K-3 teaching to cover only Literacy/English and Maths/Numeracy. By his reasoning, these concepts are mostly interchangable and isolated to any context. Pete has other thoughts.
John (@jfcatto) looks at the difference between item teaching and curriculum teaching. Apparently one is good for students learning and the other raises school results. Unsurprisingly, Pete thinks that one of these is more important than the other.
Pete: Malcolm Roberts Academic Review
John: Why Teaching to the Test is Educational Malpractice - Steven Singer
https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2016/11/03/why-teaching-to-the-test-is-educational-malpractice/
This week Pete (@mr_van_w) examines the tempting lure of building lessons around the current fad in student culture. This happens to be Fortnite at the moment, it was Pokemon a couple of years ago and it will be something else next time you teach the topic.
John (@jfcatto) highlights the need for teachers old and new to have a mentor to support them and their teaching. #findyourmarigold
Pete: Teachers and Parents Share Stories From Inside the 'Fortnite' Phenomenon - Patrick Klepak
Forego Fortnite - Doug Robertson
https://hestheweirdteacher.blogspot.com.au/2018/05/forego-fortnite.html
John: Every Teacher Needs a Mentor - Heather Walport-Gawron
Pete (@mr_van_w) talks about anxiety and depression and its effect on teacher burnout. Sometimes maybe a change is as good as a holiday and experiences may vary.
John (@jfcatto) delves into some of Australia's Chief Scientist's criticism of the ATAR.
Pete: Breakdown, reach out, recover - Victoria @mrshumanities
https://teacher5adaybuddybox.com/2017/04/18/breakdown-reachout-recover/
John: ATAR should be simplified or even abolished, says chief scientist Alan Finkel - Michael Koziol
This week John (@jfcatto) brings in an article that he is really conflicted about and put down to the difference in application of Flipped Learning rather than the pedagogy itself.
Pete (@mr_van_w) managed to finish the full 150 pages of Gonski 2.0 (BTW in no way building upon or related to any other reports that may have been written by the same person and referred to by a very similar name) and gives us his take on the key recommendations.
John: Is Flipped Learning looking at education the wrong way? - Melanie Ralph @lustreeducation
https://au.educationhq.com/news/47871/is-flipped-learning-is-looking-at-education-the-wrong-way/
Pete: Through Growth to Achievement - David Gonski et. al.
https://www.appa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/20180430-Through-Growth-to-Achievement_Text.pdf
John (@jfcatto) and Pete (@mr_van_w) are back from holidays to answer listener questions that have been coming in over the last couple of weeks.
Despite John's "fat voice" https://youtu.be/1urXgf0gilg they manage to talk about:
New website: https://sites.google.com/view/catfish2
Old website: https://sites.google.com/site/catfisheducation/
In this episode of Lefty Teachers Talking Teaching our guest-John, Matt Smedley (@SmedBoule), tells us how our children can best outsmart NAPLAN as if it is a thing that matters. He also points out some problems with the test in general. Pete (@mr_van_W) doesn't have much of an opinion about it really.
Pete enjoyed the controversy of another article in the SMH this week, except this one didn't suck - we all just took it a little too personally.
On this weeks episode of Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) both rage against some things that we feel are wrong in education, or at least within our little bubbles.
Pete: Secular groups call for review of 'blatantly discriminatory' school chaplains program Paul Karp
John: Flipping teaching on it's head - Linda Morris
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/flipping-teaching-on-its-head-20180327-p4z6gr.html
First up Pete (@mr_van_w) gives a shout out to our local university Charles Sturt (CSU), who have don some cool innovation in teaching in the School of Engineering
John (@jfcatto) realises that the research kind of goes against his use of music in the classroom. He then tries to justify himself and eventually ends up questioning his current practice.
Pete then brings it home with a criticism of beloved Progressive EduGuru Sir Ken Robinson.
Pete: NSW uni course with no exams or lectures named among top 4 i the world by MIT - Pallavi Singhal
John: Listening to Music while Studying: a Good or a Bad Idea - Carolina Kueppa-Tetzel
http://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2016/11/10-1
Pete: We don't need no Sir Ken Robinson
https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2018/03/24/we-dont-need-no-sir-ken-robinson/
Learning salsa as important as maths, education expert says - Henrietta Cook
This week Pete (@mr_van_w) calls on Eddie Woo to reaffirm the importance of schools and the importance of relationships within those schools.
John (@jfcatto) has a look at some new research that shows the ATAR is about as relevant as we thought but much less so than most students or parents realise.
Pete: Raising a child is mission impossible. That's why it takes a school. - Eddie Woo (@mrwootube)
John: ATAR relevance questioned as report finds fewer students admitted based on rank - Shalailah Medhora
ATARs losing relevance for university admission but students are still hooked - Megan O'Connell
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-21/university-admissions-atar-is-outdated/9567862
A quarter of grads think their uni courses are useless, survey finds - Shalailah Medhora
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/quarter-uni-grads-think-course-useless/9312446
Pete (@mr_van_w) debunks the adage that we need to lecture kids at school because that will prepare them to be lectured to at university.
John (@jfcatto) questions the need for school at all and suggests a radical approach to home-schooling.
Pete: 'Sage on the stage' era of university lecturing 'is over' - Ellie Bothwell
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/sage-stage-era-university-lecturing-over
John: Don't send your kids to school and they'll go on to get a PHD. Wait, what? - Mammamia Team
This week we are joined by special guest Brendan Mitchell (C21_Teaching) who happened to be in our area.
John (@jfcatto) looks at the problems with a very prescribed set of standards to teach to and why we should move away from specific and universal standards full of tidbits of specific information.
Pete (@mr_van_w) considers different perspectives on the level of violence teachers can both expect and accept in the workplace.
John: Moving Beyond Facts, Skills and the Right Answers - Alfie Kohn (@alfiekohn)
https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/moving-beyond-facts-skills-right-answers/
Pete: Secondary school staff suffer work attacks - BBC News
Pete (@mr_van_w) looks at some of the decisions to make when implementing an effective Blended Learning program.
John (@jfcatto) briefly brings up some of the things to consider when implementing collaborative learning in class and then looks at some really handy tips for people starting out on their teaching journey.
Pete: What Separates a Good Blended Learning Program From a Bad One - Rebecca Rosso
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-02-20-what-separates-a-good-blended-learning-program-from-a-bad-one
John: Why I don't like Collaborative Learning Structures - Chris Baker(@mrbakerphysics)
https://medium.com/@chrisbakerphysics/why-i-dont-like-collaborative-learning-1130c1979019
Advice for those starting out as a teacher... - Chris Baker
https://medium.com/@chrisbakerphysics/advice-for-those-starting-out-as-a-teacher-219b6f3af380
John (@jfcatto) takes haven in the safe ground of Edutopia looking at some of the benefits new teachers have over their experienced but perhaps stale colleagues and urges teachers to focus on the positives rather than the negatives of new teachers.
Pete (@mr_v_w) looks at comments made by former NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli. Apparently parents are also somewhat to blame for their children's school results. Who would have thought?
John: The Advantage of Being a New Teacher - Matthew M. Johnson
https://www.edutopia.org/article/advantages-being-new-teacher
Pete: Former education minister blames complacent parents for school results - Michael Koziol
John (@jfcatto) examines a teaching practice significantly different to his and explores some of the motivations behind this pedagogy. In usual TTT style, he comes to record with no preparation at all and mistakenly refers to a teacher named Ben as Mark for half an hour.
John also presents Pete's (@mr_van_w) article where the NSW Education Minister makes some positive sounding submissions to the Gonski review despite revealing the underlying misconceptions of politicians talking about education.
John: Am I allowed to sit at my desk - Ben Newmark (@bennewmark)
https://bennewmark.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/am-i-allowed-to-sit-at-my-desk/
Also John: Reduce HSC pressure in favour of a 'growth mindset', NSW tells David Gonski - Michael Koziol (@michaelkoziol)
Pete (@mr_van_w) explores some of the many problems with the implementation of the Year 1 Phonics test of made up words in a sometimes tricky language to negotiate.
John (@jfcatto) dips his toe into some of the many ways to differentiate a mixed ability classroom.
Tips to teachers: Automate, choose jobs wisely and accept done is done.
Pete: 'Plood, pove, moul': teachers push back against year 1 phonics test - Pallavi Singhal
Private school considers banning works of Shakespeare
https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/38905133/wa-private-school-considers-banning-works-of-shakespeare/
John: A Starter Kit for Differentiated Instruction
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/starter-kit-differentiated-instruction/
"Work Smarter Not Harder" - Crystal Caton
https://educatingthedigitallearner.com/2018/02/08/strategies-to-work-smarter-not-harder/
Pete (@mr_van_w) is bemused by continued calls for banning mobile phones in classroom. Now in Australia. Then at an anonymous strawman story of a progressive teacher who lost his way.
John (@jfcatto) introduces an overarching framework that allows teaching professionals to identify when to apply different learning strategies for different students.
Pete: Banning mobile phones in classrooms takes education back in time, experts say - Ashleigh Raper and Brooke Wiley
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-05/debate-on-mobile-phones-in-the-classroom/9397898
The lure of 21st century skills - (Anonymous via Greg Ashman)
https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/the-lure-of-21st-century-skills/
John: Learning strategies: a synthesis and conceptual model - John Hattie and Gregory Montegue
https://www.nature.com/articles/npjscilearn201613.pdf
How Do You Know When a Teaching Strategy Is Most Effective? John Hattie Has And Idea - Katrina Schwartz
This week Pete (@mr_van_w) manages to keep his cool over a website published by #hisABC that seems to serve no purpose other than to shame/enrage parents in both the public and private sector of education.
John (@jfcatto) highlights the lack of correlation between college achievement and fame and fortune.
Pete: You decide: Should you send your kids to a public or private school? - Cristen Tilley, Ben Spraggon, Nathan Hoad
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-31/public-vs-private-school-you-decide/8380980
John: Why valedictorians rarely become rich and famous - and the average millionaire's college GPA was 2.9 - Shana Lebowitz
https://amp.businessinsider.com/why-high-school-valedictorians-dont-become-really-successful-2017-5
Visit www.teacherstalkingteaching.com to see more of the podcast.
In this episode of Teachers Talking Teaching - @jfcatto is on holiday and enjoying a country music festival.
He's replaced by sometimes podcaster and always rad dude @Smedboule.
He and @mr_van_w go through all of the things that give them hope in the new teaching year while throwing some side shade at John because ... well why not.
At a time when teachers are preparing to go back to school John (@jfcatto) introduces eight questions for teachers to consider to ensure students are engaged and not just compliant.
Then (@mr_van_w) spends half a podcast discussing a discussion he heard on another podcast. #secondhander
Spolier/Disclaimer/Edit: Finally, John awkwardly defends an offhand comment he made disparaging a beloved educelebrity.
John: How to Ensure Students Are Actively Engaged and Not Just Compliant - Katrina Schwartz
Pete: The EduChange Podcast: John Hattie - Luca Parry *sp
https://podtail.com/podcast/the-educhange-podcast/john-hattie/
Pete (@mr_van_w) highlights another (un)forseen problem with NAPLAN and the NSW Governments new HSC literacy benchmark.
John (@jfcatto) uses an article as an excuse to present his opinion on mobile phones in schools.
Articles:
Pete: NAPLAN: 87 per cent of NSW Indigenous students need to resit tests - Pallavi Singhal
John: The idea of banning mobiles mobiles in schools is as daft as Canute attempting to hold back the tide - Bernard Trafford (@bernadtrafford)
After a couple of weeks break. John (@jfcatto) goes on a deep dive into a review of the heavy theory of cognitive load.
Pete (@mr_van_w) flies a flag for little nerds and encourages teachers to listen without judging.
Articles:
John: Cognitive Load Theory: Research That Teachers Really Need to Understand - Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation
https://www.cese.nsw.gov.au//images/stories/PDF/cognitive_load_theory_report_AA1.pdf
Pete: Song of Joy- Teaching Students to Love What They Love - Doug Robertson (@theweirdteacher)
https://hestheweirdteacher.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/song-of-joy-teaching-students-to-love.html