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Teachers Talking Teaching

John Catterson (@jfcatto) and Pete Whiting (@mr_van_w) are two Australian Flipped Educators. Together they talk education, pedagogy and current practice. Find more of Pete and John: Website - www.catfisheducation.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/MrCattersonScience YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/PWhiting
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Now displaying: 2018
Dec 19, 2018

In the last Podcast of the year Pete (@mr_van_w) covers fro John (@jfcatto) so he can record a chat with returning friend of the show Rich Watkins (@cambourne26) and new guest Myrri Fatai. 

They discuss their roles as two of the school's three E-Learning Leaders. The ups, the downs and future of ELL support.

Once again, thank you to the school and these three amazing people for the difference they are making to students learning. 

 

Merry Christmas. Enjoy you Pudd.

https://youtu.be/Z8mt9Ogzi_Y 

Dec 13, 2018

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) are joined by returning guests Tom and Matt (@smedboule). They discuss the HSC, IB and UK models of schooling and when and where Living Skills should be taught to students.

The big question: Are we able to approach Living Skills from a position of privilege, where we can assume that students are to be taught these skills from their parents?

 

Articles:

I got a 99 ATAR but I got a lousy education - Alana Leabeater

https://www.smh.com.au/national/i-got-a-99-atar-but-i-had-a-lousy-education-20181123-p50hwo.html

 

Hey millennials, it's not your school's job to teach you life skills - Karen Hardy

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/hey-millennials-it-s-not-your-school-s-job-to-teach-you-life-skills-20181128-p50ivu.html

 

If you want to know more about what Tom is doing....

https://www.instagram.com/tree_kws/

https://theregionalengagemententerprise.com/     

Dec 4, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) raises a few educational issues in the media at the moment. In particular the mapping of NAPLAN results in Sydney and kids being addicted to their phones. John (@jfcatto) then looks at some of the different teaching styles a teacher can use at different points to differentiate their classrooms.  

 

Disclaimer: John makes a disparaging remark about a certain school in Sydney. 1. He was thinking of a different school in the area. 2.The school he was thinking of was excluded from the map.   

 

 

Pete: Where you live is determining your school's NAPLAN score - Pallavi Singhal and Matt Wade

https://www.smh.com.au/education/where-you-live-is-determining-your-school-s-naplan-score-20181126-p50ibq.html 

 

John: What is Your Teaching Style? 5 Effective Teaching Methods For Your Classroom - Eric Gill 

https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/5-types-of-classroom-teaching-styles/ 

Nov 22, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) discuss plans for the holidays and vale Stan Lee (but Marvel is better). Then John questions basic human rights for a while. 

Finally, John continues to question the purpose of education and wonder why we as teachers are not able to agree on one.

Pete then considers the purpose of report cards and how they could be made to provide more relevant feedback for students growth.

 

 

Articles

John: The is no single purpose to education - and that is something to be cherished - The (il)logical teacher

https://clickbaitphilosophyofed.wordpress.com/2018/10/06/there-is-no-single-purpose-to-education-and-that-is-something-to-be-cherished/

 

Pete: 'Sterile and technical": the problem with primary school report cards - Jordan Baker

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sterile-and-technical-the-problem-with-primary-school-report-cards-20181116-p50gl5.html

 

Parents want clear, easy to understand report cards - Editorial

https://amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/parents-want-clear-easy-to-understand-school-reports-20181116-p50glb.html

 

Grade inflation on the rise: Everybody gets an A. - Maureen Downey

https://www.myajc.com/blog/get-schooled/grade-inflation-the-rise-everybody-gets/TXVCB3wbyR8fWDRMJXCxJO/

Nov 15, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) questions the importance of handwriting. Maybe the current generation doesn't have it all wrong and it just doesn't actually matter as much as we think it does.

On a side note: We were in a meeting today and a colleague talked up how students are much better off writing with a pen and when they can't spell something they look it up in the dictionary. 1. How many kid actually know when they make a spelling mistake. 2. How many kids care enough to then look the word up in a dictionary.     

 John (@jfcatto) continues from last weeks episode and looks at some the personal and social goods that come out of education other than salary from a job. Spoilers: He is still not convinced university is a good idea for everyone. 

 

Pete: Handwriting saviour or teachers' nightmare? The return of the fountain pen - Alexandra L Smith 

https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2006/nov/13/handwritingsaviourorteacher1 

 

The Global Elements of Effective Flipped Learning - FLGI (maybe? Jon Bergmann)

https://flglobal.org/elements/ 

 

John: Let's not focus on graduate income when assessing the worth of education - Peter Hurley 

https://theconversation.com/lets-not-focus-on-graduate-incomes-when-assessing-the-worth-of-education-106168 

 

 

Nov 8, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) opens with a shout out to the Mr Barton Maths Podcast http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/podcast/ and his interview of Andrew Blair (@inquirymaths). Which is a good example of a teachers from both sides of the Trad/Prog fence having a civil conversation. Something that we would like to see more of especially on twitter. 

John (@jfcatto) discusses the lowering in worth of a Bachelors degree and whether we should continue to push students into degrees that they don't need and perhaps no longer count for much.

 

Pete: The rise of "education rage". Is this why Australia never seems to get ahead - Minds Wide Open

https://mindswideopen.com.au/posts/the-rise-of-education-rage-is-this-why-australian-education-never-seems-to-get-ahead 

 

John: Julia Gillard's Dropouts - John Slater

https://www.spectator.com.au/2018/09/julia-gillards-dropouts/ 

 

Nov 2, 2018

Pete's not near John, and this makes him sad. So he sent John an audio message. 

Dear John...

Pete's been reading the excellent @cultofpedagogy again. As it often does it pulled his head out of the oven. Nostalgia is the killer of art and it turns out it may be just as dangerous to education.

 

Nov 2, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) has some tips from some teachers he knows for Teachers. 

Check out the Shiny teacher he works with on Instagram @stammertime, she's posting some rad stuff.

Flipgrid - not just for Flipped Learning (in fact probably mostly not for flipped learning).

Pete

Oct 25, 2018

This week we join Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) halfway a conversation about why Pete hates apathy and blames Gen X. 

They then decide to put off talking about the the Q&A episode until another day, and then spend half an episode discussing it.

Pete then highlights the need for diversity in teachers. Both so minority students can have relatable role model and so other develop tolerance through interacting with a cross section of society.

 

Q & A: Eddie Woo, Pasi Sahlberg, Cindy Berwick, Gabbie Stroud and Jennifer Buckingham

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/qanda/series/0/video/NC1804H033S00

 

Pete: Does Teacher Diversity Matter in Student Learning? - Claire Clain Miller 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/upshot/teacher-diversity-effect-students-learning.html 

 

Test your bias' with the Harvard Implicit Association test

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/Study?tid=-1

 

Make sure you support the podcast by subscribing to Liam Catterson's channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/LiamCatterson  

Oct 18, 2018

So Pete and John had grand plans of getting together and putting out this pod in the start of the holidays and then doing a couple of pods during the holidays.

Look, we all know that didn't happen. I'm not sure what's on this one either - I like to take a gamble and see what's on there when it's published. 

In other words, as John likes to say, I'm rubbish. I might update these show notes after I listen. But I doubt it.

Dear listener we love you, my rubbishness is less a reflection on how we feel about you and more a direct correlation with the intensity of life at the moment. 

Thanks for sticking with us, and if you get the chance give it a rate and review on iTunes or wherever else you can.

Thanks,
Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto)

Sep 27, 2018

In a disjointed partially lost episode; John (@jfcatto) criticises the practice of behavior charts as they sound crazy. Then realises that he basically does the same thing. Pete (@mr_van_w) then questions whether students should be able to question the relevance of learning. The answer is "yes and teachers should have an answer".

 

John: Tear Down Your Behavior Chart! - Lee Ann Jung and Dominique Smith 

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept18/vol76/num01/Tear-Down-Your-Behavior-Chart!.aspx

 

Pete: Five Ways to Help Student Find the Relevance in Your Lessons - Dan Jones

http://flr.flglobal.org/five-ways-to-help-students-find-the-relevance-in-your-lessons/ 

Sep 15, 2018

This week (a little late - soz about that) Pete (@mr_van_w) sits down with some very special guests to run through the many things that we learned at RESCon this year.

We sit down with @MrMCimino, Steven Kolber (@Steven_kolber) and @ShawtimaSmiles.

It was a great time and a good listen. Not so much on the audio quality - it's four friends sitting in a hotel room talking smack. Not in our usual podcast studio.

Pete

Sep 6, 2018

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) makes comment on an interview with  Jane Caro by one of our AEON stable-mates.

John (@jfcatto) keeps us up to date on the developments in NSW Education and some recent comments made by the Honourable and Handsome Rob Stokes.

 

Pete: TER #118 Jane Caro on Education - Dan Haesler

 

https://terpodcast.wordpress.com/2018/09/02/ter-118-jane-caro-on-education-02-sept-2018/

 

John: New NSW teachers to require a credit average, 'superior' intelligence - Jordan Baker

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/new-nsw-teachers-to-require-a-credit-average-superior-intelligence-20180902-p501ao.html

 

New NSW curriculum on the way - Dominica Sanda

https://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/new-nsw-school-curriculum-on-the-way/news-story/8701bc74124ca9385b7f962a1fd69820

 

Sep 4, 2018

In an almost-full-episode-but-really-a-part-deux Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) discuss the comments made by everybody's second-favourite astrophysicist Professor Brian Cox about the broken education system. Comments that are obviously ludicrous and he has no right to make in the first place, according to edutwitter.

 

John: Stressed teenagers should think about Mars, not exams, says star physicist Brian Cox - Sian Griffiths

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stressed-teenagers-should-think-about-mars-not-exams-says-star-physicist-brian-cox-c8vx58vdp     

Aug 30, 2018

In a short episode in a busy week/term, Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) discuss the new depth studies that have been added to the Stage 6 syllabus in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. 

Aug 23, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) wonders over the sheer volume of assessment tasks we expect HSC student to juggle. All the time taking day to day lesson seriously and maintaining a love of learning for the sake of learning.

 

John (@jfcatto) looks at two articles in the news this week. The ATAR and current format of HSC has outlived its usefulness and some believe is on it's way out. Fresh hope: Professor Geoff Masters may be the one to burn it all to the ground and build it better. 

 

Pete: The Educational Grind - Pete Whiting 

https://mrvanw.com/2018/08/22/the-educational-grind/

 

John: ATAR gone in 10 years and 'dire' HSC unfit for future: CEOs, Educator - Pallavi Singhal 

https://www.smh.com.au/education/atar-gone-in-10-years-and-dire-hsc-unfit-for-future-ceos-educators-20180816-p4zxwq.html

 

Rebuilding the wall: what the major NSW curriculum review will at - Pallavi Singhal 

https://www.smh.com.au/education/wall-nsw-curriculum-review-masters-stokes-20180817-p4zy2v.html

 

 

Aug 23, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) wonders over the sheer volume of assessment tasks we expect HSC student to juggle. All the time taking day to day lesson seriously and maintaining a love of learning for the sake of learning.

 

John (@jfcatto) looks at two articles in the news this week. The ATAR and current format of HSC has outlived its usefulness and some believe is on it's way out. Fresh hope: Professor Geoff Masters may be the one to burn it all to the ground and build it better. 

 

Pete: The Educational Grind - Pete Whiting 

https://mrvanw.com/2018/08/22/the-educational-grind/

 

John: ATAR gone in 10 years and 'dire' HSC unfit for future: CEOs, Educator - Pallavi Singhal 

https://www.smh.com.au/education/atar-gone-in-10-years-and-dire-hsc-unfit-for-future-ceos-educators-20180816-p4zxwq.html

 

Rebuilding the wall: what the major NSW curriculum review will at - Pallavi Singhal 

https://www.smh.com.au/education/wall-nsw-curriculum-review-masters-stokes-20180817-p4zy2v.html

 

 

Aug 17, 2018

This week John (@jfcatto) brings his sultry best to dispel this week's misrepresentation regarding ATAR entrance scores for teaching degrees. Something Birmo seems unable to do.

Pete (@mr_van_w) highlights the increase in students who parents identify them as "No religion" and hopes this may mean an end to scripture classes in public schools.   

 

John: Students with low ATAR scores accepted for teaching degrees

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/08/12/15/04/alarming-atar-teaching-university-low-scores

 

Pete: Religion in Decline in Australian Schools - Pallavi Singhal

https://www.smh.com.au/education/religion-in-decline-in-australian-schools-20180806-p4zvtb.html

Aug 9, 2018

A return to form for Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto).

Pete highlights another one of his blog posts based on his experiences at CONASTA. He considers the seemingly misfitted keynotes for the audience and the value of "outsiders" on the education conversation. 

John discusses ways to train students to effectively use technology for taking notes within the classroom.     

 

Pete: Education to feed the economic machine - Mr Van W

https://mrvanw.com/2018/08/06/education-to-feed-the-industrial-machine/

 

John: Note Taking With Technology - Beth Holland

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/the-4ss-of-note-taking-beth-holland 

Aug 2, 2018

In this barely-an-episode-filler John (@jfcatto) introduces the idea of conducting an Action Research to demonstrate standards of teaching. Something we may be hearing him bang on a bit more over the next year or so. 

Pete (@mr_van_w) checks the TTT mailbox (teacherstalkingteaching@gmail.com) and answers some questions from Early Career Teacher Uten.

Jul 26, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) mispronounce some words and take a guess at some acronyms that they probably should know but apparently don't. 

Eventually John looks at a great article about education being more "teacher-centred". Insofar as that education should primarily support teachers to do their job and do their job well. 

Pete then reflects on a blog post where he reflected on the keynotes from the recent ConASTA 67. He questions the purpose of teaching Science in School and who Science Educator should be looking up to as role models. 

 

John: Schools should be more teacher centred - Tom Sherrington

https://teacherhead.com/2016/06/12/schools-should-be-more-teacher-centred/ 

 

Pete: Teachers - you da real MVP - Pete (@mr_van_w) 

https://mrvanw.com/2018/07/23/teachers-you-da-real-mvp/ 

 

For anyone interested it is: Light Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory 

Jun 28, 2018

A milestone episode: One tenth the number of The Beast \m/  

John (@jfcatto) examines the alluring yet non-demonstrable concept f VARK Learning Styles. A beautiful and empowering theory that doesn't seem to hold water.

The boys spruik Mini Gear as a scaffolded STEM PBL project. 

Pete (@mr_van_w) addresses some issues that have had him thinking recently. Including; talking to students about drug amidst changing legalities and modes of testing, teachers struggling to self-fund resources for their classroom, and when to schedule routine doctor appointments. 

 

John: The Myth of 'Learning Styles' - Olga Khazan @olgakhazan

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/the-myth-of-learning-styles/557687/ 

 

Mini Gear

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZMEiM-ZMYmEk2CG3mr1_Q 

 

Pete: Talking about drugs

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/legal-experts-call-for-changes-to-nsw-roadside-drug-testing-advice/news-story/8c81656a6a287eb95380f1816838781f 

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/hybrid-learning-tools-for-digital-native/3327814/   (@MrsLoeschen)

https://www.gofundme.com/new-teacher-supply-drive   (@MsJachymiak)

Jun 21, 2018

Pete (@mr_van_w) asks "What subject specific skills does your subject have that are transferable to all disciplines?"

Pete looks for some balance in an article from Jo Facer (@jo_facer) (formerly?) of the Michaela Community School. Highlighting the benefits of Consistency for students and Sustainability for teachers.

John (@jfcatto) looks at a few of the things school leaders can do to support Early Career Teachers. Providing they are guided in sustaining the tireless job of teaching in the first place.  

Tips to teachers: Here a twitter thread for Early Career Teachers to check out. "Be inspired but not pressured"  

 

 

Pete: We Should Teach All Students, in Every Discipline, to Think Like Scientists - Peter Salovey 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-should-teach-all-students-in-every-discipline-to-think-like-scientists/ 

 

We Have Overcomplicated Teaching: Research Ed 2016 - Jo Facer

https://readingallthebooks.com/2016/09/17/we-have-overcomplicated-teaching-research-ed-2016/

 

John: Five things that work in early teacher' development - Cat Scutt

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/five-things-that-work-in-teachers-early-career-development/ 

 

Tips To Teachers: (@TeachMrReed)

https://twitter.com/TeachMrReed/status/1008771902578593793 

Jun 14, 2018

In a effort to avoid writing report John (@jfcatto) relates some different teachers ideas on how to encourage students to learn from their mistakes in when returning exams. He also links this to an article on how to write a clutter free marking rubric.

Pete (@mr_van_w) drinks the Cult-of-Dweck kool-aid and tells the story of a school who use "report assemblies" to highlight areas for growth and setting tangible goals.  

 

John: Your Rubrik is a Hot Mess; Here's How to Fix It- Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy)

http://www.brilliant-insane.com/2014/10/single-point-rubric.html

 

Pete: Metacognitive Reflection at Report Card Time - Julie Nariman (@julienariman) 

https://www.edutopia.org/article/metacognitive-reflection-report-card-time 

Jun 7, 2018

In the middle of a busy term John (@jfcatto) and Pete (@mr_van_w) manage to squeeze in a quick podcast with crappy sound quality.  

Pete lauds Central West teacher Aaron Ellis for teaching Wiradjuri as the compulsory Year 7 and 8 language at Young High School. 

John explains clear steps to "like a class". Perhaps highlighting some useful steps even if the sentiment could be considered flawed. 

 

Pete: Wiradjuri Language Taught at Young High School - Aaron Ellis (not the actual article)

https://www.hilltopsphoenix.com.au/wiradjuri-language-taught-young-high-school/ 

 

John: How to Like a Class - StrictlyPositiveTeaching

https://strictlypositiveteaching.org/2018/04/05/how-to-like-a-class/ 

 

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