Pete (@mr_van_w) asks the question "Who is responsible for students success/failure?" and the problem of competition being of detriment to collaboration. Teachers now also feel social pressure for their students to perform.
John continues to draw from the work of @cultofpedagogy and explores some different ways to engage all students in meaningful class discussions.
John:
The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies - Jennifer Gonzalez
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/speaking-listening-techniques/
Pete:
'On GCSE results day, teachers now need the top marks as much as the pupils do' - Nikki Cunningham-Smith
John talks about the trouble of "Fish-eye Syndrome" during class discussion and how to avoid the "big personalities" to dominate the conversation, whilst other fade into the background.
Pete (@mr_van_w) whines about the "relentless" job of teaching, knocking off at 3 in the arvo and getting 10 weeks holidays a year.
John:
The Fish-eye Syndrome: Is Every Student Really Participating? - Jennifer Gonzalez
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/fisheye/
Pete:
The Hardest Most Demanding Part of a Teachers Job - Jane Caro
John (@jfcatto) and Pete (@mr_van_w) decided last week that they wanted the podcast to be less about parochial political issues, to allow them to focus on classroom pedagogy and be more globally relevant. This week they throw this out the window when John discusses their local members plan to introduce shooting as an "elective" in schools and Pete counters by discussing the state governments minimum graduation standards and the idea of introducing selective primary schools. So much for strategic direction.
John:
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party calls for firearms permits for 10-year-olds - Andrew Taylor
Pete:
NSW should have "selective primary schools" for gifted children: academic - Pallavi Singhal
https://twitter.com/tanya_plibersek/status/888574770974826496
Pete (@mr_van_w) has a look at the relatively new concept of tutoring companies helping 4-year-olds to "Prep-for-prep" in Queensland. While John (@jfcatto) discusses the need to teach students how to regulate their distraction by tech in the classroom.
Pete:
Prepping for Prep - should children play or study to get set for prep year - Tony Moore
John:
Digital Tools and Distraction in School - Mary Beth Hertz
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-tools-distraction-in-school-mary-beth-hertz
Net Smart: How to thrive online: Chapter 1 Attention - Howard Rheingold
http://hci.stanford.edu/courses/cs047n/readings/rheingold-net-smart.pdf