Julia discusses her life and teaching experiences in Bahrain, as well as brief mentions of her time living and working in Thailand. Got a young family and hesitant about the move? Julia explains why this is not an issue.

Sophie discusses a lesson that is taught to year 9s in anticipation of beginning key stage 4. Her school deliver snippets of content to pupils in a 9-week program to give students the opportunity to discover what the PE BTEC course (and other subjects) is actually about and help decide whether or not they would like to choose that option.

In this lesson, Sophie describes the clear structure to her lessons (do now, learn new content, hinge question, sport application and exit ticket). Sophie plans the lesson meticulously to ensure that there is challenge for every pupil within the group.

In this episode, Joe discusses his department’s strategy on grouping year 9 PE students (still KS3) so that they are best prepared for sport in KS4. This ranges from exam questions and theory content for the probable GCSE students to fun, engaging, alternative sports for the less enthusiastic students.

Follow Joe on Twitter at @mrJ_JonesPE

Nicola makes her second appearance on the podcast after the success of her Circle Theorems lesson description in Term 1. In this episode she discusses her lesson on sequences, taken from a White Rose Maths scheme of learning. Nicola begins by explaining how White Rose Maths has changed her way of approaching her lessons and sequences of lessons before describing the lessons itself, including the concept of encouraging children to talk and think like mathematicians through enabling them to verbalise their thinking before entering the patterns in to a table before transferring on to a graph.

Follow Nicola on Twitter at @whisto_maths

Follow Nicola’s Maths Department on Instagram at @oha_maths

Making her second appearance on the show, Catherine uses this opportunity to describe her year 7 Geography lesson in which the children explore the geology of their local area. As the second lesson within the scheme of work, the lesson structure and content can be applied to anywhere in the world, but might need some research on your local geology if you do not know already.

Below are the links discussed during the episode.

• https://geoscienceforthefuture.com/     - includes #askageo
• Earth Science Teachers      Association (ESTA) - https://earthscience.org.uk/
• Earth Learning Ideas      website - https://www.earthlearningidea.com/
• Geology of Britain      viewer - https://www.bgs.ac.uk/map-viewers/geology-of-britain-viewer/

Follow Catherine on Twitter at @GeogMum

https://geogmum.wordpress.com/

https://www.geography.org.uk/

This episode explores life as a teacher in Malaysia and more specifically, Penang. Having also taught in the UK, Thailand, and the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur, Liz gives her personal account about teaching in international schools, what one needs to consider when thinking about teaching abroad, invaluable interview advice and also a comparison with the Malaysian education system. If you are even considering teaching abroad at any stage, this is a must listen.

Subscribe to Liz’s Blog - takeawayteacher.wordpress.com

Follow Liz on Twitter at @misscloke

Oli Thompson – Art/Photography – Year 10 - What makes a successful photograph?

Ollie discuss his lesson in which GCSE students are given the opportunity to use high-quality, SLR cameras that they would never normally have access to. During this extended lesson, they are given a self-discovery task in which they must create photos of the following techniques; Drawing with light, blurred motion, playing with perspective and a professional-style portrait.

Follow Oli on Instagram at @_ollie_artist

After teaching in a variety of countries over a number of years, History Teacher, Dan Guiney, discusses the process of planning itself and inquiry units. Like many others, Dan is a big believer that lessons should not be planned as individual lessons, but start from the end, create essential questions and include plenty of inquiry units – ‘’Questions within the unit, which the essential questions will be a product of.’’ This episode leads on perfectly to Dan’s lesson-specific episode where he explains his single lesson structure.

Follow Dan on Twitter at @mrguineyhistory

After providing his insight into his whole planning process and enquiry units, Dan Guiney discusses the use of this within a lesson for year 8s on Slavery. This episode is slightly different to others, in the fact that Dan has a general 4-part structure that he explains, along with some ideas that can be used within the lesson.

Follow Dan on Twitter at @mrguineyhistory

Experienced teacher, tutor and producer of numerous MFL resources, Kate (Kate Languages) describes her lesson for year 7s on pets. Taking us on a journey from seeing pictures and repeating the words to some students writing a paragraph about pets, Kate explains this lesson in a way that any teacher would be able to produce.

Kate’s plan, worksheet and powerpoint can be found on her website using this link:

https://katelanguages.co.uk/les-animaux-a-year-7-lesson-plan-with-new-gcse-style-questions/

Follow Kate on Twitter at @katelanguages

Jen discusses the topical and political subject of migration and provides students the opportunity to form or sway their own opinions on the reality of this area. This is done by exposing the class to facts and figures, leading to an analysis of the issue and why this is still such a hot topic.

Follow Jen on Twitter at @Jennnnnn_x

Definitely one for the trainees! In this alternative episode, Sam discusses a lesson he taught to a year 11 core group in which the lesson didn’t go as planned. Sam’s a trainee and understandably taught a lesson that didn’t go as he planned it. Sam details the reasons why this lesson didn’t go to plan and what he would do differently in the future with all practical lessons to avoid the same mistakes.

Follow Sam on Twitter at @HarrayMr

This episode explores life as a teacher in Japan and what life is really like. We discuss a typical day in school as well as cultural aspects, including addressing some misconceptions that some might have about the country. This episode is a must for those who are thinking about experiencing teaching life in this fabulous country with some must-listen bits of advice.

Subscribe to Andrew’s Youtube page – Higgins in Japan

Follow Andrew on Twitter at @Higgins82

Senior Leader and author, Kat, speaks passionately about the use of workbooks in the classroom, including the design and use. Kat emphasises the importance in tailoring workbooks to your school and your curriculum instead of downloading from elsewhere for them to really be used successfully. We also discuss the effect that this can have on teacher wellbeing, ranging from the experienced to the trainee.

Kat has produced colossal amounts of material for practitioners, including 2 book publications. This can all be found at https://saysmiss.wordpress.com/ and her latest book, Symbiosis is available on Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Symbiosis-Curriculum-Classroom-Kat-Howard/dp/1913622088

Follow Kat on Twitter at @SaysMiss

Nicola, winner of multiple teaching awards, talks through her 2-part lesson on Circle Theorems in the lead up to the Christmas break. The first lesson is focused on the ‘learning and understanding’, with the second part giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in a creative and artistic way, using paper plates as a basis for the inspiration. She even gets boys to be creative! This lesson is the perfect combination of learning and enjoyment to lead students in to the holidays before recapping upon their return.

Follow Nicola on Twitter at @whisto_maths

Follow Nicola’s Maths Department on Instagram at @oha_maths

Well-travelled, experienced History Teacher, Andy, talks through his year 9 lesson about the 1920s boom, ranging from reasons for the cause of the boom to evaluating the positives and negatives of the boom. Andy uses a couple of methods that make the lesson relatable for students, including reference to well-known books, films and photographs.

Follow Andy on Twitter at @andyhassan1985

In this episode, former Teacher of the year nominee, Kishore, discusses his use of a particular questioning technique that not only nullifies the opportunity for students to hide, but to also ensure that students have the chance to provide an answer of high quality instead of the first thing that comes in to their head. He discusses his use of this whilst being observed and also how he plans to utilise it with other classes.

Follow Kishore on Twitter at @MrKishoreVyas

Australian-based Business and Economics Teacher, Janelle describes her lesson which ultimately aims at getting students to pitch a business idea to their class. The concept is built through tasks in which students identify/describe/analyse what makes a good pitch. The lesson also includes ‘The Perfect Pitch’ game (created by Janelle) in which students randomly select tasks which form the basis for their business and pitch. This game can be used to challenge students of all abilities.

All resources can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nav-CT6a8zGP8zg4fsLijRAS1jDv8nZN/view?usp=sharing

Follow Janelle on Instagram at @missh_educationstation

BBC Bitesize content contributor Claire talks through a lesson she uses that can be taught to any student in any language between the ages of 11 – 16. Claire has over 12 years of teaching experience and has used this proven method numerous times, including in front of Ofsted inspectors. She details how the lesson can be altered to cater for the younger ages or the less able, making this accessible to teachers across the world.

Follow Claire on Twitter at @LeoLanguages or Instagram at @_leolanguages

Jonathan gives us a brilliant insight into teaching a group with such wide-ranging abilities. His systems and processes make this a seamless task whilst facilitating outstanding progress from every single child in the group. He details excellent use of a TA as well as methods to keep children engaged and helping them understand the ‘why’ to this lesson

Follow Jonathan on Twitter at @GeogLaw

This episode explores some fun ways in getting children to engage with content being delivered using (some could say) risky methods. These include the use of mobile phones in the lesson, writing on their tables, standing on chairs and races around the classroom. The higher the risk, the more engagement!

IT resources used include Kahoot!  https://kahoot.com/,

Gimkit   https://www.gimkit.com/, 

Quizlet   https://quizlet.com/en-gb,

Quizizz  https://quizizz.com/

Follow Rachel on Twitter at @MissCla69730557 or Instagram at @miss-clarkteacher

This episode brings together Geology expert Pete and Geology ‘bringer to the classroom’ Hafsa. Pete discusses some of his ideas and Hafsa details how these can be used within the classroom, whether it be Geography or Science. Listen for a fascinating off-topic discussion between 31.30 and 42.23 where Pete provides his perspective as an examiner and divulges common misconceptions and exam application in relation to factually incorrect information from books, Bitesize etc. All ideas can be found at:

www.earthlearningidea.com

https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/

Follow Hafsa on Twitter at @HafsaBobat

Follow Pete on Twitter at @peteloader1

Bruno uses this platform to discuss one of his literacy lessons with a group of year 7s at school and how he manages to get facilitate them in creating more complex sentences. The main strategy to this particular class is creating short, sharp tasks to keep them engaged. This lesson shows the importance of the use of scaffolding so students aren’t afraid of pieces of writing.

Follow Bruno on Twitter at @MrRusse48556275

This episode is a slightly alternative approach to teaching languages. Andrew describes his lesson on applying directions in a practical way. However, as Andrew is speaking from a 'TEFL' (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) perspective, he is actually describing the lesson from the target language point of view. The reason this has been listed as an MFL episode is because exactly the same ideas and principles can be applied to the teaching of any language.

Subscribe to Andrew’s Youtube page – Higgins in Japan

Follow Andrew on Twitter at @Higgins82

In this episode, Wayne discusses teaching trigonometry to a group of year 10s and how to keep a class that is predominantly boys engaged with the topic. Towards the end, he mentions the impact that certain books have had on him as a practitioner, including Craig Barton’s ‘How I I wish I’d Taught Maths’. For those that would like to know more, here’s the link.

http://mrbartonmaths.com/books/

I’ve also included the link for Wayne’s personal blog so you can read his views and opinions on other aspects of the world of education.

https://alphapapamaths.wordpress.com/

Follow Wayne on Twitter at @ah_haMaths

Creator of revise-science.co.uk, Matthew discusses one of his lessons taught to Year 9 students on the Atomic Model. He has a quick-fire recap starter to set the lesson up and students engaged from the first minute. This particular description included addressing a common misconception and actually having to revisit a previous topic to enable success in the rest of the lesson.

Follow Matthew on Twitter at @revise_sci

Visit his website at revise-science.co.uk

The first ‘Alternative’ episode!

In this episode, author of Hybrid Learning – The Survival Guide, Emma explains the workings of hybrid schools, the effects on Teachers, students and parents. Also discussed is the use of technologies to not only supplement face-to-face teaching, but also as a way ensure learning and progress still continues if remote learning is required. Using all her expertise and experience, Emma gives her opinion on whether this will be the future of education.

Download Emma’s book whilst it’s free for a limited period of time - https://t.co/Tafx9PGDaa?amp=1

Follow Emma on Twitter at @emmabpass

Ryan explains his method of linking together everything that the students have learned about bones, joints and muscles. Previously, they have learned about them all in isolation, but now it comes to the tricky part of making sense of them all and how they link together. This can also be used as a revision lesson.

Follow Ryan on Twitter at @MrEllis20

Best-selling education author, Dannielle, talks through a year 7 lesson in preparation for when they are going to do their piece of writing. She explains specific techniques used to create and maintain a positive classroom environment and ensure a high pace throughout the lesson. The lesson can be tailored to a range of ages and abilities with only minor changes needed for different groups.

For all of Dannielle’s resources, contact and social media, check out her blog - https://linktr.ee/morganmfl

Buy Dannielle’s book here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472967933/?ref=exp_morganmfl_dp_vv_d

I was privileged to talk to the Chair of the Geographical Association International Special Interest Group (GAISIG), Catherine, about her lesson on the Single Story. The lesson includes correcting common misunderstandings about those in LICs and HICs, using a very powerful Ted Talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg) and student research to facilitate the learning. Catherine details strategies used to scaffold for lower ability students and a thorough peer assessment technique, giving her the opportunity to spend more time with individual students.

Follow Catherine on Twitter at @GeogMum

https://geogmum.wordpress.com/

https://www.geography.org.uk/

In this episode, Oliver explains how to get children engaged with different tones of speech. He uses examples from Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler that the students analyse, increasing their engagement and relations to speech techniques and their effectiveness through picking out the rhetoric features. The lesson is targeted at a lower set group. However, the lesson can be easily adapted to challenge those at a higher level.

Follow Oliver on Twitter at @O_J_McVeigh

Maths Lead Practitioner, Chloe, focuses on factorising ‘harder’ quadratics and the philosophy of modelling without tricks to deepen student understanding. The lesson is structured around fixed routines common to the department and the school as a whole – ensuring complete consistency throughout maths classrooms.

Follow Chloe on Twitter at @misshykinmaths

Hannah provides an insight as to how she would teach basic piano playing to Year 7 students. She explains that through thorough prior planning and preparation, the students know exactly what to expect from her lessons and this gives her the opportunities for thorough AFL and promoting some outstanding progress within the group of 30, including getting students to sing! Resources discussed can be found at https://teacherplan.wixsite.com/teacherplanning

Follow Hannah on Twitter - @MrsKirkmanMusic

Catch her own podcast - @noncontacttime

In this lesson, Paul takes us on a food journey through the digestive system, providing students with really clear and interactive demonstrations that should stick with them forever. He’s very clear with his timings and gives explicit detail as to what he wants from each section of the lesson, whilst also expressing back up strategies if things don’t go exactly as planned.

Leading in to exam season, English Teacher, Lauren describes her lesson 90-minute with her top set year 11 group in which they go through some key exam techniques for an English Language paper. This particular lesson focuses on an extract from The Kite Runner. They start off with a ‘do now’ activity before any other learning takes place before identifying the difference between implicit and explicit information. The main section of the lesson is breaking down what is being asked of students in the analysis question. Lauren uses the ‘I do, we do, you do’ technique to scaffold for students to be able to analyse confidently by themselves, aiming to reach the top marks by the end.

Follow Lauren on Twitter at @MissEnglishHOY

In preparation for non-contact PE lessons, Josh, explains an orienteering lesson using Premier League footballers to get students engaged. The podcast places particular emphasis on the quality of planning and how the students recognise the effort, making the lesson delivery itself an easier task, giving him the opportunity to focus on behaviour management, differentiation and questioning.

Follow Josh on Twitter at @JFiskPE

Amy describes her cricket lesson on the use of the overarm throw when fielding in cricket. Her lesson is described for one of her girls’ groups, but can be applied to all standards with the use of minor changes to activities if deemed appropriate. The lesson follows carefully thought out progressions through the activities, ending in a timed competition between students.

The lesson is also described with Covid regulations and limited timings in place. Again, Amy discusses how she uses this lesson when being allowed ‘normal’ lesson time.

In the episode, Charlotte describes her 100-minute lesson on one of her favourite topics. Although Charlotte’s lesson won’t suit all, it is clearly discussed how the lesson can be either condensed down to 60 minutes or even extended over 2 lessons.

With the lesson targeted at a mixed ability group, Charlotte plans for this through a variation of tasks, including her clue-based starter activity, text analysis paired discussion, video clip, whiteboard work and a diamond 9/6 activity to finish off. Parts of the lesson are designed to encourage surprise and shock from the students, ensuring they remember the content for future years.

She also heaps praise on the work of Simon Beale (@SPBeale on Twitter) work of for his work on the breaking down of ‘heavy texts’ to make tasks more manageable and relatable to students.

Follow Charlotte on Twitter at @Charineducation

In an episode that was recorded in the middle of the Covid pandemic (when exams in the UK were still due to go ahead!), Jennifer demonstrates her years of experience in GCSE exams with particular hints and tips in MFL papers. This particular lesson is structured to include a combination of reading and writing skills based on social media and tech, but Jennifer emphasises the importance of aiming for opportunities for cross over between the 4 skills, including some quick-fire speaking at the end if time allows.

More subject-general revision is discussed between 36-42 minutes of the episode for any other subject teachers, focusing on the structure and intent of revision lessons.

Follow Jennifer on Twitter at @nowMrsMFL

This episode explores life as a teacher in Singapore. As previous colleagues in an international school in Singapore Dan (UK) and Mark (USA) reminisce about their experiences, ranging from the education system and the learning culture of local students through to lifestyle factors that could affect one’s decision to make the move. Other key areas discussed included salary/disposable income, accommodation provided for international teachers and commitment to the post.

Follow Mark on Twitter at @travlingteacher

Follow Dan on Twitter at @@mrguineyhistory

Using the group structure discussed in the bonus episode, Joe explains and rationalises his lesson on the tennis serve. Typically, with this being a challenging lesson for both teacher and students, he discusses various differentiation strategies and paths the lesson can take.

Follow Joe on Twitter at @mrJ_JonesPE