Inside Education On 103.2 Dublin City Fm

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. This week on the podcast I speak again to Dr. Siobhán Keenan Fitzgerald whose book Listen: How Child and Student Voice Can Change the World has just been published by Routledge. Among the topics we discussed are: Among the topics were discussed were: Connecting to a network of Changemaker schools Getting interested in outdoor education inspired by a colleague who did Forest school training. Travelling as part of the Erasmus+ programme. Learning about peer mediation and the Student Council in Donabate Educate Together National School. The process of becoming recognised as a changemaker school. Studying for a doctorate on public speaking in primary school (focusing on self-efficacy and vocabulary development). She used the work of Albert Bandura. The paucity of research on public speaking in primary schools. The connection between children expressing their voices and public speaking Children have opportunities to practise public speaking in team sports settings, in church

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's programme I am delighted to be joined by Dr. Patrick Burke from Dublin City University's School of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education. Among the topics discussed were: Differences between the primary school he attended and the school where he began his teaching career. How he became interested in the teaching of literacy. Being awarded a fellowship to study at Frostburg State University in 2013-2014. Working in the Children’s Literature Centre at Frostburg State-wide bans on children’s books in the United States. Choosing literature for children (Quirkiness, visuals of picture books, morals (not moralising) and thoughts on the importance of writing quality in children’s literature. Science of reading about how you research reading and the components and guidance that come from that. Why the science of reading can inform some, not all, of our decisions about teaching reading. The influence of the science of reading on initial teacher educatio

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's podcast my guest is Perry Share, who is Head of Student Success at Atlantic Technological University. Among the topics we discuss are: The impact of taking a module with Hilary Tovey on rural sociology and a module with Brian Torode and Barbara Bradby on language, discourse and French theory. Perry’s belief that artificial intelligence is a catalyst that helps us better understand and question contemporary practices around teaching, learning and assessment. Artificial intelligence forces us to ask questions like "What does it mean to assess students?" "How can we teach in ways that are engaging and productive for students?" In education, the arts and the humanities, we take text as a representation of what is in students’ heads and tend to make assumptions about the knowledge, understanding or learning held by the student. The foundation is taken out of this when we don’t know where the text comes from. Problems are outlined with the take-home assignment,

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. The format of this podcast differs a bit from the usual one in that I am joined by my colleague in Marino Institute of Education, Dr. Gene Mehigan to discuss a book that influenced him on his journey as a teacher and teacher educator. The Book is The Master by Bryan MacMahon, published by Poolbeg Press in 1992. Among the topics we discuss are the following: How a book about teaching in Rural Ireland from the 1930s to the 1970s could speak to a teacher in a DEIS band 1 school in Darndale in the 1980s and 1990s. The consequences of poverty on children in schools. The “stain” of large classes (and their impact on children with language difficulties in particular). The importance of reading How Bryan MacMahon encouraged children to collect words (red notebook) and Gene Mehigan’s variation of it (jar on teacher’s desk). Stages in a reading lesson as outlined by Bryan MacMahon (who noted that they are not rigid and may need modern modification): Arousal of interest (day befor

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. In this episode I interview Hugh Catts from the Florida State University about reading comprehension, dyslexia and more. People interviewed on previous Inside Education podcasts are mentioned in this episode: Jerome Kagan, Daniel T. Willingham and Tim Shanahan. Among the topics raised on the podcast are: How his interest in educational research grew from problems members of his family, including himself, had in learning to read. The benefits of having knowledge of phonetics and linguistics in studying reading difficulties His thoughts on whether someone with reading difficulties can teach reading well How he became interested in comprehension Why thinking about comprehension as a skill is unhelpful in teaching reading Comprehension is a complex set of behaviours or cognitive processes that is more like listening. It is the interaction between the reader and the text they’re reading to construct meaning between what is written in the text and what the reader already know

On this week's podcast I speak to Professor Etta Hollins from the University of Missouri-Kansas City about teacher education and the role of the teacher. Among the topics we discussed are: Why observation is key to good teaching practice and learning to teach The need to be observing, documenting and analysing classroom practice from early in a student teacher’s course How the influence of theorists like Jerome Bruner and John Dewey can be seen in classroom practice Directed observation – how the subject you're studying narrows your focus of observation She gives an example of how a student teacher might learn to teach with reference to learning to teach aspects of early literacy. She illustrates her point with reference to the book Brown Bear Brown Bear by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. As the teacher educator, she engages in epistemic practices (practices related to knowledge) with student teachers including focused inquiry (studying something specific that you’re going to be able to observe or apply). Knowing

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this podcast I spoke to Professor Mark Windschitl from the University of Washington about teaching science and especially the science of climate change. As usual with these podcasts we covered a wide range of topics, including the following: What core practices are in teacher education (e.g. teachers need to elicit ideas students already have about the topic being taught). Why, although important, there is much more to teaching than core practices, such as developing respectful and trusting relationships with students. As teachers gain experience, they add nuance and flexibility to the core practices. What ambitious science teaching is: willingness to constantly improve one’s practice, to take risks to improve their practice and to base changes on students’ response to their teaching. The need for a teacher pursuing ambitious science teaching to understand topics (e.g. the greenhouse effect) in great depth, with flexibility, and connected to children’s everyday lives.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this podcast I discussed social and emotional learning with Professor Sara Rimm-Kaufman from the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development. Among the topics discussed were: What social and emotional learning is The implicit and explicit process of learning social and emotional skills How children can learn empathy Her book for teachers: SEL from the Start From listening to respectful communication to respecting others’ perspectives Where social emotional learning fits in the regular school curriculum What service learning is and examples of it in practice Three possible categories of service learning solutions: Educate others, change a policy or take direct action. The relationship between service learning and project-based learning How Sara Rimm-Kaufman and her colleagues (including Tracy Harkins and Eileen Merritt) developed Connect Science, a scheme that uses the service learning approach to combine social emotional learning and academic con

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. In this episode I speak to Professor Art Baroody from the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign about matters related to counting and early mathematical development. Professor Baroody shares insights from his extensive research in children's early mathematical learning with anecdotes from his life and work. Among the topics we discuss are: The word “count” is ambiguous; he prefers the terms verbal counting and object counting. Along with subitising, these are foundational for children’s sense of number. The rote portion of numbers (up to 12 in English) and the rule-governed portion of numbers (13 onwards in English) Being able to meaningfully count objects means understanding the cardinality principle How a teacher can assess a child’s competence in object counting. The “hidden stars” game. The importance of subitising (easily recognising, without counting, the number in a set). If a child can subitise small sets of objects and con

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. In this episode I speak to Professor David T. Hansen from Teachers' College, Columbia University about the philosophy of education and the practice of teaching. Among the topics we discuss are the following: What it means to see teaching as an art, as a political activity and as a moral endeavour. Direct lessons about morality/values/ethics versus the continuous enactment of moral values. What hand-raising and turn-taking reveals about classroom culture and establishing dialogue among students (teachers and their students coming closer and closer apart and further and further together). Teaching as a profession? Teaching as vocation, calling, practice, craft? The attraction of teaching for people who want to live a meaningful life. Reworking his original book, The Call to Teach in 2021 as Reimagining the Call to Teach in response to (a) Accountability movement in the United States, linked to No Child Left Behind; and (b) Having learned more about the practice of t

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. Theme tune composed by David Vesey. On this episode of Inside Education, engineer Patricia Scanlon of Soapbox Labs discusses how improving how well software can recognise children's voices can support how teachers teach, assess and give feedback on reading and enhance equity in the classroom. Among the topics discussed are: How children’s voices differ to adult voices How voice recognition software has been found to be biased in favour of some populations over others How she became interested in applying speech recognition technology to education after watching her daughter experience the limits of educational software when she was learning to read and do mathematics Applying speech recognition technology to teaching reading – the software acts like a helpful adult who “listens” to and “assesses” the child’s reading. The software is used in dyslexia screeners, reading practice products, fluency assessment products, speech therapy. Use of the software at home and

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune composed by David Vesey On this week's podcast I speak to cognitive scientist, Professor Daniel T Willingham from the University of Virginia. We discuss learning to read, learning styles, multiple intelligences, education research and more. The full range of topics includes: Applying the science of learning in school and at home Paradigms of cognitive psychology (reasonable assumptions) How cognitive science replaced behaviourism How cognitive science might inform the teaching of different subjects across the curriculum The relationship between basic science and applied science for teachers Why an opportunity exists for teacher organisations to review science and provide periodic updates for teachers to critique ideas (such as say, grit). Initial teacher education should provide a grounding in the science of learning and subsequently teachers’ knowledge needs to be updated as the science evolves (and why the onus for such updating should not be on ind

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. Theme tune by David Vesey. On podcast 420, I welcome back Stanford University School of Education Professor William (Bill) Damon who was one of the first guests on this year's schedule to discuss his new book, A round of golf with my father: The new psychology of exploring your past to make peace with your present. Among the topics  we discuss on this bonus episode are the following: Different interpretations of what a life story is Life Studies by Robert Lowell Your intention for telling a life story What a life review is and why it can be done at any stage of life How William Damon adapted Robert Butler’s life review idea for his purpose. How to go about doing a life review Talk to people who remember your past Records (school and others, ancestry searches) Memory search Putting it all together – focusing on what gave you satisfaction and fulfillment Why he never met his father How school records have changed since the 1950s. How his father’s characte

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's podcast I speak to Deirdre Hodson who works in the European Commission’s department for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture in Brussels. She provides a European Union policy perspective on technology and sustainability in education. Among the topics we discuss are: How she came to work in the area of digital education policy and her studies in the area Ben Williamson Neil Selwyn How her studies contributed to her work as a policymaker How the pandemic is likely to impact on policy and practice The need for schools to have digital strategies The importance of the school as a whole being the unit of change and of hearing the student voice The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning How countries reaped the benefits of investment in digital resources in education during the pandemic Asking what we can learn from remote teaching and learning as a result of the pandemic Broadening the education infrastructure to include

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. In this podcast I explore the topic of education and autism by speaking to a classroom teacher, Graham Manning from Cork, and a university researcher, Professor Steffie van der Steen from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Among the topics we discuss are: How Graham became coordinator of classes for autistic students in school The organisation with which Graham undertook training on helping students develop good sleeping habits. How Steffie became interested in researching autism and the education of students with autism in the Netherlands. The Salamanca Statement on special needs education: Graham’s class arrangements from a student’s perspective Different needs of autistic students from primary to secondary school Graham’s problem with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Inclusive Education in New Brunswick and that province's views on inclusion versus segregation Excellence in practice: visiting homes of

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. This week my guest on the podcast is expert on assessment, feedback and academic integrity, Professor Phillip Dawson from Deakin University. Among the topics we discuss on the podcast are the following: How academic integrity is learned throughout our lives – and how even Peppa Pig has been known to flout academic integrity. What a secondary school teacher needs to know about academic integrity – values and technical skills Academic integrity travels with us: Medical students who have more academic integrity problems have more professional integrity problems as doctors Acknowledging student work that is original Scalable feedback practices at feedbackforlearning.org. Text matching software (e.g. Turn-it-in) can help provide feedback at scale. Recognising patterns in errors legitimately made by students on a module Estimated instances of cheating among university students, by “outsourcing” their work, range from 6% to 16% When the student signals that an assign

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's podcast I speak to Professor Gregory Cajete from Santa Clara Pueblo and the University of New Mexico about indigenous education and what contemporary western education can learn from such rich traditions. Among the topics we discuss are: Belonging to the Tewa tribe and what is particular about that tribe. Numbers in different tribes such as the Navajo, Cherokee, the Hopi and the Tewa. Being the first member of his family to attend public school Previously native Americans would have attended federal boarding schools (created by Pratt), with a basic academic curriculum Professor Cajete refers to “Charles Pratt” but this may be a mistaken reference to Richard Henry Pratt, to whom the expression “Kill the Indian, save the man” was attributed. Tribal College Union established in the 1970s (36 colleges – like first and second year of colleges; giving 2-year degrees) Defining indigenous education: Distinction between native American students attending U

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's episode I interview my long-time colleague and fellow vice-president of Marino Institute of Education on the topics of literacy and disadvantage and more. Among the topics we discuss during the podcast are the following: What constitutes a struggling reader Identifying a struggling reader in a class setting Why it is important to move on from focusing on individual sounds and words to help students become fluent readers. The article referred to in the programme can be downloaded here: Effects of Fluency Oriented Instruction on Motivation for Reading of Struggling Readers Fluency oriented instruction and the work of Stephen Stahl, Kathleen Heubach and Bonnie Cramond. The value of repeatedly reading the same text Why fluency oriented instruction is particularly important around first class The value of teachers and parents reading to children, modelling the reading process Why choral reading is helpful in developing fluency – communicatively chora

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's podcast I am joined by Professor Stefan Ward from Central Washington University who is currently a Fulbright Scholar in Dublin City University Institute of Education. Among the topics we discuss are: His interest in positive youth development How he became involved in Project Fun Direction and why it is important for young girls What is physical literacy and how is it developed? Physical education in schools in the United States Why games such as Dodge Ball and relay races need to be removed from PE class Specialist physical educators in the United States The Irish physical education curriculum What an effective PE lesson looks like (Moderate to vigorous activity; differentiated instruction; choice; reflection time) Assessment in PE (physical, cognitive, affective) Teaching physical education with minimal equipment (including planning for activities that require minimal equipment such as hiking, soccer). Skill themes in primary and post-primar

Presented and produced by  Seán Delaney. In this episode my guest is Emeritus Professor John Hattie from the University of Melbourne. Among many other contributions to education, he has developed the idea of visible learning. Among the topics we discuss in the podcast are the following: What Professor Hattie means by visible learning How children don’t have the language to talk about their learning Students learning from each other The importance of asking students two questions: What does it mean to be a good learner in this class? What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Impact of a student’s age on making learning visible Three ways of making learning visible: student voice, student artefacts, test scores. He is interested in triangulating across these three sources, in how the teacher interprets that information, and how the teacher decides where to go next with a student’s learning. The same information from a student’s perspective is also important. The love of learning follows, rather tha