Ever wondered why teachers do what they do in the classroom?
In Inside the Teacher’s Mind, I observe classes, take notes, and then sit down with the teacher to explore their classroom decisions.
We tackle questions like:
- How can we motivate our students?
- What’s the right balance between teacher- and student-led activities?
- How can we use technology effectively in teaching?
This podcast is the next best thing to peer observation, with insights you can apply to your own teaching.
This week your host Nick Maxwell is joined by Tom Willis Jones.
Join me as we step inside the teacher’s mind.
Citation for intro/outro music: Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
 |
 |
Check out Nick’s first podcast where he discusses student autonomy with Catriona Johnson and Rachel Wall here: Higher Education: Knowledge-Share Podcast 1
Listening to this podcast was not only interesting but also useful, as it helped me to reflect on my own teaching practice. I think as I listened, I asked myself ‘do I do that in my classes?’. Since listening, I have been a bit more aware of my pedagogical choices and my reasons for making them.
I also wondered if resources like these could have a place in class materials, as they might build students’ awareness of their teachers’ decisions and help them reflect on the role they play within their own class environment. This might work better with a podcast in which a student is interviewed.
Thanks for sharing, Tom and Nick!
Thanks Nick and Tom! I really enjoyed listening to this. Fascinating discussion about teacher talk and something we can probably all relate to when students don’t look very excited to be there
Nice work Nick and Tom. I think this podcast is a really great format for sharing ideas and learning what other teachers do in the classroom. It’s interesting to hear the different pedagogies in action and compare it with our own practices.
I identify with Tom when he says he suddenly feels very old this year (lol) and agree with his approach of sitting with students when monitoring and meddling, and reducing tech use in the classroom to increase engagement.
SO interesting to hear this useful and eloquent discussion, thanks Nick and Tom! It really reminds me of some of the conversations that go on informally in the kitchens, when some excellent sharing of ideas and experiences come up but disappear into the ether – this podcast is a great way to get a record of these kinds of ideas and reflections. It’s very useful to hear how a lot of the same challenges and positives come up in all our classrooms, and how our personalities are so important in responding to these situations, but also to get practical tips and new ideas to refresh our own teaching. I think the whole topic of how your teaching changes as you get older is a very under-explored area and worth more discussion. Also, in relation to new teachers coming into the job who may never have lived through the paper-based era – how does that affect their approaches? Lots to think about, thanks 👍
I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. Thanks Nick and Tom for the thoughtful reflections on how to engage students with teacher talk, use of whiteboards and tech-free activities. I agree that a whiteboard can act as a snapshot of the session and help students remember and revise some of the key concepts when they look back at it in their notes. Thanks also for the reminder of signposting students to ‘heads up’ and ‘heads down’ activities so that they are clear about when to prepare for tasks, collaborate with their peers and record personal reflections. I need to be more explicit about this in my workshops.
Thank you Nick and Tom for this very informative discussion. It’s always good to hear professionals “thinking out loud” about their approach, with lots of practical and useful suggestions. Who knew Hilary Clinton would have such an impact on the EAP world?!
That was great! Thank you! I need to work on my calming voice 🙂 It made me think though, in insessional there is hardly any nomination as we don’t get to know the students, really. Trust and collaboration are built in other ways…