The Teacher's Guide Podcast
The Teacher's Guide Podcast
Zach Woodward
A place for all teachers to be inspired to master their craft.
Why We Teach Series #5 - Second year teacher Alex Collins shares his passion for teaching
Alex Collins is currently in his second year teaching high school in Cairns. He teaches a variety of subjects including HPE, Maths, Geography, History & English.   This episode we discuss:- Remembering why we teach: for the students- Creating engaging lessons- Building professional relationships with students- Teaching multiple subject areas in High School- Classroom Management- Tips for reporting/marking  Here is a link to the Bill Rogers classroom management video we spoke about (series of 9 short videos)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqIXB1RG-Vg&list=PLF1FBp_bi4gbXAvyDu1oO5o_LaJ6PufZm&index=1&ab_channel=OsirisEducational  This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!
Jul 22, 2021
18 min
Why We Teach Series #4 - Drones, Tech & Drama with Matt Jensen
Matt Jensen has a background in teaching Drama, English & more recently – drone technology! He’s currently working as an education officer – digital technologies with Brisbane Catholic education.   This episode we discuss:- Using explicit direct instruction teaching pedagogies- Teaching multiple subject areas in High School- Essential Skills for Classroom Management- Debriefing & mentoring- Adapting to the learning styles of students in each classroom   Here is a link to the essential classroom management skills Matt spoke about: https://teacherprofessionaldevelopmentservices.com.au/essential-skills-for-classroom-management/ This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!
Jul 6, 2021
29 min
Why We Teach Series #3 - Balancing multiple subject areas with high school music teacher Megan Field
Why do you teach? Or for aspiring teachers, why do you want to teach?The 'Why We Teach' series interviews 8 passionate Australian teachers about why they love their job, and how they overcome some of the pressures of the teaching profession. Today's episode is a conversation with high school music teacher Megan Field. Megan shares her journey of joining a foundation school as a music teacher, to then teaching subjects such as English, Maths, Science, Drama and Religion. Here are my three learnings from the chat with Megan. 1. If you're a high school, teacher, don't be afraid of  teaching subjects outside of your specialty. 2. When lesson planning, how can you create a lesson that is hands on and engaging? 3. Follow through with behaviour expectations and students will know when a line has been crossed. This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!
May 4, 2021
17 min
Why We Teach Series #2 - What keeps Karen Caswell passionate about teaching after 25 years in the profession
Why do you teach? Or for aspiring teachers, why do you want to teach?The 'Why We Teach' series interviews 8 passionate Australian teachers about why they love their job, and how they overcome some of the pressures of the teaching profession. Today's episode is a conversation with Gold Coast based primary teacher Karen Caswell. Karen shares with us her most successful lessons & units of work, what she loves about teaching, some of the challenges she's faced, and what keeps her passionate about the profession after 25 years in the classroom. Check out Karen's website here: https://www.karencaswell.com/ Karen mentioned to books she had enjoyed reading. Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess: https://www.booktopia.com.au/teach-like-a-pirate-dave-burgess/book/9780988217607.html?dsa=s1-east&gclid=CjwKCAjwm7mEBhBsEiwA_of-TCS6Hlln9dRA1UbUbyrvyhm4gT4vgiyxg7s_tWVOMzmEuO29IC6NUhoCqdsQAvD_BwEKids Deserve It! by Adam Welcome & Todd Nesloney: https://www.amazon.com.au/Deserve-Boundaries-Challenging-Conventional-Thinking/dp/0996989528 This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!
May 3, 2021
30 min
Why We Teach Series #1 - A Conversation with Brisbane High School Teacher Steph Langley
Why do you teach? Or for aspiring teachers, why do you want to teach?The 'Why We Teach' series interviews 8 passionate Australian teachers about why they love their job, and how they overcome some of the pressures of the teaching profession. Today's episode is a conversation with Brisbane based high school teacher & pastoral leader Steph Langley. Here are 5 of my takeaways from Steph's sharing: 1. Sometimes teachers need to drop the urgent to focus on the important;2. Seek to understand before you react;3. Don't be afraid to throw your hat in the ring for leadership positions and other opportunities that pop up in your school ;4. Behaviour management starts with respect. As teachers we're good at making sure that student respect us...but how are we showing our students that we care for and respect them? 5. Students know if you're saying something that you don't genuinely believe in...so be genuine. This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!
Apr 27, 2021
31 min
Ep 21 - How to build your leadership capacity throughout your teaching career
Dr Stephen Brown shares with us how we as teachers can build our leadership skills at all stages of our teaching career . Some of the questions Dr Stephen encourages us to ask ourselves are:1. How curious was I today?2. How many real questions did I ask?3. Who & what is helping me to become a better leader and teacher?4. Who did I reach out to today?5. How did I show up as the best version of myself for my students today?6. Was I prepared & focussed?7. Before I start each day, what was my INTENTION, and what gained by ATTENTION?Brown Collective Website: https://www.thebrowncollective.com.au/This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!Today's sponsor: WillProUse the code teacherpodcast for a 15% off discount! https://willpro.com.au/https://theteachersguide.com.au/ 
Apr 14, 2021
24 min
Ep 20 - Using Data to Inform Teaching with Dr Selena Fisk
As teachers we have so many tools at our disposal to help us create engaging learning environments for our students. One of those tools is data. This episode explores: - Why teachers should be interested in student data- Data for wellbeing- Data for teaching & learning- How to source data through formative tasksThis episode guest is Dr Selena Fisk. Selena is a data coach, author of two books and the principal consultant for Aasha for schools.She was a recipient of the 2019 The Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL) "New Voice in Educational Leadership Research Scholarship", and Aasha for Schools was named in the "Top 50 Organisations in Education" in the 2019 GFEL conference in Dubai.Selena gives so many tips for sourcing and using data in this episode. Selena's website: https://www.selenafisk.com/about Selena's books: https://www.hbe.com.au/hb5381.html https://www.hbe.com.au/hb6739.htmlThis episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!Today's sponsor: WillProUse the code teacherpodcast for a 15% off discount! https://willpro.com.au/https://theteachersguide.com.au/ 
Feb 28, 2021
27 min
19 What Uni Should Have Taught You - with Sally Williams
The four year university degree that many of us completed did a great job of teaching us the theory we need to know as teachers. But what about the practical, day-to-day parts of teaching?In this episode Sally Williams (teacher, author & education consultant) and I speak about 5 elements of the teaching role that we weren't necessarily taught at Uni. We discuss: 1. Your classroom2. Planning3. Students4. Parents5. ColleaguesSince beginning her teaching career, Sally always felt there was a gap from finishing university to starting work as an educator. She is passionate about bridging the practical gap between the both and writes books and presents on this topic. To read Sally's books, head here: https://www.sallywilliamseducation.com.au/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallywilliamseducation/ Download her first book for FREE here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-Uni-Should-Have-Taught-You-Your-First-Few-Weeks-of-Teaching-6430112 This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!Today's sponsor: WillProUse the code teacherpodcast for a 15% off discount! https://willpro.com.au/https://theteachersguide.com.au/
Jan 24, 2021
26 min
18 - Secrets to a successful first year of teaching with Alisha from Rainbow Sky Creations
What are the secrets to a successful first year as a teacher?Alisha from Rainbow Sky Creations joins us on the podcast this week to give us 5 of her best tips.   In short, here are her 5 tips:   1. Get organised – know where everything in your classroom will be stored. Worksheets. Resources. Make a place for everything.   2. Routine & expectations. Practice these and remind your students again and again. 3. Find time in your week to plan the following week. Where am I taking my students? 4. Record assessment data from day 1! Find a system that works for you.   5. Find a mentor. This could be someone in your school, or a teacher from another school.   Alisha & Ashleigh started Rainbow Sky Creations about 5 years ago when they wanted to make some resources to help beginner teachers.   They now have a stack of resources for prac teachers right up to experienced teachers.   Check out some of their amazing resources here:  https://www.rainbowskycreations.com/ https://www.instagram.com/rainbowskycreations/  Today's sponsor: WillPro Use the code teacherpodcast for a 15% off discount! https://willpro.com.au/ https://theteachersguide.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/theteachersguidepodcast https://www.instagram.com/theteachersguidepodcast/  
Jan 14, 2021
33 min
17 - Collective Teacher Efficacy & Credibility with Students - The 4 types of Teachers
A few weeks ago I attended an online conference about visible learning and other teaching strategies.   I particularly enjoyed a presentation by American based Educator Douglas Fisher. Along with Nancy Frey, Douglas has done research about many aspects of teaching, but what caught my attention was this idea of Collective teacher efficacy & credibility among colleagues & students. On this scale,  there are 4 types of teachers There’s the teacher we’ll call the ‘amplifier’, who has high levels of teacher efficacy, and very high credibility with students. This is the teacher that we all should strive to be. We’ll dig deep into that one last. So that’s the ‘amplifier’. At the other end of the spectrum we have a teacher with low collective teacher efficacy  and low credibility with students and. I’ve nicknamed this teacher the ‘burning out’ teacher.    In the middle there’s the ‘talker’. Now the ‘talker’ has very high levels of collective teacher efficacy, but actually has quite a low level of credibility with students.  Then there’s the independent contractor. This teacher is fantastic in the classroom, has very high levels of credibility with students. Buuuuut, they don’t really engage with their colleagues, have a negative view of the school, and keep their resources to themselves.   The amplifier is the teacher that we should all aspire to be.  This teacher has a high level of collective teacher efficacy and very high credibility with students. This teacher is Perceived as competent, trustworthy, dynamic, caring and accessible by colleagues & students. They are Professionally generous with colleagues & Seek to learn from them.  The amplifier also teacher Has an optimistic view of students, colleagues & the school.   So you wouldn’t find the amplifier complaining about management, or whinging about this student and that students in the staff room. They would radiate positivity with all the encounter in the school. And deal with grievances or concerns in a professional way.   And the part from Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey’s work that I love the most, is how they note that when it comes to a teacher who is an amplifier, Students & colleagues reach their potential because of this person.   Students & colleagues reach their potential because of this person.  So the question for all of us is: Are my students, and my colleagues, reaching their potential because of my presence in our learning community.  Am I bringing out the best in my students?  And am I actively working to contribute positively to the work of my colleagues, and am I allowing them to reach their full potential.  More videos about this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSINhoh5b4c This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!Today's sponsor: WillProUse the code teacherpodcast for a 15% off discount! https://willpro.com.au/https://theteachersguide.com.au/https://www.facebook.com/theteachersguidepodcast https://www.instagram.com/theteachersguidepodcast/ 
Jan 6, 2021
11 min
Load more