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Knowledge for Teachers

Knowledge for Teachers

By: Brendan Lee
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 In the Knowledge for Teachers podcast, host Brendan Lee will be chatting to researchers, teachers and experts about what evidence-informed education is and the nuances involved with actually implementing effective and sustainable school based education.Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
Episodes
  • S03E11 - Know Thy Purpose: Jocelyn Seamer on Transforming 3–6 Literacy

    S03E11 - Know Thy Purpose: Jocelyn Seamer on Transforming 3–6 Literacy
    Jun 21 2025
    In this episode, I’m joined by Jocelyn Seamer—educational consultant, author, and leading voice in structured literacy—to unpack what effective literacy instruction really looks like in the upper primary years. We dive into how to move beyond levelled texts and strategy-heavy comprehension lessons, and instead build a literacy block grounded in rich texts, explicit instruction, and purposeful writing. Jocelyn shares practical advice on everything from planning with backward design, to teaching spelling through morphology, to managing cognitive load with the “stretchy band” analogy. Whether you’re trying to make sense of guided reading, support struggling readers, or link reading and writing more effectively, this episode is packed with clarity and actionable ideas. Key topics include: Replacing levelled texts with rich, age-appropriate readingDesigning integrated, text-based units that link reading and writingExplicit vocabulary and background knowledge instructionThe role of syntax, spelling, and morphology in building strong writersResponsive teaching and avoiding the “dress rehearsal” trap in assessments A must-listen for any Year 3–6 teacher ready to teach literacy with more clarity, purpose, and impact. Resources mentioned: Reading Reconsidered – Doug LemovFive Plagues of the Developing Reader – from Reading ReconsideredThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. LewisVelveteen Rabbit – Margery WilliamsRose Meets Mr. Wintergarten – Bob GrahamThe Lost Thing – Shaun TanBringing Words to Life – Beck, McKeown & KucanQuestioning the Author – Beck, McKeown & SandoraDIBELS and Acadience – normed reading screenersMotif – free assessmentsKenn Apel’s morphology assessmentsJared Cooney Horvath You can connect with Jocelyn: Linkedin Facebook: @JocelynSeamerEducation Youtube: @JocelynSeamerEducation Podcast: The Structured Literacy Podcast Website: www.jocelynseamereducation.com/ You can connect with Brendan: Twitter: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net Support the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast About Jocelyn Seamer is a former teacher, tutor and school leader who has experienced, first-hand, the transformative power of evidence-based practice in literacy instruction. She has led teams to grow and develop school policy and practice to reflect the vast body of evidence that makes up the Science of Reading. Through her own classroom practice and leadership roles in schools, Jocelyn has developed a strong understanding of how you can take simple, yet effective action to get every child on the road to literacy proficiency in the first years of school. Jocelyn feels a very personal responsibility to provide opportunities for classroom teachers to have access to the information and training they need to change children's lives and looks forward to helping you achieve great things in your teaching practice. Read more on Jocelyn Seamer Education. 🎯 Struggling to know whether to model again or move on? You’re not alone — and this course is for you. Effective Primary Maths Teaching is my live, two-day online course designed to help you stop second-guessing and start teaching with clarity and purpose. Across two highly practical days, I’ll walk you through: ✅ When and why to use explicit instruction, word problems, fluency tasks, and more ✅ How to align your teaching with student readiness ✅ The nuts and bolts of effective daily reviews, worked examples, and fluency practice ✅ A practical framework to help you teach responsively — not reactively Everything’s grounded in the science of learning, backed by real classroom examples, and designed so you can take action straight away. You’ll leave with a workbook, an action plan, and the confidence to use it all on Monday. 🗓️ Dates: Day 1 – Monday 4 August 2025 (9am–3pm AET) Day 2 – Monday 1 September 2025 (9am–3pm AET) 🖥️ Live online (with recordings) | 🧠 10 hours total | 💲 $299 Whether you’re a teacher wanting clarity or a leader building consistency, this is the course people tell me they wish they’d done years ago. ▶️ Register now: events.humanitix.com/effective-primary-maths-teaching The last one sold out — don’t miss out.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • S03E10 - Grattan Institute’s Maths Guarantee Report with Amy Haywood & Nick Parkinson

    S03E10 - Grattan Institute’s Maths Guarantee Report with Amy Haywood & Nick Parkinson
    Jun 7 2025
    In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast, I speak with Amy Haywood and Nick Parkinson, co-authors of the Grattan Institute’s Maths Guarantee report. We unpack what they describe as Australia’s “national problem” with maths underperformance — from the equity gaps to the urgent need for high-quality curriculum materials and teacher support. Amy and Nick share key findings from their research, including a national teacher survey and international case studies, as well as practical insights from some of Australia’s most effective schools. We dive deep into what explicit instruction really looks like, the power of fluency, and how the instructional hierarchy can help teachers better sequence their maths lessons. Whether you're a school leader, instructional coach, or passionate teacher, this conversation will leave you with clarity, evidence, and next steps to improve maths teaching in your school. Resources mentioned: The Maths Guarantee (Grattan Institute report)The Maths Guarantee: A guide for principals (Grattan Institute)Teach Like a Champion – Doug LemovTeaching Primary Mathematics – George BookerEddie WuCraig BartonOchre EducationPR1ME InternationalEAST materialsMaths OlympiadTimes Tables Rock StarsJames Dobson - From Research to Reality: A Primary Maths Resource Toolkit The schools they visited for case studies were: Wattle Grove Primary, a government school in suburban Perth Bentleigh West Primary, a government school in suburban Melbourne Ballarat Clarendon College, an independent school in regional Victoria St Bernard’s Primary, a Catholic school in Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast Charlestown South Public, a government school in Newcastle, NSW The Entrance Public, a government school on the NSW central coast Budgewoi Public, a government school also on the NSW central coast The final three schools are part of the Explicit and Systematic Teaching (EAST) network, a grassroots network which exists to champion explicit teaching in NSW government schools You can connect with Amy: Twitter/X: @Amy_L_Haywood You can connect with Nick: Twitter/X: @NickJParkinson You can connect with Brendan: Twitter/X: @learnwithmrlee Facebook: @learningwithmrlee Website: learnwithlee.net About Amy Haywood Amy Haywood is the Deputy Program Director of Grattan’s Education Program. Amy has a background as an educator and brings this practical experience to her work as an education policy researcher. She is the co-author of several Grattan reports, including Ending the lesson lottery: How to improve curriculum planning in schools, The Reading Guarantee: How to give every child the best chance of success, Spreading success: Why Australia should trial multi-school organisations, and The Maths Guarantee: How to boost students’ learning in primary schools. Amy taught English in secondary schools for five years. During this time, she presented at statewide teaching conferences and wrote several study guides for Macmillan Education. Before joining Grattan, Amy worked as a manager in Deloitte Access Economics’ Education Policy team, where she led schooling projects focused on system design, workforce reform, and teaching practice. Amy has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching from the University of Melbourne. As part of her postgraduate degree, she studied international education policy while on exchange at the University of Oulo in Finland. She is a registered teacher. Nick Parkinson Nick is a Senior Associate in Grattan’s Education Program, where he has co-authored reports on whole-school curriculum, multi-school organisation, and primary maths. He also contributed to reports on catch-up tutoring and early reading. Through this research, Nick has conducted case studies of nearly 30 leading schools and analysed more than 5,000 teacher survey results. Nick holds a Master of Teaching from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. Before studying teaching, Nick completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Languages at the University of Melbourne. He is a 2022 Westpac Future Leader. Before joining Grattan, Nick worked as a consultant at Nous Group where he contributed to projects on school culture, student assessment, and occupational safety. Support the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast 🎯 Struggling to know whether to model again or move on? You’re not alone — and this course is for you. Effective Primary Maths Teaching is my live, two-day online course designed to help you stop second-guessing and start teaching with clarity and purpose. Across two highly practical days, I’ll walk you through: ✅ When and why to use explicit instruction, word problems, fluency tasks, and more ✅ How to align your teaching with student readiness ✅ The nuts and bolts of effective daily reviews, worked examples, and fluency practice ✅ A practical framework to help you teach responsively — not ...
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    1 hr and 38 mins
  • S03E9 - Making sense of the science of reading with Mandy Nayton

    S03E9 - Making sense of the science of reading with Mandy Nayton
    May 24 2025

    In this episode of Knowledge for Teachers, Brendan Lee sits down with Mandy Nayton — CEO of the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation and president of AUSPELD — for a deep and timely conversation about how students really learn to read.

    Mandy draws on decades of experience to unpack what the science of reading actually is (and what it isn’t), why explicit instruction matters, and how effective intervention can change the trajectory for struggling students.

    They explore key frameworks like the Simple View of Reading, Scarborough’s Reading Rope, and the Cognitive Foundations Framework — and dig into DSF’s new Word Origins program, designed to transform how spelling is taught in Years 3–6 by building deep morphological and etymological knowledge.

    Whether you're just starting to explore structured literacy or you're leading change in your school, this conversation is packed with insight, clarity, and practical takeaways.

    🎧 Listen now and explore how teacher knowledge is the most powerful tool we have to improve literacy outcomes.

    Resources mentioned:

    Word Origins

    Literacy Frameworks & Models

    • Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer)
    • Scarborough’s Reading Rope
    • Cognitive Foundations Framework (Hoover & Tunmer)
    • Dehaene’s Four Pillars of Learning

    Instructional & Program Resources

    • DSF’s Word Origins Program
    • Direct Instruction Phonics Manual

    Others

    • Kathy Rastle
    • National Reading Panel (2000)
    • Reid Lyon
    • John Hattie

    You can connect with Mandy:

    Twitter/X: @mandynayton

    Facebook: @dyslexiaspeld

    Linkedin

    Website: https://dsf.net.au/

    You can connect with Brendan:

    Twitter: @learnwithmrlee

    Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

    Website: learnwithlee.net

    Support the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast:

    https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast
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    1 hr and 23 mins
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