The Art of Teaching

Distinguished Prof Viviane Robinson (PhD Harvard): The difference between change and improvement, psychological safety and why engaging in constructive problem talk is essential.

Professor Vivianne Robinson is currently a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Auckland, and academic director of its Centre for Educational Leadership. She is also a visiting professor at the London Institute of Education. She gained her PhD in clinical psychology from Harvard University in 1976.

Her work centres around organisational psychology in education. Her research is concerned with organisational learning and leadership, instructional leadership, school effectiveness and improvement, and research methodology. 

In this discussion we talk about:

• Why change isn't always desirable and why we should be focussing on improvement instead. 
• Why change may be perpetuating leader and teacher burnout. 
• How we move away from quick fixes and why we should adopt more comprehensive improvement processes. 
• How leaders must engage in constructive problem talk. 
• How do we assess the quality and impact of school leadership? 
• What is educational leadership and how is it distinctive?
• What are the direct and indirect impacts of leadership on student outcomes and how do these impacts occur?
• What leadership capabilities are required for making a greater impact on student outcomes?
• What types of intervention are effective in developing these capabilities?

It was an incredible privilege to speak with Vivianne and I am so thankful that she took the time to speak with me. 

You can connect with Vivianne here

The Art of Teaching Podcast resources: 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes:

https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher

Dr Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Chair of Learning through Play and Vice-President at the LEGO Foundation, the power of play and why he built a house with a tree inside of it.

Bo Stjerne Thomsen is the Vice-President and Chair of Learning through Play in the LEGO Foundation. Bo has published widely on Creativity, Play and Learning, most recently on the role of play for children’s learning in schools, and presented the work to international organizations, forums, policy and practice. 

Twitter

LinkedIn

I hope that you get as much out of this discussion as I did. 

The Art of Teaching Podcast resources: 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes:

https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher

Dr Scott Alterator: Uniting the education and design narrative and why great spaces matter.

Today I have the great pleasure of introducing you to the phenomenal  Dr Scott Alterator [PhD]. Scott is a passionate educator and researcher who has won numerous awards as a teacher, researcher and space design specialist. As a teacher, he has been recognised with awards for community building and excellent pedagogy at both Secondary and Tertiary levels. Scott’s Doctoral research focused on the relationship between the built form and teaching and learning outcomes. In this interview I asked him:

1. Why do learning spaces matter and how to can create a wonderful learning environment on a budget?
2. How do we create opportunities for student voice in the design process?
3. How do we create amazing learning spaces on a budget? 

As mentioned on his website "Scott’s work in the education and design field is underpinned by the understanding that the two disciplines must work in unison to produce the best outcome for teaching and learning. He has worked to ensure that the education narrative is a key feature of working toward built environments for contemporary teaching and learning. "

You can get in touch with Scott here. 

I hope that you get as much out of this discussion as I did. 

The Art of Teaching Podcast resources: 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes:

https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher

 

Rohan Dredge and Mike Hardie: How to build leaders worth following and cultures worth reproducing, Jim Rohin and John Maxwell and why self-awareness is everything.

Welcome to this week's episode of The Art of Teaching podcast with the amazing Rohan Dredge and Mike Hardie.

Rohan and Mike run For Leaders Global which is an organisation that helps organisations build leaders worth following and cultures worth reproducing. 

In this wide-ranging episode we talked about:

• How they define leadership and if they believe that it can be taught.
• Why leadership is about realising potential, activating others and shaping a prefered future.
• Why we shouldn't wish for things to be easier, but we should wish for ourselves to be better. (Jin Rohn)

It was an incredible privilege to speak with Rohan and Mike. I hope that you get a lot out of it. 

The Art of Teaching Podcast resources: 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes:

https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher

Moments with Dr Heather Michel: My experience at school.

Welcome to another bitsized episode of The Art of Teaching Podcast, the first for 2022! If you haven’t heard my full interview with the amazing Dr. Heather Michel then please check it out as soon as you can. In today’s episode, she shared a story about what her life was like as a student, some of the challenges that she overcame and why education changes people and people then go on to change the world. 

Here in Australia, we are on a well-deserved teaching break. You may be listening to this pool-side, or in the car, as you drive away for a holiday or, if your rugged up on the couch in between Netflix binges - however, this bite-sized episode is coming to you, I am so grateful that you would take the time to be with us today…Thank you. 

For everyone else listening across the globe, I hope that you had a wonderful and relaxing break. My hope is that you all find something in this conversation that helps you become a better teacher, learner and leader. 

Enjoy this discussion with Dr Heather Michel

Dr Fiona Young: Innovative learning environments and why spaces matter.

Welcome to the next episode of The Art of Teaching. I have the great pleasure of introducing you to another phenomenal guest, Dr Fiona Young. Dr Young is an architect and researcher in the field of learning environments. As Studio Director at Hayball in Sydney, her focus is on Education and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) sector projects.

Her research focus is on learning environment affordances that support deep and playful pedagogical practices. Conducted through the Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change (ILETC) project at the University of Melbourne, Fiona’s PhD research identifies strategies to support teachers in recognising and using the affordances of innovative learning environments. Central to her role is enhancing learning opportunities through design and interpreting and bridging understanding between educators and architectural teams. 

Fiona has extensive experience in integrative briefing processes, workshop facilitation and master planning. She has developed a number of successful community consultation strategies, engaging leadership teams, staff, students and broader communities as co-designers in the project process.

 

Aaron Johnston: Building online communities, the challenges of school leadership and what he would do differently if he had his time again.

Today I have another very special episode to share with you - an interview with the amazing Aaron Johnston an innovative school leader and teacher. 

Through his Instagram “Mr J Learning Space” and through hosting weekly discussions as a co-host of the “teacher takeaway” podcast he passionately invests in and champions the teacher profession. 

Aaron is the real deal and he continues to be a great sounding board and friend. I am sure that you will get something meaningful out of our discussion.

Thanks for listening.

The Art of Teaching Podcast resources: 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes:

https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher

Moments with Dr Tim Sharp: Positive psychology myths, The Happiness Institute and his own struggles with mental health.

Dr. Sharp has three degrees in psychology (including a Ph.D.) and an impressive record as an academic, clinician and coach.  He is Australia’s very own ‘Dr Happy’, at the forefront of the positive psychology movement and founder of The Happiness Institute.

He has run one of Sydney’s most respected clinical psychology practices and is the founder & CHO (Chief Happiness Officer) of The Happiness Institute. Which is  Australia’s first organisation devoted solely to enhancing happiness in individuals, families and organisations.

In this bitesized episode, we talked about his own struggles with mental health and why so called “negative emotions" such as sadness, worry and anxiety are actually an important part of our lives. 

This episode was such an important one and so timely as a result of the current global pandemic. It was so wonderful to speak with Dr Tim, he was so generous with his time. 

Just a reminder that if you are struggling you are not alone. Here are some great mental health resources. 

https://www.batyr.com.au

https://headspace.org.au/

https://mhaustralia.org/

I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as it did. 

The Art of Teaching Podcast resources: 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes:

https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher

Ash from Rainbow Sky Creations: How to support and quip the next generation of teachers.

In today’s episode we have another inspirational educator, Ashleigh, who is one half of the duo and education entrepreneurs that is Rainbow Sky Creations. 

If you haven’t heard of Rainbow Sky Creations it is an education  website that creates resources for teachers that are simple, engaging and hands-on.​ 

I wish that when I embarked on my career in education that a resource like this existed - it would have saved me hours of work and many more hours of heartache. 

In this episode we talked about: 

• The immense workload that teachers are under and how they are trying to help. 
• The role of diversity in team environments
• The importance of working in a range of school environments and what we can learn from this experience. 

I hope that you enjoyed this discussion with the inspirational Ashleigh. 

Thanks for listening.

The Art of Teaching Podcast resources: 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes:

https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher

Moments with David Allen: Why it‘s all about efficiency, not productivity.

Today we have another bitesized episode of The Art of Teaching Podcasts with the amazing David Allen. 

His best selling book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity is a global phenomenon. Time Magazine called Getting Things Done the self-help business book of its time. 

What you may not know about David is that he was an “accidental productively guru.” In his own words, he is the “laziest person I know.” In this snippet of the larger interview, we talked about his life before becoming one of the world’s most sought after speakers and management consultants.  

I hope that you enjoy this bitesized episode.

The Art of Teaching Podcast:

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artofteaching

Here is the link to the show notes: https://theartofteachingpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofteachingpodcast/

New Teacher Resources: 

Website: https://imanewteacher.com/

Twitter: @Imanewteacher

Instagram: @Imanewteacher