EPisodes: Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age

Ben Hilliam, one of EP’s Community Leaders chats to Richard Andrew, of Learn Implement Share. Richard and Ben have a wide ranging chat through issues that affect students in Maths classrooms. They talk about prevailing attitudes to maths, the default settings of maths teachers, how teachers can change their practice to engage students and how to sustain student agency. Ben is a former Maths teacher, who now works with teachers through Education perfect. Richard is also a former maths teacher, who now runs professional development through his company Learn Implement Share.

How to manage stress, struggle and being your authentic self on your professional journey.

In our latest EPisodes podcast we share the first in a series of conversations between EP's Jimmy Bowens and Sarah Schubert. In this EPisode, recorded in December 2021, titled "This Too Will Pass" Sarah and Jimmy discuss how to deal with uncertainty and change and what can help to maintain focus in our professional lives.

In this EPisode Jimmy Bowens chats with Education Perfect CEO Alex Burke about the journey EP has undertaken throughout the Pandemic so far, how it has been leading the team under the circumstances and what lies ahead for one of the fastest growing Edtech organisations in the world.

Sadly, today we bring you the final EPisode of the Loving Literature Series. In this EPisode Jimmy Bowens and Erini Christopoulos discuss the texts they love to hate to teach, be prepared, because there may be some controversy with their choices as both texts are much loved favourites! Again, this podcast is a great listen, it will have you laughing and engaged as you reflect upon teaching, texts, teenagers and even the limitations of modern pedagogy.

For the fourth instalment of the Loving Literature series Jimmy and Erini discuss the value in stepping outside of comfort zones in terms of the literature we typically favour in order to enrich our perspectives. Jimmy and Erini also reflect upon the fact that in 2021 reading a book can often mean listening to a book in the car or when we are out exercising, and discuss how we may even select specific genres based on the method or device we intend to use to explore a story.

Education Perfect's Head of English, Jimmy Bowens speaks with Dr. Pete Stebbins PhD about how we can make teacher and school performances lift, prevent burnout and adapt and learn in order to maximise student growth and learning. Dr. Stebbins explores the connections between teacher wellbeing, school leadership, administration and culture in relationship to capacity and collective teacher efficacy. Click the link below to join our Leaders Masterclass Series with Dr. Pete Stebbins for school leaders across Australia and New Zealand - Leading Flourishing Schools: Building High Capacity School Culture. https://hsl.educationperfect.com/anz-leaders-event You can find Dr. Pete Stebbins worksheets as mention in the podcast here: https://www.hptschools.com/hpt-worksheets-download

Today we share the third instalment of the Loving Literature Series with Jimmy Bowens and Erini Christopoulos. In this episode Jimmy and Erini explore the literature that impacted them significantly during their university years. For Erini it was a dark Shakespeare play that set itself apart and changed her journey, for Jimmy it was Joyce that connected deeply with him and aligned with his artistic inclinations of that period. This episode is an extremely enjoyable listening experience as both Jimmy and Erini have a wonderful knack for setting the scene and transporting the listener back to the era in which the text impacted their life.

In the second part of the Loving Literature series Jimmy Bowens and Erini Christopoulos discuss the literature that had the biggest impact on their teenage years. For Jimmy he continued to be drawn to the dark and mysterious pull of the gothic genre. For Erini the dystopian genre stirred her own notion of social justice and political awareness. Get ready for some nostalgia because listening to this podcast will have you looking back fondly to your own teenage years and the literature that had an impact on you and perhaps the path you followed into your adult years.

In our current EPisodes series Jimmy Bowens and Erini Christopoulos discuss the literature that has shaped their passion for the written word. In the first EPisode of the series, Jimmy and Erini explore the first books they remember having a significant impact upon them as children and then discuss the books that opened the door for them becoming true independent readers.

In today's special episode Education Perfect's UAE Teacher Consultant, Mel Musgrove and Dubai based Contractor Teacher Consultant, Ravi Sekhon discuss the 2021 Education Perfect Language Championships which took place across 7 days in March this year. Over 118 million questions were answered by over 200,000 students across the globe! An incredible event! "Students love a good competition! Who doesn't want to be the global leader, or have the title of the best school in the world against 1,300 other schools that are competing in the competition?"

STEM teacher and educator Lauren Pugh discusses with Jimmy Bowens her background, education and the way in which developing a curiosity mindset, Kiwi ingenuity and building confidence through the unpacking of answers has enabled her to become a successful woman in STEM. Lauren talks about the way in which assessment driven outcomes can hinder women or girls in STEM and can create a negative experience for early learners in the field, curiosity and exploration should be the priority as opposed to overall outcome. She explores how communicating how to be confident and have a growth mindset through the traditionally challenging environment of online learning requires project based learning experiences, the weaving of educational objectives with a personal journey, and the proactive fostering of a go-getter attitude in girls. "I never call STEM Science Technology and Maths. I say it’s a problem-solving mindset, a curiosity mindset. Being in STEM is more about how you think about things, and not necessarily about skills in those areas."

"We need to change our perspective of what success means in learning. Students also need to be told that it is okay to fail, that it is about the progression of your knowledge building and that we’re in this together!" Ben Hilliam, Jimmy Bowens and Philippa Kruger reflect on the last year. The highs and the lows of remote teaching and learning and how teachers around the world have coped with the stress of COVID-19. They also explore the ongoing impact of the global pandemic on our society and on the future of education.

Philippa Kruger talks to William Connor, a producer of the animated series Lifeswap, a series of short animated Skype conversations between two young men Jörg, 27 from Münster, Germany and Duncan, 27 from Wellington, New Zealand. William works on the Lifeswap episodes with his husband, animator Steffan Kreft. In this episode William discusses what goes on behind the scenes with Lifeswap and also gives some advice for us at the end of what has been a crazy year. "As Language Teachers, [or] any kind of teacher, our job is to provide bridges for people to walk away from themselves, walk away from their narrow perspective and see themselves and their cultures and their languages, from the other side of a divide."

Ben Hilliam talks to Ian Stevens, the CEO and founder of Maths Adventures, a NZ based company that supports Maths teachers from primary to secondary schools. Ian has vast experience in Maths education, having been both a primary and secondary teacher, a lecturer, a Principal and the Team Leader of Numeracy at the Ministry of Education. Together they discuss the strategies around improving numeracy across all years of primary and secondary school, and the impact and limits of technology in aiding this process.

Jimmy chats to Edwin McRae, LitRPG author, narrative designer and narrative paramedic for the video games industry. Edwin has been a screenwriter and story designer for over 13 years now. After four years of writing for television, he started with Grinding Gear Games in 2010 and became lead writer on the creative team that took their online RPG, Path of Exile, from 80,000 players to 20 million players. Together, Jimmy and Edwin discuss how to nurture creativity and expression in students, communicating and maintaining relationships online, and what it means to be a narrative designer.

In this EPisode, Jimmy chats with Mitch Center, a highly experienced educational leader. Mitch is the founder of Center Educational Consulting. Together they explore his experience working with educational leaders to support, evaluate and empower teachers. Mitch's song recommendation = Lose Yourself by Eminem You can contact Mitch at mitch@centereducationalconsulting.com To continue the conversation, join our Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age group on LinkedIn or Facebook.

In this EPisode, Ben chats with Alexandra Tselios, founder and CEO of The Big Smoke Media Group. Together, they take a deep dive into the current abundance of conspiracy theories, how to deal with them when discussing them with students, the importance of education, and how robots are influencing education. To continue the conversation, join our Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age group on LinkedIn or Facebook.

In this EPisode, Jimmy chats with Cara Varian, Executive Director at the Harding Miller Education Foundation. The Foundation provides a unique scholarship program for high potential girls from low socioeconomic circumstances. "When you educate a girl you break the vicious cycle of poverty. Girls supported with equipment, money for resources and tutoring and coaching will be much more likely to complete high school and undertake further education after school." Scholarship application 2022 scholarships will open in July 2021 Cara's song recommendation = I wish I was a punk rocker by Sandi Thom To continue the conversation, join our Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age group on LinkedIn or Facebook.

In this EPisode, Jimmy talks with Wren Gillett, student voice advocate at Pivot. "In order to be able to speak on behalf of others, you need to recognise that you have a voice yourself." Wren was part of VicSRC’s executive committee for close to three years, and chaired the executive team within this time. She has a been a youth champion for charitable organisations and has spoken at multiple conferences and events across Australia. Wren is currently in her first year of university majoring in journalism, and continues to be a passionate spokesperson for young people. Together, Jimmy and Wren chat about the power and significance of student voice, agency, and empowerment. To continue the conversation, join our Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age group on LinkedIn or Facebook.