Inside Education On 103.2 Dublin City Fm

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's programme I speak to Dr. Liz Dunphy, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education in Dublin City University's Institute of Education about her work. Among the topics we discuss are the following:   Choosing a career in teaching over one in law Becoming interested in early childhood education Childcare and the growth of love by John Bowlby Her first teaching job Doing a Masters degree in education in Trinity College Dublin Offering professional development for teachers through the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation Children’s early experience of number as seen through a socio-cultural lens Looking at how the work of educational researchers complement each other rather than adopting a more polarised approach. Her research on early childhood education: mathematics, curriculum, and assessment How the area of early childhood education has evolved nationally and internationally over Liz’s career in education to date Play, Playful pedagogy, and playfulnes

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's podcast I speak to Dr. Karen Edge who is a Reader in Educational Leadership at the University College London Institute of Education. Karen Edge was a keynote speaker at the 2020 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network, the IPPN. Among the topics we discussed were the following: Helping principals make their job meaningful Constraints on principals working on teaching and learning and working with students and teachers include: to be accountable, to share information, manage data, manage external relations How principals can live a full life outside of work and be a leader in their work Helping principals align their professional priorities with what students, teachers and parents expect of them Supporting a new generation of principals from Generation X (born from 1965 to 1980) in schools designed for Baby Boomer principals who have now retired or who are retiring (those born from 1946 to 1964) Collaborative decision making and Generati

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's podcast I speak to Viv Grant who is Executive Coach and Director of Integrity Coaching. She was a keynote speaker at the 2020 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network. Among the topics we discuss are the following: Identifying your stories as a school leader: why are you in the profession? What motivates you? What inspires you? What brings you joy? Her story and how she began to articulate it for herself The importance for principals of recognising and articulating their inner, subconscious narrative How underlying thoughts and experiences can affect a principal’s ability to have difficult conversations Becoming aware of when the old narratives no longer serve us Getting our back stage narratives aligned with our front stage performance The role of the Centre for School Leadership What coaching for principals involves Just like social workers and psychologists get “supervision” in their work as a matter of course, so should school princ

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's podcast I speak to the President (Damian White), Deputy President (Brian O'Doherty) and Chief Executive Officer (Páiric Clerkin) of the Irish Primary Principals' Network at the annual conference of the Network. The IPPN is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Among the topics we discuss are the following: Damian White Workload and making the job of principal more sustainable into the future The PIEW model: Prioritise, Implement, Embed, Wait. Prioritising initiatives in a school. Refers to the Looking at our Schools document. Identifying and making room for urgent new initiatives within the PIEW model. Wellbeing Support groups for principals Working with local education centres Relationship between the Centre for School Leadership, the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and the IPPN Relationship between the IPPN and the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) On having the Secretary General and not the Minister address the c

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's programme I speak to Professor Mark Morgan from Dublin City University about psychology, education, his career and his thoughts on education. Among the topics we discuss are the following: How he became interested in psychology as a student teacher in St. Patrick’s College Being taught by John McNamara (who was known for his study of bilingualism) Completing postgraduate studies in London Being appointed as lecturer in St. Patrick’s College Having Albert Bandura as a tutor when offered a fellowship at Stanford University The idea of self efficacy His interest in TV and violence, resilience and substance misuse prevention The use of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods data in psychology His doctoral research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation His research on adversity and resilience What teachers can do to be more resilient How he planned his classes as a teacher educator How early home and school experiences influenced his subsequent interests a

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney This week I bring you an interview with the new Chief Executive Officer of Educate Together, Dr. Emer Nowlan in the week she takes up her new appointment. Among the topics we discuss are: Her career in education to date: becoming a PE teacher, running a language school in Portugal Doing a masters and doctorate in UCD Being project manager for setting up second level Educate Together schools Working on the Migrant Teacher Project Challenges faced by migrant teachers who wish to teach in Ireland Lessons learned from the Migrant Teacher Project to date Anticipating her new role as CEO of Educate Together Plans for establishing new Educate Together schools How Educate Together has evolved over the last 40 years What equality-based education looks like How to promote equality-based education without stereotyping Educate Together’s role as school patron Enrolment policies for schools The work of CEO in Educate Together Her priorities for her term as CEO Challenges facing the E

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's podcast I speak to Professor Paola Valero from Stockholm University about the political aspects of teaching in general and of teaching mathematics in particular. Professor Valero was in Ireland as a keynote speaker at the 2019 Mathematics Education in Ireland conference, which was held in Dublin City University in October. This podcast will be of interest to anyone who likes to stand back from their teaching and think about the why, what and how of their work. Among the topics we discuss in the podcast are: The difference between teacher knowledge and researcher knowledge and why both need to work together Responsibilities of researchers (in education) Relevance of her work on the politics of mathematics education for teachers Why teachers’ work is inevitably political, whether or not that is acknowledged How can teachers become more aware of their political stance (from 12’06”) What it means to be a teacher-intellectual What is political specifically in

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's podcast I am joined by author Dave Rudden who created the Knights of the Borrowed Dark trilogy. Dave talks about his own writing, about teaching writing to adults and children and he discusses the bullying that was a feature of his life in post-primary school. The specific topics discussed on the podcast are: How he began writing Knights of the Borrowed Dark as a college assignment The premise of the series Who the audience for the books is His experience in the classroom and what attracts him to writing His school visits His writing practice How he learned to write and what teachers can do to help children learn to write Getting into drama and theatre to overcome shyness Getting into live storytelling in Dublin and moving onto writing short stories and then to a Masters in Creative Writing Why Terry Pratchett is a role model He also likes Irish authors Sarah Maria Griffin, Deirdre Sullivan, Catherine Doyle. The benefits of doing a masters course in creat

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. This week's podcast is a solo episode in which I riff on the topic of homework. Your feedback and thoughts on the topic and on the podcast are welcome as always. Among the topics mentioned on the podcast are the following: Is time spent on school homework a good return on investment? Overview of podcast Why teachers give homework The Goldilocks principle and setting tasks for students, both in class and for homework Why research on homework can be problematic Lessons from research that can help children benefit from doing homework The “Matthew Effect” in homework Acquiring the habit of doing homework Image of rider, elephant and path from the books Switch and The Happiness Hypothesis. I also drew on ideas from Atomic Habits in the podcast. Questions to ask your child about homework Teaching your child strategies for doing homework How teachers can make homework more interesting for children When parents and teachers provide contradictory information for children Study s

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's podcast I bring you interviews from students, teachers and organisers who attended the National Finals of Scifest 2019 in Marino Institute of Education on Friday, 22 November. Among the guests I speak to are the following: Sheila Porter, the founder and CEO of Scifest Aideen Hodgins from TU Dublin – Blanchardstown Students Ella, Eva and Willemijn from Loreto Balbriggan Students Caomhán Budhlaeir and Illann Wall from Presentation Brothers’ College, Cork Teacher Kristina Troy from Kishoge Community College Overall Winner Timothy McGrath from Killorglin Community College Former winner Aaron Hannon Eoin Gill from Waterford Institute of Technology. Rory Geoghegan

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's programme I bring you an interview with Liam Murray who is secretary of Ficheall, a network of teachers around Ireland who teach chess in primary school. Among the topics discussed and the resources mentioned are the following: Is chess a curricular or extra-curricular activity? What students learn from playing chess: developing their social, cognitive and mental fitness skills How he organises chess teaching in his own classroom, using the lesson plans on the website and adopting a “(mini-) game-based” approach Organising a school chess tournament Helping students lose and win gracefully Using a points system to decide who wins a game of chess with limited time to play Describing the game of chess (what is meant by checkmate and castling?) History of the game How chess compares to draughts How children respond to playing chess How Liam first became involved in teaching chess in schools when he was a student teaher How different children respond to learni

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's podcast I speak to Professor Nell Duke from the University of Michigan School of Education about literacy education and project-based instruction. Professor Duke was a keynote speaker at the 43rd Annual Conference of the Literacy Association of Ireland. Among the wide range of topics we discuss on the podcast and the resources mentioned are the following:   The role of project-based literacy in promoting reading and writing development The importance of purpose and audience for children’s writing Sources of project ideas: Edutopia, PBL works, Nell’s website Identifying sources of project in local communities Incorporating student voice and choice into projects Teacher preparation to design the flow of a project work with students Nell’s website – Inside Information Downloadables The importance of audience beyond teachers, parents and grandparents Working alone versus working in groups on projects At what age can children begin to work on project-based lite

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney This week on the podcast I speak to Michael Moriarty, who has been leading in education and other sectors for a number of decades, as a teacher, a principal, Head of Education and Training Boards Ireland and as CEO of a local radio station. His new book, Every Leader's Reality Guide: Strategies to Release Your True Leadership Potential has been released and it distills the lessons about leading that Michael learned through mentorship, training and self-reflection on his various roles. Among the topics we discuss on the podcast are the following: How leadership begins with self-awareness and self-reflection. How leadership in education differs to other leadership roles The source of authority How he looked to leaders he admired for inspiration Power comes from respect rather than position His experience of being bullied in post-primary school and how he learned the importance of standing up for himself Being isolated in his professional role The importance of allies and a

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's Inside Education I bring you another chance to meet with Jane Shimizu where she tells us about her participation in Science on Stage over the midterm break. We also discuss the participation of her class in the Scoil Féile Drámaíochta. From research I bring some insights around education and sleep following my reading of Matthew Walker's book, Why We Sleep. Among the topics I discuss with Jane Shimizu are the following: Her participation in the Science on Stage Festival this week in Portugal, representing Irish teachers. Getting children interested in science through space using projectiles and rockets How she makes mouse, toilet roll, air, straw and foam projectiles with her class The science and maths that can be based around foam projectiles Making predictions and recording answers to questions Using controls and the importance of fair tests How she times activities to coincide with Space Week. Sharing work with other classes and hosting a space displa

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's podcast I discuss several matters related to teacher education with Professor Ian Menter from Oxford University's Department of Education. The topics we discuss are the following: The Teacher Education Groups study of teacher education policy across the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. How England is an outlier in attempts to weaken the link between universities and schools in teacher education. Work he’s doing in Ireland with the National Institute for Studies in Education (NISE) based on collaboration across the three teacher education institutions based there. His overview of developments in teacher education across the five nations. The Teach First model of teacher education and its impact on the wider system. Teacher retention and teacher burn-out Evidence-based Teaching: Trials conducted by the Educational Endowment Foundation. The work of the Chartered College of Teaching in England, which has a remit similar to th

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's programme I bring you a special episode for Maths Week and to mark the seventh conference of Mathematics Education in Ireland held last weekend in Dublin City University's Institute of Education. First I speak to Dr. Siún Nic Mhuirí (from 1'43") from Dublin City University about the Maths4All project she's working on. Among the topics we discuss are: The Maths4All website and resources Alan Schoenfeld's Teaching for Robust Understanding (TRU) framework Challenges of developing video representations of teaching Pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching mathematics Her thoughts on this year’s Mathematics Education in Ireland conference A message about the importance of believing that maths is for all students Next I speak to Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai from the University of Reading (from 15' 51") about using picture story books to teach mathematics.We discuss the following: His goal to have mathematics picture story books used in both prim

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's programme I discuss how research can inform teaching with Professor Chris Brown from Durham University's School of Education. Professor Brown discusses his work with teachers in professional learning networks, how teachers can apply research in their schools, and the barriers to doing so. Among the topics discussed are the following: How frequently do teachers consult research to solve problems of teaching? The need to draw first on teachers’ knowledge and experience How does research add to, challenge or deepen teachers’ knowledge? The importance of teachers collaboratively engaging with and looking at research Having an “evidence champion” in a school and partnerships with higher education institutions The quality of research available to teachers (original, significant, robust methods) Different kinds of research (Stokes’s quadrant) Carol Weiss and instrumental research use, conceptual research use and symbolic research use (9’22” – 10’08") Drawing on r

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune: David Vesey My guest on the programme this week is my colleague in Marino Institute of Education and the person behind the social media identity, Little Miss Teacher. She is Clara Fiorentini and we talk about play, literacy, phonics, early years education and much more. Here are the topics we discuss and the times at which they appear.   Why she started posting on social media (1’33”) Her thoughts on the new language curriculum and her interest in literacy, especially early literacy (7’00” and 24’11”)) A typical day in her classroom (with a focus on literacy activities) Different kinds of play 12’03” The kind of stories she used in her teaching (14’35”) Phonics and literacy instruction (16’22”) Literacy in more senior classes (21’42”) The phonics programme she participated in developing, Sounds Like Phonics (23’46”) Her approach to teaching (26’48”) Returning to study for a master’s degree in children’s literature (29’50”) What schools are for 33’41” A teache

Presented and Produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week my guest on the programme is Leadership expert Professor Andy Hargreaves. Andy Hargreaves is Research Professor at Boston College, Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hong Kong University, Professor at the University of Stavanger, and Honorary Professor at Swansea University.  Over the course of our 42-minute conversation, we covered a wide range of topics, including the following: The effect of wealth inequality on people in many countries and the implications for education Negative effects the international test PISA has had on education systems and why the focus on such results is changing in some countries How the focus has now moved to matters such as identity and belonging Three things have happened which have led to a revised agenda for schools to respond to: Existing methods and strategies have become exhausted in seeking additional marginal gains on international tests People sta

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week's programme is the last for the school year 2018-19. We look at topics relating to the end of the primary school year: school tours (in a continuation of my conversation with Caitriona Cosgrave and Martin Kennedy from last week's programme), summer courses for teachers (with my colleague, Dr. Gene Mehigan), and presents for teachers (again with Martin Kennedy and Caitriona Cosgrave). I wish all listeners to the podcast a great summer. I always love to get your feedback on it by e-mail (insideeducation@dublincityfm.ie) or through Twitter. Similarly suggestions for future topics or guests are always welcome.