For this episode, we’re delighted to welcome back our colleague Kerry Bevan who runs the PGCE Secondary Languages programme here at Cardiff Met. Kerry’s here to contribute to our occasional series of episodes on individual subjects in the curriculum. It’s always fun to geek out about the subject we love, and Kerry’s got plenty for us on the purpose of languages in the curriculum, what the subject looks like in the classroom, and the various issues, myths, challenges and opportunities that characterise languages as an important part of the educational experience. Thanks to Kerry for joining us, and as ever we’ll be back in a fortnight with more!——————————————Recorded in studio D0.12 at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Cyncoed Campus on 21st July 2025
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Authentic Contexts for Learning with Katie Berrisford and Elizabeth Berry
One of the principles underlying the Curriculum for Wales is that we should situate learning within authentic contexts in order to make it more meaningful. We thought it was worth digging a little more into what that might actually look like, so we convened a panel discussion for our PGCE Secondary student teachers, bringing in guests with experience of doing this from different perspectives. While logistical pressures on the day meant we weren't able to record the panel discussion live, two of our guests kindly agreed to come in front of the microphones afterwards for a chat about what we'd discussed. Katie Berrisford works for Money Ready, a charity providing financial education to young people in schools, and Elizabeth Berry is a headteacher working in a primary school in a socio-economically deprived area on the outskirts of Cardiff. Their different perspectives were really helpful to get our secondary student teachers thinking about what's possible, the benefits and the challenges of making learning authentic. Thanks to both for taking part!---------------------------------------------------------------------Recorded at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed Campus in studio B2.15 on 15th April 2025 (Katie Berrisford discussion), studio B2.10A on 11th July 2025 (final section) and at Bryn Celyn Primary School on 3rd July 2025 (Elizabeth Berry discussion).
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What Can Reflective Teachers Learn from Sport? with Professor Brendan Cropley
For this episode, we welcome back Professor Brendan Cropley, and since we’re no longer in the grip of Covid restrictions, we can actually meet face to face this time!Brendan works at the University of South Wales where his background is in sport psychology, and his particular specialism is reflective practice. Digging a little deeper into the specifics this time, we wanted to look at what the world of sport makes of reflective practice, and what that world can tell us over in education. Brendan’s got lots of clear, straightforward things for us all to think about (which is why we like to book him to speak to our students whenever we can!) and hopefully there’s something for everyone in here. —————————Recorded in studio D0.12 at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Cyncoed Campus on 22nd July 2025
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October Half Term Special 2025!
The autumn term is a long one, and to mark half-time in the long march to the Christmas break, we like to kick back with one of our 'light' episodes (though to be fair they're not always entirely light!) in which we bring some randomly-selected pieces of content with which to surprise, delight and horrify one another. Regular listeners may remember that we will be hearing less of Emma during season 8, so this is an ideal opportunity to soft-launch her 'stunt double', Sian Wickersham into a low(ish) stakes environment, so this is our first three-presenter episode. We've got a mix of hardcore educational content, musings on the personal qualities of teachers and thoughts on AI amongst other things. We hope you find something interesting in there to pass some time during the half term break. We'll be back with our normal service in two weeks' time. --------------------------------------Recorded in studio D0.12 at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed Campus on 22nd July 2025
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All About Art with Daisy Wilson and Jack Siddall
It’s time to take another dive into what makes a classroom subject tick, and this time around we’re going for art. In a slight twist to the usual format, we’ve paired a discussion with a subject specialist with an excellent example of how professional enquiry coupled with top-notch subject knowledge can lead to meaningful impact on pupils. We’re joined by Daisy Wilson from our friends at Yr Athrofa, an ITE partnership at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, to discuss what art is all about as a subject, what it’s for, and where its red lines, myths and misconceptions lie.After that, Jack Siddall, who has just graduated from our own PGCE Secondary Art & Design programme, joins us to discuss what happened when he decided to spend some time to develop an art curriculum bringing his pupils into contact with artists whose lived experiences they could identify with. Jack’s ability to avoid heavy-handed tokenism while using his in-depth knowledge of the subject to engage pupils had profound impacts on the pupils he taught, as you’ll hear in this episode. Thanks to Daisy and Jack for joining us, and we’ll be back in two weeks’ time. ——————————————Recorded in studio D0.18 on 28th November 2024 (Daisy Wilson discussion) and in studio B2.15 on 20th June 2025 (Rest of episode) at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Cyncoed Campus.
We’re Emma (PGCE Secondary Drama) and Tom (PGCE Secondary Music) from Cardiff Metropolitan University. Welcome to our podcast, in which we muse about the joys of working with student teachers, the expressive arts, research, and teaching in general. Expect deep discussions, topical debates, celebrations of great practice, and things to steal for your own lessons!
Our primary audience is student teachers and early-career teachers, but we hope there's something here for everyone who's involved in the world of education, whether you're new or experienced.
Most of our episodes involve a main discussion (often with one or more guests), and two regular slots: something interesting and something to try. And when we hit the holidays, we bring out some weird and wonderful talking points from the internet and just have a chat.
Podcast artwork by Beth Blandford (@blandoodles on Facebook and Instagram)
Music by Cameron Stewart