Operation Education

Telling kids to work hard doesn't work. So what does?
And can hard work actually be taught?
In this episode, Pritesh & Neena get stuck into one of their favourite topics: character education! They explore the surprisingly powerful difference between two ways of setting exactly the same homework. How can the words we use inspire pupils to go above and beyond? What should we do when pupils don't meet our expectations? And just how excited should a teacher get about a beautifully completed piece of homework?
Pritesh shares a recent classroom encounter with a pupil who flatly refused to participate. Was he right to send her out? And what happened when they spoke after the lesson?
Along the way, we discuss how to make hard work a habit, why celebrating effort matters, and why holding pupils to account is every bit as important as showing warmth.
Expect dramatic homework narrations, a few strong opinions and some questionable Christmas vocabulary…
If you're enjoying Operation Education, we'd love you to leave us a five-star review on Spotify, Apple or wherever you listen. It makes a huge difference in helping us reach more teachers. Thank you for your support!
Read more about character here:
Becoming Better People: https://bunsenblue.com/2024/12/23/becoming-better-people/
Building Culture: How to shape character through daily interactions: https://bunsenblue.com/2024/08/20/building-culture-how-to-shape-character-through-daily-interactions/
Sign up now to receive the weekly Operation Education Briefing:
One practice. One pitfall. One principle. Supporting teachers to sharpen their teaching and build extraordinary school culture.
bunsenblue.com/briefing
For high quality CPD from Pritesh (INSETs, school visits, including teaching lessons for staff to observe, coaching with groups of teachers), visit www.bunsenblue.com/cpd
Hosts: Pritesh Raichura and Neena Sharma

Operation Education is a Bunsen Blue production.

You ask and we answer! In this Q&A special, Pritesh & Neena discuss whether turn and talks should only ever be used for rehearsal or for other types of questions? If we use turn and talk, how do we know which pupils need follow-up questioning when we cannot hear every conversation? Should teachers always use high frequency questioning or are there times when it is not necessary in a lesson?
Where do mini whiteboards fit into all of this? 
We end up with a fascinating discussion about the differences in instructional / pedagogical approaches in English versus Science. 
Pritesh & Neena make a few shocking confessions along the way…
We also celebrate Operation Education's three month anniversary! Get your party hats on, people! If you're loving Operation Education, we would love for you to leave a review. Ideally more than four stars, but fewer than six stars will do. Every review helps us to reach more teachers. Thanks for all of your support!
Sign up now to receive the weekly Operation Education Briefing:
One practice. One pitfall. One principle. Supporting teachers to sharpen their teaching and build extraordinary school culture.
bunsenblue.com/briefing
For high quality CPD from Pritesh (INSETs, school visits, including teaching lessons for staff to observe, coaching with groups of teachers), visit www.bunsenblue.com/cpd
Hosts: Pritesh Raichura and Neena Sharma

Operation Education is a Bunsen Blue production.

Whether you've never used 'Turn and Talk' in your classroom before or are a seasoned expert, this episode packs in lots of practical advice for improving pupil outcomes.
If you already use Pritesh and Neena's favourite strategy (they swear by using 'Turn and Talk' 20 times or more per lesson), this episode is going to turn conventional wisdom on its head. They say 'no' to specifying which partner goes first. 'No' to 'cresting the wave' (waiting for the buzz in the room to die down as a way of knowing when to end the turn and talk). 'No' to circulating during the turn and talk to hear conversations or support a struggling pair. No, no, no. So what do they recommend instead?
Pritesh and Neena discuss when to use turn and talk and, importantly, when NOT to use it. They diagnose why it can go wrong and what to do about pupils not rehearsing sufficiently or going off-task. They go through what they do before, during and after a turn and talk.
Strap in, because this is probably the single highest-leverage technique a teacher can use to transform pupil outcomes and their experience of a lesson.
To read more about Turn and Talk see Pritesh's blog: https://bunsenblue.com/2023/12/30/turn-and-talk/
Sign up now to receive the weekly Operation Education Briefing:
One practice. One pitfall. One principle. Supporting teachers to sharpen their teaching and build extraordinary school culture.
bunsenblue.com/briefing
For high quality CPD from Pritesh (INSETs, school visits, including teaching lessons for staff to observe, coaching with groups of teachers), visit www.bunsenblue.com/cpd
Hosts: Pritesh Raichura and Neena Sharma

Operation Education is a Bunsen Blue production.

Hear Pritesh delivering a live lesson at a conference using explicit instruction (aka direct instruction), where he demonstrates delivering clear explanations, high frequency questioning & warmth. Some cool statistics about the lesson: in 12.5 minutes he asks the audience to actively participate 38 times! On average, that's an opportunity to participate every 20 seconds! That's a lot of questions... there is no room for passivity in Mr Raichura's classroom!
Neena unpicks the lesson in discussion with Pritesh. They identify and analyse four key elements: planning with granular clarity; four principles for effective explanations; when and why to use different questioning strategies; ways of flooding the classroom with warmth.
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Sign up now to receive the weekly Operation Education Briefing:
One practice. One pitfall. One principle. Supporting teachers to sharpen their teaching and build extraordinary school culture.
bunsenblue.com/briefing
For high quality CPD from Pritesh (INSETs, school visits, including teaching lessons for staff to observe, coaching with groups of teachers), visit www.bunsenblue.com/cpd
Hosts: Pritesh Raichura and Neena Sharma

Operation Education is a Bunsen Blue production.

You pose a question. The whole class responds in unison. The energy, the buzz, the feeling of success is palpable for every pupil. Pritesh and Neena discuss the power of 'Choral Response' as a questioning strategy, and contrast it with 'I say you say' from the previous week's episode. These strategies support with 'checks for listening' rather than 'checks for understanding'.
They segue into a discussion about 'no hands up' questioning policies and how they'd flip this on its head into 'all hands up' questioning. It is much more culturally powerful, they argue.
To read more about Checks for Listening check out: https://bunsenblue.com/2023/04/08/checks-for-listening-100-participation/
Sign up now to receive the weekly Operation Education Briefing:
One practice. One pitfall. One principle. Supporting teachers to sharpen their teaching and build extraordinary school culture.
bunsenblue.com/briefing
For high quality CPD from Pritesh (INSETs, school visits, including teaching lessons for staff to observe, coaching with groups of teachers), visit www.bunsenblue.com/cpd
Hosts: Pritesh Raichura and Neena Sharma

Operation Education is a Bunsen Blue production.