Thinking Deeply about Primary Education

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Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Story of Maths⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview and www.acel.pro

Episode 288: In this episode of Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I’m joined by Hannah Hogg from Dr Frost Learning to explore the role of online platforms in mathematics education.
Hannah brings the perspective of a former secondary mathematics teacher, middle school head of maths and now member of the Dr Frost Learning team. We discuss the advantages of online platforms, particularly around workload, retrieval practice, diagnostic insight, automated marking and helping teachers identify gaps in prerequisite knowledge.
But this is not a conversation about replacing the teacher with technology. We also explore the limitations of online platforms, especially for younger students, practical mathematical experiences, manipulatives, teacher explanation, classroom interaction and the human side of learning mathematics.
Across the episode, we consider how tools can support teachers without dictating pedagogy, how they might be used in primary and middle school settings, and why the most important question is not simply whether a platform saves time, but whether it helps teachers make better decisions about teaching and learning.
If you are thinking about online maths platforms, assessment, retrieval, workload, curriculum choice or the balance between technology and teacher expertise, this episode offers plenty to think about.

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For maths curriculum questions contact us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or via [email protected]
Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Story of Maths⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview and www.acel.pro

Episode 287: Formative assessment is one of those phrases everyone in education seems to recognise, but far fewer people define in the same way.
In this episode, I’m joined by Stuart Welsh to explore a recent systematic review of formative assessment in mathematics education and what it might mean for the classroom. We discuss why formative assessment should be understood as more than checking for understanding, why mini whiteboards and exit tickets only become formative when they lead to action, and why good assessment is less about gathering more information and more about making better decisions.
We also consider the role of questioning, feedback, written marking, peer discussion and digital tools, asking what it really takes to uncover students’ mathematical thinking and respond in ways that move learning forward.

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Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Story of Maths⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview
Finding my voice - https://findingmyvoice.co.uk/
Episode 287: This week I’m joined by Rachel Higginson for a wide-ranging conversation about what it might mean to offer children a genuinely human education in an increasingly artificial world.
We discuss why the rise of AI should prompt us to think not only about how technology might be used in schools, but about what kind of human capacities education now needs to protect and develop. Rachel argues that schools need to pay renewed attention to purpose, self-awareness, relatedness, autonomy, competence, dialogue and the conditions that allow young people to find and use their voice.
Along the way, we explore the relationship between oracy and self, the ideas behind Finding My Voice, the dangers of reducing oracy to a set of performative speaking techniques, and the importance of listening as a serious educational act. We also discuss cognitive science, professional judgement, disciplinary language, inclusion, social mobility, code-switching, authenticity and the role of schools as places where children can experience the kinds of human connection they may not always find elsewhere.
It is a conversation about oracy, but it is also about much more than oracy. It is about what education is for, what teachers can protect, and why the human work of schooling may matter more than ever.

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Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Story of Maths⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview
Jen and Donny - www.luminaryliteracy.co.uk
Episode 286: In this episode of Thinking Deeply about AI for Schools, James Radburn and Neil Almond explore one of the most heavily discussed areas of AI in education: AI tutors.
But before asking whether AI tutors work, they begin with a more important question: what do we actually mean by an AI tutor? Is it a pupil using ChatGPT for homework help? A carefully designed intelligent tutoring system? A curriculum-aligned tool with structured prompts and guardrails? Or a human-in-the-loop model where AI supports the work of expert teachers?
Across the conversation, James and Neil consider the promise, the evidence and the risks. They discuss research into AI-supported tutoring, the particular appeal of tutoring systems in mathematics, the importance of feedback, diagnosis and spaced retrieval, and whether AI might help pupils consolidate learning more effectively. At the same time, they raise serious questions about safeguarding, cognitive offloading, personalisation, equity, motivation, teacher expertise and the danger of treating all AI tutors as if they are the same thing.
This is not a simple pro-AI or anti-AI conversation. It is a thoughtful attempt to ask what AI tutors might actually be good for, where the hype may be running ahead of the evidence, and what schools should be thinking about before placing too much faith in the next big educational technology.

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Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Story of Maths⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview
Jen and Donny - www.luminaryliteracy.co.uk
Episode 285: In this episode of Thinking Deeply About Primary Education, Kieran is joined by Jen Sutherland and Donny Morrison to explore metacognition in writing and why it matters so much for developing young writers.
The conversation begins by clarifying the difference between cognition and metacognition before moving into what metacognitive strategies in writing actually look like in practice.
They also examine why these strategies deserve more attention in classrooms. Too often, writing becomes a product-driven exercise where students focus on finishing a piece or cramming in features rather than understanding the process of writing itself.
This is a thoughtful and practical conversation for anyone interested in improving writing instruction and helping more students see themselves as writers.