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The Teaching Space

Martine Ellis

The Teaching Space is a weekly, term time podcast for the teacher or trainer who wants to love their job and be an amazing teacher WITHOUT taking work home in the evenings.

  • 7 minutes 53 seconds
    An Update from Martine - April 2022

    Links I mentioned:

    19 April 2022, 2:53 pm
  • 6 minutes 20 seconds
    What's Next for the Podcast?

    Hello, it's Martine here, I am recording this towards the end of June 2021 and I wanted to give you an idea of what's on the horizon for The Teaching Space - in particular, the podcast.

    Next year is the third and final year of my masters in education - my dissertation year. I know this is going to take up a lot of my energy and focus, but I am determined to reach the end.

    The reality of this is, of course, I need to refocus my priorities a bit.

    Podcasting is so much fun - I love doing it and I think I will always be a podcaster, but the reality is that it is incredibly time-consuming. Next year, I am going to take a break from my two weekly podcasting schedule and do something a bit different.

    I am going to focus on two things for The Teaching Space.

    • Writing

    • Informal audio

    You might have noticed if you follow me on Twitter, that I have been working on my writing by doing the Ship 30 for 30 challenge. I plan to keep up the frequent production of short-form essays and will be publishing them in a variety of places including Twitter, Medium and my email newsletter.

    I'm going to experiment with informal audio over the summer - I am exploring Anchor and Racket to see what is the lowest friction.

    While it sounds like you might hear a bit less from me, in actual fact, I think you will see and hear more!

    So, here's what I'd like you to do if you want to keep up with what I am doing.

    I'm planning a break over the summer, although I will still be writing on Twitter.

    Feel free to reach out by email if you have questions: [email protected].

    Speak soon.

    Martine

    19 June 2021, 10:44 am
  • 14 minutes 50 seconds
    The Power of a Personal Weekly, Monthly and Annual Review

    Highlights

    • Notion has enabled me to conduct a yearly and monthly review consistently for the first time ever. I am also refining my weekly review process. This is the first time I have managed this behaviour consistently, and it is game changing. This is a personal review - but could easily apply to work and there is always some cross over. Undertaking personal reviews is enabling me to meet my goals. (01:13).
    • On the subject of goals, that’s where it all starts, so I am going to walk you through my process.
    • Annual review (03:09)
      • Review the year (screenshot).
      • Consider your life buckets (e.g. health, work, business, personal life, travel, money etc) and use the plus, minus, next method to reflect.
      • Identify your proudest achievement/s and biggest challenges.
      • Set goals for next year and keep them visible (screenshot).
      • You might like to set a theme or word for the year - mine is ONE.
    • Monthly review (07:50)
      • Now page - currently in Notion and template available.
      • Now page template includes goals.
      • Review: progress on my goals, achievements, what next, theme for the year update and currently reading.
      • Share!
      • Diary note for next month.
    • Weekly review (09:45)
      • Empty my quick capture inboxes (refer to episode 121).
      • Inbox Zero.
      • Plan for next week - calendar, tasks, exercise etc.
      • Clear down tasks.
      • Also an opportunity to plan meals.
      • Don’t refer back to goals but perhaps I should.
    • Everything comes together in my Notion dashboard which works as well as it does thanks to Notion Mastery. Template available (11:13).
    • Wrap up (12:33)
      • What do you do?
      • Discuss in the community.

    Helpful links

    12 June 2021, 11:07 am
  • 18 minutes 40 seconds
    Personal Knowledge Management for Teachers and Trainers

    Highlights

    • What is personal knowledge management? (00:47).
    • “Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is the practice of capturing the ideas and insights we encounter in our daily life, whether from personal experience, from books and articles, or from our work, and cultivating them over time to produce more creative, higher quality work” (Forte Labs, 2019).
    • Ness Labs creator, Anne-Laure Le Cunff describes the 5 C’s of PKM as: creation, circulation, curation, collaboration and communities (Ness Labs, 2020).
    • My interpretations of the 5 C’s (02:08):
      • creation: managing knowledge derived from learning allows the creation of new knowledge.
      • circulation: that new knowledge can be circulated/shared.
      • curation: it’s also a way to collect and curate things that make you think.
      • collaboration: collecting information in this way can lead to collaboration.
      • communities: you can share anything collected or created in communities (e.g. Twitter).
    • For me, PKM is about ensuring the content I consume is not wasted. How many times to you read or watch something and then forget it straight afterwards? (03:56).
    • While I don’t expect to learn from everything I consume (ahem.. dog videos on TikTok), if I am consuming to learn and/or generate my own content afterwards, I want to increase my chance of retention. Furthermore, from an ethical standpoint, if someone’s work influences my thinking, I want to give credit.
    • The best way to design a system for PKM is to draw it (I used Excalidraw) (05:28).
    • Work out (07:18):
      • Input: where do you consume content? (Examples: YouTube, web, academic papers, reports, Kindle, Twitter etc). Also include ideas.
      • Output: what do you want to achieve? (Examples: share notes, write blog posts/articles, write a dissertation, write a book, create a podcast etc).
    • I then divide my workflow into three levels (09:21):
      • Quick capture (temporary repository)
      • Literature notes (notes taken while consuming content)
      • Permanent notes (notes in my own words - usually atomic)
    • See diagram on show notes - loosely based on Zettelkasten.
    • Tech stack (11:39):
      • Quick capture: Drafts, Highlights and Readwise (clear weekly)
      • Literature notes: Notion (knowledge hub), Highlights and Readwise
      • Permanent notes: Obsidian (public)
    • Obsidian is my digital garden (15:20).
    • A Digital Garden is personal, but public learning space for live, interconnected notes.
    • Or, more eloquently, “A digital garden is an online space at the intersection of a notebook and a blog, where digital gardeners share seeds of thoughts to be cultivated in public” (Le Cunff, 2020).
    • Obsidian allows you to see connections between notes. Things planted in my digital garden might eventually become articles, podcasts etc (16:49).
    • Wrap up: let’s discuss in the community! (17:12)

    Helpful links

    28 May 2021, 12:52 pm
  • 16 minutes 9 seconds
    Top Tips for Mentoring a Trainee Teacher

    This episode topic was requested by Ashely in The Teaching Space Community. She said:

    "I would love to hear about the most beneficial things you can have a student-teacher do before exiting the program and teaching on their own. This is my first time having a student-teacher."

    In this podcast I am going to focus on general advice for those mentoring trainee teachers or new trainers as I do not have expertise in sectors outside of corporate and FE. To try to give a rounded response to this topic request, I also chatted to my wider Twitter network and will share some of their suggestions.

    I am mindful that this is a massive area, so will not aim to cover everything in one short episode.

    Incidentally, if you would like to join our community and help shape the podcast in the future, visit community.theteachingspace.com.

    I'm going to split this episode into three sections. First I am going to share some of the helpful information I got from Twitter about mentoring trainee teachers. Then I will share some previous podcast episodes that I think will be helpful. Finally, I will share some tips from my own experience, having mentored several trainee teachers in FE and also candidates doing QTLS and ATS.

    Highlights

    From Twitter (03:06)

    Nikki on Twitter (@nikkitel) said:

    "I encourage them to consider their mental health from the outset and to understand that it’s ok to not know everything. I try to help them realise that if they don’t feel that they excel, it’s only for now. They don’t excel yet."

    This reminded me of Carol Dweck's "the power of yet".

    I completely agree with considering mental health from the outset - remember your oxygen mask.

    Andy on Twitter (@guruteaching) shared an article on the topic he wrote, which I will include in the show notes.

    One thing I loved about Andy's article is his point about showing your trainee how far they've come. Andy said:

    "Finally, it helps for our trainees to see not just where they are going, but also where they have been. It’s too easy for them to be uber-busy, planning lessons, dealing with behaviour incidents, giving feedback and learning new subject knowledge for tomorrow’s lesson. Sometimes, they simply can’t see the progress that they’re making. Set aside some time to step back with them and with a smile on your face, show them how they have grown since the beginning of the course."

    Chase on Twitter (@chasemitsuda) said it boils down to starting with empathy and share a great Brene Brown video that I will include in the show notes. He also said:

    "Also believing that we are all learners, and teachers who have just started their careers have so much to offer, including fresh perspectives."

    Finally, Jonathon on Twitter (@jonmedeiros) said, as mentors we can:

    "help foster curiosity, self reflection, and adjustment as natural and important skills."

    Useful Podcast Episodes (07:27)

    I'm going to share and comment on a few recent episodes of the podcast that will help anyone mentoring trainees now in the future. Don't forget, you might need some professional development in order to fulfil the role of mentor effectively - some of these episodes will be helpful in this area.

    I'll mention episode numbers - all you need to put in your browser is theteachingspace.com followed by / and the episode number in digits. There are also links in the show notes.

    Following on from Nikki's wise mental health guidance mentioned a the start, it would be worth listening to my recent interview with Guernsey Mind's Chris Chamberlain (113). You could listen to help support your trainee better in this area - you could also recommend your trainee has a listen.

    My interview with Joanne Miles about coaching is a must-listen - it is episode 104. Mentoring and coaching are on a spectrum and you are likely to need to be a mentor some of the time and a coach at other times. Understanding the difference between both approaches is key in giving your trainee what they need from you.

    Episode 107 is an interview with Vanessa Mee who shares top tips for newly qualified teachers. Some of the tips Vanessa shares could easily apply to trainee teachers, such as time blocking, looking after yourself as a priority and planning to do less in the classroom (so the students do more).

    Episode 103 is about managing emails. Often, trainees become overwhelmed with the admin aspect of teaching, so being in a position to support and advise them in this aspect of their teacher role is essential.

    Similarly, episode 98 is my most recent time blocking episode - it is worth a listen so you can support your trainee to manage their time.

    My Tips (10:38)

    1. Establish boundaries and expectations in the mentor/mentee relationship but also around work/study/life balance.
    2. Be available.
    3. Model, model, model.
    4. Facilitate.
    5. Encourage community participation.
    6. Encourage the use of research.
    7. Help them establish their teacher identity.

    Helpful links

    15 May 2021, 8:20 am
  • 53 minutes 54 seconds
    Leading Your Own Professional Development An Interview with Elizabeth Hutchinson

    Highlights

    • Introducing Elizabeth Hutchinson (01:03).
    • Elizabeth shares some recent PD that had a big impact on her (03:00).
    • Organising PD is great PD (05:58).
    • Elizabeth talks about her own approach to PD previously and now (08:46).
    • The Twitter chat that started everything… Library Staff Love Learning (11:00).
    • Martine talks about how the podcast helps her PD (19:04).
    • The changing landscape of PD - creating your own opportunities (20:28).
    • On Clubhouse (21:03).
    • The challenges of leading your own PD - find your focus, find the time (22:50).
    • The benefits of finding your own PD - finding your purpose, opening doors and finding your clan (28:42).
    • On career paths…. (34:30).
    • Workload and PD - bite-sized PD (36:25).
    • Logging your PD (46:46).
    • Final thoughts (51:43).
    • Find Elizabeth online (52:29).

    Thanks

    Thanks to Elizabeth for returning to the show and being an awesome guest.

    Helpful links

    1 May 2021, 6:51 am
  • 21 minutes 35 seconds
    A Teacher's Guide to EduTwitter

    Thanks to Daniela, who is a member of The Teaching Space Community, for suggesting this episode topic.

    You can join the community at community.theteachingspace.com.

    This topic has been influenced by my own experience as well a number of articles I read on the topic. I will link to the articles in the show notes which you will find at theteachingspace.com/118.

    This episode will focus on teachers using Twitter for their own purposes rather than using it with students.

    Highlights

    What is EduTwitter? (02:50)

    • Educators on Twitter who generally use EduTwitter as a hashtag.

    Positives (03:43)

    • It's a great way to connect with people from all over the world working in similar, or entirely different areas of education to you.
    • Building your network in this way can lead to job offers! (Remember AJ from episode 114?)
    • You can engage in interesting, topical discussions, get help, advice and help.
    • You can stay current by knowing what is being discussed in education right now.
    • It's an easy way to find links to interesting articles, podcasts, research, events etc.
    • Event hashtags are fab.
    • It's free PD (although often we forget to log it).
    • It's a great way to try publishing content e.g. tweetstorms.

    Negatives (08.27)

    • Twitter is a 'social' media platform - invariably you will end up using it for work purposes during social time. This is a boundary that needs consideration.
    • If you are tweeting professionally, you need to consider your employer's viewpoint.
    • On self-promotion.
    • Discussions can turn nasty... not often, but they can.

    EduTwitter Wellbeing Strategies (11:43)

    • It's all about boundaries. Think about how and when you will engage in Twitter conversation. Who will you be? Is yours a teaching only feed or a mix?
    • Think twice before participating in certain discussions e.g. isolation booths, 'prog' v 'trad' teachers, certain behaviour topics etc.
    • If you are going to participate and disagree, try to 'attack' arguments rather than the people making them (see Greg Ashman's article).
    • Carefully curate your feed, consider your 'bubble' - don't just follow your sector or people who look at sound like you.
    • Find hashtags of interest and check those and also use them.
    • Participate in Twitter chats.
    • Remember people often only show their 'best bits'.
    • If you need a break, remove the app from your phone.
    • Don't be afraid to unfollow people.
    • Mute words.
    • Be human.

    Final Thoughts (20:33)

    Treat Twitter as a community but ensure your boundaries are in place. And give me a follow if you're there or joining: MartineGuernsey.

    Helpful links

    17 April 2021, 5:06 am
  • 49 minutes 18 seconds
    Talking Teacher Wellbeing An Interview with Parm Plummer

    Highlights

    • Introducing Parm (00:40).
    • Why Parm thinks teacher wellbeing is at an all-time low (02:22).
    • Martine on boundaries (04:00).
    • Switching to online teaching (05:30).
    • Teachers as perfectionists (06:15).
    • The unseen pressure on women due to Covid (07:10).
    • Living alone on an island and working in education (08:40).
    • The stress epidemic (09:30).
    • Unique challenges in teaching (10:30).
    • Guernsey and Ofsted (14:55).
    • The pressure of always being "on" (16:20).
    • Dropping standards just a tiny bit (17:10).
    • Parm on presenteeism (19:20).
    • Trust, professionalism and the need for a culture of flexibility (24:00).
    • How leadership is changing (25:40).
    • The need for flexibility in leadership (28:01).
    • Could the pandemic help flexible working become more accepted? (28:45).
    • Zoom fatigue... a few tips (29:57).
    • Asynchronous versus synchronous learning online (31:27).
    • Ways to prioritise and increase our wellbeing (33:00).
    • Being able to talk about your mental health is a strength (36:45).
    • Be mindful of the impact of Covid when you deal with colleagues (43:30).
    • About WomenEd (44:38).

    Thanks

    Thanks to Parm for being such an interesting and generous guest.

    Helpful links

    4 April 2021, 6:03 am
  • 14 minutes 35 seconds
    How to Remember What You Read

    Highlights

    Introduction

    • In my teaching practice I am always aware of the need for my learners to regularly engage with material I am teaching them to embed it in their long-term memory. It’s also important they practice retrieval in order to remember (00:40).
    • Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve in under 2 minutes (01:17).
    • Something I have realised while studying my master’s in education is that I don’t pay enough attention to this with my own learning - particularly with what I read. So I did some research and tried a few techniques to help me remember what I read. I will share my approach in this episode (01:55).

    Materials in Focus

    • This episode focuses non-fiction rather than fiction, and ‘real books’ rather than audiobooks (03:10).
    • 12 non-fiction book target for 2021 (04:32 ).

    How I Remember What I Read

    • Highlighting is great but not enough - highlights must be revisited (05:57).
    • Add annotations to highlights - what does this highlight mean, why did you highlight it and how is the idea interesting or useful to you? (08:04).
    • Send highlights to Readwise and use spaced repetition via email (09:55).
    • Use a tool like Notion to manage your notes, annotations and highlights. For example I have: (10:27)
      • A reading database (each entry includes author details, progress etc and for academic reading the original PDF, annotated PDF and bibliographic details).
      • A Readwise database (linked to my notes and reading databases).
      • A notes database.
    • Write a book summary (11:25).
    • Consider a three sentence summary in the style of James Clear (11:57).
    • Summary (12:58).

    Helpful links

    20 March 2021, 10:49 am
  • 18 minutes 8 seconds
    How Teachers and Trainers Can Avoid Decision Fatigue

    Highlights

    Introduction

    • Making decisions uses considerable mental energy which is limited (00:42 ).
    • Decision fatigue is real (00:52).
    • Educators make a lot of decisions - some significant - so it is definitely worth looking at ways to minimise the number of small decisions we make daily, to reserve energy for the big ones (01:42).

    Small Decisions

    • Time for a brain dump (01:58).
    • List the small decisions you have to make every day. Examples (02:19):
      • What to eat for lunch/dinner.
      • When to each lunch/dinner.
      • What time to wake up and go to bed.
      • What to do at the gym.
      • What to wear to go to the gym.
      • What to wear to work.

    What Can You Automate, Delegate or Eliminate?

    • Automate: make automatic, or at least systematised (03:10).
    • Delegate: perhaps to a partner, family member, friend or professional service provider (03:31).
    • Eliminate: get rid of completely! (03:48)

    Automate

    • Fully automatic: social media, direct debits, comment bank (05:19).
    • Systematised: podcast workflow (Notion template), shopping list (Bring), The Teaching Space Extra (08:00).

    Delegate

    • Gardening, cleaning and meal planning (Hello Fresh) - I fully acknowledge my privilege in being able to do this (10:33).
    • Skill swap with friends or family - just ask! I now have a new podcast interview editor… (12:03).

    Eliminate

    • To eliminate decisions entirely, form habits (e.g. gym every day etc). Check out habits podcast episode theteachingspace.com/49, as well as James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits (13:34).
    • Examples: wake up time (see the sleep episode theteachingspace.com/109), clothing (like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama!) (14:22).
    • Community example: Bob’s robot mower and mulcher (16:05).

    Postpone?

    • Sometimes it is better to postpone (16:45).

    Over to You

    • What about you? Let’s chat in the community (17:15 ).

    Helpful links

    6 March 2021, 9:11 am
  • 52 minutes 14 seconds
    Productivity for Teachers and Trainers An Interview with AJ Smith

    Highlights

    • Introducing AJ Smith (00:40).
    • On AJ's switch from secondary to primary (01:16).
    • On my switch from finance to education (08:00).
    • How I "met" AJ... spoiler - it's YouTube (10:05).
    • Starting to talk about Notion (10:53).
    • One trust place for everything (12:50).
    • Productivity challenges for teachers (13:24).
    • Finding the Notion community (20:45).
    • What is Notion? (22:47).
    • AJ's Notion setup (24:00).
    • Using Notion to improve your mental health (28:53).
    • How using Notion makes you a better person (!) (32:42).
    • The quick capture/inbox concept (35:20).
    • The second brain (38:20).
    • Is there a danger that we will collect too much information? (43:30).
    • Curate with an action attached (46:11).
    • AJ on YouTube (47:00).

    Thanks

    Thanks to AJ for being such an interesting and engaging guest.

    Helpful links

    20 February 2021, 8:35 am
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