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© 2026 Beyond Good
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A podcast about teaching. We discuss teaching and learning, pedagogy, lessons and classroom practise, management and leadership, teaching of mathematics, training and trainees, mentors and mentoring, behaviour management, being a head of department and running a faculty, SLT and much much more!
146 Episodes
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Matt and Femi talk to James Gisby about the challenges and intricacies of teaching History, and what good History lessons could look like.
Matt and Femi discuss why effective learning can often look somewhat boring from the outside, and why that can sometimes be problematic in schools. beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Matt and Femi discuss the importance of very prompt transition moments in lessons. Reach out by emailing beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Matt and Femi discuss the pros and cons of group / whole staff PD vs the somewhat more time-consuming approach of coaching, considering how to leverage each one for it's strengths and the symbiosis between the two different approaches. Get in touch! beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Matt and Femi discuss two topics in this episode - the first is whether there is any merit in having students copy things down into exercise books, or even cutting them out and sticking them in. The second is the complaint one occasionally hears that there is too much to get through / not enough curriculum time and therefore we don't have the 'luxury' of doing any retrieval practice. Share your thoughts with us: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Matt and Femi discuss the common situation of encouraging students to go back and check their work once they've done all they can on an exam or test paper.
Join Femi and Matt to hear about how and why Femi has finally decided to start to use mini-whiteboards in his lessons.
Femi relays some very concrete pedagogical observations from his daughter's drum lessons which apply equally well to teaching students in every day subject lessons in school. Matt and Femi will be taking a little break over the Christmas period and wish all listeners a restful break over the holidays. The next episode will be released mid-January.
1Femi tells Matt about his visit to The Totteridge Academy, which he was thoroughly impressed by.
Following their visit to Copleston High School, Matt and Femi discuss how they would each approach a hypothetical situation of being a newly appointed VP in charge of teaching and learning: How would they get started and what would they be trying to achieve in the first few months.
Matt and Femi reflect on what they would say if asked the question "What's the single most important thing teachers should know?", and in the end come up with 3 things between them.
Matt and Femi respond to a listener question about steps to improve the quality of teaching in their department as a new KS3 lead or second in department.
Matt was in a reflective mood recently and shared a few of the things he has been working on and thinking about with Femi.
Prompted by listener feedback, Femi and Matt explore the idea that when it comes to teaching we are making something simple more complicated than it needs to be. Get in touch by emailing us: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Matt and Femi discuss what comes to mind when one hears a teacher say "We had a great discussion today about ...". Contact us by emailing beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Femi and Matt discuss the utility, pros, and cons of looking at lessons through a simple 'attention, participation, thought' lens, discuss other approaches to diagnosis, ask if we are over-complicating things, and consider an alternative lens focussed on creating conditions for independent practice. Contact us at: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Matt and Femi discuss the importance of quiet independent practice for students, and get into the challenges and preconditions for getting this happening in lessons.
Matt and Femi catch up with Rachael Southern two years after her first appearance on the pod and she shares her knowledge around improving reading and thoughts about leading on it whole-school.
Author, teacher, trainer, and expert coach Sarah Cottinghatt joins Matt and Femi to discuss her book 'Ausubel's Meaningful Learning in Action', and coaching! Follow Sarah's Coaching Cuts on Substack: https://cognitivecoaching.substack.com/ Contact the pod: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
In this double episode Matt and Femi explore the arguments for students sitting in rows facing the front vs sitting around tables in groups, and then turn their attention to the issues around the effectiveness of issuing detentions vs a prompt and stern conversation with the student. As always please send your thoughts to beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
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