More practice needed!
Matt and Femi talk about coaching, and how teachers working on their craft will often need to stick with a particular focus and practice it with reflection and feedback to master it.
May 16, 2026•31 min•Season 3Ep. 67
Beyond Good
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!
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Episodes
Class Reset
Matt discusses with Femi a recent conversation he had with a teacher that he supports regarding resetting a challenging class in which norms had severely slipped from previous high standards. The conversation will be of particular interest to heads of department supporting colleagues in their team.
May 09, 2026•44 min•Season 3Ep. 66
Economy of language
Matt and Femi discuss economy of language during explanations and the advantages of keeping teacher talk lean. Contact us at: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Apr 25, 2026•35 min•Season 3Ep. 65
When the new knowledge enters the room
Matt and Femi discuss a couple of really common issues that undermine teachers' ability to deliver powerful, clear and memorable explanations.
Apr 18, 2026•42 min•Season 3Ep. 64
This class doesn't retain things!
Matt and Femi discuss what to do with a comment often heard by the coffee machine... "This class doesn't retain things!" beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Apr 11, 2026•37 min•Season 3Ep. 63
Humanities Teaching with James Gisby
Matt and Femi talk to James Gisby about the challenges and intricacies of teaching History, and what good History lessons could look like.
Apr 04, 2026•44 min•Season 3Ep. 62
Effective often looks boring!
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
Mar 28, 2026•39 min•Season 3Ep. 61
Ruck speed!
Matt and Femi discuss the importance of very prompt transition moments in lessons. Reach out by emailing beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Mar 21, 2026•45 min•Season 3Ep. 60
Group PD vs Coaching
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
Mar 14, 2026•40 min•Season 3Ep. 59
Copying / Sticking in, and 'There isn't enough curriculum time'
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
Feb 21, 2026•30 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Go back and check your answers!
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.
Feb 14, 2026•29 min•Season 3Ep. 57
Femi is a convert to MWBs!
Join Femi and Matt to hear about how and why Femi has finally decided to start to use mini-whiteboards in his lessons.
Feb 07, 2026•36 min•Season 3Ep. 56
Video for Coaching
In this episode Femi and Matt talk about how incredibly useful it is to base coaching around video footage from the lesson, and go through the practicalities of doing it (what equipment, how to set up, etc.) Questions or comments? Emails us: BeyondGoodPod@gmail.com
Jan 24, 2026•44 min
My daughter's drum 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.
Dec 15, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 54
My Visit To The Totteridge Academy
Femi tells Matt about his visit to The Totteridge Academy, which he was thoroughly impressed by.
Nov 22, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 53
If you were a new T&L lead...
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.
Nov 08, 2025•54 min•Season 3Ep. 52
What's the single most important thing teachers should know?
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.
Oct 25, 2025•47 min•Season 3Ep. 51
How do I improve teaching as KS3 lead or second in department?
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.
Oct 18, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 51
Some Reflections!
Matt was in a reflective mood recently and shared a few of the things he has been working on and thinking about with Femi.
Oct 11, 2025•51 min•Season 3Ep. 50
Are we overcomplicating teaching?
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
Oct 04, 2025•44 min•Season 3Ep. 49
Class discussions...!
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
Sep 27, 2025•40 min•Season 3Ep. 48
Attention, Participation, Thought
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
Sep 20, 2025•47 min•Season 3Ep. 47
Getting Independent Working Happening in Lessons
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.
Sep 13, 2025•47 min•Season 3Ep. 46
Rachael Southern - Reading!
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.
Sep 06, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Sarah Cottinghatt - Meaningful Learning & Coaching
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
Aug 16, 2025•53 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Rows v Groups & Detentions v Conversations
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
Aug 09, 2025•42 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Characteristics of Poor Leadership
We've all experienced it! Matt and Femi lay out some of the most important characteristics of poor leadership in schools as they see it.
Aug 02, 2025•36 min•Season 3Ep. 43
"There's too much content to get through..."
Sometimes it really is a struggle to get through all the content. But there's also possibly room for improvement when that claim is used to justify not giving students adequate time for independent practice in lessons, or building in regular mixed revision consolidation lessons to the scheme of work. Matt and Femi discuss! beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Jul 26, 2025•38 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Great Teaching Unpacked - Episode 3 Review
Matt and Femi discuss episode 3 of the great Teaching: Unpacked documentary series. Watch the documentary at steplab.co/watch Get in touch: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Jul 12, 2025•45 min•Season 3Ep. 41
High Frequency Teaching Errors
Matt and Femi discuss some of the most common problems they've noticed over the course of many years of lesson visits and drop-ins. Contact us by email: beyondgoodpod@gmail.com
Jun 21, 2025•53 min•Season 3Ep. 40
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