What is Batching? (This section is adapted from my book, The Productive Teacher ). According to business productivity expert, Michael Hyatt, batching, or batch processing is the grouping of similar tasks that require similar resources to streamline their completion. You probably batch tasks already. For example, cleaning or making freezer meals. Why is Batching a Good Idea? Batching is the extreme opposite of multitasking. To understand why batching works, it’s worth remembering why multitasking...
Sep 05, 2019•15 min
Episode 64 of The Teaching Space Podcast shares a new approach to lesson observations. Welcome Welcome to season two of The Teaching Space Podcast. I have decided to start classing each academic year’s worth of episodes as a season to make it easier to keep track of where we are with the show. I started recording the podcast back in December 2017, so I am classing the episodes between then and June 2018 (episode 27) as season 0. Episodes 28 to 63 (the last academic year) were season one. So that...
Aug 29, 2019•16 min
Episode 63 of The Teaching Space Podcast outlines a simple strategy to help teachers and trainers plan a relaxing but productive summer break. 1. Visualise First, think about where you want to be, both personally and professionally, by the end of the summer. Write it down. 2. List Next, list all of the steps you need to take to achieve that overall aim. 3. Highlight Grab a highlighter pen and mark out your top priorities. This will be helpful when you start mapping out what you will do when late...
Jul 12, 2019•10 min
Episode 62 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores time blocking as a productivity strategy. When You’re Really Busy When I am really busy and there's potential for, what I like to refer to as "a wobble", I do three things: I stop (and usually grab a cuppa). I ensure my list is totally up-to-date (in other words, that everything I need to do is on my list - if I don't know what I need to do when, I cannot get things done). I time block my days. What is Time Blocking? There are probably lots of di...
Jul 04, 2019•9 min
Introduction Today’s podcast topic is something a little different. Quite a few people have asked me what goes into making a weekly podcast, so today, I am pulling back the curtain! General Organisation I work full time so it’s necessary for me to bulk record podcast episodes during my breaks, otherwise I’d spend a considerable chunk of my weekend on podcasting. Over the past year, this has worked extremely well for me. The only downside is that I can’t react as quickly as I’d like to current to...
Jun 27, 2019•9 min
Episode 60 of The Teaching Space Podcast delves into active reading. Introduction Last year I read 100 books. I know. It’s a crazy number and it’s not something I’m planning to repeat any time soon (I chat about this in episode 47 ). While I have run no official statistical analysis on my 2018 reading list (surprised?) I’d estimate 90% were audiobooks. I’m a huge fan of audiobooks, but one downside for me, is I don’t fully absorb everything I hear. While this is usually OK for fiction, it’s some...
Jun 25, 2019•9 min
Episode 59 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores my current productivity app setup. Introduction Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I LOVE a productivity app. You’ll have heard me geeking out on this subject in episode 56 of the podcast when I interviewed Francesco D’Alessio. I want to point out that my setup changes regularly. While I do try to make most of my podcast content pretty evergreen (in other words, it does not date too much) this episode probably will date. I will likely record an upd...
Jun 07, 2019•10 min
Episode 58 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores Monday morning anxiety. Introduction Back in March I wrote an email to my TTS Extra subscribers about Monday morning anxiety. I was surprised that so many people responded to it, so I thought it would be a good idea to record a podcast episode on the topic. What is Monday Morning Anxiety? I guess for some, it is technically Sunday Night Anxiety. For me it’s a sinking feeling in my stomach, a mixed sensation of anxiety, anticipation and worry abou...
May 30, 2019•9 min
Episode 57 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores imposter syndrome. What is it? “The imposter syndrome is a psychological term referring to a pattern of behavior where people doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent, often internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.” (Psychology Today, 2018). My Recent Experience I experience imposter syndrome ALL THE TIME. This often comes as a surprise to people as I present as an extroverted person positive about their broad skill set. I’m actual...
May 23, 2019•9 min
Episode 56 of The Teaching Space Podcast discusses some tools for productivity in an interview with Francesco D’Alessio . Introduction Hello and welcome to the Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here. Thank you so much for joining me. Martine: Today I am thrilled to bring you an interview with productivity expert Francesco D'Alessio. Francesco, welcome to the show. Francesco: Hello, Martine. Yeah, good to be here. I'm very excited. Martine: Not as excited as me. I'm a bit of a fan girl. I can'...
May 16, 2019•27 min
Episode 55 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores 10 ways to deal with negative colleagues. We’ve All Been There Unless you work on your own, I am sure you can relate to the disruptive and wide-reaching effect a negative colleague can have on a team. If I reflect on my experience, I can remember a particular colleague who could walk into a room and the overall mood and feeling would drop dramatically. She didn’t have to say anything. It was a superpower! I don’t know if it was her body-language ...
May 09, 2019•9 min
Episode 54 of The Teaching Space Podcast will help you learn to prioritise self-care even when you have no time. Teachers are so Busy Teachers are the busiest people I know ( I wrote a book about it! ) The vast majority of them are awful at prioritising themselves and self-care just doesn’t form part of their day. I understand why. Our job is all about our learners. They come first every single time. I get it. The problem is this: If you do not look after yourself, you are not best placed to loo...
May 03, 2019•9 min
Hello and welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here, thank you so much for joining me. Today, I'm excited to bring you an interview with a very nice man called Andy Sammons. Martine: Andy, welcome to the show. Andy: Hi, nice to be on. Martine: It's very nice to have you here. Why don't you introduce yourself to the listeners? Andy: I've been teaching for seven or eight years in secondary school as an English teacher. I've been a main scale teacher, worked towards being a lead teac...
Apr 05, 2019•33 min
Episode 52 of The Teaching Space Podcast investigates how to get teachers excited about professional development. My Job Part of my day job role this year is heading up professional development for my College. When I took it on, I knew one challenge would to get (some) teachers excited about professional development. In this episode I will explore why teachers sometimes aren’t the most enthusiastic recipients of organised PD and what I’ve been (trying) to do to change that. The “Why” Before The ...
Mar 29, 2019•10 min
Episode 51 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the difference between equality and equity and why, as educators, we must understand both. Why This Episode? Why Now? My professional development focus for this year is equality and the promotion of diversity. I am focusing my research on trainee teachers as that’s they are the people I teach most. Working with people at the start of their teaching career might just have the most impact. I have become increasingly frustrated with the idea that pu...
Mar 21, 2019•9 min
Introduction An extract from The Productive Teacher by Martine Ellis : Teaching is the hardest job I’ve ever done. You have to play the part of the expert (because teaching feels like acting sometimes) , even if you really don’t feel you deserve it. You have to know the answers, even when you don’t. You are in charge, even when you don’t want to be. My journey into teaching wasn’t a traditional one. I left school after my A levels and worked in a variety of industries from lending to recruitment...
Mar 14, 2019•11 min
Introduction In last week’s episode ( 48 How to Start a Book Club for Educators ) I mentioned my book club’s first title choice, Atomic Habits by James Clear . It was a great read and has inspired this episode. While I will highlight my main takeaways from the book, I still recommend you read it as there is much more to it than what I will cover in ten minutes. Before we start though, let’s consider why a teacher or trainer should think about the science of habit formation. Why Should We Care Ab...
Mar 07, 2019•9 min
Introduction In the last episode ( 47 How to Make Time to Read More ) I mentioned setting up a professional development book club at my college. This week I will walk you through the process, step-by-step, hoping you might consider doing something similar. Before we delve into the practical aspects of setting up a book club, let’s consider why it’s a good idea. Why Set Up a Book Club? Towards the end of last year, I took on a new role at my college: CPD Manager and Scholarly Lead. One of my resp...
Feb 28, 2019•12 min
Here are the show notes for this episode. Introduction Last year I managed to read over 100 books. That’s a crazy number, right? This list comprised fiction (some complete trash) and non-fiction. I tend to read fiction for relaxation and non-fiction for personal and professional development. Reading is, to me, both relaxation and learning. I happened to mention how many books I read last year to a few colleagues (in a completely non-bragging way, I promise) and many were a little stunned. Quite ...
Feb 14, 2019•9 min
Episode 46 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores 30 Edtech Tools taken from a blended learning session I ran recently. Introduction This episode’s audio is taken from a video I created for a blended learning session called 30 Edtech Tools in 30 Minutes. Below you will find links to all of the tools I mentioned, as well as a copy of the Google Slides presentation I used in the session. Presentation Tools Used Loom Diigo Emoji Copy TES Teach with Blendspace Quick, Draw! Google Keep Padlet Noisli ...
Feb 07, 2019•26 min
Introduction In this episode we will explore ways teachers and trainers can improve their presentations (specifically, how they can improve their slides, we will save the communication aspect for another show). This episode considers presentation slides as just one of a teacher or trainer’s teaching tools. If you use a presentation in every teaching session, or you are overly reliant on them, I encourage you to try a session without a presentation and see how it goes (after you’ve listened to th...
Jan 31, 2019•11 min
Introduction In this episode we will explore professional learning communities, often referred to as PLCs. What Professional Learning Communities ARE They are typically (note the word “typically”): Groups of teachers or trainers, from the same organisation, gathering regularly to learn together and share good practice and ideas Led by teachers, not senior leadership Part of an organisation’s CPD schedule Led by a teacher facilitator (although the facilitator could easily change every time of the...
Jan 24, 2019•11 min
Episode 43 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the benefits of using keyboard shortcuts to improve productivity. Introduction This episode is one of those that probably works best in a written format. If you don’t normally visit the show notes for an episode, then I will insist you do so on this occasion (in the nicest way!) What Are Keyboard Shortcuts? Keyboard shortcuts are a key or combination of keys providing quick access to a specific computer function. Even if you don’t use shortcuts o...
Jan 17, 2019•10 min
Episode 42 of The Teaching Space Podcast is an interview with Kate O’Sullivan discussing how we can be more inclusive. Podcast Episode 42 Transcript Hello, and welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here, thank you so much for joining me. Today I am joined by a guest on the show. It's my great pleasure to introduce you to Kate O'Sullivan. Rather than me try to reveal the very, very large number of layers to Kate and all the amazing things she does, I'm going to ask her to introduce ...
Jan 11, 2019•31 min
Episode 41 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores some strategies to help teachers and trainers in saying “no”. Introduction This is the show I promised you in episode 37 - we will be exploring strategies for saying “no”. To avoid doubt we are focusing on saying “no” to colleagues when the right answer is “no” even though we feel like we should say “yes” and often do. Why Should We Say “No” Sometimes? If you Google “say no motivational quotes” you’ll find a whole heap of Instagram-worthy cheesin...
Dec 13, 2018•10 min
Episode 40 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores how dictation could help you cut time spent typing emails. Introduction Did you listen to Episode 33? In it, I explained my secret method for working twice as fast as anyone else… touch-typing. Did you try it? Can you already type? This episode is for those who are still struggling. It’s for those who already type at ANY speed. In short, it’s for anyone who needs to get words down quickly. So… anyone! Today’s episode is all about dictation. I was...
Dec 07, 2018•9 min
Episode 39 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores why we may need to evaluate our self-imposed standards. Introduction Shocking episode title? I hope so! Did I get your attention? Did you read it wrong? No - you did not. In today’s episode we are talking about the standards you impose upon yourself, not those imposed by your organisation or profession. It’s time to audit those standards if you are struggling to get everything done and must take work home in the evenings. If your work/life balanc...
Nov 30, 2018•9 min
Episode 38 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores some strategies and ideas on how you can concentrate more and be distracted less. Introduction One of the biggest challenges of being a teacher or trainer is that we have such small gaps of time between sessions to get non-teaching work done. As a result, we attract more interruptions than most! (Perhaps not “more”, it’s just they are condensed into a shorter space of time). We also have a tendency to get distracted easily (again, because we are ...
Nov 23, 2018•10 min
Episode 37 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores why establishing boundaries with colleagues is important and essential within working environments. Introduction In the last episode we explored setting boundaries with learners. I explained: I like to think of boundaries as positive limits. They aren’t huge walls with barbed wire on the top. They are a protective measures. Boundaries can relate relationships, physical elements and emotions. I found two great articles on this topic to help me pre...
Nov 16, 2018•10 min
Episode 36 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores why establishing boundaries with learners is essential in educational situations. Introduction In today's episode we're talking boundaries. I like to think of boundaries as positive limits. They aren’t huge walls with barbed wire on the top. They are a protective measures. Boundaries can relate relationships, physical elements and emotions. This week it's about your learners. The next episode will be all about your colleagues. Why are Boundaries ...
Nov 08, 2018•9 min
