CogSciSci enters the world of podcasts!
Members of the CogSciSci community will be discussing all things cognitive science and teaching & learning with Shelley Parry and Rachel Wong.
Contact us if you are interested in being a guest: podscisci@gmail.com
Rachel Oxburgh interviews Claudia Allan, Gareth Bates, Haili Hughes, Carl Hendrick, Elizabeth Mountstevens, Sarita Sharma, and Bill Wilkinson at the CogSciSci conference, exploring topics such as retrieval practice and supporting students.
It's been so exciting to hear from four more speakers who will be sharing their wonderful knowledge and experience in the upcoming CogSciSci conference! Check out this episode to get a flavour of what's to come - and make sure you listen to episode 1 as well!
Get your tickets NOW using this link here (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cogscisci-2025-surrey-tickets-1259167667389). See you there in Weybridge on 30 May!
With our annual conference coming up soon, we spent some time asking some of the speakers to share with us briefly what their talks are about and why they're passionate about their topic of choice. This episode gives you a sneak peek of what's to come - It got us really excited about the conference and we hope you would too! Keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for the second episode where we will interview more speakers in the next two weeks...
CogSciSci Surrey 2025 is on Friday 30 May 2025. Remember to get your ticket ASAP using this link here (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cogscisci-2025-surrey-tickets-1259167667389). See you there!
19 Dec 2024
Meaningful learning with Sarah Cottinghatt
Rach and Rachel are joined by Sarah Cottinghatt, keynote speaker at May’s CogSciSci conference, teacher educator and author of Ausbel’s Meaningful Learning in Action. Sarah talks about the importance of the way in which we learn (meaningfully or by rote) in determining the type of forgetting that inevitably follows (better forgetting happens when we learn meaningfully!). We discuss with her what we as teachers can do to facilitate meaningful learning in our classrooms and help our students form memories that last (rather than disappear by next lesson!).
Useful resources:
Sarah’s book on Ausubel’s theory of meaningful learning: https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/ausubels-meaningful-learning-in-action (https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/ausubels-meaningful-learning-in-action)
Sarah’s blog: https://overpractised.wordpress.com/ (https://overpractised.wordpress.com/)
To know more about CogSciSci:
Follow us on Twitter/X
Check out our website (https://cogscisci.wordpress.com/)
Join our Discord server - code: vYwvXE6Bjr
18 Apr 2024
Rehearsal with Pritesh Raichura
Shelley and Rach are joined by Pritesh Raichura, Assistant Principal of T&L at Ark Soane Academy. Pritesh is well-known for his exceptional classroom routines, including great use of Turn & Talk and 'All Hands Up' and in this episode, shares his knowledge and experience of rehearsal. Rehearsal is a powerful tool which can be used to encode concepts into long term memory and build fluency in our students' understanding.
Useful resources include:
Bunsen Blue (Pritesh's blog) - Turn & Talk (https://bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2023/12/30/turn-and-talk/ )
Bunsen Blue - Three Phases of Questioning (https://bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2023/04/22/the-three-phases-of-questioning/comment-page-1/)
Tom Sherrington - Rehearsal first, retrieval practice later (https://teacherhead.com/2022/01/16/rehearsal-first-retrieval-practice-later-an-important-distinction/)
Elaborative rehearsal (https://www.verywellhealth.com/elaborative-rehearsal-a-better-way-to-memorize-98694 ) (not education specific!)
To know more about CogSciSci:
Follow us on Twitter/X (https://x.com/cogscisci)
Check out our website (https://cogscisci.wordpress.com/)
Join our Discord server - code: vYwvXE6Bjr
Come to our annual conference on Friday 31 May in St Albans School (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cogscisci-2024-st-albans-tickets-828430918177)
5 Apr 2024
Homework with Jo Castelino
In this episode, Shelley and Rach chat to a pirate in Hogwarts (Dr Jo Castelino) about all things homework - what does 'effective' homework look like, and why will it be different in every school? And how can you begin to build a culture of homework in your school / department? This is a fun but informative episode which will motivate you to consider what homework looks like for your classes.
CogSciSci St Albans is fast approaching on 31st May - not many tickets remaining! Discounted tickets are available for early career teachers. Click here to buy your ticket! (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cogscisci-2024-st-albans-tickets-828430918177)
And CogSciSci now has Discord! Join the conversation here. (https://discord.gg/dzTcZNpgHV)
Other useful links include:
Jo's blog - Dr C's Science Classroom (https://drcastelino.wordpress.com/)
EEF guidance on homework (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/homework)
The HeadTeacher article - Homework: Let's end the debate (https://www.theheadteacher.com/attainment-and-assessment/teaching-practice/homework-lets-end-the-debate)
Keep an eye out on Jo's new book 'The Homework Conundrum: How to stop the dog from eating homework' - follow Jo on Twitter/X to know more! (https://x.com/Dr_Castelino)
14 Feb 2024
Mixed ability teaching with Bill Wilkinson
After a long break, Shelley and Rach are back, chatting to Bill Wilkinson about mixed ability teaching and SEND provision in Science. They consider the Education Endowment Foundation evidence on setting and streaming, navigating the dreaded tier decisions at KS4 and breaking down 'microbarriers', bearing in mind the important accessibility concept of 'essential to some, useful for all'.
CogSciSci are also very excited to announce their next conference which will take place at St Albans School on 31st May, and we are looking for speakers (https://cogscisci.wordpress.com/2024/02/08/cogscisci-st-albans-2024/ ). Tickets are available here (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cogscisci-2024-st-albans-tickets-828430918177).
Other useful links include:
The Pygmalion Effect (https://thelearningforlifepartnership.com/410/the-pygmalion-effect-having-high-expectations-of-everyone )
EEF evidence on setting and streaming (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/setting-and-streaming )
Bill's Threads account (https://www.threads.net/@drwilkinsonsci)
Hodder Education - Springboard: KS3 Science (https://www.hoddereducation.com/springboard?campaignid=1774643996&adgroupid=71691567480&adid=549100420956&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoKeuBhCoARIsAB4WxtdwCFh7gVchbmqByvXbRl3E-Ggc_TOFMaMzqAuJbx14-Lf1qS6H66waAtwTEALw_wcB) (not sponsored)
23 Nov 2023
Rosenshine's Principles #3: Independent practice with Adam Robbins
In our final episode in the Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction mini-series, Shelley and Rach chat to Adam Robbins, the current Managing Editor of CogSciSci and the guy who makes the conferences happen! They discuss the need for independent practice, the conditions needed for it to be effective and, of course, SLOP (Shed Loads of Practice).
Some relevant links include:
Frederick Reif's book 'Applying Cognitive Science to Education' (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4fY3EAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Daniel Willingham's 'Why Student's Don't Like School' (https://my.chartered.college/research-hub/why-you-should-read-why-dont-students-like-school-by-daniel-t-willingham/)
CogSciSci training modules on writing SLOP (https://cogscisci.wordpress.com/modules/ )
Shelley's Biology booklets with SLOP (https://teachingunderthemicroscope.wordpress.com/gcse-biology/)
Variation theory by Craig Barton (https://variationtheory.com/rule/)
9 Nov 2023
Rosenshine's Principles #2: Check for understanding with Deepika Narula
Following on from the first episode in the Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction series, in this episode the focus is 'Checking for Understanding'. Shelley and Rach chat to Deepika Narula about the importance of checking for understanding, and ensuring our students are 'learning with fewer errors'. Strategies discussed include diagnostic questions and BEST resources, cold calling for sampling, probing questions and the logistics of mini whiteboards.
Some relevant links to this episode:
Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction in Action (https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/rosenshines-principles-in-action)
Harry Fletcher Wood's 'Responsive Teaching' (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Responsive-Teaching-Harry-Fletcher-Wood/dp/1138296899)
Pritesh Raichura's blog - checks for listening vs. checks for understanding (https://bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2023/04/08/checks-for-listening-100-participation/)
23 Oct 2023
Rosenshine's Principles #1: Effective explanations with Tom Millichamp
Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction have become commonplace in T&L CPD over the last few years. Over the next three episodes, we will be considering the Principles in three blocks - effective explanations, checking for understanding and independent practice.
In this episode, Shelley and Rach chat to CogSciSci regular Tom Millichamp, a Lead Practitioner of Science in the Midlands. They discuss the importance of activating prior knowledge, what effective delivery looks like in the classroom (hint: there will be talk about visualisers and booklets) and the role of rehearsal in helping students to encode the new knowledge.
Lots of relevant links to today's episode, as follows:
Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction
Tom Sherrington's 'Rosenshine's Principles in Action' book
Springboard KS3 Science
Sarah Cottingham's book
Tom's blog
Shelley's GCSE Biology booklets
CogSciSci's Library of explanations
Jo Castelino's blog on rehearsal/giving them time to think
13 Sept 2023
Pocket Pedagogy - Ratio with Adam Boxer
Doug Lemov's concept of 'ratio' is absolutely essential in our classrooms, yet still goes under the radar in many INSET / CPD programmes in schools.
This week, Shelley and Rach are joined by Adam Boxer, who has written extensively and delivered webinars on the idea of ratio in the past. They discuss what is meant by ratio and what it looks like in the classroom, challenges that you may encounter when trying to increase ratio in your classroom, as well as some tips for HoDs/LPs looking to develop this within their team.
PS. We promise that Shelley is a competent Biology teacher...
Links / References:
Teach Like A Champion 2.0 by Doug Lemov
A Chemical Orthodoxy (https://achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2020/02/09/ratio/) by Adam Boxer
31 Aug 2023
Back to School
As August comes to an end, Shelley and Rachel join teachers around the country in trying to get their heads back in the game, and setting some goals for the term ahead.
Topics discussed include starting at a new school, participation ratio, effective revision strategies, and looking after our wellbeing!
Some blogs/reading discussed in this episode:
Pritesh Raichura - Hands up for guaranteed results
Adam Boxer - Ratio and What could I have done differently?
James Mannion - The learning Skills Curriculum
27 Jul 2023
CogHiHi!
Welcome to our first episode of PodSciSci! We are Shelley and Rachel, two Science teachers who are part of CogSciSci - a group of science teachers passionate about sharing and discussing research-based pedagogy.
In this episode, we talked about who we are, what CogSciSci is and how we got into the group.
Get in touch to let us know what you think and if you're interested in being on the podcast in future episodes! Email us at podscisci@gmail.com
Check out CogSciSci resources (as mentioned in the episode) at cogscisci.wordpress.com and @cogscisci on Twitter.
Who has been a guest on PodSciSci
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Claudia Allan
Gareth Bates
Haili Hughes
Carl Hendrick
Elizabeth Mountstevens
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 28 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
29
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
68
Contact PodSciSci
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of PodSciSci?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
