Show Notes
In this episode, we chat about daily review with David Morkunas, current head of teacher efficacy at Brandon Park Primary School, previously a teacher at Bentleigh West Primary School.
David Morkunas is a primary school teacher from Melbourne and currently works at Brandon Park Primary School, where his role is to help support whole school improvement in maths. David first made a name for himself by speaking about the importance of Daily Review at conferences, including Sharing Best Practice and ResearchED. David is a fierce advocate for evidence-based teaching and learning, with a particular interest in how knowledge is transferred to long-term memory.
Bill first met David as a graduate teacher while running the Bentleigh West Primary School Study Tour for South Australian educators, and he and David have remained in touch since.
Show notes
In this episode, Michael and Bill talk with David about something very close to all our hearts – review. Anybody working in the explicit (direct) instruction and evidence-informed instruction space has become familiar with the importance of deliberately planned and scheduled review of previously learned material. For educators new to review, it’s a case of “Where have you been all my life?” Once maligned as non-progressive ‘rote learning’ or ‘drill and kill’ in teaching circles, review has come back to classrooms with a vengeance, and teachers are seeing the difference in student learning outcomes. Review is strongly supported by evidence and features in Barak Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction. We cover a wide range of topics and ideas in this episode. David mentions EDI (Explicit Direct Instruction) as an instructional method used at his previous school, Bentleigh West Primary School. The conversation moves to the role of review for transferring new information into long-term memory. Bill mentions a Research Ed talk by Emeritus Professor John Sweller (the father of Cognitive Load Theory), which discusses the narrow limits of change principle, a master stroke of evolution which made working memory a protective mechanism for long-term memory due to its extremely limited ability to deal with novel information, thus making it very difficult for new information to change long term memory without multiple repetitions. Shortly after, David mentions Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve, a famous model teachers use to explain the importance of spaced reviews to lessen the rate at which newly learned information degrades over time after being first learned (flatten the curve of forgetting). The importance of gaining and holding student attention first and foremost is discussed, and David mentions an episode of the ERRR podcast where the importance of having students pay attention is discussed and how this supersedes any other instructional/pedagogical considerations. OCHRE Education gets a few mentions from as a source of materials schools can use if they aren’t building their teaching materials in-house. The difference between active review and students just reciting what is on a screen is discussed. David explains that students must actively pull something (retrieving) from long-term memory in active review. This distinction is explored, and David mentions a conversation with Ingrid Sealey from Teach Well that changed some of his thinking on how to structure the review. Spaced retrieval apps are mentioned as a way for us (grownups) to learn new things. One such app is Anki, which both David and Bill have used. Next, the question of when to review is tossed around, and David, Michael and Bill search for the holy grail – some rule of thumb or algorithm that tells us when the best time to review information is. Bill talks about how, in the Playberry Laser Literacy Program, he and his colleagues are always thinking about how to achieve the review sweet spot. Success comes up as the driver of student attention and genuine motivation
More from Dyscastia
In this episode, I chat with Dr Shae Wissell. Shae is an award-winning advocate and entrepreneur specialising in dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions. We talk about what happens after students living with learning difficulties leave school and we become adults! We cover
In this episode, I'm joined by Brisbane-based psychologist Leanne Tran to talk about how to look after your own mental health as the parent of a child living with disability. We work through the journey as a timeline covering five stages. The pre-diagnosis worry and anxiety, receiving the diagnosis and working through the guilt and adjustment that comes with it, navigating the school system as an advocate without burning yourself out, managing the stress of school results that don't reflect your child's effort, and eventually letting go and handing over independence when they are ready. Leanne draws on 20 years of working with families and brings really practical, grounded advice to each stage. For more detailed show notes, visit the Dyscastia website.
In this episode, I’m joined again by clinical psychologist Valli Jones to talk about the mental health issues she most commonly sees in children and young people living with learning difficulties. We framed the conversation as a “top five”, not to rank problems, but to help parents and educators feel less alone and better able to recognise patterns in what they’re seeing. We talk about anxiety and school can’t, emotional and behavioural dysregulation, social difficulties and isolation, family stress and major life changes, and why some families seek a second opinion after earlier assessments. Throughout the episode, Valli shares practical insights drawn from her day-to-day clinical work. For more detailed show notes, visit the Dyscastia website.
Why Word Problems Are So HardIn this episode, I talk with intervention teacher Sue Griffith about why word problems in maths are especially difficult for students living with learning difficulties, including dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and autism. We explore how language, ambiguity and working memory overload can block understanding, and share structured strategies like CUBES and C.O.P.P.E.R. to support clearer problem solving. Full show notes, resources and some bonus content, ↗ https://dyscastia.com/episodes/episode-21-why-maths-word-problems-are-so-hard/
In this episode, I am joined by Sharon Collon from The Functional Family. We discuss ADHD coaching and how it works to support students living with ADHD, their teachers and families. We focus on practical strategies for supporting executive function, increasing engagement, dealing with emotions, and solving predictable problems. Sharon is an award-winning, credentialed ADHD Coach & Parent Consultant (who is families trained). She is passionate about helping families navigating ADHD create joyful, functional lives with ADHD. She loves anything that makes life easier with ADHD! Her husband and her three sons all live with ADHD (throw in some Autism, Tourettes, ODD, OCD, SPD and SLD too). As well as Sharon’s lived experience, she has been researching ADHD for over 17 years, studied at ADDCA in New York and is PCC credentialed with the International Coaching Federation. Sharon has runs on the board, assisting over 40,000 families since The Functional Family was created. Sharon has won multiple awards, including Business Awards – Outstanding Education Service, AusMumpreneur – Disabled Business Excellence, People’s Choice Leadership, People’s Choice Making a Difference and the Cook’s Community Award.Sharon lives in Southern Sydney and enjoys being near the sea, spending one-on-one time with her boys and her two boxer dogs… who are more like living cartoon characters than dogs. Are you interested in working with Sharon? Book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with Sharon HERE. During this call, Sharon will learn more about you and provide information about what services best suit your needs. Show notes I invited Sharon on because ADHD and learning difficulties often go hand in hand, with around 40% of people living with ADHD also living with dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia. We know that attention, attitude and positive relationships have a significant impact on learning outcomes, particularly for students living with learning difficulties. Sharon shares some fantastic strategies for engaging students and supporting their (and our) mental health. What does an ADHD coach do? We start by looking at what ADHD coaching covers. It’s about making day-to-day life easier for students living with ADHD and their families and teachers. That includes things like time awareness, transitions, getting started on tasks, and building routines that actually work. Coaching is not therapy. It’s focused on how you make practical day-to-day activities easier.One of the big ideas in Sharon’s work is “predictable problems.” These are the same kinds of friction points that show up every day like getting dressed, brushing teeth, leaving the house and doing homework.The example Sharon gives about the toothbrush is a great one. The assumption was that it was a sensory issue. But it turned out the real problem was needing to go back upstairs after breakfast. The solution? Move the toothbrush downstairs. Done. Co-designing solutions A big part of Sharon’s process is co-designing solutions with the child. When students living with ADHD have a say, they often come up with smart ideas, and they’re more likely to stick with them if they’ve been part of designing the solution. You’ll hear us talk a lot about building autonomy and doing the planning when everyone is regulated. Not during the heat of the moment. What do Pinball Flippers have to do with ADHD? Sharon also explains her brilliant “Pinball Flippers Open / Closed / Neutral” model. It’s a way to quickly understand what state a student is in and how to respond. When a brain is open, it can take things in. When it’s closed, it’s overwhelmed and in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode. Our job is to help open the brain through praise, encouragement, novelty and whatever it takes to get our students engaged and open to learning. We also talk about how to support students in tutoring and classroom settings. I share one of my own strategies a collaborative whiteboard story that students add to each w