S2E1: Mark Pearmain - Navigating Leadership in Education

What does it take to create a classroom where students are thinking, not just completing the work? This week on Leading Voices in Education, we sit down with Peter Liljedahl, the creator of Building Thinking Classrooms, to explore how we can transform mathematics and numeracy learning by rethinking traditional classroom practices. From getting students actively engaged in problem-solving to creating opportunities for collaboration, perseverance, and deeper mathematical thinking, Peter challenges us to consider what happens when we shift the focus from teaching students how to solve problems to creating the conditions for them to think for themselves. Because being busy isn't the same as thinking, and thinking is where learning begins. Join us for a conversation full of ideas to take back to your classroom and put into practice. Listen to the latest episode of Leading Voices in Education, wherever you get your podcasts.

What happens when we move beyond simply teaching content and start thinking about how the brain learns? In this episode of Leading Voices in Education, we’re joined by Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, for a powerful conversation about learning, culture, relationships, and the science behind how students learn. Zaretta explores what it really means to create classrooms where students are challenged, supported, and given the tools to become more independent learners. We talk about cognitive development, productive struggle, culturally responsive teaching, and why building strong relationships is so important—but isn’t the end goal. It’s a conversation that will challenge educators to think differently about what we do in classrooms and, most importantly, why we do it. Listen to the full episode of Leading Voices in Education wherever you get your podcasts.

What if we changed the way we think about teaching math? In this episode of Leading Voices in Education, we sit down with Janice Novakovski to talk about building confident, capable mathematicians and creating classrooms where students have the opportunity to truly think, wonder, explain, and make sense of mathematics. Janice reminds us that every student comes to math with a math story — experiences, beliefs, successes, struggles, and ideas that shape how they see themselves as mathematicians. We talk about the power of math talks, rich mathematical conversations, listening to student thinking, and moving beyond simply getting the “right answer” to understanding the reasoning behind it. This conversation is full of practical ideas for teachers who want to develop numeracy, mathematical thinking, and confidence in their students. And perhaps one of the biggest takeaways? Math is about so much more than answers. It’s about thinking. 🎧 Listen to our conversation with Janice Novakovski on Leading Voices in Education.

What if challenging behaviour isn’t about a student choosing not to cooperate, but about a student struggling with the skills needed to meet an expectation? In this episode of Leading Voices in Education, we sit down with Dr. Ross W. Greene, creator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions approach, to rethink how we understand challenging behaviour in schools. We explore what it means to look beyond the behaviour, identify the unsolved problems underneath it, and work collaboratively with students to find solutions rather than relying primarily on consequences or behaviour management. It’s a conversation that challenges us to shift our lens from “What’s wrong with this student?” to “What’s getting in the way?”

In this episode of Leading Voices in Education, we sit down with award-winning journalist and author Jenny Anderson, co-author of The Disengaged Teen, for a thought-provoking conversation about why so many young people are disconnecting from school — and what educators, parents, and schools can do differently. Jenny challenges some of the common assumptions we make about teenagers, including the idea that disengaged students are simply lazy, unmotivated, or too distracted by technology. Drawing on years of research and conversations with young people, she explores what is really happening beneath the surface of disengagement. We dive into the four modes of engagement — Passenger, Resistor, Achiever, and Explorer — and how students can move between these modes depending on their environment, experiences, relationships, and sense of agency. Jenny also explores what happens when a mode becomes an identity and why we need to be careful about labelling students based on how they show up at school. We talk about the difference between achievement and genuine engagement, the pressure placed on high-achieving students, and why a student can appear successful while not actually being deeply engaged in their learning. Jenny shares practical ways parents and educators can support students without taking away their autonomy or making decisions for them. The conversation also explores choice, agency, curiosity, resilience, and productive struggle. Jenny explains why giving students meaningful choices is so important if we want them to develop the ability to make decisions for themselves — and why schools may need to rethink how much of the learning experience is something that is done to students versus something they can actively shape. We discuss what an engaging school experience might actually look like, including more opportunities for students to apply their knowledge, participate in meaningful experiences, move beyond simply sitting and listening, and see a real-world impact from their learning. And finally, Jenny shares an important challenge for educators: if we want to build resilience, we may need to become more comfortable with discomfort in classrooms and create opportunities for students to experience productive struggle. This is a conversation about teenagers, but the questions reach far beyond adolescence: How do we create environments where young people have agency? How do we move beyond compliance? And how do we help students become curious, resilient, engaged learners who understand who they are and what matters to them?