In this week’s episode of The Staffroom, we were privileged to speak with former head-teacher, consultant, prolific blogger and author, Tom Sherrington.

With a large online following, Tom is well-known across the world for his wise, balanced and practical ideas which he shares regularly on Twitter and on his well-known blog, teacherhead.com. In the episode, Tom speaks with us about his hugely popular book, The Learning Rainforest - an accessible text which takes look at the big-picture of great schools and the invaluable detail of what makes great teaching.

We genuinely enjoyed chatting with Tom. His experience, insight and intellect shone throughout our interview.

So, without further ado, here’s a break-down of our chat complete with time-stamps:

• How has Twitter and social media developed Tom as a leader? How has Tom’s blog grown over the years? (4:05)
• What does Tom’s metaphor, ‘The Learning Rainforest’ mean? Who is Tom’s book aimed at? (6:50)
• How does Tom break down his metaphor? What are the main three elements of the ‘rainforest tree’ and how are these explored in the book? (8:58)
• What does Tom see as the characteristics of a ‘plantation’ school environment and a ‘rainforest’ environment? (9:28)
• What does Tom believe are the main challenges for leaders aspiring to establish a rainforest thinking culture and ethos? (12:15)
• How does Tom feel about the debate between progressive (student-centred) and traditional (teacher-centred) approaches to teaching and learning? What are his views? (16:35)
• How does Tom believe we can strike a balance between traditional and progressive teaching? (19:50)
• What does Tom call, ‘Mode A’ and ‘Mode B’ teaching? (22:24)
• Why does Tom think it is important that we shift away from summative data tracking and move towards authentic formative assessment? (26:00)
• What is responsive teaching and what does Tom think this looks like in an effective ‘rainforest’ classroom? (29:15)
• What are the top three practical approaches Tom would recommend a new teacher to implement into their practice? (32:34)

We hope you enjoy this episode of The Staffroomand find Tom’s educational philosophy as inspirational as we did. You can grab a copy of The Learning Rainforestwhich is available on Amazon now. We highly recommend you introduce this book to your school leaders, and plant the seeds for your own learning rainforest! Be sure to subscribe to Tom’s blogand follow him on Twitter @teacherhead.

We wish Tom all the best for 2018 and the growing success of his blog and consultancy business.

Until next time!

Jamie, Michael and Tessa

Twitter:

@XpatEducator

@Michael_Royall

@tessa_johnson2