Chalk Dust

Summary
In this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by Dr Staci Bain, literacy leader, co-founder of Educate America and author of Empowered to Teach and Lead. Through classroom footage, Staci demonstrates how precise literacy instruction and deliberate acts of encouragement can work together to create classrooms where students feel successful, supported and ready to learn.
The discussion begins with handwriting instruction, exploring how tracing, visualisation, movement and carefully sequenced practice help young children learn letter formation. The conversation then turns to the small but powerful interactions that build belonging, including positive narration, individual encouragement and whole-class celebrations.
Throughout the episode, Rebecca, Nathaniel and Staci explore the relationship between effective instruction, human connection and classroom culture. They consider how teachers develop the judgement to respond to the energy of a classroom, and why early career teachers need practical strategies for building belonging alongside behaviour management.
Mentioned resources and explainers
Dr Staci Bain and Educate America: Staci Bain is a literacy leader and co-founder of Educate America, supporting schools to strengthen whole-class literacy instruction. She is also the author of Empowered to Teach and Lead: Whole Group Literacy Instruction Made Easy. Her TikTok is here.
On the Road to Literacy Success: Staci’s podcast explores literacy instruction and school improvement. This Chalk Dust episode is part of a collaboration between the two podcasts.
Virginia Berninger’s Handwriting Research: Research on handwriting and dysgraphia informs Staci’s approach to combining letter names, sounds and formation, alongside tracing and visualisation.
The Imagination Effect and Embodied Cognition: Rebecca and Nathaniel discuss how mental imagery and physical gestures may support learning. Staci demonstrates how skywriting also allows teachers to identify errors before students put pencil to paper.
Positive Narration and Affirmations: Brief, specific acknowledgements and shared celebrations help reinforce desirable behaviour, build relationships and create a positive classroom culture.
‘With-it-ness’ and Cresting the Wave: The ability to notice what is happening across the classroom and adjust instruction accordingly. The discussion considers how experienced teachers learn when to increase energy, celebrate success or return students to focused work.
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Takeaways
* Effective handwriting instruction integrates letter formation, letter names and sounds.
* Tracing, visualisation and skywriting provide opportunities for practice and immediate feedback.
* Small, deliberate acts of encouragement can help students feel recognised and valued.
* Building belonging requires practical teaching skills, not simply positive intentions.
* Clear instructional systems can reduce teacher workload and free up energy for human connection.
* Whole-class affirmations can celebrate success and strengthen classroom community.
* Expert teachers continually monitor classroom energy and adjust their responses.
* Classroom culture depends on balancing warmth, encouragement, expectations and boundaries.
* Early career teachers need explicit coaching in relationship-building as well as behaviour management.
* Human connection remains an essential part of effective teaching.
Keywords
Staci Bain, Educate America, literacy instruction, handwriting, letter formation, Virginia Berninger, dysgraphia, skywriting, embodied cognition, explicit instruction, positive narration, affirmations, classroom belonging, classroom culture, behaviour management, teacher encouragement, instructional coaching, early career teachers, whole-class instruction, Chalk Dust podcast


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Summary
In this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by Kris Boulton, founder and CEO of Unstoppable Learning, to explore atomisation, an approach to instructional design that breaks complex learning into carefully sequenced, manageable elements. Drawing on classroom footage of Kris teaching algebra to primary and secondary students at Mastery Schools Australia, the discussion examines how precise explanations, minimally different examples and systematic checking for understanding can enable students to master mathematical concepts that initially appear well beyond their capabilities.
Kris demonstrates how deliberate instructional design can remove unnecessary cognitive demands, allowing students to concentrate on exactly what they are learning. Through examples of expanding algebraic expressions, he explains why the selection and sequencing of examples matter, how to separate arithmetic from new mathematical procedures, and how mini whiteboards and immediate corrective feedback help teachers identify and address errors before moving forward. Central to his approach is the Penny Promise: if students give their attention and follow the instruction, the responsibility for their success rests with the teacher.
Throughout the episode, Rebecca, Nathaniel and Kris explore the relationship between instructional design, cognitive load, student motivation and teaching expertise. The conversation extends beyond mathematics into broader questions about teaching sentence construction, selecting examples, managing instructional pace and the balance between explicit modelling and guided practice. Ultimately, the episode challenges teachers to consider how much more students might learn when every explanation, example and practice opportunity is designed with precision.
Mentioned resources and explainers
Kris Boulton
Kris Boulton is an international teacher educator and education writer specialising in evidence-informed instructional design. He has contributed to England’s Early Career Framework and Ofsted’s Mathematics Inspection Framework, led teacher educator development at Teach First, and helped design Up Learn’s learning system.
Unstoppable Learning
Founded by Kris Boulton, Unstoppable Learning works with schools to improve mathematics instruction through a structured approach to instructional design known as atomisation. The organisation focuses on making complex learning accessible through precise explanations and carefully sequenced examples.
Atomisation
An approach to instructional design that breaks learning into a small number of fundamental elements, each requiring a particular form of explanation and sequencing. Kris argues that identifying these elements allows teachers to design instruction that minimises ambiguity and prevents predictable misconceptions.
The Penny Promise
Named after Kris’s early-career mentor, Penny Jones, the Penny Promise is a commitment to students that if they pay attention and follow the instruction, they will succeed. It places responsibility on the teacher to design and deliver instruction that makes success possible.
Engelmann and Carnine – Theory of Instruction
Siegfried Engelmann and Douglas Carnine developed Direct Instruction, a systematic approach to instructional design that informs Kris’s work. Their Theory of Instruction examines how examples, non-examples, transformations and carefully controlled variations can support accurate learning and generalisation.
Minimally Different Examples
Examples that change only one carefully selected feature at a time. By controlling what changes and what stays the same, teachers can direct students’ attention to the specific concept or procedure being taught.
The Setup Principle
A principle associated with Engelmann and Carnine’s instructional design in which irrelevant features of examples are kept constant while the feature being taught is varied. Kris discusses how this might apply to teaching sentence syntax without simultaneously introducing challenging vocabulary.
Cognitive Load and Instructional Design
Kris explains how unnecessary arithmetic can interfere with learning a new mathematical procedure. By using simple number facts or stopping tasks before the calculation stage, teachers can direct students’ attention towards the intended learning rather than competing demands.
Instruction and Testing Sequences
Kris distinguishes between the initial presentation of carefully sequenced examples and the subsequent testing sequence, where students respond independently on mini whiteboards. Teachers use these responses to identify errors, provide feedback and determine whether students are ready to progress.
Mini Whiteboards and Corrective Feedback
Mini whiteboards allow teachers to check every student’s response and provide immediate feedback. Kris demonstrates how repeated opportunities to respond, combined with precise correction, help students move towards mastery.
Kick-Yourself Mistakes
A term Kris credits to his mentor Penny Jones, describing small errors that students recognise immediately when shown the correct response. The approach helps normalise mistakes while encouraging students to attend carefully to the correction.
Instructional Pace
Kris discusses the importance of moving through examples and practice opportunities efficiently without sacrificing understanding. The principle of going as fast as you can, but as slow as you must captures the balance between providing sufficient scaffolding and maximising opportunities to practise.
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Takeaways
* Atomisation breaks complex learning into fundamental elements that can be taught through carefully designed instructional sequences.
* Precise instructional design can prevent misconceptions rather than simply responding to them after they occur.
* The Penny Promise places responsibility for student success on the teacher, provided students attend to and follow the instruction.
* Minimally different examples help students identify what changes and what remains constant, supporting generalisation.
* Introducing one new element at a time reduces unnecessary cognitive demands and allows students to focus on the intended learning.
* Teaching a new mathematical procedure does not necessarily require students to practise difficult arithmetic at the same time.
* Students may need several closely sequenced practice opportunities before they can consistently apply a new procedure.
* Atomisation may have applications beyond mathematics, including teaching sentence syntax and other aspects of writing.
* Instructional pace matters because efficient routines create more opportunities for students to practise within the available learning time.
* Effective teaching requires both subject expertise and the ability to transform that knowledge into explanations and examples that novices can understand.
* Student success can be a powerful source of motivation, particularly when learners recognise that they have mastered something previously considered difficult.
Keywords
Kris Boulton, Unstoppable Learning, atomisation, instructional design, explicit instruction, mathematics teaching, algebra, minimally different examples, Engelmann and Carnine, Theory of Instruction, Penny Promise, cognitive load, worked examples, guided practice, mini whiteboards, corrective feedback, checking for understanding, instructional sequencing, generalisation, mathematical notation, instructional pace, mastery learning, student motivation, evidence-informed teaching, Chalk Dust podcast


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Summary
In this special in-person episode of Chalk Dust, recorded at researchEd Melbourne at Haileybury, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by Professor Anna Stokke, mathematician, educator and host of the Chalk & Talk podcast. Together they analyse classroom footage from Australian mathematics lessons, exploring how carefully sequenced instruction, explicit teaching and strong classroom routines support successful mathematics learning.
Across examples including number bonds, subtraction algorithms, number lines and percentages, Anna explains why mathematics should be taught through deliberate sequencing, clear modelling and extensive guided practice. The discussion examines pair-share routines, scripted mathematics programs, mastery of mathematical symbols, the role of automaticity, and why concrete materials should be viewed as temporary scaffolds rather than permanent learning tools.
Throughout the episode, Rebecca, Nathaniel and Professor Stokke discuss mathematics-specific pedagogy, instructional coaching, pedagogical content knowledge and the importance of ensuring every student has access to effective mathematics instruction. The conversation argues that explicit mathematics teaching is not passive or robotic, but highly interactive, intellectually demanding and built around giving students repeated experiences of success.
Special thanks to Pat Sanders, Ollie Lovell and Brendan Lee for their help with this episode.
Mentioned resources and explainers
Professor Anna Stokke
Anna Stokke is Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Winnipeg, adjunct professor and honorary co-director of the Science of Mathematics Lab at La Trobe University, and host of the Chalk & Talk podcast. Her work focuses on evidence-informed mathematics education and improving mathematics instruction.
Chalk & Talk Podcast
Anna Stokke’s podcast exploring evidence-informed mathematics education, instructional practice and educational research.
Explicit Mathematics Program (EMP)
A structured primary mathematics program developed by David Morkunas, Toni Hatton-Roberts, Ollie Lovell, and Dr Wendy Taylor. The program emphasises carefully sequenced instruction, explicit modelling, guided practice and cumulative review.
Mastery Schools Australia
An Australian special-assistance school network implementing explicit, carefully sequenced mathematics instruction.
Number Bonds
An early mathematics concept helping students understand part-whole relationships between numbers, providing foundations for later arithmetic and algebraic reasoning.
Standard Algorithms
Traditional written methods for operations such as subtraction. Anna argues that carefully sequenced instruction in standard algorithms develops procedural fluency while reinforcing place value understanding.
Automaticity
The ability to retrieve basic number facts rapidly and effortlessly. Automatic recall reduces cognitive load, allowing students to focus on more complex mathematical thinking.
Concrete Materials
Physical manipulatives used to introduce mathematical concepts. Anna argues they should be temporary instructional scaffolds rather than ongoing computational tools.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
The specialised knowledge teachers need to teach a particular subject effectively, including understanding misconceptions, sequencing and representations. Rebecca reflects on whether mathematics-specific instructional coaching deserves greater attention.
Scripted Instruction
Instructional programs that carefully sequence explanations, examples and practice opportunities. The discussion explores how well-designed scripts can support teacher expertise while still allowing individual teaching style to emerge.
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Takeaways
* Success is one of the strongest drivers of student motivation in mathematics.
* Explicit mathematics instruction is highly interactive rather than teacher-centred monologue.
* Carefully sequenced examples help students focus on learning new procedures rather than becoming distracted by unnecessary complexity.
* Automatic recall of basic number facts frees cognitive resources for more sophisticated mathematical thinking.
* Concrete materials should introduce concepts but should not replace mastery of mathematical symbols.
* Standard algorithms reinforce important mathematical ideas such as place value when taught explicitly.
* Pair-share activities work best when they are tightly structured, purposeful and carefully monitored.
* Guided practice should include frequent checking for understanding and immediate correction of misconceptions.
* Well-designed scripted programs can improve consistency while still allowing teachers to bring their own personality and classroom presence.
* Primary mathematics teachers benefit from high-quality curriculum materials because careful sequencing requires deep mathematical expertise.
* Effective mathematics instruction balances conceptual understanding with procedural fluency rather than treating them as competing goals.
* Students should not remain dependent on visual or concrete supports once symbolic understanding has developed.
* Instructional time belongs to students and should be used with precision and purpose.
* System leaders have an important responsibility to support instructional approaches that are backed by strong evidence.
* Mathematics may require subject-specific instructional coaching alongside more general approaches to teaching improvement.
Keywords
Anna Stokke, mathematics education, explicit instruction, Explicit Mathematics Program, Mastery Schools Australia, scripted instruction, number bonds, subtraction, percentages, automaticity, standard algorithms, pedagogical content knowledge, mathematics pedagogy, instructional coaching, guided practice, concrete materials, cognitive load, mathematics teaching, evidence-informed education, Chalk Dust podcast


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Summary
In this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by Andrew McCrorey, an experienced educator and instructional leader at Monterey Secondary College in Victoria. Drawing on classroom footage from a secondary setting serving a highly disadvantaged community, Andrew demonstrates how explicit instruction, trauma-informed positive education and high expectations can work together rather than compete with one another.
The discussion explores entry routines, co-regulation, secondary choral reading, gist statements, cold calling, participation as an equity issue, and the explicit teaching of behaviour expectations. Andrew explains how consistency across classrooms can function as an equity strategy, creating predictable environments in which students know what success looks like and teachers can focus on teaching rather than repeatedly resetting behaviour.
Across the episode, Rebecca, Nathaniel and Andrew return to the idea that supporting students does not require lowering the bar. Instead, effective practice combines strong relationships, clear routines, deliberate participation structures and carefully sequenced academic support. The result is a classroom where students are both safe and challenged, and where literacy, behaviour and wellbeing are treated as interconnected parts of successful teaching.
Mentioned resources and explainers
Andrew McCrorey
Andrew McCrorey is an educator with more than 20 years’ experience teaching in Australia and internationally. His work focuses on explicit instruction, behaviour support, trauma-informed positive education and improving classroom practice in complex educational settings.
Monterey Secondary College
Monterey Secondary College is located in Frankston North, Victoria. Andrew describes the school’s approach as combining evidence-informed teaching, trauma-informed positive education and consistency across classrooms to improve student learning and engagement.
Trauma-Informed Positive Education
A framework used at Monterey to support student regulation, relationships and readiness to learn. Andrew emphasises that trauma-informed practice is not about lowering expectations, but about raising expectations while providing the support students need to meet them.
Four-to-One Positive to Corrective Feedback
Andrew describes using a high ratio of positive to corrective feedback during routines such as lesson entry. Positive narration, greeting students warmly and acknowledging successful behaviour help establish a calm, predictable start.
Entry Routines
A tightly rehearsed lesson-entry process in which students know what materials to collect, where to go and what task to begin. Andrew explains how predictable entry routines support regulation, reduce bottlenecks and maximise learning time.
Choral Reading
Students read a text aloud together, following the teacher’s pacing and expression. Andrew uses choral reading in secondary English to build fluency, confidence, prosody and participation while allowing the teacher to hear and correct reading in real time.
Gist Statements
A summarising strategy in which students identify who or what a section is about, select key details and then condense the information into a single statement. Andrew uses this as part of a gradual release process to support comprehension and later writing.
Cold Calling
Andrew uses cold calling after students have had time to rehearse thinking through pair discussion. He frames participation as an equity issue, while also maintaining flexibility when a student is not ready to respond.
Tracking the Speaker
A universal attention routine used across the school. Students are explicitly taught to orient towards the speaker so that teachers can secure attention efficiently and maintain lesson flow.
Explicit Teaching of Behaviour
Rather than relying on broad classroom rules, Andrew teaches specific routines for situations such as arriving late. Students are shown what to do, what to expect, and how consequences will work, reducing uncertainty and preserving learning time.
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Takeaways
* Consistency can function as an equity strategy when students experience the same clear expectations across classrooms.
* Trauma-informed practice and high expectations are not opposites; students often need more support in order to meet ambitious expectations.
* Entry routines help students regulate, reduce uncertainty and maximise learning time.
* Positive narration and unconditional positive regard can coexist with firm behavioural expectations.
* Secondary students can successfully participate in choral reading when routines are carefully taught and the purpose is made clear.
* Reading aloud is an entitlement, not just an activity for younger students.
* Participation structures such as pair share, choral response and cold calling can support equity by ensuring more students have a voice.
* Cold calling works best when students have had time to rehearse and when teachers remain responsive to individual readiness.
* Gist statements help students move from reading to comprehension and then to concise written expression.
* Explicitly teaching what to do when students are late reduces interruptions and makes consequences predictable.
* Behaviour routines are more useful when they are precise enough to rehearse, rather than framed as broad expectations such as “be respectful”.
* High response rates can support both learning and behaviour by keeping students cognitively engaged.
* Wellbeing strategies should support academic learning rather than displace it.
* High expectations are most effective when paired with strong relationships, scaffolds and opportunities for success.
* Calm, engaged classrooms are built through deliberate systems, not through lowered expectations.
Keywords
Andrew McCrorey, Monterey Secondary College, explicit instruction, trauma-informed positive education, high expectations, secondary reading, choral reading, gist statements, cold calling, participation, equity, classroom routines, entry routines, positive narration, behaviour support, co-regulation, tracking the speaker, classroom management, literacy instruction, Chalk Dust podcast


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Summary
In this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by STEM educator Amber Haven to explore what happens when explicit instruction meets genuinely engaging hands-on learning. Using footage from Amber’s middle-school STEM classroom, the discussion follows a lesson on neutral buoyancy, revealing how carefully designed routines allow practical investigations to remain cognitively demanding rather than descending into chaos.
Amber demonstrates how retrieval practice, mini-whiteboards, Six Bricks, gesture, choral response and explicit behaviour routines work together to create classrooms where every student is thinking. Throughout the episode, Rebecca, Nathaniel and Amber discuss the importance of background knowledge, continuous checking for understanding, purposeful transitions, differentiation without lowering expectations, and designing practical activities that provide immediate feedback. The conversation highlights how high-quality classroom routines free students to focus on learning rather than logistics, making complex scientific concepts accessible through deliberate instructional design.
Mentioned resources and explainers
Amber Haven
Amber Haven is a STEM educator with more than 16 years of classroom experience and a strong focus on translating cognitive science into practical classroom strategies. She has presented at ResearchED conferences across the United States and at the Thriving Educators Summit, and her work has been featured by The Learning Scientists and in Powerful Classrooms by Patrice Bain.
Retrieval Practice
Throughout the lesson, Amber demonstrates retrieval as an ongoing classroom habit rather than a single lesson component. Students repeatedly retrieve knowledge through mini-whiteboards, questioning, gestures, closed sentences and practical activities.
Mini Whiteboards
Mini-whiteboards allow every student to participate, provide immediate formative assessment, and make thinking visible. Amber discusses the routines required to use them fluently throughout a lesson.
Six Bricks
Six Bricks is a hands-on retrieval strategy that uses coloured Duplo bricks to sequence concepts, definitions or problems. Students retrieve vocabulary while constructing a coloured stack, allowing rapid checking for understanding and high levels of engagement.
Continuous Checking for Understanding
Rather than reserving checks for understanding for isolated moments, Amber embeds them throughout explanations, transitions and instructions, ensuring students remain cognitively engaged from beginning to end.
Gesture and Dual Coding
The episode explores how gesture, movement and simple physical cues support memory and retrieval—even with older students who may initially resist participating.
Differentiation
Amber demonstrates how differentiation can maintain common learning goals while adjusting the amount of work or level of support individual students receive, rather than lowering expectations or creating entirely different tasks.
Practical Science with Explicit Instruction
The discussion explores how carefully sequenced demonstrations, clear success criteria and explicit routines allow practical science lessons to remain focused on conceptual understanding rather than entertainment.
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Takeaways
* Retrieval practice is most powerful when woven continuously throughout lessons.
* Strong routines allow practical learning to remain focused on thinking rather than managing behaviour.
* Mini-whiteboards provide rapid formative assessment while ensuring whole-class participation.
* Six Bricks offer a simple, flexible alternative to traditional matching and multiple-choice activities.
* Explicit behaviour instruction creates the conditions for successful hands-on learning.
* Practical activities should reinforce conceptual understanding rather than distract from it.
* Gesture and dual coding can strengthen learning well beyond the primary years.
* Immediate feedback helps students refine their thinking during practical investigations.
* Differentiation can preserve common learning goals while adjusting levels of support.
* Clear transitions minimise extraneous cognitive load during complex activities.
* Practical science lessons benefit from explicit modelling, routines and carefully sequenced instructions.
* Student engagement is strongest when cognitive engagement and physical activity work together.
* Background knowledge provides the foundation for successful inquiry.
* Effective classroom management enables ambitious learning experiences.
* Great practical lessons appear effortless because the routines have been carefully taught.
Keywords
Amber Haven, STEM education, retrieval practice, mini-whiteboards, Six Bricks, explicit instruction, science of learning, STEM, cognitive science, classroom routines, neutral buoyancy, formative assessment, gesture, dual coding, checking for understanding, differentiation, classroom management, practical science, cognitive engagement, Chalk Dust podcast


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chalkdust.media