In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers podcast, Brendan Lee is joined by Brad Gaynor, an Australian educator, leadership coach and former principal with decades of experience across schools and systems. Brad is also the author of the new book From Burnout to Breakthrough: The Leadership Reset.

The conversation centres on burnout in education and what sustainable teaching and leadership actually look like beyond surface level wellbeing advice. Drawing on Brad’s lived experience and research informed work, this episode explores why burnout is more than just feeling tired, how hidden emotional labour shapes the work of teachers and leaders, and why framing burnout as a resilience issue can miss the real problem.

Listeners will hear a practical framework for resetting habits and expectations, learn why boundaries are essential rather than optional, and gain insight into how clarity, systems, and culture can reduce cognitive and emotional load.

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation for educators who want to keep doing this work well, without burning themselves out in the process.

You can connect with Brad:

Twitter/X: @brad_coaching

Linkedin

Website: bradgaynor.com.au

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter/X: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Linkedin: @brendan-lee-kft

Website: learnwithlee.net

This is a three day online course for teachers where we focus on how learning happens and how to design maths lessons that support acquisition, build fluency and help students generalise what they know.

Register here

This is a two day online course for school and middle leaders and it is all about implementation. We look closely at curriculum and lesson design, assessment, coaching and the systems that help teachers change practice in a sustainable way.

Register here

In this episode of Knowledge for Teachers, host Brendan Lee speaks with Natalie Wexler, education writer and author of The Knowledge Gap, The Writing Revolution, and Beyond the Science of Reading. Together they explore what truly drives reading comprehension and why knowledge rich instruction is essential for every learner. Natalie unpacks the surprising limits of treating comprehension as a set of isolated skills, explains how background knowledge shapes understanding in powerful ways, and shows why writing can be one of the most effective tools for securing learning. Listeners will also hear how cognitive load theory connects to literacy and what strong knowledge building lessons look like in real classrooms. A practical and thought provoking conversation for teachers and leaders who want to strengthen literacy through the lens of research.

Resources mentioned:

• The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler
• The Writing Revolution by Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler
• Beyond the Science of Reading by Natalie Wexler
• Why Don’t Students Like School by Daniel Willingham

You can connect with Natalie:

Twitter/X: @natwexler

Linkedin

Website: nataliewexler.com

Substack: http://nataliewexler.substack.com

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter/X: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Linkedin: @brendan-lee-kft

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

This is a three day online course for teachers where we focus on how learning happens and how to design maths lessons that support acquisition, build fluency and help students generalise what they know.

Register here

This is a two day online course for school and middle leaders and it is all about implementation. We look closely at curriculum and lesson design, assessment, coaching and the systems that help teachers change practice in a sustainable way.

Register here

In this episode, Brendan sits down with Ingrid Sealey, founder of Teach Well, to explore the hidden nuance behind great teaching. Drawing on her work with thousands of teachers across Australia, Ingrid shares what she has learned about the small deliberate practices that make a real difference for students.

They unpack why clarity matters more than complexity, how spaced practice can shift long-term learning, and why full participation is not about getting every student to join in but about getting every student to think. Ingrid also explains why explicit instruction is not a script but a way to support better decision making in the classroom.

The conversation also dives into her new bookTeach Well’s Instruction & Coaching Companion, which captures the core practices and insights that have shaped Teach Well’s approach. Ingrid reflects on how the book came together and how teachers can use it to make practical confident changes in their everyday work.

They also discuss how professional learning can move beyond one off workshops and become something that genuinely changes practice. Ingrid offers insights from Teach Well’s long-term partnerships and shares examples of what happens when teachers work on small tweaks over time.

This is a thoughtful and practical episode for anyone who wants to refine their craft and understand what really drives effective teaching. If you are looking for ideas you can take straight back to your classroom or leadership team, this one is full of them.

Resources mentioned:

• Teach Well’s Instruction & Coaching Companion
• Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction – Barak Rosenshine
• Why Don’t Students Like School – Daniel Willingham
• Dylan Wiliam – formative assessment and full participation strategies
• Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) – John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra

You can connect with Ingrid:

Linkedin

Twiiter/X: @TeachWellAus

Teach Well Website: teach-well.au

You can connect with Brendan:

Twitter/X: @learnwithmrlee

Facebook: @learningwithmrlee

Linkedin: @brendan-lee-kft

Website: learnwithlee.net

https://www.patreon.com/KnowledgeforTeachersPodcast

This 24 month program provides schools with 20+ hours of structured professional learning grounded in the science of learning spaced out over time — including explicit instruction, daily reviews, fluency-building, and problem-solving.

We work together to create a practical, sustainable implementation plan — so what you learn becomes what you do. Optional Add-ons: ✓ Lesson modelling ✓ Leadership implementation sessions ✓ Coaching and feedback cycles ✓ Ongoing Q&A or online check-ins

Learn more > brendan@learnwithlee.net