Teaching changes because what we know about learning changes.
In this episode of Have a Life Teaching, John Schembari talks with Ross McGill, founder of Teacher Toolkit, about what 35 years in education have taught him about how students learn—and what teachers should do differently as a result.
Ross explores the evolution from sharing “good ideas” to evidence-informed teaching, why retrieval and questioning matter, how teachers can make student thinking visible, and why metacognition may be one of the most important concepts educators need to understand.
They also unpack pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy—the progression from teaching children, to facilitating adult learning, to becoming a self-directed learner—and consider where AI belongs in that process.
Ross also offers a warning for the AI era: technology can support our thinking, but it shouldn’t replace the cognitive work that develops expertise.
In this episode:
• How learning actually happens
• Retrieval practice and memory
• Better questioning and “Think, Pair, Share, Show Me”
• Making student thinking visible
• Feedback students can understand and act upon
• Metacognition and developing expertise
• Pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy
• Using AI without outsourcing our thinking
• What 20 years of Teacher Toolkit data reveals about teachers’ needs
Ross McGill LinkedIn Page (https://www.linkedin.com/in/teachertoolkit/)
Teacher Toolkit Website (https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/ross-morrison-mcgill/)
