
How to Catch a Straw Man
You float a reasonable idea in a meeting and within seconds, you're defending a plan you never made. This episode is about the straw man…
Listen & show notes
Patrice Bain's classroom was the first in the United States where cognitive scientists studied how children actually learn, not in a university laboratory, but with real students in a real school. That extraordinary starting point left her feeling completely alone professionally, with no colleagues to talk to and no community to turn to. This episode is for every teacher or leader who has ever felt that there are two education worlds: the one inside their school, and the wider world of research and ideas that seems just out of reach.
You'll learn why reaching out to researchers, authors, and bloggers is far less daunting than it feels, and why the science of learning community is one of the most genuinely welcoming in education. Patrice shares a powerful question every school leader can ask that can transform professional culture overnight. If you lead a school and want your teachers to stop feeling like islands, this conversation will give you the practical nudge you need to press play.
Resources & Links Mentioned:
Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning
Blake Harvard — The Effortful Educator
Andrew Watson — Translate the Brain
Pooja Agarwal — RetrievalPractice.org
Episode Partners
International Curriculum Association
Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive
Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.
You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You float a reasonable idea in a meeting and within seconds, you're defending a plan you never made. This episode is about the straw man…
Listen & show notes
When someone tells you "research says you should be doing this," what should you actually do with that? Andrew Watson, educator, author,…
Listen & show notes
This episode tackles one of the quietest drains in school leadership: performing a version of yourself that isn't real. Shane introduces…
Listen & show notes