Episode #11 Universal Design for Neurononsense — When Will They Learn?

This week we’re diving into three topics that have generated plenty of headlines, strong opinions, and more than a few questionable cases of what we’ve termed ‘neurononsense’.

We unpack discussions around the Victorian' Government’s decision to give principals more powers to suspend students, finally talk about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and its inherent similarities to learning styles (the neuromyth that keeps on giving!), and talk to technology in the classroom.

As always, we’re less interested in what’s popular than what’s supported by evidence - or what’s not.

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Greg Ashman

Greg is a school leader at Ballarat Clarendon College and holds a PhD in instructional design from UNSW.

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If you’re interested in working with Greg at Ballarat Clarendon College, please see here for open roles and expressions of interest.

Caiti Wade

Caiti is a leader of pedagogy at a boys’ secondary school in Brisbane, education consultant and is doing her doctorate in cognitive science.

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LinkedIn – Caiti Wade

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Episode resources

* Victorian public schools suspend about 150 students a day | The Age

* Lessons (not) learned: The troubling similarities between learning styles and universal design for learning. | Guy Boysen

* ‘They can’t resist them’: teacher reveals extent of digital device distraction | Sarah Duggan

Acknowledgement of country

We would like to acknowledge The Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we record this podcast, the lands of the Wadawurrung People, and the lands of the Jagera and Turrbal Peoples, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

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