Episodes 17
Avg. Duration 35m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 5.0 (9)
Since Mar 2025
Latest Episode May 2026

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Publishing Details

Schedule
Monthly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
82%
Hosting
api.substack.com

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About This Podcast

Welcome to Chalk Dust, the podcast that gives you a front row seat into some of the best classrooms in the world.  There are lots of great conversations about teaching and education happening around the world right now. There are already so many fantastic podcasts out there about evidence based practice, and we're so excited to bring you one more, but this one has a distinctive difference.  Each episode, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain break down real classroom footage to illuminate the moments that make great teaching great. Teaching is both a science and an art. There are proven techniques that we know to work, but applying them in real classrooms is where the complexity lies. Our goal? To help you develop the eye of an expert observer, so you can see what makes lessons effective and apply those insights into your own teaching or coaching practice.

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Recent Episodes

Season Two, Episode 6: The Knowledge Rich Classroom of Laura Stam

May 31, 2026 43m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Laura Stam, a third grade teacher in Wyoming, writer of The Knowledge Exchange on Substack, 2024–2025 Goyen…

Season Two, Episode 5: The choreography of learning

May 10, 2026 39m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Hannah Pointon, a Year 3/4 teacher at Woodstock School in Hamilton, New Zealand. Hannah shares how her school…

Season Two, Episode 4: The power of precision

Apr 19, 2026 20m

SummaryIn this second part of their conversation with Adam Boxer, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain move from behaviour and presence into the micro-detail of questioning, participation, and formative…

Season Two, Episode 3: Getting nitty gritty with it

Mar 15, 2026 36m

SummaryIn this special episode of Chalk Dust, Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch sit down with Adam Boxer to explore the thinking behind Carousel Teaching’s new video library. Rather than simply…

Season Two: Episode 2: Expertise Goes Global

Feb 22, 2026 33m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Jo-Anne Dooner and Geoff Ongley from Get Reading Right, Training 24/7 and Learning 24/7. The conversation…

Season Two, Episode 1: Starting right

Feb 01, 2026 32m

SummaryIn this Season Two opener of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain unpack what it means to start the year “right” through classroom routines that are warm, efficient, and culturally…

Episode 10: More consistency means more freedom

Nov 23, 2025 39m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by educator, designer, and author Peps Mccrea, Director of Education at Steplab and writer of the High Impact…

Episode 9: Kaitlyn's Classroom Glow-Up

Nov 02, 2025 33m

SummaryIn this episode of the Chalk Dust podcast, Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch are joined by Teach Well General Manager, Katie Webster, and Western Australian primary teacher Kaitlin Rowan to…

Episode 8: Building trust with high expectations

Oct 12, 2025 39m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Denarius Frazier, Regional Superintendent of Instruction for Uncommon Schools in New York City and Senior…

Episode 7: How to avoid just teaching yourself

Sep 21, 2025 31m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Dr Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch are joined by John Hollingsworth, co-founder of DataWorks Educational Research and co-author of Explicit Direct Instruction:…

S1E5 Episode 6: Real-time teaching

Aug 31, 2025 38m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Dr Nathaniel Swain are joined by Dr Carl Hendrick, Professor of Education at Academica University of Applied Sciences and co-author of How…

Episode 5: Start the Way You Mean to Finish

Aug 12, 2025 37m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by instructional coach, author, and classroom management expert Dr Mark Dowley. Together, they step inside…

S1E4 Episode 4: Check, then Challenge

Jul 20, 2025 34m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by instructional coach and Knowledge for Teachers podcast host Brendan Lee. Together, they step inside a Year 3/4…

S1E3 Episode 3: Running the Secondary Room

Jun 16, 2025 33m

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain explore effective teaching practices in secondary education, focusing on engagement strategies; the importance of chess for…

S1E2 Episode 2: The Art and Science of Phonics Instruction

May 26, 2025 27m

SummaryIn this conversation, Manisha Gazula, principal of Marsden Road Public School, analyses examples from her classrooms. Together with Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain, the team discuss the…

S1E1 Episode 1: From CfU to CfQ

May 04, 2025 33m

SummaryIn this episode of the Chalk Dust podcast, Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch visit the classroom of Queensland primary school teacher, Rebecca Sloots, the first teacher to be featured on the…

Sneak Preview - Chalk Dust

Mar 28, 2025 3m

Dr Nathaniel Swain and Rebecca Birch are teaming up for a new podcast series where we break down real classroom footage to uncover what makes great teaching great. Each episode, we pause the play,…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Chalk Dust have?

Chalk Dust has published 17 episodes since March 2025, covering topics in Education, How To.

Is Chalk Dust still active?

Chalk Dust is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 35m.

How do I contact Chalk Dust for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Chalk Dust, including email and social media links.

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