Ollie Lovell: Teacher, author, podcaster, blogger, PhD candidate. @ollie_lovell
123 episodes listed below
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The most in-depth education podcast available. Each episode host Ollie Lovell takes a deep dive into an important area of education with an educational thought leader from around the world, from practicing teachers to university professors and everyone in-between. If you're looking to build deep knowledge about education and how learning happens, this is the podcast for you.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Olly Lovell connects educational research to classroom decisions by testing promising ideas against the practical complications of teaching and school improvement.
Education Research Reading Room turns educational research into a working conversation about decisions made in classrooms and schools. Olly Lovell asks guests to connect ideas with practice, pressing on how formative assessment changes lesson planning, how retrieval can be built…
A maths exam begins with a brain dump; your next staffroom debate just got specific.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A measured look at teacher expertise, retrieval practice and the limits of standardizing learning inside school timetables.
Teacher expertise sits at the center here, along with clear limits for new teachers and the idea that a school cannot be treated like a lab. Terry Byers, Vicky Leighton and Tom Perry revisit retrieval practice, brain dumps, worked examples and faded examples, while Tom Perry's…
A serious case for formative assessment and responsive teaching as planning tools, not classroom accessories.
This ERRR episode treats responsive teaching as a working method, not a slogan. It stays close to formative assessment, planning, and the judgment calls that follow when students have not yet learned what the lesson needs.
Work-based learning is framed as something people build through real activity, not just courses.
The episode makes a clear case that capability is built more often through work, travel, projects, reading, and conversation than through formal courses.
A careful look at attendance problems as a leadership and evidence problem.
It treats school leadership as diagnosis, asking how chronic absence is separated from the causes beneath it and how a theory of action is tested before schools move.
Formative assessment is framed as skilled judgment, with boundaries, flexibility, and a clear rejection of one-size-fits-all planning.
Paul Spensley's case for formative assessment treats teaching as judgment in motion, not a fixed script. The discussion keeps circling back to boundaries, flexibility, and the simple fact that a lesson has to meet the group in front of you.
A patient case for crews, accountability, and work students can stand behind.
Andy Sprakes frames Expeditionary Learning as a school-wide approach built around crews, accountability, and purposeful work that students can take pride in.
A clear case for shared knowledge as the engine of reading, fairness, and a functioning community.
Don Hirsch makes a blunt case that schools lose ground when knowledge is treated as optional and teacher expertise is pushed aside. The discussion connects Cultural Literacy to Why Knowledge Matters, then keeps circling back to curriculum content, reading, fairness, and whether…
A strict school culture built on small routines that are taught, repeated, and enforced.
The episode takes a hard-edged view of how a school teaches values through routine rather than through lesson content alone. It grounds that claim in ordinary moments: children helping after a dropped plate, adults naming kindness and respect, and the end-of-lunch habit of…
Scripture, culture, and prophecy under pressure.
Catholic school leadership, made practical.
Stephen Dubner tests bourbon economics, Alzheimer's research, and money advice against hard data.
Daily business news with Kai Ryssdal, tracking Fed policy, oil shocks, and private credit.
Galloway rotates Office Hours Q&A, Raging Moderates politics, and China Decode geopolitics weekly.
Host Ollie Lovell interviews Ian Cunningham, founder of the Self-Managed Learning College, about student-directed education.
Ollie Lovell and Craig Barton team up for a special episode analyzing Ollie's teaching approach, sharing insights across their education-focused podcast audiences.
This episode features Sarah Cottingham discussing Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning within the context of educational research and evidence-based teaching practices.
This episode continues a discussion with educator Sam Gibbs about teaching a GCSE poem on power and suppression, focusing on concept-led curriculum approaches.
This episode features Jennifer Buckingham discussing literacy instruction and education policy in the UK, Ireland, and Australia, focusing on evidence-based approaches.
This episode of the ERRR podcast features an interview with Ron Berger discussing an ethic of excellence in education, sponsored by educational programs like the Explicit Mathematics Programme and Catalyst.
This episode discusses the benefits of multi-school organizations in education, featuring insights from Hunter and Parkinson, while promoting evidence-based teaching resources.
This episode features Benjamin Riley discussing the potential risks and dangers of artificial intelligence in educational settings.
This episode features David Morkunas discussing the development and implementation of the Explicit Mathematics Programme, a comprehensive educational resource for teaching mathematics from foundation to year two based on effective teaching principles.
This episode features Alex Evans discussing systematic school improvement and instructional coaching, while promoting evidence-based educational programmes like the Explicit Mathematics Programme and Catalyst.
This episode features Bill Hansberry discussing how to effectively implement restorative conversations in educational settings, with sponsorship from the Explicit Mathematics Program.
This episode features Kristian Still discussing test-enhanced learning and evidence-based educational approaches, sponsored by educational resources and projects.
This episode of the ERRR podcast features Doug Lemov discussing teaching reading, with sponsorship announcements for the Explicit Mathematics Program and the Catalyst educational project.
This episode features an interview with Chris Such, author of books on teaching primary reading, discussing evidence-based strategies for improving reading and comprehension in education.
This episode features Lissie Doyle discussing how to provide test feedback that encourages critical thinking in students, while also promoting educational programs like the Explicit Mathematics Program and Catalyst.
This episode features Haywood and Parkinson discussing system-level approaches to improving primary mathematics education, highlighting evidence-based programs like the Explicit Mathematics Program and Catalyst project.
This episode of the ERRR podcast features Jonathan Sharples discussing implementation in education, with sponsorships from the Explicit Mathematics Programme and Catalyst project promoting evidence-based teaching approaches.
This episode features Bill Louden discussing reforms to initial teacher education, with sponsorship mentions for educational books and projects.
This episode features Daniel Willingham discussing effective study methods and evidence-based educational practices, with sponsorship highlights from educational publishers and projects.
This episode features Sue Knight discussing effective school leadership, sponsored by educational programs like the Explicit Mathematics Program and Catalyst.
This episode promotes Josh Goodrich's book 'Responsive Coaching' which examines instructional coaching models to help teachers improve throughout their careers.
This episode of the ERRR podcast features Steve Biddulph discussing the roots of anxiety, while also promoting educational programmes like the Explicit Mathematics Programme and Catalyst.
This episode features Harry Fletcher-Wood discussing how to run effective professional development for teachers, addressing challenges like workload and time constraints while promoting evidence-informed practices.
This episode features Nathaniel Swain discussing the concept of writing to learn, with sponsorship highlights from educational resources like walkthroughs.co.uk and the Catalyst project.
This episode features an interview with chemistry teacher Adam Boxer discussing effective strategies for the first 10 minutes of a lesson, drawing on evidence-based education principles.
This episode features Sam Gibbs discussing concept-led curriculum in education, with sponsorships from educational publishers and projects promoting evidence-based teaching practices.
This episode of the ERRR podcast features a discussion on educational leadership and school culture, promoted alongside books and resources for educators.
This episode features Craig Barton discussing practical tips and tools for teachers, with sponsorship mentions for educational resources and initiatives.
This episode features Greg Ashman discussing the essential elements of a high-performing school, with sponsorship mentions for educational books and projects.
This episode features Peps Mccrea discussing the development of expert teaching, with sponsorship highlights on educational resources and evidence-based projects.
This episode features Karen Harris discussing the SRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development) approach to teaching writing, exploring evidence-based strategies for classroom implementation.
This episode features Jeff Robin discussing how to approach teaching with an artistic mindset, supported by sponsors promoting educational resources and evidence-based teaching projects.
This episode features Gwyn Ap Harri discussing the process of building, breaking, and fixing a world-famous school, exploring educational reform and evidence-based practices.
This episode features Ben Jensen discussing the importance of curriculum in education, with sponsorships from educational publishers and projects supporting evidence-based teaching practices.
This episode features Kelly Tatlock discussing how to create knowledgeable and expert learners, with sponsorship highlights for educational resources and initiatives.
This episode features Hope Wilder discussing sociocracy as a method for running effective meetings and empowering young people through collaborative decision-making in educational and other settings.
This episode of the ERRR podcast features Josh Goodrich discussing instructional coaching in education, with sponsorship mentions for educational books and projects.
This episode features a coaching session where Josh Goodrich uses the StepLab instructional coaching approach to provide feedback on Ollie Lovell's maths lesson about population versus sample in statistics.
This episode features Steve Capp discussing effective school leadership and is sponsored by educational programmes like the Explicit Mathematics Programme and Catalyst.
E.D.
Olly Lovell interviews Paul Spenceley, a former high school science department head in England who spent 30 years in the classroom and was involved in the landmark Black and Wiliam formative assessment project at King's College in 1998.
Host Olly Lovell interviews educator and author Harry Fletcher-Wood about his book Responsive Teaching, described by Josh Goodrich as the best book on teaching and learning available.
Host Ollie Lovell interviews educational linguist Lyn Stone about her book 'Reading for Life', focusing on the science of reading and the Big Six components of literacy instruction.
Viviane Robinson, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland and author of the new book Virtuous Educational Leadership, joins host Ollie Lovell to explain why effective school leadership requires more than knowledge and skills — it requires virtues of character in Aristotle's sense, encompassing right motives, practical wisdom, and perseverance.
Education Research Reading Room host Oli Lovell records an unplanned five-hour conversation with Gwyn Ap Harri, co-founder of XP School in Doncaster, England, releasing about the first 90 minutes as Episode 70.
Host Ollie Lovell interviews Terry Byers, Vicky Leighton, and Tom Perry about the Learner's Toolkit, a science of learning program designed to help secondary students become self-regulated learners.
This episode features James Mannion discussing strategies for making educational changes stick, with sponsorship announcements for mathematics and evidence-based education programs.
A dropped plate turns into the test case.
Host Ollie Lovell interviews Andy Sprakes, co-founder of XP School, about their innovative expeditionary learning model.