Ep35: Leon Furze, Teacher Educator & Author

Today my guest is Leon Furze, a Teacher Educator and Author. Leon is also the Director of Learning and Teaching at a regional Victorian high school. In this episode we explore Leon’s early enthusiasm and connections to reading and literature, growing up in a lower socio-economic area of England. Leon reflects on some of the texts that influenced him along his journey studying English and American literature at university, and further study in becoming an English Teacher. We chat about Leon’ latest book, Practical Reading Strategies: Engaging Activities for Secondary Students, which introduces teachers to what good readers do, and the ideas that underpin “reading for meaning.” We find out how teachers can support and guide students to make connections between the text and their own lived experiences, as well connections with the student’s broader world. We explore a range of teaching strategies including visualisation and questioning, the value of empathising with the book’s characters and stepping into their world, and how teachers can support their students to make inferences - that is, reading between the lines - as they engage more meaningfully with a text. We discover there’s more to English assessment than the dreaded “death by comprehension questions” as Leon shares his thoughts on some alternative approaches, including his current collaboration with the University of Melbourne entitled New Metrics for Success. We find out about the value and practical use of learner profiles and folio-based assessments that help students structure and organise their evidence. Finally, Leon offers a range of insights on the significance of trust and teacher autonomy within education and assessment systems. Links: https://leonfurze.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonfurze/ https://twitter.com/lfurze Instagram.com/Leon.furze