Nathaniel Swain's Blog

The beginning of any school day brings a myriad of thoughts, feelings and needs. 26 students, each having experienced a different morning, each feeling a range of emotions, all entering the classroom at the same time. If this sounds overwhelming for you, imagine how it feels for a student. In the past I’ve spent most of my morning simply trying to get my class to a point where they can begin their day…often achieving this r...

Imagine walking into a classroom where every detail—from the desk layout to the wall decorations—is thoughtfully arranged to boost focus and learning. Students face forward, free from visual distractions, allowing them to concentrate fully on the teacher and the lesson.

For a while, this was just a vision for me. I'd read the research, listened to educational podcasts, and admired the impressive classroom setups shared online...

The content of this post was originally published by the Code Read Dyslexia Network on 14 February 2025. As the school year unfolds, it remains timely to revisit and reflect on its message—to keep effective, research-based teaching at the forefront of our efforts to support every learner.

Schools around Australia and the English-speaking world have long relied on balanced literacy practices and small-group rotations for literacy instruction, believing it allows for more playful, literature-rich o...

REBECCA BIRCH AND NATHANIEL SWAIN

In this episode of the BRAND NEW 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 Teach Like a Championpractice archive.

By explore checking for understanding (CfU) and checking for quality (CfQ), the hosts unpack effective teaching practices, focusing on explicit instruction, CFU techniques, and th...

As educators, the term "efficiency" often feels more like a corporate buzzword than a meaningful tool for teaching. Economic ‘encroachment’ in education is nothing new, and many teachers are rightfully skeptical that such concepts have value in our people-centred profession. But if unpacked thoughtfully, could the economic concept of “efficiency” offer valuable insights into how we allocate our most precious resource: time?

As teachers, we especially understand t...

Francis Matisi, a teacher at Saint Mark's School in Dingley, was teaching at a Catholic primary school in Brunswick around 2002, just as The Lord of the Rings movies were about to be released. The majority of her students—about 95%—came from an English as an Additional Language (EAL) background. Wanting to engage her students with literature, she decided to share The Hobbit with them.

A quick post to point out some recent talks I have given in Victoria, Austalia.

Teachers are bombarded with information about best practice. Advice comes thick and fast on how to solve the daily challenges that are inevitable when working with a group of learners in intensive working environments. But it’s not often teachers get access to a way of conceiving of our practice that is helpful and also clear.

While numerous frameworks of learning and teaching exist, many of them offer conflicting and vague advice and truisms. Hence my exciteme...

Many educators wrestle with the question of differentiation: How do we ensure all students succeed and are supported? How do we teach to varying abilities without using up valuable teaching time?

While small group instruction has long been a favoured approach, I want to challenge this: Could whole class teaching, when optimised, offer the same,...

A year ago, I had the pleasure of speaking on the Melissa & Lori Love Literacy Podcast — the hosts of which have since released a very snazzy looking book. On this epis...