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Mr Barton Maths Podcast

Mr Barton Maths Podcast

Craig Barton 224 Episodes Sep 16, 2026

Craig Barton interviews guests from the world of education about their approaches to teaching, educational research, and more. The podcast covers a wide range of topics related to mathematics education and pedagogy. Show notes, resources, and videos are available on the host's website.

Episodes

#231 Productive failure with Manu Kapur
#231 Productive failure with Manu Kapur Sep 16, 2026 00:58:56 Craig speaks to Manu Kapur, Professor of Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich and the researcher behind productive failure. They cover what the framework is and is not, the mechanisms behind it, how long students should struggle, what AI tutors mean for learning before instruction, and the strongest challenges to his work. Access the show notes here: https://podcast.mrbartonmaths.c
#230 HoD Space ep2: Notes in exercise books, Ofsted, and A-level class sizes
#230 HoD Space ep2: Notes in exercise books, Ofsted, and A-level class sizes Sep 9, 2026 00:42:00 Sign up for your free trial at HoD Space at hodspace.com.Access the show notes here: ⁠https://podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/230-hod-space-ep2-notes-in-exercise-books-offsted-and-a-level-class-sizes/In this episode of the podcast, Jo Morgan and Craig Barton discuss:1. What actually goes in the exercise bookPrompted by a HoD Space member's survey request, Craig puts four options to the community — I do,
#229 AI in Education with Joe Liemandt
#229 AI in Education with Joe Liemandt Aug 27, 2026 01:48:49 Craig speaks to Joe Liemandt, principal of Alpha School and founder of Trilogy Software, about the model behind the school's two-hour academic day. They cover selection effects, what does and does not scale, the data the apps generate, the future of the teaching profession, and Alpha's plans for the UK. Access the show notes here: https://podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/229-ai-in-education-with-
#228 HoD Space ep1: Praise tick sheets, Year 7 sets, first departmental meeting
#228 HoD Space ep1: Praise tick sheets, Year 7 sets, first departmental meeting Aug 5, 2026 00:58:13 Sign up for your free trial at HoD Space at hodspace.com. Access the show notes here: ⁠https://podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/228-hod-space-ep1-praise-tick-sheets-year-7-sets-first-departmental-meeting/⁠In this episode of the podcast, Jo Morgan and Craig Barton discuss:1. Praise, and the problem of the "invisible pupils"Prompted by a question from HOD Space member Megan, Jo and Craig dig into
#227 Breaking down an example sequence with Kris Boulton
#227 Breaking down an example sequence with Kris Boulton Jul 8, 2026 01:00:37 In an unscheduled episode, Kris Boulton analyses a trainee teacher's volume-of-prisms sequence. He and Craig Barton work through key design principles — simplifying the rule, stripping out the arithmetic, starting with the general case, and building testing and expansion sequences that force genuine mathematical thinking. Access the show notes here: podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/227-breaking-down-
#226 AI in Education with Zach Groshell
#226 AI in Education with Zach Groshell Jul 1, 2026 01:49:18 Returning guest Zach Groshell, author of Just Tell Them, explains how he designs Direct Instruction maths apps for Alpha School. They cover the US school system, why most education apps fail, how atomisation and mastery work on a screen, the limits of data and motivation, and why he chose a different school for his own daughter. Access the show notes here: podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/226-ai-in-educa
#225 AI in Education with Dylan Wiliam
#225 AI in Education with Dylan Wiliam Jun 24, 2026 01:28:21 In this AI in Education episode, Craig Barton welcomes back Dylan Wiliam to discuss what generative and extractive AI mean for assessment, teaching and the purpose of schooling. Wiliam argues the evidence base is thin, urges caution about education's long feedback loops, and distinguishes cognitive offloading from cognitive outsourcing. Access the show notes here: podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/225
#224 AI in Education with Kris Boulton
#224 AI in Education with Kris Boulton Jun 2, 2026 02:09:54 Kris Boulton returns for the AI in Education mini-series. He shares how Claude has become fully woven into his daily work, gives a candid first-hand account of his visit to Alpha School in New York, and digs into where AI now sits for creating high-quality maths resources — and where it still falls short. Access the show notes here: podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/224-ai-in-education-with-kris-boulton
#223 What do 10,000 teachers think about AI?
#223 What do 10,000 teachers think about AI? May 20, 2026 01:59:21 Grainne Hallahan, formerly an English teacher, now runs the questions at Teacher Tapp — the app that surveys more than 10,000 teachers a day. She came on with five AI-related findings from the archive, on cheating, lesson planning, attendance targets, and whole-school policies, plus three favourite Teacher Tapp findings to finish. Access the show notes here: podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/223-what-do-1
#222 AI in Education with Becky Allen
#222 AI in Education with Becky Allen May 13, 2026 01:36:21 In this long-awaited sequel (eight years after her last appearance), Craig welcomes back Becky Allen — education researcher, co-founder of Teacher Tap, co-author of The Teacher Gap, and now a consultant to the US-based Alpha School chain — for a deep dive into AI in education, with a particular focus on AI as a personal tutor. Becky is a self-confessed AI optimist who uses LLMs for almost everythi
#221 Building an AI tutor with Google DeepMind with Bibi Groot (Eedi’s Chief Impact Officer)
#221 Building an AI tutor with Google DeepMind with Bibi Groot (Eedi’s Chief Impact Officer) May 6, 2026 01:47:18 In this episode of the Mr Barton Maths podcast, Craig sits down with Bibi Groot, behavioural scientist at Eedi, to unpack the rigorous research behind their ed-tech work. Bibi traces her journey from the UK's Behavioural Insights Team — where she applied frameworks like EAST (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely) to public policy — to becoming Eedi's first behavioural scientist after a stint c
#220 AI in Education with Dan Meyer
#220 AI in Education with Dan Meyer Apr 29, 2026 01:26:22 A decade after his first appearance on the podcast, Dan Meyer returns to discuss the intersection of AI and mathematics education. Now leading AI feature development at Amplify (which acquired Desmos), Dan brings a uniquely balanced perspective—simultaneously a critic of AI's most maximalist claims and an active builder of AI tools for the classroom. Craig and Dan dig into three core areas: AI

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