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Mel Saunders

Mel Saunders

Head of School Improvement at IFtL (Inspiring Futures through Learning); education leader specializing in oracy, school leadership, and classroom practice.

Jul 6, 2026

Teaching on purpose

Teaching on purpose

Teaching on Purpose: Oracy prompts with Mel Saunders

Jul 6 · 32m

Adam CulbeckHOST
6:27
So what is it that, what does that mean to you, driving hard thinking? What does that mean to you in terms of your experience as a teacher, as a leader?
Mel Saunders
Mel SaundersGUEST
6:38
Yeah, I think, you know, we probably do that quite naturally, getting people to think.
Mel Saunders
Mel SaundersGUEST
6:43
But, you know, my experience of working with different heads, different schools and different teachers, there's that surface level thinking.
Mel Saunders
Mel SaundersGUEST
6:49
So that idea of quick answers, quick recall, which has a place.
Mel Saunders
Mel SaundersGUEST
6:53
We know that, you know, sometimes you want information off of people that's at the tip of the tongue and you want those quick answers.
Mel Saunders
Mel SaundersGUEST
6:59
But actually, there are lots of opportunities where we want children to think deeper.
Mel Saunders
Mel SaundersGUEST
7:05
to really challenge that answer and their understanding.
Adam CulbeckHOST
10:53
So is there is there a particular technique then that you think would be good to talk about that you've seen used effectively to drive up?

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