Episode #10 All Ashman's Fault

In this episode of When Will They Learn?, Greg and Caiti tackle a stack of education policy debates - beginning with the most pressing and meta question of all: is it, in fact, all Ashman’s fault?

From claims that evidence-informed approaches have reduced teaching to “death by PowerPoint” and scripting, to the shift from the reading wars to the emerging learning wars, the conversation explores how policy, ideology and evidence continue to shape the education landscape.

The pair also unpack proposals to assess students’ use of AI in NAPLAN, asking what schools are actually for and why writing still matters in an age of generative technology. Finally, they discuss NAPLAN’s role as an accountability measure and whether it can help schools identify ineffective teaching practices.

It’s policy-heavy, slightly controversial, and somehow, it all comes back to Ashman.

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Greg Ashman

Greg is a school leader at Ballarat Clarendon College and holds a PhD in instructional design from UNSW.

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