About this episode

Greg and Caiti discuss various education policy debates, including the impact of evidence-informed approaches and the role of NAPLAN in assessing teaching effectiveness.

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. Have something you want us to discuss in a future episode? Or want to find us? Get in touch on any of our socials below! Greg Ashman Greg is a school leader at Ballarat Clarendon College and holds a PhD in instructional design from UNSW. Substack – Filling the Pail LinkedIn – Greg Ashman X/Twitter – @greg_ashman If you’re…

More episodes of When Will They Learn?

• Episode #16 A Load of ACPUE · September 3, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Episode #15 Obviously · August 20, 2026 · 60 min
• Episode #14 Scandal Du Jour · August 6, 2026 · 60 min
• Episode #12 Ooh, gossip! · July 9, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Episode #11 Universal Design for Neurononsense · June 25, 2026 · 57 min
• Episode #9 NEUROSCIENCE · May 28, 2026 · 57 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the When Will They Learn? podcast page.