Instructional coaching that works with Ollie Lovell from StepLab

Magnify Matters

What happens when we combine evidence-informed practice, high quality coaching and specific models for reference? You get transformation at scale.

In this episode of Magnify Matters, host Tim Edwards sits down with educator, author and podcast host Ollie Lovell, now Director of StepLab Australia - a powerful platform helping teachers embed better practice, every day.

StepLab is one of the key partners of Magnify Sandhurst, supporting over 120 teachers and leaders in our first wave of professional development. Together, Tim and Ollie explore how instructional coaching, aligned teaching techniques, and a deep understanding of how learning works can transform teacher development; not by doing more, but by doing what matters most.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Ollie turned his passion for education research into a globally recognised podcast
• What makes StepLab different from typical professional development
• Why instructional coaching leads to lasting, teacher-led change
• The science behind StepLab’s model
• How the partnership is helping to build sustainable, system-wide improvement in Catholic Education Sandhurst
• What it really means to empower teachers - not just support them

Whether you are in the classroom, leading a team, or shaping education strategy, this conversation offers practical insight into the future of professional learning — one deliberate step at a time.

Now stay with us as we magnify what truly matters.

Mentioned in this episode

• Magnify Sandhurst
• Catholic Education Sandhurst
• ERRR Podcast
• Ollie Lovell
• StepLab
• The science behind Steplab: how it includes all 14 mechanisms of effective PD

ABOUT OLLIE LOVELL

Ollie Lovell is a Melbourne-based educator with over a decade of classroom and leadership experience. He’s the host of the Education Research Reading Room podcast (2M+ downloads), and the author of Cognitive Load Theory in Action, Tools for Teachers, and The Classroom Management Handbook. As Director of StepLab Australia, Ollie is helping school systems across the country translate evidence into practice — one teacher at a time.

ABOUT MAGNIFY SANDHURST

Catholic Education Sandhurst rolled out Magnify Sandhurst, an evidence-informed, science of learning school improvement initiative, to its 51 Catholic schools across the Sandhurst Diocese at the beginning of 2025. Magnify Sandhurst focuses on how the brain learns, how literacy is effectively taught, uses a low variance, knowledge-rich curriculum and the creation of positive classrooms. Our practice is calm, predictable, and repeatable to maximise learning time in all classrooms. Magnify Sandhurst is deliberately bold and wide-ranging, generating whole-of-system improvement.

ABOUT CATHOLIC EDUCATION SANDHURST

Catholic Education Sandhurst is home to 56 Catholic schools across Central and North Eastern Victoria, educating 19,750 students. We partner with schools, students and families to provide innovation and excellence in education, inspired by the Catholic story.

Visit www.ceosand.catholic.edu.au or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.