Have a Life Teaching
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© John Schembari
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In this podcast, we will engage in conversation with educators providing insight on best-in-class K-12 curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices.
46 Episodes
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Earlier this week, we chatted with Ryan Steuer and Andrew Larson about the mechanics of embedding PBL within our teaching practice.
This week, we speak with Carolyn Brown, Acting VP of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, and Rose Reiken, middle school teacher at High Tech High in San Diego, about their PBL unit collaboration.
Learn more in this episode about how Carolyn and Rose partnered on a project that benefited both the museum, in improving the youth engagement factor of their public tours, and Rose's students in their understanding of Japanese American internment during WW2 and human rights issues. Also learn about the intergenerational bonds formed between the docents at the museum and Rose's 7th grade students.
Carolyn Brown LinkedIn Page
Rose Reiken LinkedIn Page
High Tech High - Middle MESA
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
Music - Aylex
In this episode, join me and my guests Ryan Steuer and Andrew Larson - authors of PBL Simplified and Life's a Project - as we discuss the ins/outs of teaching through a project based learning model.
In this episode, we discuss the what and why of PBL - student engagement in learning - as well as practical ways to implement PBL in the classroom. We chat about how to align PBL learning to standards, the typical length of a PBL unit, sample units, the role of community parthers and student public presentation of their work, as well as ways to assess both individual students and small groups through PBL. Both guests also talk about the impact of PBL in renewing their passion for teaching.
Andrew Larson LinkedIn Page
Life's a Project Book
Ryan Steuer LinkedIn Page
PBL Simplified Book
Magnify Learning
Music by Aylex
New teachers coming into the profession often struggle in
knowing what to do/learn first. Indeed, as my next guests say, for most new teachers, the goal is simply surviving day to day and to make it into their second yearof teaching.
Join me and my guests, Tom Hierck and Alex Kajitani – book authors and Solution Tree education consultants – as we discuss their new book – You’rea Teacher Now! What’s Next? We discussthe importance of forming relationships with both students and colleagues, as the key to survival, and knowing our students’ DNA – Dreams, Needs, and
Abilities. We also discuss how administrators should know the DNA of theirstaff.
Developing positive relationships with students
lets students know that teachers care about them as individuals and helps teachers to design lessons that speak to student interests and aptitudes.
Tom Hierck LinkedIn
Alex Kajitani LinkedIn
You're a Teacher Now Book
Tom Hierck Website
Alex Kajitani Website
Music - Aylex
In this episode, we have the opportunity to chat with Chad Dumas - former school principal, CEO of Next Learning Solutions, and Solution Tree PLC@Work consultant - about how schools should be using data strategically in both PLCs and school leadership teams to improve student growth and achievement.
Dumas discuss the four lenses through which we should collect/review data, systemically, as we set school improvement goals and develop our 3-5 year school strategic plans - achievement, perception, demographic, and program data. How does program and perception data affect achievement, and vice versa, etc.?
We also discuss examples of each type of data, processes that school leadership teams might use while reviewing data, and the priority that we should be placing on collecting formative assessment data (exit tickets) in our classrooms - teacher data - and then reviewing this data across classrooms at the school level/supporting teacher teams doing this work.
Chad Dumas LinkedIn Page
Next Learning Solutions Webpage
Let's Put the C in PLC Book
Music by Aylex
In an earlier episode with Darlene Prott, we discussed how to help students to engage in the act of reading itself.
In this episode, we speak with Lorraine Radice - K-12 director of literacy in a public school district in New York and author of the book Leading a Culture of Reading -about how to create a welcoming school community culture centered around reading.
This culture can take many forms, some of which we unpack here - adult book study, parent academies centered around how to help parents read with one's child, class/teacher book swaps, activities where students are the stakeholders driving literacy discussions, and many more!
Radice also describes her work as a "reading role model" in previewing and presenting new childrens and young adult fiction/non-fiction texts to her colleagues - who then serve as adult reading role models to their students - as well as the genres of text that different learner age groups tend to enjoy.
Dr. Lorraine M. Radice Web Page
Leading a Culture of Reading Book
Lorraine M. Radice X Account
Music by Aylex
These are challenging times in the world and, as we see on university/K12 school campuses, global events are having a direct impact on the teaching and learning environment.
How do we teach students about both Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia?
How do we engage with those who do not share our perspectives on the Israel-Hamas conflict?
I hope you will listen to this podcast conversation with Dr. Debbie Almontaser - cultural diversity specialist and founder/CEO of the Bridging Cultures Group - as we discuss how to have a thoughtful conversation with our students about this sensitive topic.
We also discuss ways through which we can help our students work through rascist tropes that are promogated on social media and elsewhere about both Arab and Jewish Americans.
Dr. Debbie Almontaser LinkedIn Page
Bridging Cultures Group
New York Times Article - Critics Cost Muslim Educator Her Dream School
Music - Aylex
As Darlene Prott - Founder and CEO of NJ Teacher 2 Teacher says, we may think students should be able to read once they pass third grade but we may want to think again especially if we are supporting multi-lingual learners.
Students may be able to decode words by 3rd grade but do they truly understand and can they make meaning of and draw connections from what they are reading?
In this episode, Prott and I discuss how teachers - particularly cross content teachers grades 4 and up - can help students deconstruct what they are reading while also improving student vocabulary development in ways that are visible to the teacher. In particular, we discuss the importance of using annotation codes with students as they read as well as whole group read alouds across K12.
Darlene Prott LinkedIn Page
NJ Teacher to Teacher Webpage
The Gift
Music - Aylex
Today, principals are coming to the job younger and with less experience. While they come with curiosity and enthusiasm for the job, many still struggle in the role because they do not have a grounding in the basic pillars of leadership in school settings.
In this episide, my guest David Franklin - CEO and founder of The Principal's Desk - and I discuss the five pillars of leadership as discussed in his new book - Advice from The Principal's Desk.
We highlight the importance of improving student attendance, being creative in reaching out to families, and learning to listen before acting as school leader.
David Franklin LinkedIn Page
The Principal's Desk Blog
Advice from the Principal's Desk Book
Music by Aylex
In this episode, Jose Bowen - DEI education consultant and former President of Goucher College - and I discuss his new book Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning.
Indeed, in his book and in our chat, Professor Bowen asserts that AI will not replace jobs but rather require students today to use AI to develop both their metacognition and creativity if they are to be marketable for the jobs that AI will actually create.
We also discuss practical ways through which teachers can integrate AI into their classroom instruction. As Professor Bowen argues, AI is poised to revolutionize how we receive and process information much like the advent of the Internet some thirty years ago.
Jose Antonio Bowen LinkedIn
Jose Bowen Webpage
Teaching with AI Book
The New 3Rs of Education TED Talk
Music - Aylex
April 7th will be the thirtieth anniversary of the start of the Rwandan Genocide in which 800,000 men, women, and children - mostly from the Tutsi minority group - were deliberately and systematically murdered because of who they were - not because of anything they did.
In this episode, my guest Jacqueline Murekatete - human rights lawyer and founder of the Genocide Survivors Foundation - and I not only discuss her work in supporting survivors of global genocide but also her experiences as a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda.
We discuss ways through which educators can make students not only aware of the typical hate speech and demonisation of victims that often occurs, prior to the crime of genocide, but also help students to become upstanders against it. We also discuss how Rwanda today teaches its own students about its troubled past.
Warning: This episode describes situations of physical violence and emotional abuse.
Jacqueline Murekatete LinkedIn
Genocide Survivors Foundation
BBC - How the Rwandan Genocide Happened
Music - Aylex
Educators can't do well by their students if they are not whole themselves.
Sometimes, the best course of action is to know when enough is enough and change course to new jobs in the education field or outside of it.
In this episode, Casey Jakubowski - co-author of Crush It From the Start: 50 Tips for New Teachers and school principal - and I discuss the signs to look for to determine if moving on is the right decision. In his book, see Tip #50 - Knowing When to Retreat.
We also discuss ways to limit burnout in one's current position by saying no to asks from those above in a professional manner.
It's not about refusing but by asking what else from one's plate can be removed to accomodate this new request.
Casey Jakubowski LinkedIn
Crush It From the Start: 50 Tips for New Teachers
Music - Aylex
In this episode, Megan Conklin - founder of Conklin Educational Perspectives and Trainer at the Washington Education Association - discusses her work in designing and facilitating substitute teacher team training programs and how her model could and should be replicated across the country.
Data suggests that K12 students in the USA can spend up to a year in classes managed by substitutes who are often unsupported and unprepared to meet student needs. Yet, programs like Megan's are providing substitute teachers with the skills needed to excel and also a community of like individuals.
With over 30% of Megan's participants wanting to become certified full time teachers, substitute training is an investment in time that not only helps districts to have qualified substitutes on hand now but also is an investment in the future of education.
Megan Conklin LinkedIn
Washington Education Association
Good Morning America
Substantial Classrooms
Music - Aylex
In this episode of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast, Jo Boaler, Stanford Math education professor and author of ther new book "Math- ish", and I discuss how to make Math instruction more accessible to students in K12 schools.
Math learning can cause unnecessary anxiety if it is taught only abstractly rather than in a way that connects it to the world in which we live and helps to explain it. We chat about the value that comes from K12 students discussing what they think Math represented pictorally may mean - even if imprecise. We also discuss the importance of students reflecting upon the Math thinking of peers.
We also touch upon new Math learning pathways - transitioning from an Algebra/Calculus track in high school to one that more so incorporates courses on Statistics and Data Analysis.
Jo Boaler LinkedIn
Math-ish Book
YouCubed.Org
Music - Aylex
In this episode of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast, Roxie Patton, Founder of RJ Consulting and Coaching, and I continue our conversation on the importance of having educators who understand the students and families they serve.
Since many educators no longer live in the communites where they teach, this becomes a particularly important consideration within teaching. Roxie and I discuss ways through which educators might combat the internal biases they may have of others/their students as well as how school administration can proactively develop inclusive school communities.
Roxie and I also discuss how schools might better provide inclusive environments for educators - those who may be neurodivergent and/or require physical accomodations themselves and why we want these diverse educators on our payrolls.
Roxie J. Patton LinkedIn
Music - Aylex
When we teach students how to write, we often do so by teaching certain writing "moves" - introducing a topic, expanding on it, and summation, etc.
We also should be teaching the communication moves that go along with public speaking and presentation. So says my guest Robyn Brinks Lockwood, speech professor at Stanford University, on this episode.
So that students can meet the rigor of college teaching and learning, Professor Brinks-Lockwood and I discuss what K12 educators, particularly high school teachers, can do to better prepare students to not only give presentations but also to serve as facilitators and moderators of student led discussion.
We also discuss how students can better capture important learnings from the traditional lecture model of teaching and to become active as opposed to passive listeners.
Robyn Brinks-Lockwood LinkedIn
Books by Robyn Brinks-Lockwood
Q&A With Robyn Brinks-Lockwood
Music - Aylex
Over 27 percent of all students in America have immigrant parents. In this episode, Ari Gerzon-Kessler and I discuss strategies for better engaging this traditionally underserved population of families.
Gerzon-Kessler, a former principal, currently serves as a coordinator of family partnerships and is the author of the new book "On the Same Team: Bringing Educators and Underrepresented Families Together". He and I discuss the power of newcomer parent-teacher teams as well as home visits in both helping educators to better connect with these families and in providing newcomer families with additional voice on and insight into their child's education.
Ari Gerzon-Kessler LinkedIn
On the Same Team - Book
Music - Aylex
In this episode, my guest Allison Rodman, author of the new book Still Learning and the founder/CEO of The Learning Loop, and I discuss what is required to embed effective teacher professional development in schools. We discuss what administrators must do to ensure that all training is systemic and has established success criteria as well as how to improve the effectiveness of teacher professional learning communities and overall teacher collaboration in schools.
Allison Rodman LinkedIn
Still Learning Book
The Learning Loop Web Site
Music - Aylex
In this episode, the authors of the Formative Assessment Handbook, Marine Freiburn and Sandy Brunet, and I discuss how to craft learning intentions that then allow teachers to align assessment and student engagement to those learning goals. In our chat, we discuss how to unpack standards into child friendly learning intentions, how to embed success criteria in learning, and strategies for engaging students in understanding and measuring their own growth towards mastery of learning intentions.
Marine Freibrun LinkedIn
Sandra Brunet LinkedIn
The Formative Assessment Handbook
Music by Aylex
Maker spaces are anywhere and everywhere where students are taking knowledge and creating something physical that adds on to that knowledge in new ways. Students' cognitive skills are developed in the process. Yes, schools can create labs with 3D printers but teachers can also turn a closet into a maker space. Join my next guest Matt Zigler, maker space cordinator at the Bullis School and professional artist, and I as we discuss ways through which he helps classroom teachers design a maker space component to their lessons.
Matt Zigler LinkedIn
Make: Three Modes of Making Book
Matt Zigler Website
In Part I, Sybil Hall and I discussed what educators can do to take ownership of their own wellbeing. Here, in Part II, Aimee Parkinson Presnall. Founder and CEO of Well-Nest (Australia) and I discuss how individual responsibility for our own wellbeing as educators can and should be further supported by school systems/administrators. School leaders also have a responsibility to implement and sustain initiatives that prioritize the collective wellbeing of all within their school community. Aimee provides some strategies for how school systems might do this in our chat.
Linkedin - Aimee Presnall
Well-Nest
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