A Podcast for Educators

How does one school help students get extra help and enrichment, while building connections that make their 3,000 student campus feel smaller? Learn from Head of School Dr. Tim Powers in this episode.

Middle school students needs more than a quiet, compliant study hall to thrive. In this episode, Dr. Zachary Cohen talks about the WIN (What I Need) Time program at his Middle School, and how it balances time for academic support with student choice, and helps students develop important executive functioning skills.

• Read Zak’s article on Edutopia.
• Study | Parent involvement and student academic performance: A multiple mediational analysis

Have you ever wanted to dive into the world of flex mod scheduling at your school, but just couldn’t quite work out the logistics? In this podcast episode educators Dr. Scott Hand and Dr. Alexis Swineheart talk about the steps they’ve taken at their school to run a flex mod pilot, making shifts that have made it much more manageable. Learn what they’re doing, how it’s been going, and even some valuable tips for school leaders along the way.

Read More: Flex Mod at Radnor Township School District

In this episode, we learn from K.C. Knudson, an experienced educator and senior consultant with Novak Education. MTSS is a popular topic, and an effective tool for meeting student needs. But what is it, really? And how much hold does it have as a ‘tiered model.’ Explore deeper ideas about MTSS and how it can be viewed as a broader framework for learning in this podcast episode.

Check out: The Opportunity Myth

Why does the use of time matter in schools? In this episode with talk with Michael Horn about why and how schools can change how they view and utilize time, to encourage mastery of learning over seat time.

What is Rigor?: https://edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-what-is-rigor/2012/02

In Part 2 of  ‘The Opportunity Gap: Who are the Gifted Students?’ Brian Butler explains the 5 shifts to making gifted education “the floor of every classroom”. What does that really mean? How can any school make these shifts? Listen to find out!

In this episode, the first of a two part feature, we talk with education consultant and author Brian Butler about the idea of giftedness in education. Traditionally gifted students are viewed as more intelligent, and set apart from the rest. But is it more about abilities and intelligence, or the opportunities students are given, that determines this distinction? How can educators shift their mindset to view all students as gifted? Listen as Brian provides valuable insights into these and other questions.

In episode 6 we speak with Kenneth Williams. Ken nationally recognized trainer, speaker, coach and consultant in leadership and school culture. Ken discusses his thoughts on why we should stop ability grouping students. How schools can create equitable learning for every student.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0
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In our last episode, Why Create a Flex Period?, Assistant Principal John Weaver talked about the benefits of a flex period, that he’s experienced at his school. But how do you create, and successfully manage a flex period? Learn all about it in this episode as John gets into the details of implementation, protocol, and how much administration should really be involved.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0
Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

Would you like to see your students take ownership of their learning? Would you like to give them opportunities, every day, that allow them to meet their needs? In this episode Assistant Principal John Weaver expresses how a daily flex period has benefitted students, teachers, and the entire school culture.

Link for Bloom’s Taxonomy video

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0
Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

In this episode Charles Williams talks about his school’s number one motivation — love for students. How has this impacted their approach to student learning amidst the pandemic, and what changes has it led them to make in their master schedule?

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

In this episode we talk with Assistant Principal Cathy Gaschen, about how and what prompted her school to reimagine time. Learn about the thought process behind the school’s unique schedule, why they value their ‘flex day’, and what challenges they’ve had to overcome along the way.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

Often, PLC meetings are seen as a time waster. But is a PLC just a meeting? In this episode we talk with Chad Dumas about what a PLC actually is, how it can be effective, and what it does for students.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

Time can be used a lot of different ways during the school day. Decisions about how time is used have a direct impact on students, for good or for bad. For one Principal at a High School in Florida, it was clear that time was not being spent in a way that helped students. At her school, there was a 35% failure rate. Learn how she and her fellow educators adjusted how they used time — and were able to reverse this failure rate quickly and give students exactly what they needed.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

Do students feel heard at your school? Are their opinions valued? What happens when they feel like they don’t have a say in decisions that are going to impact them? Usually, if they feel like they’re not being given a voice, they’ll find one. In this episode, learn how one Principal learned the importance of student voice, how he turned around a tricky situation, and ultimately turned those who were opposing changes, into advocates.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

When it comes to making any changes in a school, the most important question to ask is ‘Why?’. That’s what one Principal did when his school went through a long, dramatic change process. What can other educators learn from defining their ‘why’, and keeping their students front and center? Listen to find out!

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

In part 2 of our competency-based education special, Brian Stack and Jonathan Vander Els discuss how they respond to student needs, whether that be when a student is struggling to learn something, or when they already get it.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

We are excited to be releasing two special episodes all about competency-based education. In Part One, we’re sharing a conversation with two competency-ed experts who talk about what competency-based education is, and how it impacts grading practices to reflect more than just a percentage of how well a student understands something.

 

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

In this episode, learn how one school successfully implemented a flex period by getting staff buy-in and involving all stakeholders in the decision-making process. They will also discuss how their flex period has really benefited students.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire

Two educators from a STEM academy talk about how their school took the idea of Genius Hour and gave students an entire day during the school week for independent, flexible learning. Listen to find out how they did it, and the incredible opportunities for students that have resulted.

Intro track is entitled ‘Roughcut’ by the artist Tripwire, licensed under Creative Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ Track and Artist page: https://sampleswap.org/artist/Tripwire