Teachers on Fire

Put your K-12 assessment tools to the test with 15 powerful questions. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your practice. These short episodes are based on my written reflections, which you can find on the Teachers on Fire Magazine at Medium.com. Read the blog post featured in this episode at https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire/level-up-your-summative-assess...

We’re all developing learners. Every last one of us. As adults, we often have the luxury of walking away from learning that proves difficult or doesn’t interest us. Students in our current models of K-12 (or at least K-8) don’t usually have that option. So when we see our kids in the learning pit, let’s not panic or shame. Instead, let’s engage in thoughtful conversations. Let’s ask helpful questi...

In 2017, I attended ISTE in San Antonio, Texas. ISTE, or The International Society for Technology in Education, hosts the largest conference for educational technology in the world. My first visit to the exhibitors’ hall was eye-opening. Wow, I thought. There are a lot of edtech companies in education right now. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your pract...

I first read Ron Berger’s Leaders of Their Own Learning in 2018, and I’ve been sold on the power of learning targets ever since. I believe they’re an essential part of successful instruction, assessment, and student learning. I post learning targets on my Google Docs. On Slides. On Classroom. On Seesaw. I try to refer to them often in my instruction. And I ask students to use our targets to assess...

Choosing the path of sanity and sustainability isn’t easy at first. It requires trusting the process. It involves sharing agency and ownership with students. It requires the release of teacher guilt formed by the wages mindset of assessment. But take courage, colleagues. This is the path to joy in our work. The path to doing what we love to do. The path to reclaimed weekends and holidays. The path...

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey is a panel of educators who are passionate about the learning opportunities created by virtual whiteboard tools. Join Melissa Aveling, Kate Stevens, Lise Farquhar, Tim Belmont, and Jeffery Frieden on an audio tour of Google Jamboard, Padlet, Whiteboard.fi, and Whiteboard.chat. Whether you’re well-versed in these tools or a complete newbie, I can pr...

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey is joined by Becky Keene and Kathi Kersznowski, authors of Sail the 7 Cs with Microsoft Education: Stories from around the World to Transform and Inspire . Welcome to Roundtables: livestreamed conversations meant to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professional practice. ⭐️ CONNECT with THESE INSPIRING EDUCATORS on TWITTER ⭐️...

What’s our ultimate vision for Seesaw? We want to use Seesaw to help us strengthen our culture of growth, reflection, and learning. We want the Seesaw journal to be so informative that engaged parents and reflective students have a clear sense of their learning progress every step of the way. No surprises at report card time. We want the Seesaw journal to be a source of celebration, pride, and joy...

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey connects with educators who are passionate about improving the shape of professional learning: Mark Ryan, Vince Bustamante, Min Suh, Kate Stevens, and Jeffery Frieden. We discuss best practices for most powerful professional learning, asynchronous tools, how to capture in-house expertise, gamification, and more. Welcome to Roundtables: livestreamed...

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey connects with the well-loved Chey Cheney and Pav Wander, co-hosts of The Staffroom Podcast and The Drive with Chey & Pav. Find out what sets these two Toronto educators on fire and what motivates them to share their ideas. Welcome to Roundtables: livestreamed conversations meant to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professio...

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey connects with guests Kevin Van Lagen, Nikki Lavergne, Melody McAllister, Tammy G. Neil, and Dr. Casey T. Jakubowski to discuss the state of rural education today. What are the WINS worthy of celebration in rural education? What are the biggest CHALLENGES that rural educators and learners face today? How is TECHNOLOGY changing the learning landscape...

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey connects with Rita Rai, Nadia Irshad, and Peter Anderson from Glarea Elevated Learning ( https://glareaschool.com/ ), a school that is charting a unique path to learning and instruction.  What is challenge-based learning, how does it help students, and how does it fit with inquiry and other approaches to instruction? You’re about to find out....

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey connects with five Latina superintendents who are providing bold leadership to school districts in California (and now Texas). It’s a tremendous honor to bring you their stories. Welcome to Roundtables: livestreamed conversations meant to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professional practice. CONNECT with THESE INSPIRING EDUCA...

In this edition of the Roundtable, host Tim Cavey connects with five educators from the Assessment Consortium of BC. The purpose of ACBC is “To foster growth in assessment literacy for educators in British Columbia that will lead to sustainable and equitable practices, benefiting learners from K to post-secondary.” Whether you’re a British Columbian educator or not, if you’re interested in learnin...

JAMAL CROOK is an assistant principal in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and a co-host of the StartEdUp podcast with Don Wettrick. FOLLOW Jamal: On Twitter @JamalCrook ( https://twitter.com/JamalCrook ) On YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8I00930Uk5PQMocAIqv9WQ VISIT https://teachersonfire.net/ for all the show notes and links from this episode! FOLLOW Teachers on Fire on social media On...

Dr. Eric Guise is a teacher, technology specialist, doctor of education, podcaster, YouTube creator, lifelong learner, and I’m grateful to call him a friend. FOLLOW Dr. Eric Guise on social media On Twitter @GuiseGotTeched ( https://twitter.com/GuiseGotTechEd ) On Twitter @WeGotTeched ( https://twitter.com/WeGotTechED ) On Instagram @WeGotTeched ( https://www.instagram.com/wegotteched/ ) On Facebo...

CHARLES WILLIAMS has served in urban education for over 15 years as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal while working with students in grades PK - 12. He has developed innovative programs and structures that have resulted in successful schools in both Indiana and Illinois. He has also presented and spoken at numerous events. Charles is the founder of CW Consulting, an Educational Consult...

If you found yourself in survival mode this year, I see you. Be kind to yourself. Accept what this year was. Take time to reflect. Release. Recover. Recharge and get well. Then revisit and reinvest. Then come the fall, you and I will once again leave the comfort zone. We’ll stretch ourselves. We’ll take risks. We’ll embrace the unfamiliar, and we’ll do it all for our students, because that is who...

"Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it." — Steven Pressfield Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your practice. These short episodes are based on my written reflections, which you can find on the Teachers on Fire Magazine at Medium.com. Read the blog post featured in...

I do not enjoy learning how to assemble IKEA furniture. Or fix cars. Or cook. Or complete home renovations. These are tasks that I will do to the extent that I have to, but they don’t interest or inspire me. And although I want to remain curious about all of the world around me … perhaps they never will. What I’ve just described resembles the experience of school for many students. Some areas of l...

One of the things I’ve found about teaching Math is that it helps to have a regular, real-time sense of student learning. For ALL of my students. As we take on new skills (or scaffold off older ones), what is their current proficiency level? Do they really understand a concept, or are they just keeping their head down and bluffing, hoping to evade detection? Who are we leaving behind? Welcome to S...

How has COVID-19 changed professional learning? How have livestream platforms changed the face of professional development? Where are these tools taking us and what opportunities do they present? Join us as we discuss these and other questions around livestream platforms and professional development. CONNECT with THESE INSPIRING EDUCATORS on TWITTER Noa Daniel @IamNoaDaniel - https://twitter.com/i...

The 3 Caffeinated Coaches are nothing short of inspiring. United by Twitter and hailing from different parts of the planet, these three education leaders collaborate on work around coaching, leadership, educational technology, and best practices. Join host Tim Cavey as he chats with Georgina Dean, Shannon Moore, and Becky Colling about their learning and mission. Welcome to Roundtables: livestream...

How can we help our English students improve their reading and writing while saving our sanity? Are the iconic stacks of papers actually avoidable? Guests Marisa Thompson, Matthew Johnson, Tyler Rablin, and Gina Benz as we dig into these and other important questions for today’s English teacher. Welcome to Roundtables: livestreamed conversations meant to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and i...

Is educator self-care even possible during a PANDEMIC? Can we actually do better than aim for SURVIVAL? How can we move from burnout to rekindled FIRE? Catch my conversation with Lindsay Titus , Dan Tricarico , and Dori Katsionis as we dig into all this and more. Welcome to Roundtables: livestreamed conversations meant to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professional practice....