#EduCrush

Hey there Friends, It's Alex. I just wanted to come and say thank you to all of you for everything! Thanks especially to Natalie for all she's shared and taught me.  I'm working on some new things starting with a new podcast on Youtube (for now) called Curiosity Bridge, the link is below.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfdO3NS1bd8fHfKYGsHPasQ   Linkedin is best way to connect for those who'd li...

On her final episode of the #EduCrush podcast, Natalie reflects on her personal growth throughout the past four years of creating the show and shares insights into what's next. Show Notes: The greatest validation comes from within.  Creativity thrives on consistency. Equity without introspection is a trap.  You are the solution until you become the problem.  My voice is powerful.  → Subscribe to U...

This new podcast from Natalie Vardabasso with co-host Tom Schimmer will help you leave the politics of your job behind and experience the freedom of becoming your own boss.  → Use this link to subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify, or Google Podcasts!

On this episode Alex interviews passionate and innovative educator Andrew Rigby, on the numerous benefits of TTRPG’s for students in the classroom.    Continue the conversation with Natalie on  Twitter  or  Instagram    Continue the conversation with Alex on  Twitter  or  Instagram     Join our Facebook group for community, connection and allies.   Download Nat's six research-based ways to INSPIRE...

Though Starr is considered a leading voice in innovative assessment and grading practices, it didn’t start out that way. Once upon a time, she was a teacher in her classroom on the precipice of making a terrifying change. In this episode, Nat talks with Starr about how her personal growth journey triggered a change in her practices and eventually a major pivot in her career. Learn how Starr learne...

 Continue the conversation with Natalie on  Twitter  or  Instagram    Continue the conversation with Alex on  Twitter  or  Instagram         Join our Facebook group for community, connection and allies.   Download Nat's six research-based ways to INSPIRE change in assessment and grading! On this episode Alex discusses how the court of public opinion influences policy, ethics and our feelings about...

✊ Check out the website for the Empowerment Ecosystem Summit for the schedule, locations, and details on how to register! Parent communication isn’t the sexiest part of our jobs, but that doesn’t make it any less critical. Natalie is joined by Crystal Frommert, author of “When Calling Parents isn’t your Calling,” to discuss strategies to proactively partner with parents and how to assert ourselve...

On this episode Alex interviews an expert in the community work that goes on in major cities. He has 20 years of experience working with children and youth, non-profits, schools, and families. He also happens to be my older brother, Rodney Noel.    Continue the conversation with Natalie on  Twitter  or  Instagram    Continue the conversation with Alex on  Twitter  or  Instagram         Join our Fa...

✨J oin us at the 2024 Empowerment Ecosystem Summit!   Assessment and identity might not seem like a logical pairing on the surface, but they are a powerhouse combo for learning and professional growth.   Everyone has an assessment story that we carry into the school space and those experiences determine what we believe to be true about ourselves, learners, and learning.   Today Natalie reconnects...

Happy new year! What are the things in this world that make your jaw drop? Things that are so awesome that you can’t help but get excited about it, about learning about it and experiencing it? On this episode of #Educrush, Alex explores knowledge for need, for honour and for awe as we take some time to look to the past and to space! Links to SN 1006 because it’s awesome. https://www.eso.org/public...

✨J oin us at the 2024 Empowerment Ecosystem Summit! Sometimes, our focus on external change is just a reflection of the deeper changes we know we're avoiding in ourselves.  Go read that again. Join Natalie for a solo episode to seize the new year and finally let go of the toxic habits, patterns, and relationships in your life to manifest your deepest desires. And no, manifesting isn’t magic, it’s...

This week on #Educrush, Alex is looking back on some of the interviews that match with what has turned out to be the focal point of the year…Community.    Continue the conversation with Natalie on  Twitter  or  Instagram    Continue the conversation with Alex on  Twitter  or  Instagram         Join our Facebook group for community, connection and allies.   Download Nat's six research-based ways to...

In this crossover episode, Natalie joins fellow podcast host and co-author, Tom Schimmer, to discuss how story is critical to rehumanize assessment, embrace the messiness of change, and to cultivate the mindset necessary for inner peace. 💬 Continue the conversation with Natalie on Twitter or Instagram    💬 Continue the conversation with Tom on Twitter or Instagram    ✊ Join our Facebook group f...

As the winter Holiday’s loom, now is the time of the year that I and others start to think about family. The countdown is on and we’re ready for a break. What does it look like to use this time, leading to the holidays, as an opportunity for personal growth and community building? Join Alex for a brief discussion on sharing traditions for the season! **Note from Alex** This episode is shorter than...

As soon as we say the word inclusion, there’s an exclusion. Designing an education system that is grounded in the mindset that all students belong and are capable of high levels of learning is the real goal. Dr. Shelley Moore joins Natalie to talk about what inclusion means to her and how we can make change through collaboration, standards-based approaches, and stories. 💬 Continue the conversatio...

Diversity, equity and inclusion will always be a complicated subject. It’s worthwhile to learn and to grow from it, because that allows us as teachers to create environments where all students can learn. Not just about the subject matter that we’re trying to teach but learn about what it means to be considerate of the communities we’re in and the people we encounter. This week on #Educrush, Alex i...

Fasten your seatbelts as Natalie takes you on a journey through the inception, challenges, and triumphs of Bio-Med Science Academy with its founder, Stephanie Lammlein. They explore how she turned a bold vision into reality, how the students are thriving in this educational ecosystem and the impact it's making on the rural community it serves.  💬 Continue the conversation with Natalie on Twitter...

Leadership is often cited as one of the most important and contentious parts of school’s life. Many dream of being a leader that is effective and inspiring and many more have opinions on what exactly a leader needs in order to be effective and inspiring. What if we focused on the leadership that lives in all of us? What does it look like to move away from a system where one person is always at the...

In this solo episode, Natalie honors the Halloween season by describing five ghastly ghouls haunting our schools: phantom policies, zombie meetings, dementor processes, and the control and avoidance poltergeists. Learn what they are and how to defeat them! 💬 Continue the conversation with Natalie on Twitter or Instagram    🎧 Listen to the podcast episode that inspired this episode: “Slaying your...

School or Athletics? That’s the question we often ask students athletes if grades begin to slip. What if we are misunderstanding the role that sports have in the education space? How can teams help students better grasp the concepts in the academic classroom. This week Alex sits down with Teacher, Coach and Athletic Director Nick Waterbury, who has spent time on a local and national and internatio...

Is participation the only thing that can be assessed in Phys Ed class? How might health be integrated as a goal alongside physical activity? Nat joins Canadian PHE and assessment expert Josh Ogilvie to explore what’s possible for Phys Ed when we embrace conversation, personal inquiry and belonging. Show Notes: The shift to Physical “Health” Education (PHE) was an intentional one to explore the int...

What is burnout? Why does it have such a tight grasp on discussions of educator’s efficacy and longevity? This week on #Educrush Alex discusses learnings about the insidious natures of and potential strategies for dealing with Burnout.  **For the curious, here are some links to the papers I read that don’t cost money or require membership at a university library.** National Library of Medicine htt...

Where is the space for entrepreneurship in education? How might visionary educators expand their impact outside the four walls of their classroom and school? Dr. Will joins Natalie to discuss what an EduPreneur is and how we can disrupt our limiting beliefs around money and worthiness to become one. Show Notes: Dr. Will’s mission in education is to fill the “hope gap" An EduPreneur is someone who...

This week on #Educrush, we’re talking to a recent high school graduate and previous guest to the pod, Reese Gagne. She shares her insights about the value, complexity and elusive nature of community as she begins her post-secondary journey, and we begin our school year! Links: Continue the conversation with Natalie on Twitter or Instagram Continue the conversation with Alex on Twitter or Instagram...

What makes for good design? If teachers are to see themselves as learning designers, what qualities might guide their work? Join Natalie as she talks to a professional interior designer to discover parallels to teaching. Show Notes: If architects create the outside of a building, interior designers create the inside (of which decoration is only one small piece). Good design is more of a noun than...