How We Teach This

Michael McKnight, author and special education expert, describes how education has moved from a time without brain science to current times with more understanding of how trauma affects students that are often labeled difficult. McKnight shares how humans are resilient and the importance of teaching everyone how trauma impacts the brain, then affects behavior and learning. He believes that startin...

Whittne Ballinger, as a third-year teacher, has already experienced a lot of variety in her teaching career. She currently teaches 2nd-grade students to understand their own brains plus how to improve regulation and be better prepared for learning. She creates a welcoming classroom with Amigdala reset stations and Polyvagal charts. She says that if 2nd-grade students can understand these concepts...

Dr. Dustin Springer, Principal of Gray Hawk Elementary in USD 458 Basehor-Linwood in Kansas, shares his background and how he came to realize the need for understanding neuroscience in education. He gives insight by sharing his journey as a teacher then principal of how he worked to changed the environment in his elementary school so that students would have a nurturing school experience with rela...

Dr. Lori Desautels, author and education expert, explains how early trauma impacts a students' ability to regulate and learn. She has written several books from her experience working with students with challenging behaviors. She shares how addiction is a form of a learning disorder as a reaction to pain. Teachers and parents can look at the acronym "A SECRET" to identify the causes of behaviors t...

Jordan Billings, Instructor for Olathe Public Schools, shares strategies and steps on how to get started for educators who are interested in adding elements of gamification into their classrooms. Gamification can improve engagement and add some fun back into the classroom. It might be just what you need to inspire you after a few rough years dealing with the ups and downs during the pandemic.

The 2022 Kansas Teacher of the Year Team travels across the state giving presentations to inspire and challenge those in education to improve teaching & learning by getting to know their students and building valuable relationships that change lives. In this podcast, the team answers questions on a variety of topics to inspire our listening audience to renew the teaching spirit and make connec...

Dr. Jenny Moss shares strategies and examples of how creating a more autonomy-supportive classroom compared to a controlling environment can improve the overall environment of teaching and learning. She shares why behavior management strategies like public charts or activities that shame students create a less than desirable effect. She offers the suggestion of incorporating more choice and value...

How We Teach This is looking forward to Season 3 starting January 19, 2022 with new episodes every two weeks on Wednesdays.

Christopher Albrecht, 2019 Inductee in the National Teachers Hall of Fame, discusses his latest book. Albrecht is an educator and author who inspires teachers to remember their purpose for becoming an educator. In order to write his recent book, The Rediscovery of Hope and Purpose , he interviewed several people with different stories of their life - from a well-known football coach, the firs...

On December 8, 2021 we will drop a special extended interview with 2019 National Teacher Hall of Fame Inductee, author, teacher, and park ranger  Christopher Albrecht. After that, we are going on break but will return with our first episode of Season 3 on January 19, 2022!

From adapting school to be delivered online at the beginning of the COVID pandemic through the continuing process of addressing the social-emotional needs of staff and students, administrators from USD 265 Goddard Jess Herbig, Executive Director of Instructional Supports, and Ryan Jilka, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources & Student Services, review their work and experiences. You can...

Join school administrators from USD 265 Goddard, Jess Herbig, Executive Director of Instructional Supports, and Ryan Jilka, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources & Student Services, as they discuss their work and experiences through the pandemic.

"A lot of my implementation (of OER) comes from using the mathematical community to find some good, open source or free text options. For the classes I'm using it in, I'm making videos to go on top of it. I will look at the material, and I'll (short) create lectures (with captioning)," said Thomas Mahoney, associate professor in ESU's Mathematics and Economics Department. Thomas shares his experie...

Dr. Ruby K. Payne, educator and author best known for A Framework for Understanding Poverty, visited Emporia State University and was interviewed by a current and past member of the Social Emotional Learning Student Group. Dr. Payne is an expert on the culture of poverty and its relation to education. You can find more information about How We Teach This on our website, www.emporia.edu/HWTT plus w...

Join us as member of Emporia State University's Social Emotional Learning student group interview expert on education and emotional poverty Dr. Ruby Payne on the next episode of How We Teach This.

Adapting a course from face-to-face to online is not an easy task. In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Moss from Emporia State University's Department of Psychology discusses how she implemented OER into her course while transitioning her courses online due to the COVID pandemic. You can find more information about How We Teach This on our website, www.emporia.edu/HWTT plus watch videos of the presenter...

"This idea of kids need to comply with us because we're the adults and they're the child and they make a poor choice and there has to have a punishment.... quite frankly, those days are over." "I had that mindset early on in my career. Looking back on it, when we know better we do better. When I started learning more about the impact of trauma...that's when my life took more of a swing towards to...

Dr. Kevin Rabas and Dr. Amy Sage Webb-Baza from Emporia State University's Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism discuss ballroom dancing, their reasons for adding Open Educational Resources (OER) into their creative writing courses, and express gratitude for the many resources available to help them with the transition. You can find more information about How We Teach This on ou...

"When I started learning more about the impact of trauma...that's when my life took more of a swing towards to the positive," said Dustin Springer, Principal of Gray Hawk Elementary, USD 458 Basehor-Linwood. Learn about his progression in social emotional learning in the next episode of How We Teach This.

Meet these first-year teachers who began teaching during the pandemic: Jenna Pennington (BSE 19) and Dylan Schneider (BSE 20). They share their experiences offering advice from what they have learned.  Dylan shares, "An escalated adult cannot de-escalate  a child," and Jenna shares, "My motto for the year has been, do what is best for kids." You can find more information about How We Tea...

“As a student, I struggled at times going to the bookstore at the start of the semester and plopping down hundreds and hundreds of dollars for books - at the end, I sell back at one-tenth the price. As a teacher, that concerns me,” said Dr. Stewart Gardner. In this episode, Dr. Joelle Spotswood interviews Dr. Gardner from the Department of Biological Sciences at Emporia State University. He shares...

Meet these first-year teachers who began teaching during the pandemic (both alumni of Emporia State University): Jenna Pennington (BSE 19) and Dylan Schneider (BSE 20). 

"If you don't have the SEL piece in place, the instructional component isn't going to be as effective," said this week's guest, John Allison , recently retired superintendent of Olathe USD 233. We've got to try to address both if we want to actually achieve the results and the have the opportunity for growth in not only the intellectual side, but the emotional and character side of developing stud...

Dr. Jasmine Linabary from Emporia State University's Department of Communication and Theatre discusses her motivation for adding an Open Education Resource textbook into her course and how that has inspired her and her department to look at creating an OER for their public speaking course. You can find more information about How We Teach This on our website, www.emporia.edu/HWTT plus watch videos...

"If you don't have the SEL piece in place, the instructional component isn't going to be as effective," said guest, John Allison , recently retired superintendent of Olathe USD 233. Learn more from him in the upcoming podcast where education majors interview him.