Rethinking Learning Podcast

              Rich Simpson is a Year 6 teacher, Literacy Lead, from the Isle of Wight in the UK. He blogs about books and kindness and started the hashtag #kindnessripple on Twitter. After talking with Rich about his growing up in Northern Ireland and learning a little about his story, I was excited to learn more. Enjoy! Growing up Growing up in Northern Ireland I was part of a single-parent famil...

        Kendrick Thomas (KTTeeV) is an Asst. Principal in Houston, certified life coach, speaker, mentor,  podcast host of Daily K, and the host of the KTTeeV Radio show. KTTeeV is all about bridging the gap between the school and community through information. Kendrick takes his passion for showing young people that through intrinsic motivation there is a way out of every situation to another lev...

    Why we want to talk about Humanizing Distance Learning  Most of us have little choice now about incorporating digital pedagogy into our teaching. But that doesn’t mean we have to succumb to the dehumanizing effects of individualized or digitally driven education technology. We don’t have to force students to use web-based adaptive tools or make them simply watch videos of our teaching. There a...

Chip Baker is a fourth-generation educator, a speaker, host of the Success Chronicles Podcast, host of the Radio 111.7 Show, a Coach/Trainer for the John Gordon Power of Positive Leadership, and is the author of multiple books, videos, and resources.  What it was like growing up I was born in Dallas, Tx. My parents separated when I was five years old and we moved with my mom to Hern, TX, close to...

Tommaso (Tom) Lana is a performance and consulting artist, and creator of Embodied Learning. I’ve had several conversations with Tom and am excited about sharing his journey with you from growing up in Milan, about the German school, and learning several languages. In every conversation I have with Tom, I feel joy and have fun. Enjoy! Your background I grew up in the early 80s in the south outskir...

Enjoy Barbara Bray's conversation with Chris McNutt, a 9th-grade digital design and media educator and Executive Director of the Human Restoration Project, on how to build a more human-centered classroom amidst a pandemic. Classrooms today Education has the power to shape a new world – one that cares for all, provides equitable outcomes of opportunity, and ensures everyone is appreciated and value...

Joshua (Josh) Stamper, a middle school administrator in North Texas, is passionate about community and engagement. He provides strategies on trauma-informed practices and how to develop a restorative mindset. Josh hosts the Leadership Development Podcast and created the A.S.P.I.R.E. model, which is the staple in his new book, “Aspire to Lead”. Background Joshua graduated from college with a Fine A...

Dr. Cynthia Sistek-Chandler, a staff developer, trainer, and professor of educational technology works with school sites and with cadres of learners at National University and at the San Diego County Office of Education. Since 1998, Cynthia has primarily taught online, EdTech courses that are required for the California Clear Credential, and is Program Director for Masters of Science in Advanced T...

We are living in an uncertain world especially now during this pandemic. Just living during this crisis impacts how we handle what we do and how we react to stress.  Stress is when you have multiple pressures that demand too much of you psychologically and physically. When you are stressed, you may believe that if you can just get everything under control, you will feel better. Stress involves “to...

Derek Wenmoth is regarded as one of New Zealand education’s foremost future-focused thinkers, and works extensively with schools and systems in New Zealand and elsewhere as they seek to prepare students for their future. He also consults with policymakers and government agencies regarding the future directions of NZ’s educational policy and practice.  Derek is currently running FutureMakers, an ed...

Dr. Matthew X. Joseph has collected incredible insights on how best to support teaching and learning, and his work has led to nationally published articles and opportunities to speak at multiple state and national events. He has been a school and district leader in many capacities in public education over his twenty-five years in the field, with experiences such as being the director of digital le...

Olivia Van Ledtje (“LivBit”) and Cynthia Merrill are a mother-daughter team working together to inspire others to think about the power of citizenship online and student voice. They are co-authors of Spark Change: Make Your Mark on the Digital World. They have a surprise in the podcast about what they will be doing next.  Olivia Van Ledtje (“LivBit”) Liv is a reader, thinker, and kids' voice belie...

This guest post is a cross-post of Matthew Weimann's post on Intersectionality from his website, The Captain of Class along with our reflection. An idea popped into my head about a year ago that symbolized my realization of privilege. In the spring I wrote a blog that I published in The Captain of Class, titled “Green Lights.” It is about a white guy–I don’t say he’s white in the allegory–who driv...

Steve Sostak, @inspirecitizen1, is co-director of Inspire Citizens, author of the Global Impact School Self-Study, designer and director of the IC Master Teacher Endorsement, co-director of GlobalYouthMedia.org, and a global education facilitator, implementing  @SDG2030 into school wide learning experiences.  Following 15 years teaching elementary and middle school in the U.S., Peru, Malaysia, and...

Barry Sommer is a Licensed Educational Psychologist, Marriage and Family Therapist, and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. He recently retired as the Director of Advancement at Lindsay Unified School District where he was responsible for Lindsay Leads which was the CyberSchool reimagining learning at Lindsay Unified. Currently, Barry and Kelley Layton are consultants advancing Lindsay Le...

Craig Shapiro has been teaching for 30 years. He is a health and fitness instructor at William Tennent High School in the Centennial School District, PA. Craig also coaches Cross Country, Wrestling, and Track at William Tennent. Craig is the host the #teachpos on Sunday evenings at 7:30p ET, and, I have to say, Craig is one of the most positive people I know.  Your background I was in elementary s...

Moving from Theory to Practice through Proficiencies, Pathways, and Profiles Four years ago, we attended the Edina Summer Institute where Barbara Bray was sharing her expertise in personalized learning as the keynote speaker. She struck a chord with us on many levels that day but when she said, “Teachers are doing all the work…" our trajectory as teachers immediately changed. After her keynote, we...

    Sometimes, a conversation is way more than a conversation. Several of those conversations I had with Hedreich Nichols empowered us to explore the different needs that black and white educators have when discussing how to create more equitable schools and communities. We talked about what systemic racism means for different people and how the problem can be approached from varying perspectives....

Laura Robb, an author, teacher, coach, and speaker who has completed more than 43 years of teaching in grades 4-8 and has written more than 25 books for teachers. She presently coaches teachers in reading/writing workshop at Powhatan School in Virginia and coaches teachers in grades K-8 in Staunton, Virginia, Long Island, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and West Nyack, New York. Her latest books that she...

    I have known Joan Young over 10 years and realize through her background in psychology and teaching that we needed to connect. After talking for a few minutes on May 31st, we decided it was a good idea to discuss some of the issues around emotional health during this pandemic and issues around racism. It took a few days to pull this together but felt it was timely with everything happening.  H...

Elisabeth Bostwick is a multi-award-winning educator who is passionate about creating the conditions to spark curiosity and unleash creativity to empower learning. She is the author of "Take the L.E.A.P.: Ignite a Culture of Innovation." Driven to elevate education, Elisabeth speaks at both local and national conferences to support educators in their journey to foster cultures of innovation and au...

    I am so honored to know Kecia McDonald and to learn why mental health awareness is important all the time. Kecia is Curriculum Coordinator at Kealakehe Intermediate School and a certified health teacher for K-12. I reached out to Kecia to reflect on positive mental health.  What is good mental health? Why is it a right to have good mental health? Kecia: According to the World Health Organizati...

    Dr. Michael Crawford is the co-founder of EdSpace, LLC, the social learning network for teachers. A researcher by training, with passion at the intersection of human development, social impact, and entrepreneurship, Michael drives all things product and community. Prior to EdSpace, he worked at Real World Scholars and the Kauffman Foundation, and he recently completed his Ph. D. in educational...

Roman Nowak is a High School English Teacher in Rockland, Ontario in Canada. He is a Student Success Leader, an Agent of Transformation, and is also a fitness enthusiast. I am fortunate to know Roman because of Twitter as the host of BuildHOPEedu and also for sharing quotes about being kind and caring for each other. Roman and I had this conversation at the end of February before the stay at home...

Dr. Ilene Winokur runs a podcast called Journeys to Belonging. When this is published, Ilene will be flying back to Kuwait. She has been with her mom in Buffalo, New York since before the stay at home order. Her mom is 95-years-old and will be 96 in July. Having this time with her has been special, but Ilene misses her home. We decided to reflect and talk about what it means to have a sense of bel...