Secondary Science Simplified™

Setting up for a successful school year starts on day 1. I have made my fair share of mistakes when it comes to starting the school year that made the year much more challenging than it should have been. Learn from my mistakes, teacher friends!  In this episode, I’m going to help you avoid the mistakes I have made in the past. I am sharing what I wish I would have done from the beginning of the ye...

Are you thinking that shifting to student centered pedagogy sounds great, but way too time consuming and overwhelming to do this year? If you are ready to make an easy change in order to help your students take more control of their learning and practice critical skills they can use their entire lives, this is an episode you do not want to miss! In the previous 3 episodes, we focussed on what stud...

Do you feel overwhelmed when thinking about shifting to student centered pedagogy? Does the thought of redoing EVERYTHING stress you out? This episode is for you! I am breaking down how simple it can be to shift your current lessons and teaching to be more student centered and I’m sharing tons of tips to help along the way! In today’s episode, I am giving you the ins and outs of how to transition...

Better serving your students while less is required of you? Sounds amazing, right? If you’re ready to make that happen, today’s episode is for you! We are continuing our new summer series on revamping our pedagogy to make it more student centered and this is an episode you don’t want to miss! We have all heard that students learn best by doing, not by hearing. I know it can seem overwhelming to ma...

Ready to get off the stage and be in the audience with your students during your classes? That’s what we’re diving into in this new series focusing on student centered pedagogy. We’re talking about everything you need to know about shifting your pedagogy to be more student centered. Today, we are looking at what student centered pedagogy is and what it isn’t. We revisit transforming our teaching f...

Summer is here which means you can finally rest after the long and demanding school year! We know the routine - hurry, stress, and go, go, go all school year so when summer comes, we just want to relax, recharge, and unplug. And we should! But if you’re anything like me, you need something to work on to keep you in some sort of routine. In this episode, I discuss how to make the most of your restf...

“Do it! What are you waiting for…it’s a game changer! It’s made my life so much easier.” This is the message today’s guest, Rachel Carter wants to share with everyone who is considering enrolling for the Secondary Science Simplified Course, which is now open for enrollment! This month, I’ve shared secrets and habits I learned the hard way in my teaching career that I wish I had known when I first...

What are your worst work habits? This month, I’m getting open and honest about all the bad work habits I established during my first few years in the classroom. The good news is, habits can be changed! In my case, experience, making lots of mistakes, and leaning on the wisdom of my co-workers taught me how to correct these habits over the years.  In today’s episode, I’ll share what I believe is th...

During my first few years as a teacher, I developed some bad habits simply because I had so much to learn that could not be taught in a teacher certification program. There’s only so much you can learn about theories or even from shadowing other teachers. Eventually, you just have to jump in and learn things the hard way, doing the best you can to manage all of the things.  On top of figuring it o...

Like many teachers who have been in the classroom these last few years, today’s guest is a passionate educator who found herself exhausted at the end of a long and trying school year. When Nikki Pryor heard me share about the Secondary Science Simplified Course I was offering last summer, she knew it was exactly what she needed. She was ready to take a proactive approach and find a way to simplify...

We are wrapping up this month’s "Ending the Year Strong" series with my favorite strategy…how you can set up rocks and boundaries for yourself this summer. In each of the first three episodes of this series, I have given you a simple challenge that can have a big impact and set you up for success next school year. Whether you’re a teacher who has a hard time unplugging from work for the...

Believe it or not, the end of the school year is the perfect time to reset your classroom! After a busy school year, chances are your classroom is a mess. While it’s tempting to wait till the start of the new school year to take inventory and reorganize, your future self will thank you if you do it now. I know…I know…you’re ready to leave it all behind and start your summer break, but hear me out....

What can you do now with a little bit of effort that will serve “future you” 5 times over? Summer is almost here, and this month’s episodes are dedicated to sharing specific and simple strategies you can do now so you can end your year strong and go into next year rested and ready to go.  Like most teachers this time of year, you may be feeling totally exhausted, but if you can channel the little...

What if I told you it’s possible to end the year strong and prepare for the year ahead so that when you come back in the fall, you can start the year ready and rested rather than overwhelmed and stressed? That’s exactly what we’re talking about in this month’s podcast episodes. This series is designed to equip you with specific and simple things you can do each week in small chunks as you end the...

When I first started this podcast, I knew I would love to interview my dear friend and past co-worker, Jamie Whitlock. I learned so much from Jamie as her coworker and learned even more from her just through doing this interview, and I am so excited to have her on the show. In this episode, you’ll hear about Jamie’s experience in the classroom as a full time teacher and what she has learned from s...

What do you do with that awkward, random amount of time you have after end-of-year testing is over? Whether you have 3 days or 3 weeks left till the last day of school, energy this time of year is at an all-time low, and senioritis is running rampant, even if you don’t teach seniors!  This last year has been especially challenging for so many teachers, and I totally understand if you’re just ready...

For the month of April, I'm doing podcast episodes all based on your questions and requests. I love making episodes that are helpful to you, so if there’s something you want to hear about on the podcast, shoot me a DM on Instagram and let me know! Last week, in episode 16 , I covered one of the most requested topics, how to write sub plans for secondary science. Be sure to go back and listen...

Over the next few weeks, I'm doing a series of episodes based on listener requests. I love hearing from you and providing content that is relevant. So…what was the most requested topic? How to best write sub plans for secondary science!  It’s really no surprise. How many jobs do you know of where it is actually so much harder to be out of work than it is to actually just be there? Writing sub...

What better way to top off our mini-series on Senioritis than an interview with a teacher who has taught a lot of seniors in her career. I am so excited to welcome my friend, Diana Price, to the show today! In this episode, Diana shares some tips for how she personally handles senioritis with her students. She also talks about her entire teaching experience, from starting out as a floater teaching...

I’ve saved the best for last! In episode 12 and episode 13 I shared tips for combating senioritis as it creeps up in our classrooms this year. If you missed those episodes, be sure to go back and listen. It is possible to keep your students engaged and keep yourself energized so you can finish the year strong as a high school science teacher.  In today’s episode, I will be sharing my number one st...

Fighting students for their attention is the last thing you want to do when combating Senioritis. The more choices we can provide for our students, the better our chances for finishing the year on a positive note and avoiding the symptoms of Senioritis. It is possible to provide choices to students without spending tons of time prepping and exhausting yourself as a teacher. When you shift as many...

As the weather starts changing and the days are getting longer, Spring Fever starts to set in. I call it Senioritis, and whether you teach seniors or not, this condition does not discriminate based on student age. To be perfectly honest, Senioritis hits me as well. I get just as antsy as my students do for Spring Break and feel myself longing for summer days where I can escape the four walls of th...

I am so excited to introduce today’s guest, Sam Holcomb. Sam is sharing tips and strategies from her own experience balancing up to 7 preps at a time! She struggled during her first year trying to do it all, but soon, she began to implement the strategies she talks about today to simplify her life. Now she enjoys helping other teachers eliminate the overwhelm and stress that so many face. Sam Holc...

Balancing multiple preps can be one of the most challenging things for a secondary science teacher to do, but it’s possible to simplify and reduce the stress of balancing multiple preps. Two of the biggest struggles for balancing multiple preps are lesson planning and grading. In episode 9, I shared my 5 best tips for how to lesson plan for three or more preps. Be sure to go back and catch that ep...

Being strategic with your time is always important for teachers who want to maximize their energy, but when you have 3 or more preps, it is more important than ever to be strategic so you can save time in every way possible. Having a system in place for managing lesson plans can have a huge impact on your effectiveness and efficiency in the classroom. In today’s episode, we are going to talk speci...