Teaching Unscripted

What reading experiences have inspired you, helped you to see your own life more clearly, or connected you with others?  How do we teach to those experiences? Today on the Podcast we’re joined by Donalyn Miller to tell us more about her newest book The Joy of Reading . The Joy of Reading is a guide for teachers, librarians, administrators, and families to create the conditions for j...

What are visual patterns, and how can they open new possibilities for building math routines? Today we are passing things over to Kent Haines. Kent is a Heinemann Fellow Alum and middle school math educator based in Alabama. He is joined Fawn Nguyen. Fawn is a well-known math educator and is currently a Teacher on Special Assignment where she supports K-8 math teachers and their students. Kent and...

Today on the podcast we’re highlighting some new and exciting professional development that’s on deck this spring at Heinemann. There are lots of engaging courses coming up ranging from multilingual instruction to social emotional learning, with options to fit a range of schedules. We’re joined by Lish Mitchell and Jaclyn Karabinas from the Heinemann PD team to tell us more.  Learn more about...

This week on the podcast, we’re celebrating Neurodiversity Week with a special interview on neurodiversity in education. Today we are joined by Heinemann author Maggie Beattie Roberts, and Dr. Manju Banerjee. Dr. Banerjee is Learning Disabilities Ambassador-at-Large and former Vice President of Educational Research and Innovation at Landmark College. She has over 35 years of experience in the fiel...

What makes a good math game? We might not know it, but some of our most loved games are steeped in mathematical thinking. Today we are passing things over to Kent Haines . Kent is a Heinemann Fellow Alum and middle school math educator based in Alabama. He is joined by Dan Finkel, founder of Math for Love , a Seattle-based organization devoted to transforming how math is taught and learned. Kent a...

When you picture a writer, who do you see? Almost all of us have romanticized, pre-conceived notions of who a writer is. Usually, we don’t see ourselves. The myth of the master writer has long plagued students and teachers alike, limiting our sense of self-confidence and writerly ability. Is it possible to dispel these notions? Today on the podcast we’re joined by Liz Prather, author of The Confid...

Have you ever wondered just how much forethought goes into crafting a robust math curriculum? Today we are passing things over to Kent Haines. Kent is a Heinemann Fellow Alum and middle school math educator based in Alabama. He is joined by Dr. Robert Q. Berry III, the inaugural Associate Dean of DEI and the Samuel Braley Gray Professor of Mathematics Education in the School of Education and Human...

Today on the podcast we’re joined by three Heinemann authors, Lorena Germán, Carla España, and Luz Yadira Herrera. Lorena is the author of Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices, where she explores strategies that build traditional literacy skills while also supporting students in developing their social justice skills. Carla and Luz are co-authors of En Comunidad: Less...

Think back to your time as a student learning math. Many of us went through math class afraid to get the wrong answer or bogged down by limiting beliefs about our ability to do math well. How, then, do we create new math communities that are brave spaces where students feel safe to take risks and learn new things? Today we are passing things over to Kent Haines. Kent is a Heinemann Fellow Alum and...

If you've been lucky enough to have a mentor in your life, you know the value of the guidance they can provide you. But what about a femtor? Today on the podcast we’re hearing from Irene Castillón, a Heinemann Fellowship alum, and currently serving as an assistant principal in San Jose, California. During her time as a Heinemann Fellow, Irene explored topics of guiding professional relationships,...

Teaching students to think and reason mathematically is sometimes a challenge. This is where instructional routines come in. Today on the podcast we’re joined by Grace Kelemanik and Amy Lucenta. In 2016 Grace and Amy co-authored Routines for Reasoning , where they framed routines as key to developing mathematical thinking skills. Their new book, Teaching for Thinking: Fostering Mathematical Teachi...

Today on the podcast we have a sample from the newly released audiobook of Writing Unbound: How Fiction Transforms Student Writers , read by author Tom Newkirk. Writing Unbound builds an argument for bringing fiction back into our writing curriculum as a way to strengthen all writing. In this preview, Tom describes the vast opportunity found in fiction writing, and what we lose when we don’t embra...

Today on the podcast we have a sample from Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices , read by author Lorena Germán. Textured Teaching shares lesson design strategies that build traditional literacy skills while supporting students in developing their social justice skills at the same time. In this preview, Lorena describes the importance and benefit of taking an interdisc...

Our students need to feel seen, heard, understood, and known in our classrooms. And it begins with us. In his new book The Power of Teaching Vulnerably , author and David Rockower illustrates how middle and high school teachers can build engagement and foster genuine student relationships by embracing vulnerability. He guides readers through leaning into discomfort, sharing personal stories,...

Addressing grief in the classroom can be challenging, but educators play a special role in helping students move through difficult life events. Today on the podcast we’re joined by Brittany R. Collins and Marlee Bunch. Brittany is the author of Learning from Loss: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Grieving Students . Her work centers around acknowledging the many ways grief may show up for...

What if revision is something that happens in the mindset of the writer during the writing process, not just on the page, after it’s done? This is the question that author Chris Hall sets out to answer in his new book The Writer’s Mindset: Six Stances That Promote Authentic Revision. He presents readers with six stances -metacognition, optimism, perspective-taking, flexible thinking, transfer, and...

When’s the last time your students got to write creatively? Or craft a piece of fiction that was entirely their own? Today on the podcast we have something a little different. Tom Newkirk’s latest book, Writing Unbound: How Fiction Transforms Student Writing , is all about the power of fiction. Tom believes that it’s what inspires writers and motivates them to improve their craft. But over the yea...

How do stories create space for mathematical thinking? Today on the podcast we’re joined by Sue O’Connell, lead author of the Math by the Book series, and two of her co-authors Danielle Moore, and T.J. Jemison. Sue, Danielle, and TJ share their experiences utilizing children’s literature in the math classroom and provide strategies for integrating in seamlessly into existing curriculum. © Heineman...

Today on the podcast we have an excerpt from Heinemann’s ForwardED slow conference series. Today’s conversation features Jennifer Serravallo, author of New York Times’ bestseller The Reading Strategies Book as well as many other popular Heinemann professional books, and Rachael Gabriel, Associate Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Connecticut. Together, they discuss the process o...

Is high school math failing students? The way math is taught today hasn’t changed much over the years. But along criticism for being being out-of-date it perpetuates inequity by limiting opportunities for many students. There are expectations for high school math to do a better job in preparing students for life in the 21st century. Major shifts in course organization, mathematical content, pedago...

How do you approach essay, poetry, book clubs, and digital composition? If we reimagine our approach to these four areas we can open the door to more engaged, connected, and challenging learning. That is the focus of authors Penny Kittle and Kelly’s Gallagher’s newest book 4 Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency . Penny and Kelly extend their work in 180 Days: Two Teac...

Today we are joined by fellow educators and Heinemann authors Lorena Germán and Dr. Towanda Harris. Lorena Germán is a Dominican American educator focused on anti-racist and antibias education. She is a two-time nationally awarded educator whose work has been published in numerous newspapers and journals. Her new book from Heinemann is called Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustainin...

Today on the podcast we have an excerpt from our new ForwardED slow conference series. Today’s conversation features Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, and Cornelius Minor. Irene Fountas is the Marie M. Clay Endowed Chair for Early Literacy and Reading Recovery at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative in the Graduate Sc...

Today on the podcast we have a special conversation about the complex nature of education, reading and phonics instruction, and the pitfalls of all-or-nothing thinking. Jennifer Serravallo is a renowned literacy consultant and the author of New York Times’ bestseller The Reading Strategies Book as well as The Writing Strategies Book; Teaching Reading in Small Groups; Teaching Writing in Small Grou...

What is a math pathway? Why didn’t we learn financial literacy in high school? And does everyone need to learn calculus? Today on the podcast we’re joined by three leaders in math education to talk about building new pathways in mathematics that are responsive to students’ needs and goals. Steve Leinwand and Eric Milou are co-authors of the new book Invigorating High School Math: Practical Guidanc...