That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 Teachers

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This week on Season 4, Episode 10 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments are better for TEACHERS too. The way we are doing school right now is just not at all sustainable for teachers. Nor is it respectful to their creativity or humanity. And many have lost their joy and passion for the profession and are leaving in droves. It's not them. It's...

This week on Season 4, Episode 9 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments by default lend themselves to equity (all students get what they need to be successful) and inclusion. Differentiation is a well-known word in the education space, but it is very difficult to pull off within our standard one-size-fits-all curriculum and pacing...and not to mention.....

This week on Season 4, Episode 8 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments can help us support students in our classroom with trauma and mental health issues. We often can't know what's going on in all of our students lives, and so creating a trauma-informed classroom environment is best practice to meet the needs of all students. School can also...

This week on Season 4 episode 7 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about two buzzwords in the education space related to the quest to increase achievement and motivation: Student engagement and deeper learning. Everyone wants it to happen. And...if you are a teacher... you know how tough this challenge is.  Finding points to engagement or ways to bring learning to life ALL DAY LONG feels lik...

This week on Season 4, episode 6 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we begin a mini-series on how play-based learning can help us start to alleviate many of the challenges we face in education today.    And to kick it off, we're starting with a big one: white supremacy culture.    If you haven't listened to last week's episode about the impact of the social environment on human behavi...

The development of character is a big topic we talk about in education, especially in light of all the behavior challenges that seem to be increasing in schools.    This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY we unpack the role of the environment on human behavior.  And we are joined by some big experts: Simon Sinek and Alfie Kohn.  Okay joined is a "loose" term.  We play some clips of the...

In this episode we finally spill the beans about how we've leveraged play to create environments that foster independent learning, allow teachers to meet the wide range of needs in a classroom, while also providing a structure to make teaching more sustainable (we'll talk more on the last point in a future episode).  We are so excited to finally share these nuggets after many years of fl...

This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY we reflect on many of our failures and how all of them have led to incredible insights about what actually works to transform teaching and learning through play.    Go to the episode page to get the full show notes here. Resources mentioned in this podcast: Ken Robinson Ted Talk: How to Escape Education's Death Valley End of Year Kindergarten Math Gui...

This week we're sharing what we think is the secret to transforming classrooms so we can better meet student needs AND make teaching more sustainable . If you've listened to the podcast before... you might have an idea of where we are going with this. But this is a topic people have a WIDE range of feeling about and carries a lot of cultural baggage. We hope by the end of this episode, y...

Hello fellow edvolutionaries ! We set out two years ago to start building a roadmap to transform education. We podcasted for awhile... and then....disappeared. But now we are back for good and so excited to share what we've been working on. In this episode we recap previous seasons of the podcast, what we've been up to in our absence, and hint at where we are headed this season. You can...

This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we are joined by District Curriculum and Instruction specialist, Christina Jones who reached out to us a couple weeks ago to have a conversation about how we can work together to benefit kids.  I gotta be honest.  When Annie and I first received the email we thought... oh gosh.  Someone from CENTRAL OFFICE.   Which... to be very explicit and honest often...

This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we have an AMAZING conversation with former school board candidate and educational activist Vernon Jones Jr. Vernon is often painted as part of the  “reform movement” which is often distilled down to pro-charter, anti-teachers rights, pro-testing accountability….but when we interviewed him during the election we heard someone who cares passionately about...

This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we are joined by Ellie Schafer and Heather Ott, two Kindergarten teachers at Palmer Elementary in Denver Public Schools for some pretty amazing Teacher Talk about taking risks to do what is best for our students.  (Which may or may not involve our favorite topic, play).  While one major aspect of our podcast has involved critiquing the broader education s...

Last week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we once again got fiery about the idea of a rebel educators network that could work toward common goals to eliminate the barriers to making our education system work for all students AND be an enjoyable and sustainable place of work for educators and school leaders.  (Because clearly... that ain't coming from the top any time soon...) But doesn'...

There's news articles popping up every week sharing that the majority of elementary students are "behind" in reading, especially after the pandemic.  Before we start beating the drums of accountability and doing what we've always done--harder, better, or faster--let's unpack what this data is telling us.  What's important? What's not important? AND what might we...

This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we revisit the question: "Can change come from the top?" this time with Vice President of the Denver Board of Education, Tay Anderson.   And listeners.... this was a fantastic conversation.  Tay is a prominent figure in Denver as one of the youngest elected officials in Colorado history, but also as an activist for various social justice causes,...

This week we are joined by our amazing colleague Donnie Staggs to lean into some of the themes that have come up in conversations we've been having with friends inside and outside education after our interview episodes.   Summary: Things are very complex, and we don't really have answers.    Would love to know your thoughts on these big ideas in education!  Drop your comments on our Inst...

This week we are truly honored to have our very own district superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero join us for a conversation ranging from the immediate challenges facing districts in the wake of COVID to how he is approaching a new long-term vision for how to better support schools and the students they serve.   We are so excited to have conversations with those like Dr. Marrero above the classroom lev...

Komal Shah is a former educator and the author of Raise Your Hand, A Call for Consciousness in Education.  Komal's book is incredible and opens with many of the same revelations we had about our education system as we were recording Season 1 of the podcast (which you should go back and listen to if you missed!) In this conversation we talk about what consciousness is, how the foundation schoo...

Annie and Ali reflect on their absence, what's in store for Season 3, and what they hope for EDVOLUTIONARY in the future. 

Voting day in the Denver School Board Elections is Tuesday, Nov 2nd so we're releasing this episode early! This time on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, Ali and Annie ask the candidates about the current accountability tools used in Denver Public Schools.   -- Have they  helped us improve learning and growth for students and teachers? --What IS important to measure when we are aiming for the ful...

This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, Ali and Annie ask the candidates about how our money is supporting our values and priorities as a district, and what they would want to do differently if elected to the Denver School Board.   This week candidates are in alphabetical order by first name:

This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, Ali and Annie share their interviews with the 2021 Denver School Board candidates on their top 3-5 priorities t hey'd like to see in the next Denver Strategic Plan.    The candidates appear as follows (in alphabetical order this week): At-Large Candidates: - Marla Benevides (20:50) - Scott Esserman (21:17) - Vernon Jones Jr. (28:22) - Jane Shirley (3...

Welcome back for Season 2! When we left off in Season 1, Annie and Ali were talking about their successes and challenges trying out research-based ideas in the classroom,  and the dire need  to also push for changes at the systemic level.  This led to a podcast pivot to take advantage of a quickly-approaching election season and help get out the word about the different visions that could guide ou...