The Chey and Pav Show: Teachers Talking Teaching

In Episode 135 , Chey and Pav discuss the ever-growing challenge of large and complex classrooms. They talk about how difficult it is to teach with a large class, the benefits of having a smaller, more intimate classroom setting and how classroom complexities can add to the challenge. Fewer supports and resources for teachers also continue to make this an evolving issue. Chey and Pav share with li...

In Episode 134 , Chey and Pav explore the timely topic of Cell Phones in the classroom. With the conversation of cell phone bans always looming over the educational setting, the Dynamic Duo contemplates whether we, as teachers, can actually cut out cell phones from the classroom environment. They discuss the pros and cons of cell phone use in schools, as well as bring up the systemic issues that e...

In Episode 133 , Chey and Pav talk about how they have set up a unique student council this school year at the school where they teach. Leveraging student leadership and initiative, the council space is more than an avenue for fundraising and expressing school joy - it's also a space allow students to lead the way in creating a school culture that goes beyond what student council has done in y...

In Episode 132 , Chey and Pav discuss the many ways they use photographs to create meaningful content in their learning spaces. From minds-on activities, to providing very deep and thoughtful insights about social justice topics, Chey and Pav use photographs and pictures in many different ways with a variety of content and context in the classroom. Give the episode a listen to see how you can util...

In Episode 131, Chey and Pav reflect on how they've been implementing "Thinking Classrooms" in their respective learning spaces. The "Thinking Classroom" model has been coined by mathematician Dr. Peter Liljedahl and his work of creating math learning spaces that encourage students to think more with their math tasks. This problems based approach has several best practices attached to it (outlined...

In Episode 130, Chey and Pav speak with Salima Kassam, elementary school principal and anti-racist, anti-oppression educator from Ontario, Canada. Chey and Pav talk to Salima about her journey in education, in particular about her experiences with anti-racism and anti-oppression education, and the toll that it can take on well-being for educators. Salima tells us about the different ways that she...

In Episode 129,  Chey and Pav reflect on their summer and discuss some of the ways they are getting ready for the new school year, as well as the goals they have for themselves professionally. Chey and Pav's return to the classroom this year means they are putting some of their new learning from being Learning Coaches into practice as they are with students this year. Listen to hear some of th...

In Episode 128, Chey and Pav speak with Paul Bloomberg, Vivett Dukes, Kara Vandas and Rachel Carrillo-Fairchild - a few of the incredible authors of the book "Amplify Learner Voice through Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Assessment." The guest quad along with the Dynamic Duo leave no stone unturned in this deep and insightful conversation, from discussing some of the discrepancies t...

In Episode 127, Chey and Pav speak with Judy McKeown - anti-racist educator, consultant and professional learning facilitator. Chey and Pav talk to Judy about her experience with anti-racist, anti-oppressive, anti-colonial, and culturally responsive and relevant pedagogies, as well as her work in dismantling anti-Black racism, combatting white supremacy culture, and leading with an equitable stanc...

In Episode 126,  Chey and Pav recap their past year as centrally assigned teachers, as well as some of the great work they've had the opportunity to engage in before their roles ended a few weeks ago. They discuss the many ways learning coaches impact the learning environments that they serve, and the incredible ways they support school communities. Chey and Pav are always open and willing to...

In Episode 125,  Chey and Pav speak with Angela Stockman, teacher, instructional designer and author of the recent book, "Teacher's Guide to Multimodal Composition." The Dynamic Duo speaks with Angela about how she developed this Multimodal Writing design, and how it as evolved since its inception. They talk about Language Arts pedagogy, the benefits of honouring the process of writi...

In Episode 124, Chey and Pav talk about their experience with open artificial intelligence - in this case, how they have been using ChatGPT as teachers. The AI chatbot has allowed for them to explore a number of ways to make planning, lesson-building and even feedback and assessment much more streamlined and efficient. The Dynamic Duo also discusses some of the ways they wish to use it going forwa...

In Episode 123, Chey and Pav speak with Frank Bouchard, co-founder at Wipebook. The Dynamic Duo first became aware of Wipebook Flipcharts through professional development they were offered for math - Building Thinking Classrooms. Through the work of Peter Liljedahl, Chey and Pav learned about vertical classrooms and these dry-erase anchor charts that you can't help but be completely enamoured with...

In Episode 122, Chey and Pav talk to Beth Lyons, teacher and one of the hosts of the podcast, "Read Into This." This conversation with Beth is the 2nd of a two part crossover episode - the first episode was featured on "Read Into This." Chey and Pav continue to talk with Beth about their new roles this year and what the transition was like, and continues to be like, now that they have made it past...

In Episode 121, Chey and Pav speak with Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad, author of "Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy" as well as her newest release, "Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Curriculum and Instruction." Dr. Muhammad talks to Chey and Pav about the origins of the framework, the importance of Black...

In Episode 120, Chey and Pav talk about their "One Word" for 2023! Chey and Pav welcome a new year, and with that, comes a new WORD that is meaningful to to them and also guides their practice in the many aspects of their lives. For this year, that word is "Focus." The Dynamic Duo discuss the many reasons why this has been chosen to be their word, and they chat about how to manifest success throug...

In Episode 119, Chey and Pav talk about performative social justice work. Can our performative actions be a positive gateway to doing “THE WORK?” Chey and Pav discuss the many ways in which performative social justice work can be negative and potentially traumatizing for students and peers, but they also talk about how the performance can actually sometimes instil some positive change in educators...

In Episode 118, Chey and Pav talk with Andrew Canle, an assistant principal, published author, doctoral student and small business owner from the New York Metropolitan area. Andrew talks about his newest venture - the Conversations with Charisma tabletop card games - aiming to help students build and participate in authentic conversations. This gamified way of building conversational skills has be...

In Episode 117, Chey and Pav talk about the value of the Read-Aloud in the middle school classroom, and building engaging and meaningful tasks that can be done in conjunction with texts. The dynamic duo offers a few ideas on how to structure reading around chapter books and novels as shared readings, as well as picture books, and how they can be adapted to older grades as well as younger ones. The...

In Episode 116, Chey and Pav talk about relationship building and what it really looks like in classroom settings. Inspired by constant conversations on social media surrounding ideas such as "connections before content" or "relationships first," the Dynamic Duo felt compelled to share their ideas on the importance of establishing relationships through the meaningful content and curriculum they te...

In Episode 115, Chey and Pav talk about the concept of Quiet Quitting and how it impacts educational spaces. This idea of setting boundaries within a job setting has been getting lots of attention on social media lately, so Chey and Pav thought they would explore the topic a little bit further, providing their own personal insights on what this can look like for teachers and other educational prof...

In Episode 114, Chey and Pav speak to Kristin Phillips, educator and retired elementary school principal from Toronto, Ontario. Kristin talks to the Dynamic Duo about her new book "For the Love of Learning: A Year in the Life of a School Principal" in which she chronicles a full school year through storytelling.  Kristin has worked closely with teachers and administrators at the school and bo...

In Episode 113, Chey and Pav chat about how they are settling in for the summer, reflecting on the previous school year and talking about How to Start A Student-led podcast. Both Chey and Pav had experience with starting student-led podcasting in their respective schools this year, with different formats and for different purposes, but they utilized the same process and methodology to do so, and t...

In Episode 112, Chey and Pav discuss an important community building practice, known as "Restorative Circles." They talk about an experience in the classroom that led them to explore their understanding of this relationship and trust reliant practice, and what some of the possible outcomes are of this endeavour. Chey and Pav discuss the importance as well as the necessary scaffolding that is neces...

In Episode 111, Chey and Pav speak to Dwayne Morgan, spoken word artist and musician from Toronto, Ontario Canada. Dwayne talks about his journey through poetry and spoken word from early in his career and the power and importance of storytelling, 30 years ago when he started and also now.  Dwayne Morgan is a two-time Canadian National Poetry Slam Champion. He began his career as a spoken wor...