Educational Discussion With Myedexpert Founder Suzy Pepper Rollins

Making School a Nicer Place A Conversation with Jeff Kubiak Jeff Kubiak is out to make school a nicer, kinder place.  An elementary teacher-turned-principal, Jeff didn't just struggle in school - he hated the place.  One teacher turned him around...and he's still thanking her. What a pleasure this podcast guest is! He believes that school (and the world) can be changed by "random drops of kindness."  Jeff has written a children's book, aptly called, One Drop of Kindness.  Jeff has an inspiring story – from a kid who hated school to trying to make school the best place possible for all kids.  An inspiring guy; a refreshing podcast. • Follow Jeff on Twitter • His book on Amazon • Jeff's bio  

What it Feels Like to Have ADHD A Conversation with Kevin J. Roberts What’s it like to have ADHD? Consider some of the traits: difficulty staying on task, distractibility, trouble sitting still, and poor organizational skills.  Now, let’s place these students in a school setting in which success largely depends on being able to: sit in a desk, pay attention, be organized, and stay on task.  Our podcast guest this week knows a lot about the topic.  Kevin J. Roberts has penned numerous books on ADHD and Cyber Addiction.  He also has ADHD and works as a coach for fellow ADHDers.  Next-day pointers for supporting this group of kids and the importance of seeing their strengths. (They are often budding entrepreneurs!) Urgent information for all of us, because this is a group in need of urgent TLC. Kevin talks about what’s highlighted across research: these students’ self-esteem can take a pounding over the school years. A charismatic guy who’s, well, super-smart, Kevin even breaks into song about the ADHD brain –

The Teenage Brain & How a “Fist Bump” Might Just Help A Conversation with Terence Houlihan As a classroom teacher and school counselor, Terence Houlihan became fascinated with the teenage brain.  This unique time in their lives is one of great change – how can we help them survive…better yet, thrive during this time?  Terence shares some fascinating research, such as how the teenage brain often misreads facial expressions, resulting in defensiveness. Plus, some amazing science about what the sleep-deprived teenage brain looks like – yikes! From their heightened self-awareness to hormonal changes to brain differences, this information is so essential in working with teenagers.  But the most interesting:  there’s actually research on the “fist bump” …didn’t see that coming!    • Terence’s bio page • Follow Terence on Twitter • Terence’s website    

Got Stress? The Zen Teacher is On Call… A Conversation with Dan Tricarico A teacher for over 25 years, Dan Tricarico loves his work, even views his classroom as a sanctuary of sorts.  Teachers like Dan are passionate people.  He, like most of us, chose this career to positively impact the world.  Think about it.  All the students in our classrooms have their own “stories” as Dan calls them.  They’ve got their stuff to deal with – family drama, pressure from grades, hurt feelings from a friend. We have our stuff – the car needs tires, stacks of papers to mark. Now, pile on innumerable tests, pacing guides, meetings, and even school safety. Dan’s two books and his professional development arose from his own experiences with work-related stress.  This inspiring educator provides us with pragmatic strategies that help us stay relaxed, focused, and in the moment with our kids.  Because teachers need to take care of themselves in order to take care of students.  To keep the passion alive, a little self-care if nee

What Would Captain Kirk Do? Leadership Lessons from Star Trek A Conversation with Jon Wennstrom Jon Wennstrom is a talented, experienced school leader; in fact, he was the 2018 Michigan PTA Principal of the Year.  Wisdom, perspective, and a passion for the work is what he brings to the podcast this week.  As a kid, Jon watched Star Trek with his dad. He observed philosophies of leadership in Captain Kirk, and he uses some of those today in his presentations on effective school leadership. From letting experts do their jobs to getting out of your comfort zone to utilizing technology, Jon’s humble guidance has something for every leader and educator.  In addition, he takes on some of the myths of leadership, such as “It’s all about me.”  Watch for his surprising answer about what he worries about at night.  Plus, Jon brings next day strategies for creating a positive school culture…like “Bust-a-Move Contests.”  This is an inspiring 30 minutes that will lift your day!  • Jon’s website • Follow Jon on Twitter

The G Word:  A New Film Project About What It’s Like to Be Gifted  A Conversation with Marc Smolowitz  Marc Smolowitz is an award-winning film maker with over 50 successful films in his portfolio.  His new project is called The G Word, which discusses the economic, cultural, and gender diversity of our nation’s gifted and talented population. Marc’s film highlights the educational challenges, as well as the social isolation and emotional sensitivities these children sometimes face. The project reveals a robust community of families and educators who are working hard to meet the needs of gifted children. The director highlights a very special school for profoundly gifted students who are twice exceptional - a must watch for every educator - so inspiring! Throughout his work, misconceptions of giftedness emerge, as well as the tremendous possibilities (and challenges) for this very special group of kids. • Reach Marc via his website • Marc would love for you to follow him on Twitter! Here are several tremen

7 Strategies for Student Success By Suzy Pepper Rollins This podcast includes right now ways to create success in all students. From closing the rigor gap to moving every student to academic success, these 7 “Go To” strategies are tweaks, not overhauls. Let’s take a breath, step back, and reflect on some things that we can do today, right now, to make academic success attainable for all. The urgency we sometimes feel to push harder and race through might just be counterproductive. Listen up, take notes, and share with your team. What’s working? What’s not? And what can we ditch?   

The Future of Education:  Are YOU Ready?  A Conversation with Dr. Ryan Schaaf   According to our podcast guest, the future will belong to students who can learn, unlearn, and relearn, …and adapt quickly.  Ryan Schaaf is the co-author of the new book, A Brief History of the Future of Education: Learning in the Age of Disruption.  The truth is, the job landscape is changing so rapidly that students need long-term skills in order to adapt to this incredibly fast-moving, disruptive time.  Jobs that were formerly the mainstays of the economy, such as bookkeeping, customer service, and even law, are now done largely digitally.  A new expectation for the future: frequent career changes for workers to move with the times. Some of the insights Ryan gained researching the book: balancing short-term and long-term skills, survival skills for students, and what teaching will look like in the future.   Executive summary for the book – quick read & GREAT! Plus, he just posted “Learning with Digital Games Guide". • Ryan o

How to Think Big in an Incremental World By Suzy Pepper Rollins Quick! Think of a great idea that came from a small thinker... Still waiting… This is a Go Big, Swing for the Fences podcast.  So much of the world of education is incremental:  Get 3% more students to pass the math test or reduce referrals by 4%.  Big thinkers don’t want to just inch up a little.  We are world changers.  So, grab your ideas, listen up, and let’s get moving! 

Starting Over, Starting Fresh…or Getting Started A Conversation with Dr. Rick Jetter Ever thought, “Boy, I’d sure like to tell that superintendent a few things about the real world…The world inside the walls of my classroom.” Ever been a district leader and thought, “Hmmm…wonder what teachers are thinking about these policies we’ve cooked up?”   Dr. Rick Jetter can see both sides of things pretty clearly.  He used to be a superintendent.  Now he’s a classroom teacher.  He’s loving the experience, but boy, is he tired.  His world view from being in both worlds is a starting over story that brings wisdom, guidance, and laughs.  He shares advice to superintendents everywhere about NOT putting more on teachers’ plates.  And has some pearls for teachers about decluttering…let’s just say that Rick did not win the door decorating contest this school year.   This leadership author and expert on student voice is a straightforward treasure in our world with a lot of “stuff.”   • Rick’s AMAZING free resources on MyE

Bringing the Wonder of Math to Students A Conversation with Jerry Burkhart Math is so much more than pacing guides and practice sheets.  If that’s the world you have found yourself in, totally understandable… but here’s some first aid!   Jerry Burkhart is about math adventure, creativity, and wonderment.  He is a math treasure who works with districts to create tasks that move students to really think about math.  A big talking point in the podcast:  The balance between the speed of math learning and true depth.  He is a true believer that we (yes, you!) often underestimate our math abilities.  Jerry helps learners see the beauty in math.  He also provides some pragmatic guidance for all educators and leaders about best practices in flexible grouping in the math classroom.   • Jerry’s very popular “Intrepid Math Problems” on our site – a whopping $5 to change the math world. • “10 Myths That Hold Bright Math Students Back” by Jerry • Jerry has a fabulous website with free resources for educators.  The one

Unwrapping the “Gifts” of ADHD A Conversation with Kevin Roberts Our podcast guest is extraordinary in many ways.  An author/expert on ADHD, Kevin Roberts also supports those with cyber addictions.  In fact, Kevin was featured in a fascinating 20/20 episode on gaming and screen addiction.  Kevin is both gifted intellectually, has ADHD, and was a former gaming addict – so he knows these topics thoroughly! A captivating speaker, Kevin offers help to educators and families in ways to support those with ADHD and cyber addiction – and he draws the connection between the two.  He’s penned two books on ADHD – another two combating cyber addictions.  So, get off those games and/or social media and listen up! This guy is AMAZING!  Oh, and read his short piece: “Is ADHD a Gift?” on our home page.   • Link to Kevin’s piece here. • Link to Kevin’s website.  

5 Truths (And Myths!) About Student-Centered Learning By Suzy Pepper Rollins Educators have been progressing toward more student-centered learning for a while now.  The intent of this podcast is to help with that trajectory.  The podcast outlines 5 big ideas to help continue our work in creating learning experiences that inspire deep student engagement, critical thinking, collaboration, and student accountability.  In addition to these big ideas, there are some myths and a few hurdles to tackle as well.   Just this week! Suzy Pepper Rollins has posted her Pie Chart Instructional Frameworks for everyone!     

Stations in the Fast Lane!  By Suzy Pepper Rollins Stations can be one of the most impactful instructional frameworks for student-centered learning.  Student autonomy, creative thinking, vocabulary development, student engagement– the potential benefits can be almost awe-inspiring.  But stations can also be a bit misleading.  Students APPEAR to be digging in on the task, but are they really understanding what they are doing? How much are they relying on one another? Crafting truly successful station rotation lessons can be daunting.  This podcast spells out the benefits of station teaching, the biggest question to answer, and “Watch Outs!”  Plus, some tips on implementation issues that can develop, such as student accountability and classroom management tips.  If you teach social studies, here’s a free station rotation lesson ready to go on the branches of government.  This is for deep in the unit, close to assessment time.  This is one of the lessons Suzy uses to model stations during professional developm

Now That’s A Good Question!  A Conversation with Erik Francis Are questioning techniques one of the keys to getting students to go further and dig deeper into concepts? According to our guest, Erik Francis, YES! The author of Now That’s a Good Question! How to Promote Cognitive Rigor Through Classroom Questioning (ASCD) shares how his students used to robotically repeat information back to him…without even the courtesy of a citation. However, he discovered that when he posed a thought-provoking question, things changed.  Faces lit up, conversations were sparked…everything changed.  He is seriously a master of questioning and shares the tremendous outcomes from viewing questions not as assessment items, but as beautifully impactful instructional tools.   • Link to Erik’s website • Erik on Twitter • Erik’s article on projects vs PBL

How are Those Essential Questions Working Out? Suzy Pepper Rollins Every day, students file off buses after seven hours of schooling to questioning parents, “What’d you learn at school today? Mumbled responses often sound like this: “I couldn’t tell you.”  Or worse: “Nothing.”   This podcast offers a solution that helps students not just organize this mass of information coming at them but helps them retain information:  standards walls.  Rather than isolated essential questions or “I Can” statements, standards walls are a visual depiction of learning targets in the form of a unit road map.  Because a student’s day can be just too much! They move from ELA and figurative language and sentence structure to math and angles to science and lungs and social studies and the Romans! It piles on and on.   This podcast offers some of the rationale for a different approach & steps to getting started.  BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! A power point with just pictures of standards walls.  Yeah, you!  • Link to podcast • Link

Getting Students to “Fail Forward” & Think Like Engineers A Conversation with STEM Expert Ann Kaiser What a perspective STEM expert Ann Kaiser has about students thinking like engineers! For younger learners, she uses those famous civil engineers “The Three Pigs” to teach the engineering process.  And, rather than have an elaborately complex road map for the Engineering Design Process, she breaks it down into 3 simple steps that every learner (and teacher) can embrace.  This former engineer and Fulbright Distinguished Teacher shares pragmatic guidance on cultivating divergent thinkers and getting students to “Fail Forward” like engineers.  A WOW podcast for every educator and leader!  Ann has shared an open download “Using the Engineering Design Process in Your Classroom” and JUST POSTED “Engineering a Board Game.”   • Her bio & resources on MyEdExpert • Ann’s website • Ann's Twitter page

Motivating ALL Students With Suzy Pepper Rollins What motivates one student to jump in and do his/her best…while another slumps over, seemingly unwilling to try?  This conversation gets under the hood of what makes some students authentically engage and persevere …while others withdraw from tasks.  Students want to be successful at school, so what’s wrong? After a brief discussion of the fundamentals of student motivation, Suzy offers 7 tips that work across the board for learners.  Got some demotivated kids? Listen up!     

The Power of the Opening Minutes With Suzy Pepper Rollins The opening minutes hold tremendous power for learning.  Student motivation, reading comprehension, intellectual curiosity, and the value of a task all hinge on starting with something powerful! Unfortunately, these moments may have been "hijacked" along the way and turned into a "Do Now" classroom management moment.  Do this now while I take attendance, fill out some forms, rotate my tires, etc.  No More!  That's the subject of our short podcast this week.   But wait! Here are some amazing free resources by our fabulous authors to support make these opening minutes super strong!  • Kristina Smekens:  Free bundle of bell-ringers for ELA! • Angela Stockman:  Free Firestarters for writing! • Laurel Schmidt:  It say's "Banish Writer's Block" but this is a cool technique for other subjects - Students draw their heads for a brain dump & then sequence ideas. • Suzy Pepper Rollins:  Alpha brainstorming is for all subjects! From A -Z, everything you know

Using Improv in the Classroom A Conversation with Dr. Katie McKnight “It crazy works.” That’s how prolific literacy author Katie McKnight describes using improv in the classroom.  This high energy, passionate educator details some of the benefits this kinesthetic approach brings to kids, including a big chunk of what we teach in reading and writing. But there’s more! Improv teaches problem solving and encourages a sense of community, as students’ step into a role of making their classmates shine with the valued concept of “Mistakes are gifts.”  This approach can be used in all classrooms as a valued brain break as well.   Katie takes us through a couple of games, such as “Space Walk.”  This game would be FABULOUS for a faculty meeting.  The shared experience of this one game can enhance the community of adults in the building.   Wow!  Katie has shared some of her improv guidelines called “Yes…And for the Classroom” Grab here! • Katie on MyEdExpert • Katie's website • Katie on Twitter