Chris and AJ explore what burnout really looks like in schools, how small frustrations compound into larger problems, and why educators often feel emotionally drained even when they still care deeply about their students. The conversation also examines systemic issues such as outdated school models, standardized testing pressures, and the disconnect between modern students and traditional schooling. Most importantly, they discuss practical ways educators can support each other, build positive school cultures, and keep moving forward—even when the job feels heavy.

In This Episode

1. Defining educator burnout and why it affects teachers and administrators differently
2. How small frustrations compound into professional exhaustion
3. The hidden impact of paperwork, policies, and bureaucracy
4. Why many educators feel disconnected from the modern student experience
5. The role of outdated school structures in educator frustration
6. Leadership styles that help reduce—or worsen—burnout
7. Why appreciation and positive culture matter in schools
8. Simple actions educators can take to support colleagues and improve morale

Key Ideas From the Conversation

1. Burnout is often not caused by one major issue, but by the accumulation of small frustrations.
2. Administrative tasks and paperwork frequently distract from what educators value most—working with students.
3. Many educators feel schools have not kept pace with the modern world or the needs of students.
4. Positive leadership and supportive cultures can significantly reduce burnout.
5. Educators must also take responsibility for supporting and encouraging one another in their buildings.

What Are We Listening to?

AJ: Lead It Like Lasso

Much like Ted Lasso, the show Lead it Like Lasso takes a fresh approach to leadership. The foreword alone will shock you. The lessons outlined are not just for business leaders. Rule #1 – "Leadership is Life!" These tools can be applied in the boardroom, locker room, classroom, and living room.

The conversation dives into student engagement, burnout, technology overload, cell phone policies, professional development, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Rather than offering silver bullets, Chris and AJ focus on what is within educators’ control: mindset, instructional choices, leadership decisions, and how we grow as professionals. This episode sets the tone for a thoughtful, honest series focused on meaningful, sustainable change—one classroom and one school at a time.

Key Topics Discussed

1. What people really mean when they say “education is broken”
2. The post-pandemic reality vs. the promise of change
3. Student apathy, grit, and cognitive endurance
4. Teachers caught between engagement and exhaustion
5. Administrators navigating mandates, data, and human needs
6. The pendulum swing of educational technology
7. Cell phone bans, Chromebooks, handwriting, and balance
8. Why professional development needs a reset
9. What educators can actually control right now
10. Growth mindset, experimentation, and learning out loud

What Are We Listening to?

AJ: The Mindset Mentor podcast, hosted by Rob Dial.

AJ describes it as a mindset and personal growth podcast that blends psychology, neuroscience, habit-building, and goal setting, and notes that he’s been especially into recent episodes focused on preparing for 2026, habits, anxiety, and self-improvement.

Chris: Instead of a traditional podcast recommendation this month, Chris is spotlighting a daily short-form video series he’s been creating throughout January focused entirely on how to start a podcast.

Topics Discussed:

Techniques for Enhancing Productivity in Education:

Rich emphasizes the need for school leaders to adopt effective strategies that emerged particularly during the pandemic. He discusses how educators are often overwhelmed by numerous responsibilities, which can lead to burnout. The conversation emphasizes the importance of prioritizing essential tasks and refining processes to foster a more productive environment.

Addressing Common Pain Points for School Leaders:

Throughout the episode, Rich identifies specific pain points that many school leaders face, such as managing an overwhelming influx of emails and addressing the myriad requests from staff and students. He suggests that school leaders recognize these challenges and prioritize their time by setting boundaries, such as designated times for checking email.

The Importance of Delegation and Creating a Supportive School Culture:

Rich advocates for the power of delegation as a means of reducing workload and empowering others within the school environment. He discusses how school leaders can and should share responsibilities with staff and even students. This not only alleviates pressure on leaders but also fosters a sense of ownership and collaboration among the team.

Strategies for Managing Email and Communication Effectively:

Rich shares his "B.O.A.T." strategy—Blocked Off Answering Times—where he designates specific times in the day to focus on emails, allowing him to better manage interruptions and maintain productivity throughout the day. By doing this, he sets expectations for his communication style and encourages others, including staff and parents, to respect these boundaries.

Insights from Rich's Book and Its Origins:

Rich delves into the many strategies that were developed during his efforts to lead effectively in a challenging educational landscape marked by the pandemic.

Creating a Vision for Work-Life Balance:

Rich highlights the importance of fostering a culture that respects individual boundaries and promotes personal well-being. By advising school leaders to occasionally close their doors and protect their time, he highlights a crucial aspect of effective leadership—maintaining a healthy work-life balance for both themselves and their staff.

What Are We Listening To

• AJ: Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska & The Hand in the Window
• Chris: House of EdTech SmackDown
• Rich: Cal Newport’s A Deep Life Podcast & How I Write

From heartfelt burnout confessions to debates about deducting points for missing names, Chris and AJ bring their signature mix of humor, honesty, and professional insight to each post. They also tackle questions about AI tools for teachers, new educator struggles, and what happens when “a rich guy wants to be a teacher.” Whether you’re a veteran educator, a new teacher, or just curious about what really happens in schools, this conversation is equal parts entertaining and enlightening.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Teacher burnout and finding balance in year four
• The role of AI in easing educator workload
• Effective communication during parent-teacher conferences
• Accountability vs. empathy in grading (the “no-name paper” debate)
• A millionaire’s dream: Should rich professionals become teachers?
• Tips for surviving the first year of teaching
• Using time management and boundaries to avoid burnout
• Community comments from live listeners and former students

Mentioned in Episode:

• Get PD certificates for listening
• Milestone Events

🧠 AJ’s “Elite Performance Coach” ChatGPT Prompt

“From now on, you are my Elite Performance Coach. Your role is to help me optimize my daily habits, time management, and productivity like a top-performing leader in education. Ask clarifying questions to understand my goals, responsibilities, and schedule. Then, create realistic daily and weekly plans that prioritize focus, balance, and recovery. Hold me accountable with specific check-ins, and suggest tools or methods (like time blocking, reflection, or task batching) that align with my personality and workload. Keep your feedback direct, encouraging, and practical.”

From defining the difference between PTO and PTA to addressing challenges in high school parent engagement, this episode explores how school leaders can move beyond bake sales and truly leverage parent involvement to improve culture, communication, and community. Christina also offers actionable steps for principals and teachers to start, rebuild, or revitalize their own parent organizations.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Understanding the difference between PTA and PTO organizations
• Why strong parent partnerships are vital for student success
• How administrators can build and sustain relationships with PTOs
• Common pitfalls in school-parent communication—and how to avoid them
• Strategies for creating a healthy PTO culture and setting boundaries
• The evolution of parent involvement from elementary to high school
• How educators can foster inclusivity, transparency, and collaboration

Resources Mentioned:

• PTOAnswers.com
• The Principal’s Parent Group Playbook by Christina Hidek

Listeners will learn practical ways to introduce AI concepts in any classroom, discover strategies for modeling ethical AI use, and explore why transparency and discussion matter more than ever. Plus, Kathy reveals her favorite AI tools, tips for overwhelmed teachers, and the behind-the-scenes story of her book cover design.

Topics Discussed

• The inspiration behind Kathy’s book and why educators need AI literacy now.
• What AI literacy means and why it’s as critical as digital literacy.
• Scenarios and discussion prompts: engaging students in real-world AI dilemmas.
• How teachers can model ethical AI use in the classroom.
• Overcoming misconceptions and fears about AI.
• Graphic organizers and resources included in the book.
• Why transparency and modeling AI use is a game-changer for educators.
• Kathy’s personal favorite AI tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and more.
• The story behind the symbolic book cover design.

What We’re Listening To

• Me Here, You There – Steve Somers’ legendary monologues and New York sports talk.
• The Mindset Advantage – JW Hillier on leadership, resilience, and personal growth.
• Teacher Nerdz Podcast – Educational conversations on maker spaces, STEM, global education, and more.

Chris shares seven thoughtful tips for closing out the school year—from celebrating student growth and collecting feedback, to documenting success and preparing your future self for the fall. He also outlines seven summer PD ideas, including books to read, tech tools to explore, conferences to attend, and the importance of simply resting and rediscovering your “why.” Whether you’re finishing the school year or planning your summer, this episode has something for every educator.

Key Topics Discussed:

7 end-of-year classroom wrap-up strategies

• Celebrate growth beyond grades
• Student feedback surveys
• Classroom cleanup and organization
• Documenting student and professional success
• Reflective teaching practices
• Recognizing colleagues and collaborators
• Writing a message to your future self

7 summer PD ideas to fuel your growth

• Read a professional or personal development book
• Try a new edtech tool (ex: Canva, Padlet, MagicSchool)
• Attend conferences (ISTE, Edcamp NJ, ASCD, ACTE)
• Listen to educational podcasts (House of #EdTech, Education Podcast Network)
• Enroll in a course or earn micro-credentials
• Redesign curriculum with UDL or SEL integration
• Take time to relax, recharge, and rediscover your "why"

Resources & Mentions:

• Edcamp New Jersey – August 14, 2025 at Monmouth University
• House of #EdTech podcast
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek
• Education Podcast Network
• Canva for Education
• Padlet

The Challenges of School Administration

Many new administrators struggle with the transition from teaching to leadership. Common obstacles include:

• Building Trust – Staff members may be hesitant to embrace a new administrator, especially if communication is unclear.
• Time Management – Balancing meetings, classroom visits, and administrative work is demanding.
• Decision-Making Pressure – The responsibility of making impactful decisions can be overwhelming.
• Work-Life Balance – Long hours and school-related responsibilities often interfere with personal life.

Key Strategies for Thriving

1. Develop a Clear Vision and Communicate Effectively

Successful administrators clearly define their mission and values and communicate them consistently to staff and students. Transparency fosters trust and alignment within the school community.

2. Build Strong Relationships

• Engage with teachers, students, and parents regularly.
• Foster a culture of collaboration and open dialogue.
• Be visible and approachable—presence in hallways, classrooms, and school events matters.

3. Manage Time and Delegate Responsibilities

Delegation is crucial in preventing burnout. Effective administrators prioritize instructional leadership and delegate operational tasks to assistant principals, counselors, or department heads when possible.

4. Maintain a Positive School Culture

• Recognize and celebrate achievements.
• Support teacher growth through mentorship and professional development.
• Promote student engagement by encouraging extracurricular participation.

5. Balance Professional and Personal Life

• Set boundaries to protect personal time.
• Make time for family and personal well-being.
• Engage in hobbies and self-care to maintain mental and physical health.

What We're Listening To

Leaning into Leadership – Hosted by Darren Peppard, this podcast focuses on leadership in education, offering insights and strategies for school administrators. Todd Bloomer is a frequent guest on this podcast.

One by Willie – A podcast by Texas Monthly, where different artists discuss one Willie Nelson song that has significantly impacted their lives. It explores the deeper meaning of music and its cultural influence.

Episode Highlights:

• Inspiring Students: How can we better engage students in a meaningful way and inspire them to do their best?
• Addressing Hate Symbols in Schools: AJ and Chris discuss strategies for handling hate symbols in the school environment and fostering a more inclusive atmosphere.
• Dealing with Resistance to Work: The duo explores what to do when students refuse to do their work, including strategies for encouragement, accountability, and support.
• Chris’s Soapbox Moment: Chris shares his frustrations with a popular education podcast that uses AI-generated voices for its content but fails to disclose it to listeners, sparking a conversation about ethics in podcasting and AI in education.
• Reflections on Education Post-Pandemic: Both hosts reflect on the state of education today, questioning its relevance and effectiveness in a post-pandemic world, and whether education, as we know it, is broken.

What Are We Listening To:

• AJ: Smash Boom Best is a debate show for kids and families from the makers of the award-winning podcast, Brains On! Every episode takes two cool things, smashes them together and lets you decide which is best. Our debaters use facts and passion to make their case -- teaching listeners how to defend their own opinions along the way.

Join us as we explore:

• The unique challenges faced by mid-career and veteran educators.
• Strategies for authentic leadership at the classroom, district, and national levels.
• How The Worthy Educator provides a lifeline for education leaders through collaboration and advocacy.
• Walter’s reflections on the importance of relationships, innovation, and mentorship in creating a lasting impact.

If you’re an educator or leader seeking inspiration and practical advice to navigate the evolving landscape of education, this episode is a must-listen!

Resources & Links:

• Visit The Worthy Educator: TheWorthyEducator.com

Share Your Thoughts:

What resonated most with you about Walter McKenzie's approach to leadership in education? Let us know!

Key Discussion Points:

• Empowering Student Ownership with AI: Chris and Tania emphasize that students' work must reflect their own voice and understanding. They discuss how AI can support but shouldn't replace students’ critical thinking and creative process.

Ruby AI Features for Educators:

• Lesson Planning: Demonstration of Rubi AI’s lesson and unit planning capabilities, including pre-built modules for various subjects. Educators can quickly generate lesson outlines, objectives, and activities tailored to their needs.
• Document Anchoring: Rubi’s ability to “anchor” to specific documents (like PDFs) allows teachers to use existing materials as data sources for AI-generated summaries, questions, or content insights.
• Topic Research and Content Generation: Rubi’s modules can assist with topic research, providing structured information and summaries, which can be transformed into lesson plans, presentations, or study guides.

Customizing Lessons: Tania shows how teachers can modify AI-generated content to better fit their curriculum goals, including adjusting lesson modules based on specific class needs.

Practical Classroom Applications: Examples include using Rubi AI to create study guides for special education, generate multimedia resources for homeschooling, and support high school business students in projects like competitor analysis.

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We discuss the pressing need to involve teachers in PD planning, recognizing that they hold the key to success. Dive into the challenges and opportunities, including addressing diverse needs, assessing and evaluating PD offerings, and working within budget constraints.

Looking ahead, we make predictions about the evolution of teacher PD, especially in light of emerging technologies. How can we harness AI to enhance PD effectiveness and foster a culture of continuous learning among educators? Our guests offer valuable recommendations and insights to shape the future of teacher professional development.

Please listen in to gain a deeper understanding of the changing landscape of teacher PD and the role technology will play in shaping its future. Stay ahead of the curve and be part of the conversation on the future of education.

What Are We Listening To?

AJ - Strike Force Five - A new podcast hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers & John Oliver. All proceeds go to support their out-of-work staffs.

Episode Highlights:

• Chris and AJ reflect on the start of the new school year and their respective roles as educators.
• Chris discusses his experiences with student teachers and how he guides them through classroom management and instructional strategies.
• AJ shares his goal of being more visible in classrooms to support teachers and address behavior issues.
• The hosts explore the importance of building positive classroom cultures and establishing strong relationships with students.
• Chris and AJ emphasize the need for educators to adapt their teaching styles to meet students' needs and interests.
• They discuss the challenges of teaching high school students and the importance of developing effective classroom strategies.
• Chris and AJ talk about maintaining a balance between implementing teaching philosophies and accommodating school and district requirements.

What Are We Listening To?

Chris - Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong - There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn't true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended.

AJ - Everybody Pulls the Tarp

Stephanie Skrocki - 20,000 Hertz - Music of Zelda - Part 1 & Part 2

Topics include:

• Summer Learning
• Goals for new year
• Thing we want to improve on
• Building relationships
• The first few weeks

Jared Lamb, the guest, is introduced as the Associate VP for BASIS Ed in Louisiana and the Head of School for BASIS in Baton Rouge. He shares his background in education as a former teacher and charter school principal. He moved to Baton Rouge with his family a year ago. Despite being in his office, Jared joins the podcast to discuss his experiences.

Key points and takeaways:

1. Jared emphasizes the importance of empowering other leaders on his team and allowing them to lead in their respective areas of responsibility.
2. Jared believes in building people up, collaborating, and fostering teamwork.
3. Jared's approach with the cart is not about the cart itself, but rather about presence, visibility, and supporting teachers.
4. The cart contains practical items such as a trash picker, door stops, and supplies like tissues, Band-Aids, and pencils.
5. Jared values culture and aims to create a culture of trust and professionalism among the staff.
6. Jared highlights the importance of listening to teachers and responding to their needs, as well as maintaining a classroom teacher's perspective.
7. Jared draws inspiration from their parents who were teachers and from working with great leaders throughout their careers.
8. They address the skeptics by acknowledging that their style may not work for everyone and emphasizing the success and retention of their team members.

What Are We Listening To?

Chris - The 5 AM Miracle BEST OF: 7 Strategies to Clear Your Mind + Focus Like a Pro

AJ - Everybody Pulls The Tarp Ryan Lavarnway: Baseball's Most Resilient Player

Jared - The Ed Mylett Show Develop Unbreakable Self-Discipline

Thank you to Mel A for calling in and being a part of the conversation!

The key points of the episode are as follows:

1. Relationships are crucial in education: The episode emphasizes the importance of relationships in education and how they contribute to student success and well-being.
2. Teacher-student relationship: Building trust and rapport with students, recognizing and addressing their individual needs, and creating a positive classroom environment are essential for fostering a strong teacher-student relationship.
3. Teacher-parent relationship: Communicating effectively with parents, involving them in their child's education, and collaborating to support student success are key aspects of establishing a productive and positive teacher-parent relationship.
4. Teacher-colleague relationship: Sharing ideas and resources, collaborating on interdisciplinary projects, and providing professional and emotional support to colleagues are highlighted as important factors in building strong relationships among educators.
5. Teacher-school relationship: Fostering a sense of belonging and community, engaging with school events and initiatives, and working collaboratively with administrators and staff contribute to a positive teacher-school relationship.
6. Prioritizing relationships: The episode concludes by summarizing the key points discussed and encouraging listeners to prioritize relationships in teaching and learning, recognizing their significant impact on student outcomes.

Since its launch in July 2020, Everything Everywhere Daily has been downloaded over 13 million times, averaging over a million downloads per month. This impressive feat is due to Gary's extensive knowledge and experience in a wide range of subjects, including history, science, geography, mathematics, and technology. With each episode lasting about 10 minutes, listeners can learn something new every day while on the go.

When asked about his favorite topics to make episodes about, Gary explains that he enjoys covering a variety of subjects, but he has a particular interest in history and geography. He enjoys researching lesser-known stories and sharing them with his listeners.

Gary also talks about how teachers have been using Everything Everywhere Daily in their classroom curriculum. He has received feedback from teachers who use his podcast as a supplemental resource to provide their students with a wider range of perspectives and to spark discussion in the classroom.

What Are We Listening To?

Chris - 5AM Miracle #487 - The 4 Apps You Need to Manage Any Project or Achieve Any Goal

AJ - The Assistant Principal Podcast

Gary - History of Rome & Revolutions Podcast

Our guest, Mark Torrie, provides insights on how educators can set boundaries to protect their time and energy, both at work and outside of it, and how schools and districts can prioritize and support educator self-care. We discuss the emotional demands of the profession and share strategies for cultivating emotional resilience and practicing self-compassion.

We delve into the role of mindfulness in promoting self-care for educators and explore best practices for creating policies and programs that prioritize educator well-being. Additionally, we share available resources and support for educator self-care, including national and local organizations and successful self-care programs and initiatives.

We conclude by discussing the long-term benefits of practicing self-care for educators, their students, and the broader community. We highlight the costs of neglecting self-care and the importance of shifting the conversation around self-care from individual well-being to broader societal benefits.

Resources:

• Dr. Jaime Seeman - https://www.doctorfitandfabulous.com/
• Dr. Mindy Pelz - https://drmindypelz.com/ 
• Dr. Mark Hyman - https://drhyman.com/ 
• Dr. Peter Attia - https://peterattiamd.com/
• Dr. Georgia Ede - https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/

What Are We Listening To?

Chris - A Bit of Optimism - Episode 76 Down A Rabbit Hole with Seth Godin

AJ - Success Hotline With Dr. Rob Gilbert - For nearly 30 years, Dr. Robert Gilbert, a professor of sports psychology at Montclair State University, a public speaker, motivational coach, sports coach and author, has recorded daily three-minute motivational messages that have reached countless listeners around the world. You can still call the Success Hotline at (973) 743-4690, but now, you can subscribe this new podcast, and get his daily messages right to your device.

With nearly two decades of experience in the field, she has honed her skills in conducting comprehensive needs assessments, crafting effective strategic plans, and delivering the necessary support to facilitate the development of a proactive culture within the school community. With a strong commitment to education and a passion for supporting school communities, Melissa now serves as the Director of Operations and a Lead Consultant for High Five, formerly The Restorative Group and Behavior Flip.

We are thrilled to have her with us today to share her insights on overcoming challenges in education and creating positive, proactive school cultures.

Discussion Topics:

• Identifying the Challenges
• Strategies for Overcoming Challenges
• Looking to the Future

What Are We Listening To?

Chris - Throughline - The Whiteness Myth - This episode of Throughline explores the case of Bhagat Singh Thind, an Indian American man who argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1923 that he was a white man and therefore eligible for naturalized citizenship. Thind's claim was based on the Indo-European language theory, which proposes that nearly half of the world's population speaks a language originating in one place and inspired a racist ideology that defined whiteness. The podcast delves into the myths surrounding this idea and discusses the politics and potential of the mother tongue.

AJ - Everybody Pulls the Tarp - Betsy Julien: The 5th & 6th Grade Teacher - This week Andrew talks with elementary school teacher Betsy Julien. Betsy’s 5th & 6th-grade class has raised over $500,000 to build a wheelchair-accessible playground at their school. Betsy seamlessly integrated the fundraising project into her lesson plans and her 25 students rallied together to support their friends who use wheelchairs. This conversation is filled with timeless lessons about leadership, teamwork, and what’s possible when people come together above all else to help others. It’s also a powerful reminder that sometimes the best place to look for a solution to a big challenge is our youngest generation. This conversation is raw, emotional, and incredibly inspiring.

Melissa - The Flywheel Effect - Districts & the Connection Between Behavior, Social Media, & SEL - In this episode, we are joined by Dedeeh Newbern who is the Chief Student Support Officer for Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky. She’s here to explore the essential role of district behavior support, social media, and SEL in creating positive learning environments.

• During 2023 we will be releasing one episode per month and we will be live streaming our episode recordings on the last Sunday night of the month.
• Join our new PodcastPD Discord Community! We want to connect and chat with you in between our episodes.

Featured Content

In this episode, we share valuable tips for new educators entering the field. We offer practical advice, based on their own experiences, for navigating the challenges of being a new teacher, and provide inspiration for those just starting out in their teaching journey. Whether you are a seasoned educator or just starting out, this episode offers valuable insights and resources for success in the classroom.

Tips for New Teachers

1. Plan Ahead - Effective teaching requires careful planning and preparation. To ensure that you are ready for your lessons, take the time to plan ahead and create detailed lesson plans that outline your objectives, activities, and assessments.
2. Be Organized - Being organized is essential for managing your classroom and your time effectively. Create a system for organizing your materials, assignments, and grades, and stick to it to help you stay on track and avoid getting overwhelmed.
3. Establish Classroom Expectations - To create a positive and productive learning environment, it is important to establish clear rules and expectations for student behavior. Communicate these expectations to your students and consistently enforce them to ensure that your classroom is a safe and respectful place for learning.
4. Differentiate Instruction - Not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace. To ensure that all of your students are successful, it is important to differentiate your instruction to meet the individual needs of your students. This may involve using a variety of teaching strategies, adjusting the difficulty of your lessons, or providing additional support to students who need it.
5. Ask for Help - Teaching can be challenging, and it is normal to need help and support from time to time. Don't be afraid to ask for help from your colleagues, mentors, or school administrators when you need it. They can provide valuable advice and guidance to help you improve your teaching and support your student's success.

What Are We Listening To?

Chris - Everything Everywhere - A Podcast for Intellectually Curious People! Learn something new every single day. Everything Everywhere Daily tells the stories of interesting people, places, and things from around the world and throughout history. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, history, science, geography, and culture.

Discussion Points:

• What is the new normal?
• What is AJ experiencing as an administrator?
• What is Chris doing to blend pre-pandemic and post-pandemic teaching strategies?

What Are We Listening To?

Chris

• Pod Meets World - Boy Meets World Rewatch

AJ

• Compete Everyday
• Increase Your Impact with Justin Su'a
• Mental Performance Daily

Chris and AJ speak with authors Christopher Bugaj, Karen Janowski, Mike Marotta, and Beth Poss about their new book, Inclusive Learning 365: Edtech Strategies for Every Day of the Year.

Discussion Points:

• Inclusive vs Assistive
• The shift in the mindset that occurs by exploring a different practical, inclusive strategy each day and infusing these strategies into everyday practice.
• Explanation of how to use the strategy to design inclusive educational experiences.

Resources:

• https://inclusive365.com/
• #InclusiveRoadToISTE

Returning to school full-time in September of 2021 was undoubtedly welcome for many educators and now that we've gone through the school year it is time to reflect on the year.

Chris and AJ discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of the last year.

In the episode, Chris and AJ discuss Summer professional development, some opportunities that are available, and some of their plans for their upcoming break.

Discussion Points:

• Do good in your piece of the world.
• Is it acceptable to do nothing during Summer?
• Summer Conferences - Live/Virtual (TeachMeets, EdCamps)
• Twitter Chats, Podcasts...Books

Our Personal PD Goals

• Chris - Freshen up World History Course, Reflection
• AJ - PBIS, Building Culture, and Climate

What Are We Listening To?

Chris

• Code Switch School Colors

AJ

• Everybody Pulls The Tarp

Our conversation in this episode revolves around what we will be experiencing this week. AJ shares the perspective of the average administrator and Chris shares what's happening at his high school to celebrate teachers.

What Are We Listening To?

Chris

• Good Morning Podcasters!

AJ

• 60 Songs That Explain the 90s
• First Gen Teacher Lens
• No Quit Living - Episode 348
• Teaching Champions

Live Chat Suggestions

• Jay Strumwasser - Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey & David Spade, Smartless with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, & Sean Hayes, Life is Short with Justin Long

Jake Thompson is the founder of Compete Every Day and your Chief Encouragement Officer! A show designed to help driven people build a winning mindset, so they can build their winning life. 

Jake’s goal is to help you be GREAT! Join the Compete Everyday Podcast to help you re-discover a strong mindset as well as find the skills you need to win your career, training, and life. 

Topics Discussed:

What is GRIT and Accountability?

• Grateful, Reps, Inspire, Tenacity

Be mindful and focus on the PRESENT

Be intentional

Shift your thinking

• "Have to" vs "Get to"
• Busy vs Productive

How can Educators fit into the Compete Every Day model and mindset?

• Classroom Culture - We MUST be a team!
• Consider how we can support each other and be a team!
• How are you asking yourself questions?
• How will you respond?
• Are you a victim or a victor?

Toby Price is a VP from Mississippi who was recently fired from his position for reading the acclaimed children's book "I Need A New Butt."

Topics Discussed:

• Toby's story and where's he's at in the process with his former district
• Taking risks in education as leaders and teachers
• New opportunities
• The unplanned paths that life presents us

Resources:

• GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/2d206543

What We're Listening To

Chris - The GaryVee Audio Experience

AJ - The Compete Everyday Podcast

Toby - Partial Credit Podcast. Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, Canadian True Crime

Rich Czyz has written a new book and he joins Chris and AJ to discuss professional development and how educators can and should take more control over their growth in this profession.

Topics Discussed:

• Pushing the Pessimist - How do we reach those who are not engaged in their own professional learning?
• The Professional Development Championship Belt 
• Working with the Naysayers
• Staff Meeting Syndrome - Are teachers suffering? How do we fix it? Switching Up Staff Meetings
• Podcasts and Pedometers
• Administration support?

Resources:

• Purchase the book: Rogue Leader: Make the Rules, Inspire Others, and Take Control of Your Own Professional Development Destiny
• Book resources: https://bit.ly/ROGUELeaderBookClub
• Custom Championship Belts

What We're Listening To

Chris - Art of Manliness episode #784: The Secrets to Making the Perfect Pizza

Rich - LinkedUp: Breaking Boundaries in Education The Science of Writing for Busy People

Krystle Pearson currently serves as the Director of Technology for Brunswick County Public Schools in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Krystle has more than 15 years in education, she has served in the capacity of a classroom teacher, grade level team leader, school technology coach, instructional technology resource teacher (ITRT), and central office administrator. She has been honored with numerous accolades for her work with students, technology, and as a female leader in education.

Topics Discussed:

• What are digital badges?
• How do you organize an effective digital badging program?
• What does it take to maintain digital badges?
• How do you get staff to buy-in?
• What does badging look like with students?
• Administration support?

Resources:

• https://badge.design
• https://www.canva.com
• https://www.adobe.com/express/

What We're Listening To

AJ - Leaning into Leadership Hosted by Darrin Peppard - Episode 3: Leaning into Change

• Darrin's focus in this episode is leading leaders toward collective efficacy. How do we include more voices in the change process leading to more ownership of the necessary change?

More than ever our relationship with education is strained. Teachers are leaving the profession. Prospective teachers are choosing other majors and career paths in our colleges and universities.

Our relationship with education is rocky right now. But now is not the time to break up with or divorce education. In our conversation, we hope to rekindle the romance between you and your career.

We’re giving away Tech with Heart! Congratulations to our winner: Nikki Jones

Stacey Roshan is a Math teacher and Director of Innovation and Educational Technology from Maryland, and a well-respected #EdTech consultant. Stacey is also the author of “Tech with Heart: Leveraging Technology to Empower Student Voice, Ease Anxiety, & Create Compassionate Classrooms.”

Discussion:

• Tech with Heart - overview
• Perfectionism
• Flipping the Classroom
• EdTech to Empower
• Innovation in the Present

We’re going to give away Tech with Heart! All you need to do enter is the following:

• You have to be following @mrnesi, @AJBianco, @staceylindes,  @buddyxo, & @PodcastPD
• RT our contest tweet
• We will determine the contest results on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.

Resources Mentioned

• https://techiemusings.com/
• Tech with Heart
• Modern Classroom Project

Amber Harper is an educator, author, speaker, and Teacher Burnout Coach whose mission is to activate teacher self-empowerment to help teachers beat burnout and live a happy, fulfilled life.

Amber is the author of Hacking Teacher Burnout and she is the host of the Burned-In Teacher Podcast where she provides actionable steps, inspiration, and support for teachers dealing with teacher burnout.

Discussion:

• What’s the difference between feeling burned out vs just being tired?
• What can leaders do to better support teachers?
• Top tips for turning burnout into something else

Top tips for turning burnout into something else

1. Check your self-talk

• Victim mentality - Believe things are happening to you
• Knowing you will not get different results if you don’t do something different
• BE, DO, HAVE!

2. Check your habits

3. Breathe

Resources Mentioned

• Blinkist App
• Burned-In Teacher Podcast
• Hacking Teacher Burnout (book)

This year we're trying something different and we've prepared one episode with 12 recommendations for you to hear us talk about and then hopefully go and listen to yourself.

Here are the recommendations for 2021:

STACEY

• NPR Life Kit - How To Have Meaningful Conversations At Holiday Gatherings
• Cult of Pedagogy - 114: Let’s Give Our Teaching Language a Makeover
• On Purpose with Jay Shetty - Malcolm Gladwell ON: How To Communicate Effectively During Overwhelming Situations & Mistakes You Make Reading People
• Coffee Break Italian

CHRIS

• A Bit of Optimism - Raising Resilient Kids with Angela Duckworth
• The Art of Manliness - The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather
• The GaryVee Audio Experience - Stop Letting Outside Voices Define You
• Twenty Thousand Hertz - Ehh… What’s Up, Doc?

AJ

• Compete Every Day - Everybody Pulls the Tarp
• Unapologetic Leadership with Dr. Marcus Belin - School Culture Episodes
• Dare to Lead with Brene’ Brown - Brene’ on Armored Versus Daring Leadership
• Slow Burn - Season 3: Biggie and Tupac

We wonder through a conversation about the holiday season. We reminisce about our holidays of the past and we also discussed what holiday celebrations look like in our school and classrooms.

We spoke with:

• Alfonso Mendoza, host of the My EdTech Life Podcast
• Mel Aveling, avid Twitter user and friend of the podcast!

What We're Listening To

Chris: This American Life - Lights, Camera, Christmas! (2012) - This holiday season, we bring you a show filled with stories of people going to great lengths to throw a special Christmas for their families, including: tales of Luna the guinea pig, Bambi the reindeer, and Jeko the super-powerful (and somewhat-scary) Christmas elf.

The COVID-19 Pandemic taught educators many valuable lessons. Teachers all over the world were forced to change how they taught students almost overnight. For months educators implemented new strategies and refined old ones to maximize our time with students in a variety of situations.

But now, as the world and education begin to return to "normal" we find ourselves faced with the decision of what to do with our new learning as teachers or what place these new skills have in our face-to-face classrooms.

Topics Discussed:

• What did you do during the pandemic that worked and you're still doing or you've adapted to in-person learning?

What We're Listening To

Stacey - Planet Money: Origins of a Superhero - Comic book publishers like Marvel and DC sit on a treasure trove: thousands and thousands of comic book characters. Pieces of intellectual property. You know the big ones--Superman, Ironman, Captain America. They each make millions off of movies and merchandise. But for every marquee character, there are hundreds of others sitting unused.

We can't abide by that. Superheroes are meant to save the day, not be stowed away. So we thought: why not convince Marvel to sell us one?

Miss any of the Micro-Face madness?

Quinlan Van Es is pursuing a career in education as a social studies teacher. He is earning his teaching credentials through the Rutgers Graduate School of Education and his completing is student teaching with Chris as his cooperating teacher during the Fall 2021 semester.

At the time of the recording, Quinn is a new teacher on Twitter and you can follow him @Mr_QVanEs

Topics Discussed:

• What it's like to have Chris as a Cooperating Teacher
• How has your teacher preparation program prepared you or underserved you?
• How to make the most of student teaching to prepare for your career as an educator

AJ and former guest Dave Frangiosa co-authored an article, "Supporting ALL Learners with Collaborative Classrooms", on schoolrubric.com.

Featured Content

After catching up Stacey, AJ, and Chris talk about doing innovative things in the classroom as teachers and administrators.

Stacey shares a great story of how she's working with her co-teacher, Molly, through a program in their district to secure funding and items that will be innovative in their classroom. The discussion hits on technology, seating, and other items that could potentially arrive in Stacey's classroom this year.

What We're Listening To

Stacey - This Land (Crooked Media) The award-winning documentary podcast This Land is back for season 2. Rebecca Nagle reports on how the far right is using Native children to attack American Indian tribes and advance a conservative agenda.

Daniel Bauer helps school leaders fight isolation and frustration via a leadership community in order to gain clarity and find solutions to their greatest challenges. He is the founder and host of the Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast and the author of The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap: Small Ideas That Lead to Big Impact (2018).

Daniel recently released his latest book, Mastermind: Unlocking Talent Within Every School Leader. In this book, Daniel discusses how a lack of mentorship and coaching is a leading reason for leader attrition in education, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If it’s true that "Everyone wins when the leader gets better," then your community is counting on you to prioritize your own professional growth – so that YOU get better.

What We're Listening To

Daniel - Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast - created for RUCKUS MAKERS in education -- those out-of-the-box school leaders making change happen. Launched in 2015, this category-defining podcast in educational leadership has helped over 1 MILLION leaders LEVEL UP. Each week host DANIEL BAUER has a conversation with a leadership expert and invites you to listen in. Turn your commute, chores, or workout into professional development, and then GO MAKE A RUCKUS!

In this episode, Chris, AJ, and Stacey talk about teachers' desire to still perform some job functions from home vs having to return completely to the way things were.

Other topics included:

• More lunch protocols
• Chris has another students teacher

Kevin Carroll called in to weigh in on the topic as well.

What We're Listening To

Chris - Throughline - The Shadows of the Constitution (2020) - The Constitution is like America's secular bible, our sacred founding document. In her play, What the Constitution Means to Me, Heidi Schreck goes through a process of discovering what the document is really about – who wrote it, who it was for, who it protected and who it didn't. Through Heidi's personal story, we learn how the Constitution and how it has been interpreted have affected not just her family but generations of Americans.

In this episode, we candidly discuss some of our routines and AJ gets into the weeds about school lunch which leads us down a path of COVID protocols and procedures.

We were also joined on-air by Alfonso Mendoza, host of the My EdTech Life Podcast.

What We're Listening To

Chris - Zack to the Future - Mark-Paul Gosselaar (aka Zack Morris) has not watched an episode of Saved by the Bell since he walked off the set over 25 years ago. Partnered with Dashiell Driscoll – who is currently writing for the series reboot and who wrote the Funny or Die series “Zack Morris is Trash” - the duo revisits the show and recaps the most epic moments for the audience to relive the incredible series. So grab a burger and shake from The Max, get so excited for some special guests and don’t let the dog eat your homework, because Zack Morris is back.

In this episode, we candidly discuss and reflect on our first days of school for the 2021-2022 school year.

Stacey is entering 3rd year as a 5th-grade teacher after spending many years as an instructional technology coach.

Chris is entering his 14th year as a Social Studies teacher.

AJ is entering his 2nd year as a middle school Assistant Principal.

How have your first days/weeks of school been this year? Comment below or send us a voice message that we play in a future episode.

What We're Listening To

Stacey - Unlocking Us Brene Brown and Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt

We continue the conversation to help the new, first-year, teacher. We’re going to share more tips and tricks.

Also check out episode 102

Topics Discussed:

• Relationships

1. with Colleagues
2. with Admin
3. with Students
4. with Parents

• Relationships with KEY building personnel

1. Custodians
2. Secretaries/Administrative Assistants
3. Site or district technology specialist

Tips & Tricks from Social Media:

• Ruth Replogle (@ruthreplogle) - Gather good ideas. I listen to podcasts while I'm doing housework at night, and I listen to audiobooks while I walk to and from school.
• Shea Smith (@EDUlonggame) - Get to know your site or district technology specialist. They can make your life in the classroom much easier!
• Lisa Dabbs (@itslisadabbs) - 1. Reach out to parents via phone, email or an app and make positive connections with them long before you need to contact them due to an issue with their child. 2. Set up a private digital community on FB or IG where parents can see & share in the day to day activities. 3. Do seek out a mentor that can be that sounding board and guide on the side! This is critical!
• Kristin Edwards (@kedwards51) - I wish that someone had told me that I should join prof. Organizations and Twitter for support. I also wish that I understood what knowledge I would gain with experience. During your first year, you don’t know what you don’t know…but you will get there in time. 
• gotLearning (@GrowthOverTime) - #1 All students can learn. #2 Your classroom should be as much like life beyond the classroom as possible. #3 The best classroom management program is a good instructional program.
• Ryan Gutsch (@BBTtrivia) - 1. Get to know the custodians and office secretaries. They truly run things. 2. Never work during your lunch break. Take that time for yourself.
• Kathy Iwanicki (@kathyiwanicki) - Listen more...usually there is a reason behind why things are done the way they are.  Sometimes it is for a good reason!

What We're Listening To

Alfonso Mendoza:

• My EdTech Life

Teaching is not an easy job. You will hear this from most teachers no matter how much experience they have. For many who enter this profession the first year is the toughest and most challenging. Think about it. You're fresh out of school perhaps your only meaningful teaching experience was during your student teaching experience which was probably 14-16 weeks.

In this episode, we discuss and share tips and tricks for the first-year teacher with the hope that your first year might go just a little bit smoother.

And don't worry...episode 103 will contain part two!

Topics Discussed:

• Classroom Management
• Time Management

Tips & Tricks from Social Media:

• Sean Scanlon (@polonerd) - Don’t hesitate to ask questions from veteran teachers and don’t try to do too much.  You can’t do everything the first year.
• Jessica Verrault (@JessicaVerrault) - Don’t hesitate to ask questions or to ask someone to teach you to do or use something that could really benefit your students.  Also, don’t be afraid to share your own ideas.
• Dr. Kim Ramadan (@KimRamadan) - Find positive educators to be your “people”. Practice self-care. Ask for help.
• Ruth Replogle (@ruthreplogle) - 1. Find a mentor. If your school does not assign you one, find somebody who will answer your questions, show you where to get supplies, and navigate the school's culture. 2. Get plenty of sleep. You can't get too much.
• Shanna Martin (@smartinwi) - Be yourself! Kids can see right through you if you are not genuine.
• Rafranz Davis (@RafranzDavis) - It’s ok to put your own mental health first. It’s ok to prioritize yourself once you leave that campus. In other words, don’t take your work home with you.
• Tim Belmont (@tbelmontedu) - 1. Go easy on yourself. It’s not going to be perfect. 2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. 3. Keep your life outside of school a priority.
• Ryan Gutsch (@BBTtrivia) - Try your best to separate work and home. Leave school mail off your phone.
• Dan Whalen (@whalen) - 1. Take care of yourself: sleep, hydrate, eat as best as you can. 2. Be kind to yourself if you don’t follow rule 1. 3 hours of sleep and a piece of cake from the lounge for lunch will happen. Just reset tomorrow 3. Smile and have fun w your kids. The rest will come with time.
• Cindy Assini (@cindyAssini) - You can be effective while having work-life boundaries! Lean on colleagues and prioritize. More work at the expense of healthy habits is not better; part of our jobs is teaching/leading through example by being a healthy, whole human. Nurture yourself physically, emotionally, socially, financially, and spiritually. In addition to doing what you enjoy, self-care looks like setting boundaries, getting a financial planner, and eating nourishing food.
• Rich Czyz (@RACzyz) - Find the person that will support U, motivate U, and help U through year 1! It may not be ur grade level or dept colleagues or even someone in ur own school. Don’t be afraid to connect w/ others outside your school. And always take charge of your own PD! 12 days of Secret Sauce tips
• Oona Abrams (@oonziela) - Don’t be like I was in 1996. SMILE EVERY DAY AND OFTEN!

What We're Listening To

AJ:

• The Rewatchables - a film podcast from the Ringer Podcast Network, features The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and a roundtable of people from the Ringer universe discussing movies they can’t seem to stop watching. Listen to the complete archives of 150-plus movies, including 'The Hangover,' 'Godfather 2,' 'Dunkirk,' 'Creed,' and many more classics.
• 60 Songs That Explain The 90s

In episode 14 we spoke with Don Wettrick about Genius Hour and we’ve known for years how amazing this experience can be for students. But planning it and implementing it can be a daunting task.

In this episode, we’re speaking with a friend of the show Dani Kennis about how she created and implemented Mini Genius Hour with her students.

Highlights

• What is Genius Hour?
• What is a Mini Genius Hour?
• What elements from traditional genius hour did you include?
• What will the beginning of the year look like with this project and experience?
• What are the time constraints?
• What did presentations look like?

Resources

• Mini Genius Hour Google Doc
• Dani's IG Post

What have we learned from creating PodcastPD?

• Stacey, AJ, and Chris share, roundtable-style, the lessons they've learned through 99 episodes of creating this podcast.

Highlights

• Stacey

1. Sometimes asking for something is all it takes
2. There is so much more I want to learn, explore, and do
3. Having a community of dedicated educators knows no value

• Chris

1. More than #edtech
2. How to be live :-)
3. I get by with a little help from my friends

Educator self-care is more important than ever and in this conversation Stacey, AJ, and Chris discuss what self-care means to each of them and share their experiences with self-care.

• What is self-care?
• How do you do self-care?
• What do you wish you were doing?

Coming Up Next... Episode 100!

What We're Listening To...

Chris - Art of Manliness - The Secrets of Public Speaking from History’s Greatest Orators (4/7/21)

Students: The Missing Link In Teacher PD

James F. Nagle and Penny A. Bishop

Educational Leadership | February 2021 | Volume 78 | Number 5

• Have you ever experienced PD where students were involved?
• What is the value of the student perspective on teaching and learning?
• Student Consultancies - Most effective when...
• Set the tone
• Clarify the purpose
• Try different models
• Be conscious of power dynamics
• Act on their new learning

What Are We Listening To?

We just celebrated 6 years of PodcastPD! Thank you for joining us on this journey to change the professional development game through podcasts and podcasting.

Dani Kennis is a Special Education Social Studies teacher in Clarkstown, NY. Dani is passionate about professional development, building relationships & Social Emotional Learning (SEL).

Topics Discussed:

• How do you define SEL?
• How has SEL helped foster relationships with students?
• How does SEL impact classroom management?
• How could someone start integrating SEL into their classroom?
• What will SEL look like when the world is 'normal' and post-COVID?

What Are We Listening To?

Stacey shared: The Daily from the New York Times. This is what the news should sound like. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. Hosted by Michael Barbaro. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m. She specifically recommended Odessa Part 1 and Odessa Part 2

Erich Stephen and Ryan D. Bartel, co-hosts of The Peg Doesn't Fit, join us for our second #PodStudy discussion. AJ recommended listening to episodes 15 and 17 of their podcast where they each talk about their dream school.

About the Podcast

The Peg Doesn’t Fit - The world of education continues to try to operate in the confines of an antiquated system. Despite its flaws, solutions continue to be offered that adds to an increasingly convoluted system that continues to resist change. Join us as we talk about our frustrations and attempt to provide solutions.

Discussion - Erich and Ryan's Dream Schools

Erich: 

• Standards
• Curriculum
• Remote Learning, after the Pandemic
• Community Day - Realworld Activities
• Feeder Programs for MS/HS
• Grading and Skills over Content

Ryan:

• Interoperable
• Interdisciplinary
• International
• Start with the end in mind - what does the ideal graduate look like? What do they need when they leave school?
• Learning maps and Badges through Portfolios
• Student internships
• Budget with community support and contribution
• Planning, PLC time, Workload

Resources:

• Mastery Transcript Consortium

What Are We Listening To?

Chris shared: The Dumb Dad Podcast - It's pronounced Dad, the "dumb" is silent. Comedians Kevin Laferriere and Evan Kyle Berger are just a couple of dads trying to have a little fun along the way. We believe the only way to erase the stigma that Dumb Dads get painted with is to parent harder, not dumber.

Pam Hubler is an Instructional Coach at Daniel Island School in Berkeley County South Carolina and a Google Certified Trainer. Pam has experience teaching K-8 special and general education as well as instructional & technology coaching.

Connect with Pam:

• @specialtechie
• @pam_educoach
• https://www.spedtechgeek.com

Pam wrote a blog post titled, The Lies We Tell Ourselves as Educators, and in this post, Pam reflects on a book she listened to called, Girl, Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis.

We spoke to Pam about some of the lies we tell ourselves as educators and how to change our mindset.

Resources Mentioned:

• Amy Cuddy TED Talk
• Pam's Recommended blog post - Planning For A Year Like No Other!
• Color Code Test

#PodStudy #2

On episode 95 of the podcast, we will be conducting PodStudy #2! AJ has recommended the podcast, "The Peg Doesn't Fit." The hosts, Erich Stephen and Ryan Bartel will join us to talk about the idea of the 'Dream School."

Listen to episodes 15 and 17 of their podcast before listening to ours.

Featured Content

• Our story and how we connected.
• How has being connected benefited each of us?
• What our goal is as connected educators?

Tools for Connecting

What’s out there?

• Twitter
• Facebook
• IG
• Voxer
• Podcasts/YouTube
• Clubhouse

Thank you to David Frangiosa for joining us for a portion of the episode!

David is a former guest of the podcast and you check out our conversation with David on episode 72: Grades: Exploring Equity & Expanding Reach

Erin and Dave Tashian are the Mindful Educators and Stacey chose the first episode of their podcast, of the same name, as the first episode for our brand #PodStudy episodes.

Who Are The Mindful Educators?

Dave and Erin Tashian are veteran educators from New Jersey.

Erin, an 8th grade English teacher is also the founder of The Mindful Educators, a professional development program that fosters a mindful social-emotional experience for students. Erin has been named teacher of the year in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and has presented at many educational conferences.

Dave, a school counselor, is revered for his focus on creating a positive school culture through fostering connection and community. Dave recognizes the importance of creating a positive school culture and its impact on teacher effectiveness as well as student learning. Dave has been honored two times as his school district’s teacher of the year.

PodStudy Discussion

What inspired you to start your podcast and what keeps you inspired as you approach the start of year 3?

Your first show was in July 2019 and your three ways to incorporate mindfulness as educators were:

• Pay attention and create an awareness of how you want to feel in the classroom
• Watch and be aware of your connections Beyond academics
• Practice self-care

Has this advice changed since then? If so, how? How can we update it for the 2020/21 school year? 

Here on PPD we like to assign homework, it’s how we keep the learning going. Which of your episodes would you recommend as optional homework/continued learning?

• 29: Dr. Marc Brackett: Understanding Our Emotions
• 44: Conversations that count with Elena Aguilar

What is your preferred form of PD to get or give?

Stacey, AJ, and Chris ring in the new year with talk of goals and #oneword.

There is homework for the next episode. We’re going to try a podcast study – like a book study – where we focus on one podcast by listening to an episode and then coming together to talk about it on our next episode. First up is an episode of The Mindful Educator.

We will send you the episode and we will be discussing it on our next episode that will be recorded LIVE on Sunday, January 24, 2021.

You can join us by visiting podcastpd.com/live @ 8:30 PM EST.

Callers to this episode included:

• Al Spiegel – Al joined us after months away on a special assignment.
• Mike Brilla – Mike is launching his own podcast! My Best Lesson: Social Studies

You’ve attended a conference or a PD session, now what?

Stacey, Chris, and AJ discuss what happens after you attend professional development.

Also joining the conversation were fellow New Jersey educators Cory Radisch and Paul O’Neill. Cory and Paul are launching their own podcast in January 2021 called The Status GROW Podcast.

The 2020 holiday season is upon us and in this episode, we talk openly and honestly about what we’re grateful for in a year that thrown many challenges and presented a multitude of obstacles our way as educators and people.

We share what and who we’re grateful for. We’d love for you to share with us too. Leave a comment below or by any of the means to connect with us and the show.

Text PodcastPD

You can now text us and get text message updates from the podcast!

Text @podcastpd to 81010 or (862) 206-5925

What We’re Listening To

Chris shared a podcast that is great for kids because it involves kids right on the podcast!

But Why? A Podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont Public Radio (NPR).

Description: But Why is a show led by you, kids! You ask the questions and we find the answers. It’s a big interesting world out there. On But Why, we tackle topics large and small, about nature, words, even the end of the world. Have a question? Send it to us! Adults, use your smartphone’s memo function or an audio app to record your kid’s question (get up nice and close so we can hear).

Do you listen to too many podcasts? We might so let’s discuss.

This is the episode that more than 88 episodes in the making as we finally dive into “Stacey’s Number.”

Chris and AJ have been joking with Stacey for years about how many podcasts she is subscribed to and how many unlistened to episodes she’s got on her phone.

The truth is AJ has more and Chris doesn’t listen to or subscribe to as many as you would think.

Click here to view the Google Slides presentation used during our live-streamed recording of this episode.

We also debuted our new Twitch channel and we would love for you to follow us on Twitch so you will get notified when we’re streaming!

How are you connecting with colleagues during these uncertain times in education?

This episode is part-3 of our series on Virtual Learning. Be sure to check out episode 85 and episode 86 for conversations on connecting with students and connecting with families.

Stacey shared that she started a Hybrid Mastermind group with her colleagues to address the unique needs of the teachers she works with.

She is also in contact with colleagues via group texting.

Chris talked about chatting with his colleagues on Google Chat during the day as well as more leisurely contact through a fantasy football league with some colleagues.

During the Spring of 2020, Chris and his colleague Bowtie Joe hosted a weekly show via StreamYard to foster communication and community among their colleagues.

What We’re Listening To

Chris – Throughline – The Electoral College, How We Vote, The Most Sacred Right

Stacey:

• Civics 101-Pick and choose-great for the classroom!
• NY Times-A Peculiar Way to Pick a President

Feedback

Anabel Gonzalez – Connect with families using Remind

Derek Larson – Loves that we “go off the rails”

Louis Soper – Can relate to Chris and the challenges of connecting with families

In this episode, we continue our Virtual Learning series focusing on the topic of Connecting with Families during virtual/remote/hybrid learning.

If you haven’t listened to episode 85 you must!

We tackle the topic of connecting with families during remote learning. We share what’s worked and what hasn’t so we can all grow during this interesting time in education.

• What does connecting with families look like under normal circumstances?
• Share strategies used as a classroom teacher
• What did maintaining connections look like in Spring 2020?
• What does connecting with families look like now in Fall 2020?

Ideas to try

• Conference One Pager
• Good news phone calls

What We’re Listening To

Leader of Learning – Devil’s Edvocate

Dr. Dan Kreiness hosts the Leader of Learning and in August of 2020, he launched a special series of episodes that he will produce once per month called Devil’s Edvocate. He’s joined by Rachelle Dene Poth as his co-host and they tackle trending topics in education from all angles backed by sound research. Where no topic is too big or too small and where YOU can be a part of the action!

How do you connect with students who are not physically in your presence?

We tackle the topic of connecting with students during remote learning. We share what’s worked and what hasn’t so we can all grow during this interesting time in education.

Part 1 of a three-part mini-series!

• 85 – Connecting with Students
• 86 – Connecting with Families
• 87 – Connecting with Colleagues

Questions we discussed:

• What does connecting with students look like under normal circumstances?
• What did maintaining connections look like in Spring 2020?
• What does connecting with students look like now in Fall 2020?
• How are you creating a classroom culture?

Ideas to try in your class:

• Greet each student by name every single day.
• Use Students’ Names as Much as Possible
• Send Emails. Sending an email periodically is a good way to check in with students.
• Show students your world.
• Provide high-quality feedback on assignments.

What does it mean to teach in magenta?

Magenta is bold, it’s vibrant, and the color holds noble qualities. Teaching in Magenta means creating magnificent school days. It’s a refreshing approach to teaching and leading that puts your joy and well-being first so you can share those attributes with your students.

Veteran teacher and author James Sturtevant shares 100 paths for living and teaching in an authentic, enthusiastic, and relevant way. Take a few minutes each day to read a path or two, and gain energy and ideas that you can put into action the same day.

PURCHASE TEACHING IN MAGENTA

Connect with James Sturtevant:

• https://twitter.com/jamessturtevant
• Website: https://jamesalansturtevant.com/

How did you overcome the fear and the little voice in your head when considering K-12 retirement?

Which of the sections resonates most with you as an educator?

The biggest takeaway from the book?

What We’re Listening To

James Sturtevant recommends:

The Happiness Lab Podcast – You might think more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations would make you happy. You’re dead wrong. In “The Happiness Lab” podcast, Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will forever alter the way you think about happiness. She’s changed the lives of thousands of people through her class “Psychology and the Good Life,” and she’ll change yours, too.

Are you ready to feel better?

Producing media in the classroom doesn’t have to be a daunting and overwhelming task for you or your students. Our guests in this episode are Bruce Reicher and Randy Tomes. They, along with Paula Neidlinger, wrote the book Scripted: An Educator’s Guide to Media in the Classroom (2020, EduMatch Publishing).

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE BOOK

Bruce Reicher (@breicher) – has been an educator for 25 years. The past 14 years he’s been a middle school technology teacher. He is a proud Dad & Husband.

Paula Neidlinger (@pneid) – from Indiana, is a globally connected, 28-year middle school, veteran media and English educator, presenter, and author.

Randall Tomes (@RandallTomes1) – also from Indiana has been an educator for 25 years, teaches digital design & communication studies at the elementary level.

What We’re Listening To

Chris – Por Nuestros Niños Podcast – We would all do anything “Por Nuestros Niños,” For Our Children. We all understand that education is the vehicle that will propel them socioeconomically forward. Parents are children’s first teachers, and they’re the most important key to help them succeed. This radio broadcast and podcast introduces professors, teachers, and expert educators to U.S. Spanish speaking parents that want to understand how the U.S. public education system can best serve their bilingual children. The show shares tools, resources, and sage advice based on research and science to help children thrive in many languages.

Bruce – Live Inspired Podcast with John O’Leary – Expected to die, today he’s inspiring others to truly live.

World-renowned inspirational speaker + national bestselling author John O’Leary wants to help you wake up from accidental living so you can do, be, achieve and impact more through your life. Every Monday, John shares a quick burst of inspiration to help start your week on fire. Every Thursday, John interviews an amazing guest on their story, successes, failures, lessons, and life to help you uncover tips to apply in yours.

We’ve spent quite a bit of time discussing what education could look like on this podcast in the past and as we continue to move forward in a world that is very different from when we’ve had those conversations.

We’d like to talk about what education could like once more as we continue to live through COVID-19 and look ahead to the new school year.

We discussed:

• Tips
• Strategies
• Hacks
• Plans for starting the year
• www.EduProtocols.com – John Corippo

We were fortunate to be joined by:

• Shea Smith – @TOSANotes
• David Frangiosa – @DavidFrangiosa

What We’re Listening To

Stacey recommended:

• Nice White Parents (NPR) – Years ago, producer Chana Joffe-Walt started reporting on one school in New York. She thought the story was about segregation and inequality in public schools. But the more she looked into it, the more she realized she was witnessing something else. She was seeing the inordinate power of white parents at this school. This is the first episode of Chana’s new mini-series: Nice White Parents.

Planning and preparations continue for the 2020-2021 school year. In some places, the school year has started and in other places, schools will ‘open’ in a very different way.

We’ve spent quite a bit of time discussing what education could look like on this podcast in the past and as we continue to move forward in a world that is very different from when we’ve had those conversations.

We’d like to talk about what education could like once more as we continue to live through COVID-19 and look ahead to the new school year.

Discussion Questions

• What are you looking forward to?
• What do you have reservations about?
• What is your top goal for the year?

Special thanks to Freddy Nunez who spent some time on-air with us during our live stream.

What We’re Listening To

Beginning in this episode we’ve changed this segment from all three of us making a recommendation to rotating and giving you one recommendation per episode. In this episode, Chris made the following podcast recommendation.

Twenty Thousand Hertz – A podcast revealing the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Chris has been binge listening to the show, which recently released its 100th episode, and finds the podcast fascinating.

We’ve spent quite a bit of time discussing what education could look like on this podcast in the past and as we continue to move forward in a world that is very different from when we’ve had those conversations.

We’d like to talk about what education could like once more as we continue to live through COVID-19 and look ahead to the new school year.

What We’re Listening To

• AJ – The TeachThought Podcast Episode 215 – School Leadership Lessons on the Road to Awesome. Drew Perkins talks with Darrin Peppard, Superintendent of West Grand, CO schools, about his new book, Road To Awesome: Empower, Lead, Change the Game and lessons of school leadership he’s learned through his years of experience.
• STACEY – The Michelle Obama Podcast

Ken Shelton holds an M.A. in Education with a specialization in Educational Technology as well as New Media Design and Production.

He has worked as an Educator for over 20 years. As a part of his active involvement within the Educational Technology community, Ken is an Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Innovator.

Ken regularly gives keynotes, presentations, consults, and leads workshops, covering a wide variety of Educational Technology, Equity and Inclusion, Multimedia Literacy, Cultural Relevance, Visual Storytelling, and Instructional Design topics.

Ken was the 2018 ISTE Digital Equity PLN Excellence Award winner.

Connect with Ken Shelton

• https://kennethshelton.net/
• http://twitter.com/k_shelton
• https://www.instagram.com/kshelton/

Topics Discussed:

• What does it mean to be an anti-biased and anti-racist educator?
• How can an educator self-assess?
• What does all of this look like from the perspective of
• School Leaders?
• Secondary Educators?
• Elementary Educators?

The Liberated Educator – Click here for more!

We are a group of educators who believe in the power of the people. We provide meaningful personalized learning experiences that empower our attendees to be better and do better. Our work is centered around anti-bias/anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, organizational change, and organizational culture. None of these are mutually exclusive and require the right start as well as on-going work. We bring decades of collective experience in education, consulting, training, advisement, and design. Our work is grounded in theoretical research as well as practical experience. We thank you for joining us on this journey and for your commitment to doing the work. We also have a podcast coming very soon.

Event information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cultivating-liberation-becoming-an-anti-biased-anti-racist-educator-tickets-112414231994

What We’re Listening To

• AJ – The Principal Leadership Lab – Adam DeWitt and Jeff Prickett: Jeff & Adam discuss the COVID pandemic – are there any positive takeaways to be gleaned from this public health crisis, especially for school communities? And what does going into the 20-21 school year look like? Check out the latest episode of The Principal Leadership Lab as we discuss, “The COVID Comeback?”
• Chris – French Kiss Life – French Kiss Life is a podcast, a lifestyle brand, and a global community with a mission to inspire you to live artfully and well. Each week, Master Life Coach, Tonya Leigh, offers practical advice, inspiring stories, and transformational experiences to elevate the everyday lives of women. At French Kiss Life, we know the best way to improve our life is to celebrate and enjoy the life we have right now. Are you ready to create a life that will inspire your 90-year old self to raise her flute with a toast, “Well done, darling!”?
• Stacey – So You Want to Talk About Race – So You Want to Talk About Race is a 2018 non-fiction book by Ijeoma Oluo. Each chapter title is a question about race in contemporary America. Oluo outlines her opinions on the topics as well as advice about how to talk about the issues.
• Ken – Codeswitch, As Told By Nomads, By the Book

Stacey is back and we’re talking about professional development in the Summer of 2020!

Topics discussed:

• Stacey recaps her school year back in the classroom and the end of her year
• Collectively we touched on retirement, the seniors of 2020
• AJ and Chris are presenting at #2020Changemaker, a FREE virtual PD conference for educators on Tuesday, July 14th. Registration: http://bit.ly/2020changemaker
• Evolving Educators
• NJAMLE
• Michael Matera’s Hive Summit
• Staying off social media during the Summer
• Joining Facebook Groups
• ASPIRE Podcast FB Group

What We’re Listening To

• AJ – The Daily Stoic – Ask Daily Stoic: Ryan and Brett McKay Talk Parenting, Living Through History, and Modern Manliness – In today’s episode, Ryan and Brett McKay, founder of The Art of Manliness, talk about being a parent in the age of COVID-19, the changing definition of manliness, and more.
• Host @RyanHoliday
• Chris – Throughline – Why 2020 Isn’t Quite 1968 – Protests, racial divisions, political polarization, and a law-and-order president – it’s easy to draw comparisons between 2020 and 1968. But, Adam Serwer, who covers politics at The Atlantic, says that a much better point of comparison actually starts a century earlier – 1868. This week, we share an episode we loved from It’s Been A Minute with Sam Sanders that explores a moment when white Republicans fought for years for the rights of Black Americans, before abandoning them to pursue white voters.

On Sunday, June 14, 2020, we hosted a live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation about the 2019-2020 school year.

Topics:

• AJ’s first year in his new admin role
• Chris’s year of trying new things in his classroom
• Distance/remote learning reflection

We were joined on air by the following people:

• Jill Dobrowansky
• Al Speigel

What We’re Listening To

• AJ: The 5AM Miracle: Charisma and Confidence: AJ Harbinger from the Art of Charm – What does it take to have the charisma, confidence, and charm to win over a crowd, or just one individual? AJ Harbinger shares helpful tips to help us all connect with others in truly meaningful ways.
• Chris: A Bit of Optimism – Simon Sinek has a podcast! – During these times, we are all having to find new ways to connect. Join me every week from my kitchen table as I talk with people that inspire me, about love, life, leadership and silver linings. The hope is that we all leave with something I think we need these days… A Bit of Optimism.

Featured Content

On Sunday, June 7, 2020, we hosted a live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation about where, to begin with challenging topics and conversations in your school.

Select Topics:

• Racism
• Curriculum
• How to have conversations with students

We were joined on-air by the following awesome people who contributed to the conversation:

• Maria Fernandez
• Joshua Stamper
• Sarah Johnson
• Freddy Nunez
• Dan Kreiness
• Fade Ojeikere
• Toney Jackson
• Jill Dobrowansky
• Al Speigel

Resources:

• 10 Ways to Talk to Students About Sensitive Issues
• 15 Classroom Resources for Discussing Racism, Policing, and Protest
• First Encounters With Race and Racism: Teaching Ideas for Classroom Conversations

What We’re Listening To

• AJ: Code Switch (NPR) – A Decade of Watching Black People Die (5/21/2020) – The last few weeks have been filled with devastating news — stories about the police killing black people. At this point, these calamities feel familiar — so familiar, in fact, that their details have begun to echo each other.
• In July 2014, a cellphone video captured some of Eric Garner’s final words as New York City police officers sat on his head and pinned him to the ground on a sidewalk: “I can’t breathe.” On May 25 of this year, the same words were spoken by George Floyd, who pleaded for release as an officer knelt on his neck and pinned him to the ground on a Minneapolis street.
• Chris: Throughline (NPR) – American Police (6/4/2020) – Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. A truth many Americans are acknowledging since the murder of George Floyd, as protests have occurred in all fifty states calling for justice on his behalf. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of American policing and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system.

They open the show addressing the current state of things as they relate to the protests and events resulting from the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.

PodcastPD is committed to providing meaningful conversations to help you grow as an educator and the show is planning upcoming episodes and content to help you address these important topics and conversations in your classrooms and schools.

Featured Content

On Sunday, May 31, 2020, we hosted a live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation about anything but education.

Topics:

• Mafia Movies
• Baseball-themed Sports Movies

We were joined on-air by the following awesome people who contributed to the conversation:

• Mike Brilla
• Jill Dobrowansky

Podcast Recommendations

• AJ – Lead to Win with Michael Hyatt
• Chris – Art of Manliness #612 – Grillmaster Secrets for Flame-Cooked Perfection
• Jill – RadioLab, No Meat Athlete, Feed Your Spirit (her own podcast)
• Mike – Hacking Engagement

AJ Started A Podcast!

AJ has launched his own solo podcast! It’s called ReflectED!

Description: ReflectED is the podcast where AJ Bianco shares his perspective on the challenges and successes that are taking place in our schools and focuses on goal-setting and plans for future improvement. Through rich conversation and meaningful dialogue, we discuss practical ways to make schools better for students and educators.

Click here to subscribe

On Sunday, May 17, 2020, we hosted a live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation about the end of the school year and how we close things out.We were joined on-air by the following awesome people who contributed to the conversation:

• Jill Dobrowansky
• Al Spiegel
• Raquel Williams
• Shawn Hicklin called in and asked us about gamification in the classroom. We recommended that he connect with Chris Aviles who appeared on episode 18 of the podcast.

Podcast Recommendations

• AJ – Compete Every Day – Stop Doing Nothing
• Chris – Rough Translation (NPR) – 5/13/2020 – Hotel Corona
• Stacey – Brene Brown Books
• Raquel – DOE Digest with the New Jersey Department of Education
• Jill – What Should I Read Next?
• Al – Inside EMS

AJ Started A Podcast!

AJ is launching his own solo podcast! It’s called ReflectED!

Description: ReflectED is the podcast where AJ Bianco shares his perspective on the challenges and successes that are taking place in our schools and focuses on goal-setting and plans for future improvement. Through rich conversation and meaningful dialogue, we discuss practical ways to make schools better for students and educators.

Click here to subscribe

On Sunday, May 3, 2020, we hosted another live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation how education can and will change because of everything happening in the world in the Spring of 2020.

We were joined by a panel that included, Batsheva Frankel, Tim Cavey, and Jake Miller!

About our guests:

Batsheva Frankel, the producer, and host of the podcast Overthrowing Education has been an educator for over 25 years. In 2011, she began developing the award-winning LaunchBox line – activities and games that explore big philosophical ideas. As an educational consultant, Batsheva has presented professional development workshops to educators at conferences, universities, and schools throughout the US and UK. Her book, The Jewish Educator’s Companion: Practical Tools and Inspirational Ideas was published by Behrman House in June 2017. Batsheva is the director of The Areté Institute, a project of Areté Preparatory Academy.

Connect with Batsheva:

• Twitter – @OverthrowingEd
• Website – http://batshevafrankel.com/
• Overthrowing Education Podcast – https://www.overthrowingeducation.com/

Tim Cavey is an 8th-grade educator teaching in Surrey, BC, Canada. Now in his 18th year of education, Cavey is currently pursuing a Master’s of Educational Leadership degree. His MEdL program has re-invigorated his passion for education. Favorite topics include collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, design thinking, growth mindset, inquiry, PBL, visible learning, and strategic uses of technology in education.

Connect with Tim:

• Twitter – @MisterCavey
• Teacher’s On Fire Podcast – https://teachersonfire.net/

Jake Miller is the #EduGIF Guy, Speaker, Tech Integration Specialist, Google Apps for Edu Trainer, & Nerd. Jake is also the host of the Educational Duct Tape Podcast.

Connect with Jake:

• Twitter – @JakeMillerTech
• Educational Duct Tape Podcast – https://jakemiller.net/eduducttape/

On Sunday, April 26, 2020, we hosted another live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation about grades. Our guest is David Frangiosa.

In 2015, David Frangiosa made the switch to Standards-Based Grading in high school science classroom and hasn’t looked back. During our conversation we discussed:

• What is Standards-Based Grading?
• What is the value of SBG?
• What does SBG look like in David’s classroom and school?
• What should a teacher consider if they want to move to SBG?

Connect with David on Twitter – @DavidFrangiosa

Check out David’s website about Standards-Based Grading:

Complete Guide to Standards-Based Grading

We also took your ‘calls’ during our live stream and people shared information in the chat as well. We are going to go live again on Sunday, May 3, 2020, at 8:30 PM EST.

Special thanks to the following people who appeared on the show:

• Al Speigel

On Sunday, April 19, 2020, we hosted another live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation around distance learning. In this episode, we focused our attention on student engagement in the remote learning setting.

We enjoyed taking your ‘calls’ during our live stream and people shared information in the chat as well. We are going to go live again on Sunday, April 26, 2020, at 8:30 PM EST.

Special thanks to the following people who appeared on the show:

• Al Speigel

On Sunday, April 5, 2020, we hosted another live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation around distance learning. In this episode, we focused on the impact that Spring 2020 will have on education going forward. Our conversation was driven by your participation.

We enjoyed taking your ‘calls’ during our live stream and people shared information in the chat as well. We are going to go live again on Sunday, April 19, 2020, at 8:30 PM EST.

Special thanks to the following people who appeared on the show:

• Jill Dobrowansky
• Bruce Reicher
• Al Speigel

On Sunday, March 30, 2020, we hosted another live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation around distance learning. In this episode, we focused on the student perspective. Stacey was on special assignment and we welcomed Kevin Carroll as our guest co-host for the evening.

We spoke to three juniors from his high school who shed a tone of light onto distance learning from their point of view.

We enjoyed taking your ‘calls’ during our live stream and people shared information in the chat as well. We are going to go live again on Sunday, April 5, 2020, at 8:30 PM EST to talk with you about your experience with distance learning and teaching!

Special thanks to the following people who appeared on the show and talked about a variety of topics:

• Miles Nesi – 2nd Grader and host of the Vacuum Podcast with Miles – @VacuumPodcast
• Al Spiegel – @AlSpiegel
• Ron Grosinger – @RonGrosinger

On Sunday, March 22, 2020, we hosted another live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation around online teaching resources and reflection.

We enjoyed taking your ‘calls’ during our live stream and people shared information in the chat as well. We are going to go live again on Sunday, March 29, 2020 at 8:30 PM EST to talk with students about their experience with distance learning!

Special thanks to the following people who appeared on the show and talked about a variety of topics:

• Al Spiegel – @AlSpiegel
• Ron Grosinger – @RonGrosinger
• Bruce Reicher – @breicher

On Sunday, March 15, 2020, we hosted a live broadcast on our YouTube channel to facilitate a conversation around online teaching and learning. Many schools throughout the United States and around the world are being forced to close in response to the COVID-19 virus. Educators who have never taught online or conducted virtual learning for students are being asked to use technology they’re not familiar with and provide instruction in a way that will be new for their students.

This episode is longer than usual and that’s OK because we took ‘calls’ during our live stream and people shared information in the chat as well. As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response, we are going to go live again on Sunday, March 22, 2020 at 8:30 PM Eastern to continue this conversation and provide an outlet for reflection and growth.

Special thanks to the following people who appeared on the show and talked about a variety of topics:

• Shivan Persaud – @ShivanPersadEDU
• Greg Bagby – @Gregbagby
• Kevin Carroll – @Kevin_Carroll_
• Nathan Nagele – @MrNagele
• Al Spiegel – @AlSpiegel
• Derek Larson – @lars3eb
• Ron Grosinger – @RonGrosinger
• Bruce Reicher – @breicher
• Dan Kreiness – @dkreiness

Back in December 2019, the New York Times asked students to weigh in on how to improve the American education system.

Their prompt received nearly 300 comments. Improving education was clearly a subject that many teenagers were passionate about. The student who were interviewed offered a variety of suggestions on how they felt schools could be improved to better teach and prepare students for life after graduation.

AJ and Chris comment discussed the following:

• Put less pressure on students
• Use less technology in the classroom (…or more)
• Prepare students for real life
• Eliminate standardized tests
• Give teachers more money and support
• Make lessons more engaging
• Create better learning environments
• Support students’ families
• De-emphasize grades
• Praise for great teachers

Chrissy Romano Arrabito is a career teacher and proud of it! She is currently an elementary teacher at Nellie K. Parker Elementary School in Hackensack, New Jersey and has over 26 years of experience as an elementary and middle school teacher. She graduated from Rutgers University where she studied Sociology and Psychology. She went on to complete the Teacher Certification program and earned a Masters Degree in Counseling from William Paterson University. Chrissy is dedicated to teaching the whole child, stimulating and supporting innovation in classrooms, and strives to provide authentic learning experiences for her students. Her true passion lies in nurturing the quiet kids, those that tend to fall through the cracks, those that truly need a champion to support and advocate for them. She is the author of, Quiet Kids Count: Unleashing the True Potential, Book 3 in the Lead Forward Series, which presents stories and strategies to make space for the quiet kids and find ways to amplify their voices and unleash their true potential.

We discussed the following with Chrissy:

• What is one thing people don’t realize about quiet kids? 
• What is the biggest challenge teachers have to overcome when working with quiet kids?
• What is the best piece of advice you can give for working with or being accommodating to an introverted student?
• How can we apply all these concepts when interacting with adults who may be introverted?
• What is/are the biggest takeaways that you want from the readers?

Resources

• @TheConnectedEdu
• Quiet Kids Count: Unleashing the True Potential of Introverts

What We’re Listening To

AJ: How to Conquer Self-Doubt with Ed Mylett – “I am worth it!” “I deserve it!” This is what is going to be taught to believe YOURSELF!

It’s the feeling that creeps up on you when you need your confidence the most. That relentless voice that tells you, you’re not good enough, smart enough, fast enough, strong enough, beautiful enough. Doubt can be so crippling. It can stop you from achieving greatness in your business, in your faith, in your relationships… in EVERYTHING! I can tell you a million times that YOU ARE ENOUGH but if YOU don’t’ believe in yourself, that temporary boost of confidence will eventually wear off and the doubt will settle back in. Confidence has to be cultivated from within! But how do you do this???? In this episode, I’m going to teach you the exact skills that will allow you to conquer self-doubt and replace it with self-confidence!

Chris: Throughline (NPR) – “Becoming America” (2/13/2020)

When the United States of America was founded, it was only a union of a small number of states. By the beginning of the 20th century, the United States had become an empire; with states and territories and colonies that spanned the globe. As a result, the country began to not only reconsider its place in the world, but also its very name.

Stacey: Hidden Brain-When Things Click: The Power Of Judgment-Free Learning

This week on Hidden Brain, we explore an innovative idea about how we learn. It will take us from the Russian laboratory of Ivan Pavlov, to a dolphin exhibit in Hawaii, to a top teaching hospital in New York. It’s about a method to quiet the noise. The sort of clutter that can turn learning into a minefield of misery. Students care more about getting praise than learning.

Not all learning can be gamified, and not all learning can be broken down into a series of steps

Welcome to the next installment of the ongoing series we’re calling “Why Podcast?” In this and future editions, we speak to podcasters in and out of education about their podcasts. We will get into their why and talk about how they podcast.

Our next guest in this series is Gabriel Carrillo, host of the EdTech Bites Podcast. Our conversation with Gabriel dives into his passion for education and food.

Gabriel Carrillo is an Educational Technology Specialist. He’s been in the educational field since he graduated high school and has served as an instructional assistant, substitute teacher, teacher, dean of students, and assistant principal.

He is also a foodie and loves to cook and chow down on food of all sorts.

These two passions have come together in his EdTech Bites podcast. He gets to share these two topics with the world in each episode. He believes that the best conversations are had at the table then you break bread together.

Resources

• https://edtechbites.com
• https://twitter.com/EdTechBites
• https://www.instagram.com/edtechbites
• https://www.facebook.com/edtechbites

What We’re Listening To

AJ: The Innovator’s Mindset (The Podcast) – George Couros is a leading educator in the area of innovative leadership, teaching, and learning and is the author of the book, The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent and Lead a Culture of Creativity. 

This podcast, based on messages from the book, tackles the biggest barriers to innovation, why big institutions are so resistant to change and how to become the ripple effect of innovation inside your organization.

Chris: Brains On! – A science podcast for curious kids and adults from American Public Media. Co-hosted each week by kid scientists and reporters from public radio, we ask questions and go wherever the answers take us.

Recent episodes:

• How do pianos work?
• Flavor facts: Why food is so delicious
• Bigfoot, Unicorns and Dragons: Making Sense of Myths, pt. 1

(T & IG) – @brains_on // (FB) – https://www.facebook.com/BrainsOnShow/

Stacey: Student Podcast Challenge Teachers and students, got something to say? Put on your headphones and get ready to hit record! The folks behind NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge made this handy guide on how to make a podcast in the classroom. We’ll talk about how to gather good sound, ask great questions and conduct smart interviews. Plus, we’ll hear from the contest’s judges, last year’s winners and feature some pretty inspiring stories of students and teachers. It’s everything you need to make an amazing podcast!

Gabriel: The Empowering Parents Podcast – If you’re looking for real parenting advice that works, you’ve come to the right place. Empowering Parents has been giving our readers “straight talk and real results” since 2007, and our podcast aims to do the same. Not only do our experts tell it like it is, but they also give you honest, practical, effective advice that you can start using today. On our blog, in our article comments section and on our Facebook page, you’ll find other parents who are dealing with the same issues you’re dealing with right now. When you become part of the EP community, you’ll experience what many of our parents say: “It’s like you’ve been looking in the windows of my house and know my family. I am starting to parent differently and my kids’ behavior is finally changing. And best of all, I don’t feel alone anymore.”

Featured Content

We discussed:

• Setting Goals as an Educator:
• Why Set Goals?
• How to set goals?
• Don’t Plan the Whole Year, Yet (5 AM Miracle)
• Reflect on Your Past Successes (5 AM Miracle)
• Take Your Health Seriously (5 AM Miracle)
• Keep it Simple (5 AM Miracle)
• Our 2020 Goals
• AJ → GO Embrace work/life balance, Be a better leader, Workout 4-5 x week, read 12 books, CREATE.
• Stacey → One Word- COMMIT…Commit 30, Hyperdoc
• Chris → Stop worrying about other people…2 parts.

Resources:

• https://commit30.com/
• Stacey’s remixed One Word Hperdoc

What We’re Listening To

AJ: The Wired Educator Podcast w/ Kelly Croy – Episode 151: Resolutions Every Educator Should Make for 2020.

In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, Kelly shares 20 resolutions for 2020 that he believes will help every educator, administrator, and school district to level-up and impact lives. This episode is based on a blog post that Kelly shares every year at www.WiredEducator.com.

This podcast episode contains 20 Resolutions Kelly believes will help you and your school level-up and make an even greater impact.

Which resolutions challenge you? Which ones are you crushing?

Chris: Podcast Talent Coach with Erik K. Johnson – Have you ever had the desire to start your own podcast? The itch to spread your message to the world? Many people get ready to record their podcast only to discover the impostor syndrome. They hear that little voice inside their head asking, “Who do you think you are?” They feel like the kid trying to sit at the adult table during the holiday feast. They feel like they are playing dress-up.

Podcast Talent Coach is dedicated to the art and show business of podcasting. Our coaching style is personal. We treat every client as if we are part of the show. Other companies may offer services that teach the technical side of podcasting. Podcast Talent Coach is the premier coaching service focused on the personal side of the art of podcasting.

Stacey: Life Kit – Do This Today To Sleep Well Tonight – Don’t Count Sheep: Better Bedtime Rituals Think Your Way Out Of Insomnia

Featured Content

Mike Brilla is currently a TOSA at Owen J. Roberts Middle School in Pottstown, PA. The school is located about 40 miles west of Philadelphia and they house grades 7 and 8 with roughly 900 students. Before becoming a TOSA, Mike taught Social Studies (since 2004) in both 7th and 8th grade at OJR. Aside from being a teacher, Mike is also an assistant wrestling coach at OJR and believes that much of what he does in his teaching and coaching is easily transferable.

We discussed:

1. Technology: When used correctly technology can absolutely bring us closer to one another and not further. I used to be one of those teachers that had kids work on projects in my room or watch videos on Zaption so I could check email and grade–it took me a while to fully take advantage of using that time to connect with my kids through conversation. I also have found and used a bunch of ideas to get to know your students and to constantly allow for them to express their own thoughts and feelings in class. 
2. Focus on the Kids: I once had a parent tell me I was a pretty good teacher but would be even better when I have kids of my own. At first, I was offended but then I thought about it and how right she was. I have constantly tried to remember that we are teaching people’s children, not just students. That framework has really helped me to put my students first. 
3. Kids Need It: I see it in my own kids, they are good with technology but they need to learn how to use it responsibly, productively and educationally. I recently read Marching off the Map and it hammered home the idea that now, more than ever, we need to be teaching the “soft skills” in class so our kids can develop meaningful relationships and navigate the uncertain waters their futures hold. 

What We’re Listening To

AJ: The 5 AM Miracle with Jeff Sanders – Episode 307: Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention w/ Nir Eyal – Nir Eyal is the author of the bestselling book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life., which is about the many options we have to keep our eye on the prize.

Chris: Work Your Podcast – Bonnie L. Frank and Emily Prokop deliver weekly podcasting and business strategies to help you balance podcasting and life, simplify the process, and grow your business.

Episode 1 – Why Podcast?

Mike: https://www.edmylett.com – Toney Gonzalez

Welcome to the first in an ongoing series we’re calling “Why Podcast?” In this and future editions, we will be speaking to podcasters in and out of education about their podcasts. We will get into there why and talk about how they podcast.

Our first guest in this series is Dan Kreiness, host of the Leader of Learning Podcast. Our conversation with Dan dives deep into his podcast’s origins and where he believes his podcast is going.

Dan Kreiness is an instructional leader, podcast host, and doctoral candidate who constantly searches for the most effective ways to advance education and produce high student achievement. Dan began his teaching career by spending nearly eight years in the New York City Department of Education as an eighth grade English language arts teacher, academic intervention specialist, and middle-level literacy coach, then spent nearly five years at Derby Middle School in Derby, Connecticut as a reading teacher and instructional coach. He is currently an ELA Instructional Coach in the Norwalk Public School District in Norwalk, Connecticut. Dan holds master’s degrees in adolescent education and educational leadership and is currently a doctoral student in the field of educational leadership. His dissertation, “Transformational Leadership to Inspire Growth Mindset in Classroom Teachers,” will be defended in Spring, 2020. Dan was named to the 2017 class of ASCD Emerging Leaders. He is also a Google Certified Educator, Nearpod PioNear, Flipgrid Ambassador, and Wakelet Ambassador.

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Aspire: The Leadership Development Podcast 

Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Rick Wormeli 

In education we talk about the power of differentiated learning, but what about differentiated grading? Rick Wormeli is an expert in differentiated assessments and grades. In this episode Josh and Rick discuss: 

Differentiated Grading, Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Traditional Grading Scale and the impact it has on Learning, The role of Homework, Redos, and Retakes done right, Busting Myths about Differentiated Instruction, and the Impact of a Zero and GPA and the Future of Grading. 

@joshua__Stamper @RickWormeli2

Chris: Art of Manliness #557 – Grow, Adapt, and Reinvent Yourself Through Ultralearning

• Many of us want to learn a new skill or master a new area of expertise, either to further or change our career or simply for the sake of personal fulfillment. But going deep in a subject seems like it would take a long time, and even require going back to school, something most of us don’t have the time, money, and desire to do.
• Scott Young and he’s the author of Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition and Accelerate Your Career. We begin our conversation with Scott’s successful experiment of doing all the course work for a computer science degree from MIT in less than a year and for free and how this opened Scott up to the idea of “ultralearning.”

Stacey: Embedded – This is Not a Joke – When a student starts down the path towards racist extremism, there’s no set plan for how a school should respond. But teachers and fellow students are often the first to spot the warning signs. So what can they do?

Dan Kreiness: Brian Mendler The Brian Mendler Show -My Worst Student https://www.brianmendler.com/my-worst-student/

Reasons you need a PLN:

1. Find great resources, lesson plans, and conferences
2.  Share your resources & ideas
3.  Following amazing educators and their blogs
4.  Get support when needed
5. Make international connections
6.  Flatten your classroom walls
7.  Collaborate globally on projects
8.  Find round-the-clock inspiration
9.  Learn the latest trends in education
10.  Never run out of ideas for new things to try with your students

Resources Mentioned

• 10 Reasons Every Teacher Needs A Professional Learning Network – Teachthought.com

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Planet Money: Episode 947: Some-of-the-Money Ball

Baseball is a winner-take-all career. There is a very small chance of making massive amounts of money. But more importantly, there is a very big chance of making almost no money. Some minor leaguers earn $8,000 dollars per year.

To have more chances of winning the baseball lottery, some players are deciding to get together and face the odds as a group. They are joining “income pools,” which could change the way baseball players, and lots of professionals, think about how we get paid.

Chris:

1. Short Wave (NPR) – New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, every weekday. It’s science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join host Maddie Sofia for science on a different wavelength.
2. Loving this podcast!
3. Office Ladies – The Office co-stars and best friends, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, are doing the ultimate The Office re-watch podcast for you. Each week, Jenna and Angela will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind-the-scenes stories that only two people who were there, can tell you.
4. theofficeladies.com

Stacey: How I Built This – Gimlet Media: Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber

Feedback

• “Another outstanding episode from the @PodcastPD crew! Special thx for the shout out for my podcast, Inclusive Technology 4 All! Go to mmatp.com/it4all to subscribe, listen to past episodes, and to read the transcripts of every episode #ATchat #AT4NJ #ATUDL” ~ @mmatp
• Check out Mike’s podcast – Inclusive Technology 4 All
• New @PodcastPD Followers on Twitter:
• @joevalver_htsd
• @TAYLORWITT1
• @HaglerJay
• @OrganizLeaderVB
• @Ms_Brown2019
• @JasmineSaab
• @DigitalVick
• @MisterCavey
• @CollVeitz
• @twstedteaching
• @SkillsSupporter
• @Karrabasse77
• @mcp_idt
• @CuriousKidPod
• @CatherineSteua1

Teaching is about relationships. While students, parents, and administrators all expect you to partner with them, your connections with colleagues will play the largest role in your ability to enjoy your work and grow as a professional.

Tracy from Rhode Island, our guest from episode 56, had some great insight following our episode 57 discussion about the value of Twitter for educators today.

In a vox to our PodcastPD Voxer group, she honed in on AJ’s point about building your PLN and connecting and learning from the teachers closest to you. Those would be your colleagues in your grade level, department, and your building and district.

So today we’re going to talk about ways we’ve been great colleagues, failed at being great colleagues, and we hope to inspire your next positive teaching relationship.

Strategies for Being a Great Colleague:

• Care so you can be cared for
• Give and take
• Learn from others’ experience
• Be a great listener
• Make good choices

Resources Mentioned

• Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work
• Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Still listening to Feedback (and Other Dirty Words) by M. Tamra Chandler and Laura Grealish as mentioned on episode 56.

Chris: Art of Manliness #551: Inside the Gangsters’ Code – Lou Ferrante was a mobster who worked for the Gambino crime family and made a trade out of hijacking trucks loaded with expensive goods. Eventually, the law caught up with him and he ended up in prison. There, he discovered a love for reading and writing which set off a personal transformation that led to him leaving the mafia. After his stint in jail, Lou went on to become an author and the host of a Discovery Channel documentary series called Inside the Gangsters’ Code.

Stacey: Note to Self-How to Create Good Digital Citizens – Right from wrong. We teach our kids what this means in the classroom and at home. But what about online? The next generation of tech users could be a part of much more civilized digital universe, but only if they learn how now. Manoush talks to Richard Culatta (CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education) about the five steps to creating good digital citizens, and how to turn the current online “culture shift” into something positive, respectful, and more accessible to all.

Feedback

• “Thank you @Twitter for helping me to grow as an educator and meet people like @iruntech @AJBianco @mrnesi ” ~ @tinamonte
• “Great episode of @PodcastPD on the relevance of Twitter for Educators. Is Twitter still relevant for educators? If it’s not…what is? I’d argue that the relevance hasn’t changed, but maybe the ways that we use Twitter might need to evolve.” ~ @sadieclorinda
• “Twitter is still the best PD. This year I’m teaching Digital Leadership and through Twitter, I was able to connect with @JCasaTodd and @mbfxc It’s amazing I was able to connect with the authors of the two books I read to create the curriculum for the class. @digcitinstitute” ~ @breicher
• “This needs to be a regular conversation!! I get so frustrated with Twitter as an educator anymore. Such a powerful tool, but we aren’t using it like that. #edchat” ~ @micheeaton
• “Big shout out to @PodcastPD I appreciate the honest convo about the value of Twitter. Excited to share the latest episode with #ATUDL Our group is learning about the power of Twitter.” ~ @mmatp
• Check out Mike’s podcast – Inclusive Technology 4 All
• In response to Mike “This podcast DID make me rethink how I use Twitter 2day compared 2 when I 1st joined. I share more resources now & I gain so much via twitter chats…” ~ @ksuding
• “Oh man, YES! It is still very relevant. I’ve made more connections than I ever thought I would with Twitter and I constantly benefit from the PD I can find here. It’s only as good as we make it with participation but I know so many that find it relevant.” ~ @TeachPg21
• New @PodcastPD Followers on Twitter:
• @DrSencibaugh
• @JaneKerslake
• @eyeonaxs
• @AlisaTeSelleOTR
• @LeoniaPrincipal
• @Link_pd
• @SueTranchina

In 2008, Twitter came on the scene as a micro-blogging platform that asked its users, “What are you doing?” The social media platform quickly became a tool and resource used by educators around the world. In this episode, we discussed the relevance and value of Twitter to educators today.

There are points where we agree and disagree. We also know that there is still a lot to say on the topic and we would love to hear from you about the relevance of Twitter in education. Contact us here.

Thank you to Tracy Enos, Mike Brilla, and Stephanie Lewis who all contributed their thoughts for this episode.

Twitter topics discussed:

• Why did you join Twitter?
• Has your use of Twitter changed from when you started?
• Is Twitter still relevant for you? Other educators?
• Positives and Negatives of Twitter for Educators
• If not Twitter, what?

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Feedback (and Other Dirty Words): Why We Fear It, How to Fix It by M. Tamra Chandler and Laura Grealish (audiobook)

Feedback: the mere mention of the word can make our blood pressure rise and our defenses go up. For many of us, it’s a dirty word that we associate with bias, politics, resentment, and self-doubt. However, if we take a step back and think about its true intent, we realize that feedback needn’t be a bad thing. After all, understanding how others experience us provides valuable opportunities to learn and grow.

The authors explain how feedback got such a bad rap and how to recognize and minimize the negative physical and emotional responses that can erode trust and shut down communication. They offer a new and more ambitious definition of feedback, explore the roles we each play as Seeker, Extender, and Receiver, and introduce the three Fs of making feedback focused, fair, and frequent.

When it’s done right, the feedback has been proven to be the most effective means of improving communication and performance for you and your organization. It’s too important to give up, and with Chandler and Grealish’s help, you’ll be able to use it deftly, equitably, and effectively.

Chris: Danica Patrick – Pretty Intense – I’m Danica Patrick and I’m Pretty Intense! I believe that each and every one of us has the power within ourselves to create the life that we really want. And I want to inspire you to go conquer your dreams, both professionally and personally. That’s why I created this podcast.

Stacey: Land of the Giants – In less than two decades, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos scaled an online marketplace for books into the world’s most valuable company. But at what cost? From Prime and HQ2, to the growing adoption of smart speakers and home cameras, to increasing scrutiny of Amazon’s power and its role in the changing nature of work, Vox and Recode’s new podcast, Land of the Giants: The Rise of Amazon, addresses it all with detailed, thought-provoking, measured reporting from host Jason Del Rey. And it’s not just for insiders. This show is an essential guide to Amazon’s backstory for those unfamiliar and offers never-before-told, behind-the-scenes stories for the Amazon-obsessed.

Feedback

• Dan Kreiness (via Twitter) re: Episode 56
• Ken Morrison, Mylasia (via Speakpipe) – Favorite Podcast: Big Questions with Cal Fussman
• New @PodcastPD Followers on Twitter:
• @MechanicJacki
• @aloah
• @EducatingMe
• @mrsleban
• @EmilyWilk54
• @m5music1
• @cassandrazing
• @McDonoughCST
• @MissJacksonHMS
• @smscoachingWH

Tracy Enos is lucky enough to spend her days surrounded by energetic 8th graders. Tracy an 8th Grade ELA teacher and she is entering her 11th year of teaching English in West Warwick, RI at Deering Middle School. She’s honored to be teaching in the district she grew up in, she is forever a Wizard. Tracy is passionate about opening doors for her students to create, collaborate, and communicate with one another and the world around them.

Topics we discuss:

• Giving students control of their learning to foster real-life experiences and build relationships.
• Blended Learning/Playlists/Hyperdocs – Learning at their Own Pace
• What does the process look like?
• What is the reality of the authentic audience? Who’s in the audience?

Connect with Tracy on Twitter

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Work-Life w/Adam Grant – Season 1, Episode 4: Your hidden personality

Are you an introvert … or an extrovert? You might not know yourself as well as you think. Adam Grant talks with “Quiet” author Susan Cain and visits a workplace where personality training starts even before job training, to help you discover what your traits really are — and how you can stretch beyond them.

Chris: Burned-In Teacher Podcast! – The Burned-In Teacher Podcast is all about going from burned-out educator to BURNED-IN human. On this show, I interview teachers who are or have gone through burnout and they share with us what they are doing or have done in the past to beat it. I also interview experts in the field of teacher burnout, education, productivity, happiness, and basically all things BURN IN. There will also be episodes where I share my own experiences and answer questions from listeners and Burned-In Teacher Community Members.

Stacey: Middle Grade Ninja – A podcast about reading and writing middle-grade novels utilizing ninja stealth and skill. Rob Kent interviews fellow authors and various publishing professionals to discuss the craft and business of producing middle grade and young adult novels. Episodes are also available as videos. Learn more at MiddleGradeNinja.com.

Chris, AJ, and Stacey start season 3 of Podcast PD busier than ever before! Two of us are starting the year in new positions, one of us is on the move (literally). We can’t wait to get another school year and another year of Podcast PD underway!

AJ is a new administrator serving as a Supervisor of Instruction and Technology in East Rutherford, NJ.

Stacey is back in the classroom. She will be teaching 5th grade!

Chris has full schedule teaching in a new room, with a new ICS teacher and he’s teaching 3 additional courses at Rutgers this semester!

What We’re Listening To

AJ: The Mindful Educators Podcast – Made for teachers, by teachers. Erin and Dave Tashian, an awesome husband and wife team, are creating a community of educators who are cultivating a positive school culture one mindful classroom at a time. 7 episodes so far and growing… Episodes focus on Mindful practices to start the new year, balance as an educator, mindful listening and finding your personal motivation to stay positive.

@themindfuleducators

Chris: the memory palace – The Memory Palace is a storytelling podcast and occasional radio segment created and produced by Nate DiMeo. It was a finalist for a Peabody Award in 2016. It is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of independent podcasts. New episodes come out during the first and third weeks of the month, barring the occasional holiday break. I was exposed to this podcast listening to an episode of RadioLab that featured a number of clips from the memory place and Nate was on the show talking about the clips and how he makes the show.

Stacey: I am not listening to anything new. In fact, I am looking for a strategy to get from 1539 to PodcastZERO! Listeners, if you have a good strategy for me to get through my podcasts, I’m all ears. Vox me at iruntech!

In our final regular episode for the school year we connect with JP Prezzavento of the Bits and Bytes of Education Podcast (@bitsandbytesedu on Twitter). He shares his transition from Instructional Technology Coordinator to Communications and PR Director. We talk “brands”, telling your schools’ stories and making everyone shine!

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Art of Manliness Episode 325: Leading Quietly

When we think of being a good leader, we often think we need to be a bold, visionary, risk-taking type like Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, or Steve Jobs.

Joseph Badaracco argues that most of the day-to-day work that makes the world function is done by individuals who stand outside the limelight and lead with calm confidence. He’s the author of the book Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing. Joe discusses the heroic archetype of leadership, why most leadership development books and courses focus on it, and why heroic leadership can actually get in the way of an organization’s success. He then shares the qualities of a quiet leader and why they’re often more effective than heroic leaders at getting things done in an organization.

Chris: New Apple Podcasts Categories coming!

Stacey: Primary Ride Home 

Primary Season swings into full gear next week with the start of the 2019 debates. Before you watch the candidates on June 26th and 27th, catch up on their stories, policies, and political moves, thus far.

JP: Reply All– #130 The Snapchat Thief 

This week, a new Super Tech Support: after Lizzie’s Snapchat gets hacked, things start getting really creepy. Alex investigates.

Chris and AJ recently participated in the 2019 What Works for Kids Conference at Bergen Community College (NJ). This conference is a result of planning by Northern Ignite. AJ has been an active member of the group for a number of years. The main conversation features Chris, AJ, and guests Erica Ripston, Mike Andriulli, and Kim Dowling.

Topics

• What is the What Works for Kids Conference?
• Recap of some of the student projects on display.
• Encouraging Kim Dowling to leverage Twitter for professional development.

Connect with our guests!

• Erica Ripston – Elementary School Teacher
• Mike Andriulli – Principal – Check out Mike’s previous appearance on PodcastPD
• Kim Dowling – Curriculum and Instruction Supervisor

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Full Count: The Podcast – To celebrate the release of Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher, authors David Cone and Jack Curry participate in a five-part podcast series, which chronicles Cone’s amazing career. In the series, Curry takes Cone from his early days playing Wiffle Ball in the backyard through to his playing for the New York Yankees and beyond. In each episode, Cone offers candid recollections of the events that helped make him the most respected pitchers in the game.

Chris: Locked On Podcasts – Locked On Podcast Network was created in June of 2016 by David Locke, the radio voice of the Utah Jazz. Originating with a single podcast, Locked On Jazz, the network has grown far and wide. Locked On now produces more than 100 different podcasts – providing in-depth coverage of NBA, NFL, MLB, and major college sports teams. Locked On publishes over 450 podcast episodes every week – generating 5 million listens a month and growing.

Stacey: The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine – Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more—a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted.

Kasey Bell is part sparkling smile, part witty personality and a whole heap of passion as big as a Texas! She is a disruptor of the boring. An engaging, innovative, from the heart sharer who inspires educators while transforming their teaching with original, timely and use-tomorrow ideas for student choice, differentiation, and technology integration.

She’s the co-host of the Google Teacher Tribe podcast and recently launched her solo ShakeUp Learning Show and she joins us now…

Topics

• Why start your own podcast?
• How have podcasts and podcasting added value for you?
• Value of PodcastPD?
• How to get credit for podcast listening?

Resources

• The Teacher’s Guide to Podcasts
• Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning from Static to Dynamic

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Lead to Win with Michael Hyatt – Destroy Distractions with These 9 Focus-Boosting Strategies. We’ve learned that we can’t do our best work sandwiched between meetings and phone calls. We need focused time for strategizing, writing, and working out difficult problems.

Chris: AOM #506: How to Improve Your Speaking Voice – When it comes to your personal presentation, there’s one aspect that often gets overlooked: your voice. 

Your voice is a big part of what makes you, you, and what makes you likable and influential. Yet you probably don’t think too much about it. Not to mention, my guest today argues, you’re likely not even using your true voice thanks to bad habits you’ve picked up throughout your life. Guest is Roger Love, he’s a voice coach who’s worked with some of the world’s most famous singers and speakers, and the author of Set Your Voice Free.

Kasey: Y’all Need This Podcast – https://yallneedthispodcast.com/ – The Biz Chicks Podcast – https://bizchix.com – The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast – https://www.coolcatteacher.com/podcast/

In this episode we let Carol Persin know we are sending her to ISTE and share our tips and tricks for successfully navigating (or surviving) and giant convention like ISTE. We look forward to meeting up with you in Philly!

Featured Content

We asked the internet, “If you could only subscribe to one podcast what would it be and why?” We’ve got a few responses to share with you so let’s get started…

• Kate Nesi (Twitter) – Freakonomics
• Richard Byrne, FreeTech4Teachers.com (Twitter) – The Joe Rogan Experience
• Donnie Piercey (Twitter) – Partial Credit Podcast
• EngageEducate (IG) – Cult of Pedagogy
• CPT_SwansonsClassrom (IG) – Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
• Eric Guise, co-host GotTechED the Podcast  – Stuff You Should Know
• Tracy Enos (from our Voxer Group) – This American Life
• Craig Wealand, host Ingles Podcast – MFL Twitterati Podcast
• Chris Nesi – School of Podcasting
• Derek Larson – The Pen Addict Podcast
• AJ Bianco – Art of Manliness
• Carlos Garza – Stuff You Should Know
• Stacey Lindes – How I Built This

Featured Content

1. Read
2. Play with your own kids
3. Play Golf
4. Go for a run/walk outside – geocaching
5. Get lost in anything other than education
6. Watch sports
7. Meditate (use the Calm app or Calm.com-its free for educators!)
8. Journal/morning pages
9. Exercise/Work out
10. DO NOTHING

What We’re Listening To

AJ: The Mindset & Motivation Podcast – Episode 559: You’re Not Lucky! – Do you believe in luck? Do you believe that some people are luckier than others? Well, I am going to talk about the subject of luck in today’s episode and tell you why you should worry about skill more than luck, because luck might not even be real…

Chris: Evan & Katelyn Podcast – A podcast about YouTube stuff, making stuff, and life! It will make sense once you start listening… hopefully. New episodes every Monday!

Stacey: Essential Oils Solutions with doTERRA—Podcast – The Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA podcast is focused on providing education about new and fun ways of using essential oils. If you want to keep track of what you learned today, or to use this podcast in a class, download the accompanying worksheet by clicking the button below.

Calling all Podcast Listeners!

Our 50th episode is coming and we want you to be a part of the show! If you could only listen to ONE podcast for the rest of your life what is that podcast? What’s it about? Why is this your pick?

Let us know who you are, your role in education, and how people can connect with you! Go to podcastpd.com/feedback

Featured Content

• Matt Daly has been teaching and coaching for over 15 years. He is an Instructional Leader, Educational Consultant, Writer, and Speaker. He holds degrees in English and Secondary Education from Providence College, an MFA in Creative Writing: Poetry, and has Supervisory Certification in Instruction. Matt lives in New Jersey with his wife, also a teacher, and his three daughters.
• Socratic Oath

1. I will design lessons and assessments that allow for personalization of learning for my individual students.​
2. I will promote learning experiences that consider the capabilities of my students, and challenge them to grow and develop their abilities. #SocraticOath #Teachers
3. I will be consistent in my dedication to the practice of teaching, and in upholding the ideals of competent and quality pedagogies.
4. I will build and model a sense of community within my classroom to help students become empathetic contributors to society.
5. I will seek equity and justice for my students, not only in their daily lives, but in the education they are provided, encouraging them to pay those ideals forward, and to advocate for both themselves and others.
6. I will ensure that my students are engaged in worthy pursuits, that foster curiosity, and take into account their own interests, experiences, and challenges.
7. I will remain an active learner, seeking out more effective strategies and implementing them in my classroom, observing colleagues and encouraging observation in my classroom as well, in order to collaborate and progress as teachers.
8. I will provide a safe environment for my students, at both an emotional and educational level, allowing them to develop the experimentation and resilience they will need outside of my classroom.
9. I will endeavor to retain my influence within my school, district, and department, adding my voice to the design and implementation of instruction and curriculum.
10. I will be open to the collaborative exchange of ideas with my colleagues regarding what we do in our classrooms, providing strong and useful feedback, for mutual gain.

Links and Resources

• Academy of Professional Teachers
• Socratic Oath
• Matt Daly
• John Madden
• An End to the Quiet War by Matt Daly

What We’re Listening To

AJ: Listening to Audiobook: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C. Maxwell

Chris: Art of Manliness 479 – Becoming a Digital Minimalist

Stacey: 10% Happier with Dan Harris episode #15 Gretchen Rubin

Featured Content

Pineapple Charts & #ObserveMe

WHAT IS A PINEAPPLE CHART? – From the Cult of Pedagogy…

• A Pineapple Chart is a system that allows teachers to invite one another into their classrooms for informal observation.
• The chart is set up in some location where teachers go on a daily basis: the teacher’s lounge, the copy room, or wherever teacher mailboxes live in your school.
• On the chart, teachers “advertise” the interesting things they are doing in their classrooms, activities they think others might want to observe. The activities could be as complex as a science lab, a history simulation, or a Skype session with a school in another country. Or they could be as simple as a read-aloud or a lesson on badminton.

WHAT IS #OBSERVEME

• It involves educators making a sign that welcomes their colleagues to observe them and give feedback in specific areas they have listed. Then they ask their peers to come by and share their expertise.

Positives

• Pineapple charts do a great job of quickly informing staff members about what they could learn from their peers. It’s informal, so all you have to do is list what you are doing and when it’s happening. This makes it easy for everyone to participate in.
• #ObserveMe gives the teacher being observed specific feedback that can be used to improve her practice. So, both the observer and the person being observed gain insight that will help improve each other’s practice. Once you create the sign, you could leave it up for the entire year as long as those are the goals you still want to get feedback on.

Negatives

• Pineapple charts require regular updates so that people know what is going on in a classroom. That takes a little more maintenance. They also tend to encourage more of a one-sided flow of information: the observer is learning from the observed. Any feedback is shared informally.
• #ObserveMe requires more planning and work ahead of the observation. The teacher being observed needs to think of what he/she wants feedback on, use that information to create a sign, and display it in her room. Observers may also initially feel awkward giving anything but positive feedback.

Links and Resources

Resources

• https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/pineapple-charts/ 
• https://robertkaplinsky.com/whats-difference-observeme-pineapple-charts/

What We’re Listening To

AJ: The Big Leap – Most of us believe that we will finally feel satisfied and content with our lives when we get the good news we have been waiting for, find a healthy relationship, or achieve one of our personal goals. However, this rarely happens. Good fortune is often followed by negative emotions that overtake us and result in destructive behaviors. “I don’t deserve this,” “this is too good to be true,” or any number of harmful thought patterns prevent us from experiencing the joy and satisfaction we have earned. In The Big Leap, Hendricks reveals a simple yet comprehensive program for overcoming this barrier to happiness and fulfillment, presented in a way that engages both the mind and heart. The book describes the four hidden fears that are at the root of the Upper Limit Problem. The Big Leap delivers a proven method for first identifying which of these four fears prevents us from reaching our personal upper limit, and then breaking through that limitation to achieve what Hendricks refers to as our Zone of Genius.

Chris: The Rain Delay – Looking for advanced stats, game breakdowns, and game nuances? Welp, you’re looking in the wrong place. But if you want to talk mascots, memorabilia, and moments? We’re here from you. Each week, Cooperstown Kurt will welcome a guest from the world of baseball to talk about the lighter side of the game. Player interviews, movie breakdowns, and an “On The Road” subset are just some of the episodes you’ll hear.

First episode – “The Sandlot” Director David Mickey Evans

Stacey: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing – Everyone knows that timing is everything. But we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of “when” decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork.

Timing, it’s often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science.

Drawing on a rich trove of research from psychology, biology, and economics, Pink reveals how best to live, work, and succeed. How can we use the hidden patterns of the day to build the ideal schedule? Why do certain breaks dramatically improve student test scores? How can we turn a stumbling beginning into a fresh start? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? Why is singing in time with other people as good for you as exercise? And what is the ideal time to quit a job, switch careers, or get married?

In When, Pink distills cutting-edge research and data on timing and synthesizes them into a fascinating, readable narrative packed with irresistible stories and practical takeaways that give readers compelling insights into how we can live richer, more engaged lives.

Featured Content

Tony Keefer, a 7th-grade teacher by day and family man by night, and Scott Jones, 5th Grade teacher, reader, traveler, and 21st Century Teacher for 21st Century learners, are teachers in Central Ohio. In 2015, they decided to take their classroom versions of March Book Madness to the rest of the world. Now students, classrooms and libraries from as close as down the hall to as far away as Kuala Lumpur participate in March Book Madness.

During the interview, we ask about the origins of March Book Madness, how themes and books are selected, how MBM works, how educators and schools get get involved, as well as other questions. 

Links and Resources

Resources

• http://marchbookmadness.weebly.com
• https://twitter.com/TonyKeefer
• https://twitter.com/escott818
• https://diversebooks.org/
• #2019mbm

What We’re Listening To

AJ: 

Inspiring Teachers with Tavis and Danny  Episode 9

CJ Reynolds (Real Rap with Reynolds on YouTube) talks about Genuine Passion in Teaching and Giving Your All

Chris:

I want to become a master penman! – Art of Manliness (482) Power of Penmanship – Guest, Michael Sull, a master penman discusses what it takes to become a master penman and what exactly a master penman does for a living. The conversation explores the history of cursive handwriting, including insights into how culture has influenced handwriting styles throughout the ages and why penmanship has declined in the modern day.

Stacey:

I have been a fan of Techmeme Ride Home for a while now and was a bit wary when the host Brian decided to go 7 days a week by adding weekend interviews with guests, but the interviews conducted this weekend were amazing! NBC News’ Jacob Ward On Data Vs. Privacy and Mark Gurman Says Apple “don’t even know for sure” What Project Titan Is Building.