Talks With Teachers

Ali Wright and Angela Gunther  Recently, Kentucky teacher leaders, led by Ali Wright and Angela Gunther, posed a challenge: rethink professional learning and restructure the school day to improve learning for students and teachers. Along with the Center for Teaching Quality, they analyzed current teacher schedules and conducted an intensive three-day chat discussing teacher needs and opportunities for reallocating time.  http://www.teachingquality.org/teachertime Teacher Time Info Graphic   The post #58 Teacher Time with Ali Wright and Angela Gunter appeared first on Talks with Teachers.

Jennifer Gonzalez -- educator and blogger For eight years, Jennifer taught middle school language arts. Half that time was spent in an east-coast state, the other half in a Midwestern state. She earned her National Board Certification in 2004. Then, after having her first child, she left teaching to be a stay-at-home mom, knowing there was no way she could do both jobs well. In 2008, she was hired by a local university to teach pre-service teachers. This work gave her a new passion for preparing and supporting educators. With Cult of Pedagogy, she hopes to create a vibrant, encouraging, stimulating community of teachers, supporting each other toward excellence. She believes if we can reach across the limits of geography and find each other, there’s no limit to the amazing things we can accomplish. www.cultofpedagogy.com   In this episode you will learn:  How Jennifer first became an educational blogger What she learned teaching on the middle school and college levels What book every educator should read W

Vicki Davis -- educator, author, speaker @coolcatteacher www.coolcatteacher.com   In this episode you will learn: How Vicki transferred from a career initially in the business world to the world of teaching and education  Why you can be exceptional anywhere in any discipline The difference between talking about research-based best practices and living these practices in your classroom How not to feel alone as a teacher What you can do to motivate your students Why the complexities of teaching can be overwhelming How she handles and manages her multiple commitments Why connecting is important How voice messaging can improve student writing What Pro Writing Aid can do for students and their writing Why you should read an hour a night to better yourself What you can do to incorporate more digital apps in your teaching and your classroom Why 15 minute time for yourself is important The importance of mind mapping and organizing one's thoughts The post #56: The Cool Cat Teacher Talks Digital Tools and

Mark Barnes -- educator, author, speaker   Internationally-recognized speaker and education writer Mark Barnes is the author of Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, named a 2013 Best Professional Book by Teacher Librarian Magazine,The 5-Minute Teacher (ASCD, 2013), Teaching the iStudent (Corwin, 2014), 5 Skills for the Global Learner and Assessment 3.0 (Corwin, 2015). Mark presents keynotes and seminars worldwide on his Results Only Learning Environment, feedback for learning and web-based instruction. @markbarnes19 is regarded as one of education's most influential content curators on Twitter, and his Brilliant or Insane blog has more than 60,000 monthly readers. In this episode you will learn: How Mark changed his teaching over time to make his class student centered Information about his new book, Assessment 3.0, which talks about how teachers can change their grading practice. Why the traditional method of assessing was not working and how Mark upende

David Grossman   David is a 7th grade science teacher at TK Stone Middle School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.  His  goal is to inspire wonder in his students as they explore science, gaining the science literacy that they need to be successful members of society. Find David on Twitter @tkSciGuy Check David's website dedicated to the Next Generation Science Standards In this episode you will learn: David's journey as a teacher that includes teaching in an alternative school, being a librarian, and working as a middle school science teacher. How to recognize the emotional needs of each grade level. Why students need love and support at all ages How to rescue a failing lesson Ways to build academic muscles through scaffolding Why schools can not follow a business model The unpredictable nature of teaching middle school and why that is a great thing How to be with each student in the moment and take it one step further by supporting them outside the classroom Ways in which students can read like scientist

Episode #53 The post #53 Introducing Poetry with 3-D Art appeared first on Talks with Teachers.

Tim Needles www.timneedles.com @timneedles Tim Needles is art and film teacher at Smithtown High School and an adjunct professor at Adelphi University. He earned a M.A. with a focus in media arts from the State University of Stony Brook and a B.F.A. in photography and education from the School of Visual Arts. He is an Adobe Master Teacher and has been teaching fine art, film history, animation, and media arts for over eight years on the high school and college level. Tim is also the founder and director of The Strictly Students Film Festival. Tim has been the recipient of the Robert Rauschenberg Power of Art Award, the Suffolk County Legislature Award of Merit, and he was recently recognized by the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts. Tim is also a freelance artist, animator, and writer and continues to exhibit and perform regularly. Contact: Needlesart@aol.com In this episode you will learn: How to teach creativity through art  Why art should be a vital part of a student's experience Ways

Episode #51     Want a transcript of this episode? Ready to share your homework philosophy? Click here     The post Is Homework Helpful? appeared first on Talks with Teachers.

Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo Tony Sinanis, principal and “lead learner” at Cantiague Elementary School in Jericho, was selected as the 2014 New York State Elementary Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).         Dr. Joe Sanfelippo is the Superintendent of the Fall Creek School District in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. Joe holds a BA in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from St. Norbert College, a MS in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a MS in Educational Leadership, and a PhD in Leadership, Learning, and Service from Cardinal Stritch University.  He also serves on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Educator Effectiveness Teachscape Team.  Get the book -- The Power of Branding: Telling Your School's Story In this episode you will learn: How Joe and Tony first connected Why Twitter is a great resource for teachers How teachers can advance t

Episode #49 Subscribe and be inspired each week     Want a transcript of this episode? Want to share your version of musical chairs? Do it here.   The post Shakespearean Musical Chairs: A Deep Dive Into a Wacky Wednesday appeared first on Talks with Teachers.

Todd Finley East Carolina University Todd Finley, PhD, is tenured professor of English Education at East Carolina University. He has taught elementary and 8-12th grade English and co-developed the Tar River Writing Project. His BA in Elementary Education and Secondary English was earned at the University of Puget Sound. His MA in English and PhD in C&I were earned at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Finley teaches, researches, works with schools and publishes in the field of composition, curriculum, instruction, technology, and collaboration. Todd's Edutopia blog posts Todd's Twitter      In this episode you will learn: Where he's traveled and taught in his teaching career What helped him write his dissertation for his PhD How to submit to the work of a teacher Why he struggled his first year of teaching How to understand your students and connect with them Why his pre-service teachers make home visits What he means when he says there are no shortcuts in education How the first 60 seconds matter when

Episode #47 I like the heft of books in my hand. I like the smooth feel of their pages and the artistry of their covers. But most of all, I love the escape that their stories provide. I’m going to make more time for books this year. The October focus for the 30-Day Challenge is to set teaching goals and personal ones as well. But it is not just about setting them, it is about achieving them. I’m challenging myself to read one book a month and I’m counting on others in the group to hold me accountable. That’s why I’m writing this post. It is the first step in my accountability process. The next step, starting October 1st, is to read Kafka on the Shore. Then, as the day winds down and my son is tucked in bed, I will retire to the couch with Murakiami’s novel and in doing so, escape the frenzied grip of social media. Studies show that reading sharpens and strengthens brain function and expands one’s vocabulary, but that’s not why I do it. Those are added benefits but not the primary reasons. Nor do I do it to es

Megan Allen Mt. Holyoke College Her passion in education is focused on one major tenet: the successful transformation of our education system, led by professional educators. Megan's current areas of research are around teacher leadership, cultivating teacher leadership capacity in pre-service teachers, career continuums in education, education policy and its impacts on the classroom, and working with high-needs populations. http://www.teachingquality.org/blogs/MeganAllen @redhdteacher       In this episode you will learn: Why she never considered being a teacher in high school or college How Ally McBeal and Boston Public changed her life path What Megan is doing to developing a graduate program in teacher leadership When collaboration with colleagues can make a difference How failure can help teachers grow The epic fight that broke out in her classroom and what she learned from it Why summers are essential to teacher growth What blogs you should follow like Jose Vilson, Donalyn Miller, and  Bill Ferri

Should interest and engagement be measured? Download on iTunes for Your Morning Commute  Click here to read a transcript of this episode   The post What the Standards Leave Out appeared first on Talks with Teachers.

Scott Barry Kaufman www.scottbarrykaufman.com  @sbkaufman     Scott is Scientific Director of The Imagination Institute in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Kaufman investigates the development and measurement of intelligence, creativity, and personality (see scientific papers). He has six books, including Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined and The Philosophy of Creativity (with Elliot Samuel Paul). Kaufman is also co-founder of The Creativity Post, and he writes the column Beautiful Minds for Scientific American (seepopular posts).  In this episode you will learn: The purpose of the Imagination Institute  What the elements of postive psychology are and how they can help teachers understand students Why we are misguided in measuring intelligence How to think broadly about intelligence to develop the learning outcomes that you really care about Why active learning skills out-predict learning outcomes better than IQ exams Why we shouldn't categorize one master list of intelli

Should interest and engagement be measured? Download on iTunes for Your Morning Commute  Have you felt the guilt? C’mon, you know the feeling, I certainly have had it. It is the torment from those neglected assignments that sit on your desk far too long only to be shoved in a folder and hidden in drawer to be further avoided. If you are like me, you eventually come to your senses and realize that there is no escaping the grading, and while you hate yourself for procrastinating all along you never take that step to stop it the next time. This week I collected 78 essays from my AP Literature students. Two and three page responses that asked them to connect How to Read Literature Like a Professor with 1984. Along with those 200-or-so pages of essays, each student completed a multi-page project. It is self-inflicted torture. In the past the sheer volume of that paper load would intimidate me. Like the dishes, no matter how much progress I made, I knew there would be more tomorrow. But that’s in the past. This yea

Dyane Smokorowski: Instructional Technology Coach  @Mrs_Smoke Dyane serves as an instructional technology trainer, providing professional development for the Andover school district, and throughout the state training preK-12 teachers on 21st Century Skills, project-based learning and technology tools.  In addition, she is an Intel National Senior Trainer, training other teachers around the nation in project-based learning strategies with enhanced technology integration, and co-hosts monthly online professional development trainings focused on effective technology integration and 21st Century Skills for PreK-12 educators for the Intel Teach Live International Monthly Webinar series. In this episode you will learn: How Dyane makes teachers nerdy Why she didn't expect to land in middle school education How she gets stuck in that space of middle school jokes, books, and jargon A time when she almost betrayed a child's trust and what she learned from it How Shelly Schott, of Intel Education, has mentored her.

A Way to Think Outside the Box We love five-star ratings   Click here to read a transcript of this episode Comment here The post #Wacky Wednesday appeared first on Talks with Teachers.

Katherine Bassett: The National Network of State Teachers of the Year @NNSTOY www.nnstoy.org Your support is appreciated. Provide a review for Talks with Teachers on iTunes A 26-year middle school librarian and NJ State Teacher of the Year 2000, Katherine Bassett is NNSTOY’s Executive Director, responsible for establishing and expanding the organization. Prior to this position, Bassett served as Director of Policy and Partnerships for the Center for Educator Effectiveness at Pearson, working to support research into educator practice and self-efficacy, and to building partnerships with like-minded organizations to support education. In this episode you will learn: How Katherine moved on from her 26 years as a school librarian to the Educational Testing Service Where she found creative challenges as a teacher The impact standards-based learning can have on teaching Why the time is ripe for teacher leadership How to feel valued as an educator What it means when we say "I am a teacher" How teachers can ta

The post Six Habits of Teaching Excellence appeared first on Talks with Teachers.