We're wrapping up Season 7 with two master St. Vrain teachers, Joylynn Boardman and Brian Huey, who continue to refine their practice, create relevant learning experiences, and champion their students! No matter how long we've been in education, adapting, tweaking, and reflecting are the keys to sustaining student engagement. But the most crucial piece for ALL students is, of course, inspiring them to believe they CAN succeed. Tune in for one of our favorite conversations this year and have a gr...
May 09, 2025•44 min•Ep. 81
Tune in as we chat with Professor Dan Willingham about his flow chart for independence, mastery in education, and building up the self-image of our students. Check out his book, Outsmart Your Brain , for strategies to combat learned helplessness, understanding what it takes to achieve true mastery, and how crucial it is to help our students reframe their personal narrative about academics. Dan Willingham Flow Chart for Independence Outsmart Your Brain Suzannah Evans Shane Saeed...
Apr 25, 2025•28 min•Ep. 80
It's time to connect the Physical and the Education in the classroom. Nothing is in a silo in our world. We are teaching the whole student, so connecting mind and body in our instruction benefits everyone. Incorporating movement in our classrooms creates engagement and builds attention, which helps content stick. Tune in as we chat with two @SVVSD physical education teachers who also teach academic content and how they see these two important worlds complementing each other. @SuzannahEvans2 @DrS...
Feb 28, 2025•28 min•Ep. 79
Welcome to 2025! The month of January is famous for starting new physical activity routines and we can't emphasize enough how important it is to move in the classroom too! "Movement snacks" as @DrJulianReed describes them are not only crucial for a sound body but also translate to increased academic performance. Tune in as we talk about the benefits of understanding the basics of brain science, focus, and stimulation all related to physical activity. While you're listening, move your body! activ...
Jan 31, 2025•44 min•Ep. 78
Looking to build agency and standards mastery in your classroom? Then look no further than learning progressions! Tune in as we say goodbye to 2024 and chat with our very own @BennerBrainiacs. She motivates her students to self-assess on standards, visualize their goals more clearly, and achieve true mastery using learning progressions in her classroom. @SuzannahEvans2 @Drshanesaeed @BennerBraniacs Learning Progression Template Learning Targets PD...
Jan 01, 2025•21 min•Ep. 77
Inspiring students to self-assess and start working independently doesn't have to be complicated! Not only are students becoming aware of what they need and advocating for themselves, but also engaging in some beautiful metacognition. Another added benefit? All that independence and efficacy actually leads to higher-quality collaborative work! Tune in as we chat with Marcus Luther from The Broken Copier about his 1 through 6 rating system and how this simple strategy has created efficacy and ind...
Nov 15, 2024•30 min•Ep. 76
Happy October to our Vrain Waves listeners! The perfect follow-up to our first episode with Brandon Slade is our conversation with these two rockstar St. Vrain educators, secondary special education teacher, Sarah Patton, and elementary counselor, Mike Laurent. Tune in as we talk about go-to strategies for not just students with needs, but the whole student body. We can't say it enough...what's essential for some is good for all and that includes us adults, too. It's not too late in the year to ...
Oct 18, 2024•49 min•Ep. 75
Welcome to Season 7 of Vrain Waves! We are kicking off with what we all need at the start of the year. Setting up for success means explicitly unpacking directions and expectations for all students, especially those with executive functioning deficits. Tune in as we chat with Brandon Slade from Untapped Learning and let's all be reminded that what's essential for some, is good for all! UntappedLearning.com Untapped Learning YouTube channel @UntappedSlade @SuzannahEvans2 @drshanesaeed...
Aug 30, 2024•52 min•Ep. 74
Wrapping up Season 6 with two rockstar teachers who show us what it looks like to reframe Assessment in the classroom. The key to engaging students is not tricky; it's building intrinsic motivation through authentic assessment and grading practices! Tune in as our very own Sam LaFever and Gideon Matchey unpack how they use explicit assessment strategies to develop mastery and shift the cognitive load to their students! @SuzannahEvans2 @Saeed_shane @gideonmatchey @gideonmatcheycomposer Learning P...
May 31, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 73
What are some ways we can reframe assessment? How can we shift toward seeing assessment as evidence of success rather than a "gotcha"? Tune in as Hacking Student Motivation author Tyler Rablin speaks to creating multiple opportunities for students to grow and learn over time. Let's stop focusing on mistakes and start focusing on trends in our classrooms! Spoiler Alert: Student motivation is built by giving them more than one attempt and celebrating both what they know now and have yet to learn! ...
May 10, 2024•30 min•Ep. 72
March Madness and the solar eclipse might be over but the excitement of Spring continues! Tune in to hear from our very own @missluker as she speaks to shifting the epicenter of learning, replicating yourself, and creating more powerful feedback loops. How do we do this & still ensure quality instruction? Blended Learning! Dive in, build your students' agency, your own agency, the collective efficacy, and honor what it means to be a learner! @SuzannahEvans2 @Saeed_Shane @missluker @Catlin_Tu...
Apr 19, 2024•33 min•Ep. 71
Tune in for our conversation with Dr. Scott McLeod about his 4 Shifts Protocol and how these shifts can help teachers engage in reflection, apply deeper learning principles, and build student agency in their classrooms. As we learn and grow as educators, the 4 Shifts Protocol is intended "to get at some specific, concrete ‘think abouts’ and ‘look fors’ that can help educators dialogue around what they might change." Continuous refinement for the win! https://twitter.com/SuzannahEvans2 https://tw...
Mar 01, 2024•37 min•Ep. 70
If the instructional door you chose to open isn't working, find a different door! We can hold high expectations for our students AND meet them where they are at the same time! Tune in as our second married teaching couple, Ken and Kendra Versoi, drop amazing and tangible strategies for effective facilitation (hint, hint it starts with Relationships). @SuzannahEvans2 @saeed_shane Necessary Conditions, Geoff Krall Building Thinking Classrooms, Peter Liljedahl...
Feb 02, 2024•36 min•Ep. 69
Gifting our listeners with all things Geoff Krall! Author of one of our favorite books, Necessary Conditions: Teaching Secondary Math with Academic Safety, Quality Tasks, and Effective Facilitation , Geoff speaks to creating academic safety, moving from an emphasis on speed to thoughtfulness, and the power of letting go. But if you're not a math teacher, never fear! There is something for ALL teachers here....tune in and take a beat! Let's learn TOGETHER! @geoffkrall @SuzannahEvans2 @saeed_shane...
Dec 22, 2023•33 min•Ep. 68
Think that the Science of Learning practices are only for older students? Not true! The learning party invitation can and should be extended to all grades, Kindergarten through 12th. Tune in to our first mini-wave episode of Season 6 to hear how master (and married) St. Vrain Valley teachers, Arianne Tasker and Adam Wellington, incorporate the Science of Learning in their 1st-grade and high school classrooms. It's simpler than you think! @SuzannahEvans2 @saeed_shane @Arianne_Re @AWellington83 @P...
Dec 01, 2023•26 min•Ep. 67
Why did we all become teachers? Chances are, it's because we love to learn. How can we create and inspire that same love for learning in our students? By magic? No, not with magic at all, but with science. The science of learning allows students to internalize their successes, invest in the outcomes, and get in the driver's seat! Learning is a party; make sure to invite your students, is the mission statement. Embedding these practices in your classroom will be the game changer for you as an edu...
Oct 13, 2023•40 min•Ep. 66
Feedback is too important to only talk about once! We return to one of our favorite topics with two of our own St. Vrain Valley teachers, @HeatherLea303 and @Janis Vogelsberg, to hear how they model feedback in their classrooms, give explicit instruction around the tricky peer feedback loop, and inspire students to shift away from the external motivation of grades and instead use feedback for intrinsic continuous improvement. Tip for Success: Your students should be giving you feedback too! @Suz...
Jun 23, 2023•41 min•Ep. 65
"Feedback is not a luxury, it's a necessity; not a means to an end, but an end in itself. It's the purpose of why we teach." If these aren't mic-drop quotes for you, we need to talk! Or you need to for sure read this duo's latest work, Feedback for Continous Improvement in the Classroom . Listen in as we talk all things feedback with Brent Duckor and Carrie Holmberg. You'll hear how they emphasize the respect we give students by creating these opportunities for dialogue as learning and honoring ...
Jun 09, 2023•34 min•Ep. 64
Our first mini-wave goes straight to the source...2 classroom teachers right here in St. Vrain! Join us as Altona Middle School's Cleveland Smith and Westview Middle School's Danny Hernandez talk classroom connections, relationships, and building collective efficacy. @SuzannahEvans2 @saeed_shane @WestviewSVVSD @AltonaMS
Mar 10, 2023•34 min•Ep. 63
We Love It Here! Yep, we sure do! Shane and I are loving being behind the mic with Vrain Waves and in this episode, we chat with Clint Pulver, the Undercover Millennial, whose book, I Love It Here , is a must-read for anyone in the business world AND anyone in education.“No significant learning can ever happen without significant connection” is just one of our favorite takeaways and goosebump moments. Building on the last episode about creating a network and village for yourself as teachers, we ...
Feb 03, 2023•32 min•Ep. 62
The mic has officially been passed to us from Ben Kalb! With the re-launch of the podcast, we are celebrating all things NEW; new year, new students, and new teachers! Our goal is to create inspiration and empowerment for educators, so alongside the giants of education, new hosts Suzy Evans and Shane Saeed will also be talking with classroom educators and how they use these theories in their practice on a daily basis. Join us for our first episode of 2023 as we talk about the power of networking...
Jan 16, 2023•28 min•Ep. 61
Episode 060: Grading for Equity with Joe Feldman Connect with Joe Feldman Website: https://crescendoedgroup.org/ | Twitter: @JoeCFeldman Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Lindsay Laporte Twitter: @LaPorteLindsay |Oakley Schilling Twitter: @OakleySchilling | Ben KalbTwitter: @mrkalb...
Feb 26, 2021•54 min•Ep. 60
Episode 059: Principal Kafele on Transformative Change Connect with Principal Kafele Website: https://principalkafele.com/ | Twitter: @principalkafele | YouTube: School Leadership Thoughts Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Shane Saeed| Instagram: @fantasticallyfourth Twitter: @saeed_shane Ben Kalb| Twitter: @mrkalb...
Nov 23, 2020•53 min•Ep. 59
Episode 058: John Spencer and the Sporky Food Truck Connect with John Spencer Website: http://www.spencerauthor.com | Twitter: @spencerideas | YouTube: Spencer Videos Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Violet Twitter: @vhchristensen | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb Violet hosts a podcast for instructional coaches called C3 (Connecting Coaches Cognition) and it can be found wherever you get your podcasts or here ....
Nov 09, 2020•53 min•Ep. 58
Katie Martin is a best selling author, an acclaimed keynote speaker, and a highly sought after educational consultant! Whether you are teaching completely in person, totally virtually, or in a hybrid environment, in this episode we discuss how you can thrive! Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Temple Hayles Guest Co-Host: @haylessvvsd | Ben Kalb: @mrkalb Connect with Katie Martin Twitter: @katiemartinedu | Website: katielmartin.com | Book: Learner-Centered ...
Oct 26, 2020•48 min•Ep. 57
Connect with Zaretta Hammond Twitter: @Ready4Rigor | Website: crtandthebrain.com | Book: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Becky Twitter: @BeckyEPeters | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb Intro Ryan Holiday , Stillness is the Key , Stoicism , Blog post about habits Zaretta’s Current Conversations (05:05) Covid webinars Apollo 13 (09:47) Family / Parent Relationships (11:13) Trust Generators (other resources from the book her...
May 12, 2020•49 min•Ep. 56
Connect with Kate Murphy Website: https://www.nytimes.com/by/kate-murphy | Book: You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Becky Twitter: @BeckyEPeters | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb Intro to Kate Murphy, her book (01:24) Best Nonfiction book of 2020 Listening for a living (03:35) We all have megaphones in our pockets (05:34) The coronavirus pandemic is really showing us how we are not in control (07:15) Listeni...
Apr 19, 2020•37 min•Ep. 55
Episode 054: Coping with Covid, with Catlin Tucker As we all try to wrap our heads around the implications the pandemic will have on our students, our communities, our families, and ourselves, we hope to provide some comforting guidance from an expert in remote learning. Catlin Tucker, whose original Vrain Waves interview aired back in Season 2 about her book Power Up Blended Learning, joins us again for a Sunday discussion about how we can approach these changes to our instruction. Connect with...
Mar 23, 2020•53 min•Ep. 54
Episode 053: Ending Average with Todd Rose Connect with Todd Rose Website: https://toddrose.com | Twitter: @ltoddrose | Most Recent Book: Dark Horse Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Becky Twitter: @BeckyEPeters | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb Intro to Todd Rose (00:22) Episode with John Couch WWII cockpit story Episode with Natalie Wexler Jagged profiles ; Todd Rose’s TED Talk, The Myth of Average Episode with Cornelius Minor Dark Horse Characteristics When are av...
Mar 09, 2020•54 min•Ep. 53
Aligning Words and Intentions with Mike Anderson Connect with Mike Anderson Website: https://www.leadinggreatlearning.com/ | Twitter: @balancedteacher | Most Recent Book: What We Say and How We Say it Matter Connect with Vrain Waves Website: vrainwaves.com | Twitter: @VrainWaves | Becky Twitter: @BeckyEPeters | Ben Twitter: @mrkalb What We Say and How We Say It Matter Two Year Podiversary (1:00) Presume Positive Intent (4:40) Aligning word choice and intentions (05:45) “Feedback is a gift” Kim S...
Feb 24, 2020•59 min•Ep. 52
