Adapted from my book, Radical Principals Welcome back to "Big Ideas in Small Windows" with your host, Mike Gaskell. In today's episode, we explore the often overlooked yet profoundly impactful role of timing on student success. Drawing on Dan Pink's research, we uncover how circadian rhythms and developmental phases significantly influence adolescents' learning. Discover practical strategies for educators to harness the power of timing, from optimizing peak energy times for challenging tasks to ...
Nov 13, 2023•11 min•Ep. 26
Confident humility wins every time Podcast host Mike Gaskell argues that humble school leaders who admit mistakes, seek feedback, and empower their teams are more effective than ego-driven leaders who prioritize self-promotion. Research shows that leaders who exhibit modesty and openness create a more psychologically safe, collaborative environment where teachers feel valued, which helps schools thrive. Gaskell recommends that school leaders embrace humility by regularly soliciting teacher feedb...
Oct 29, 2023•8 min•Ep. 25
Social media can be disruptive for children- fueling distractions, unhealthy comparisons, and compulsive behaviors. This episode explores practical solutions like using background noise, binaural beats, and proactive digital literacy education to help them thrive despite digital disruption. Learn how small changes can empower adolescents to control their attention, boost focus and creativity, and develop conscious, healthy technology habits. Binaural Beats Coffeehouse chatter ASMR Instagram Vs R...
Oct 15, 2023•14 min•Ep. 24
The article adapted for thus episode: In this episode of "Big Ideas in Small Windows," I examine the transformative world of AI in education. We visit the rapid advancements made over the past 10 months, including the art of AI prompting, specialized chatbots for personalized tutoring, and AI-driven content creation. I emphasize the importance of responsible AI integration, highlighting ethical considerations and the indispensable role of great teachers in this evolving landscape. Tune in to exp...
Oct 01, 2023•13 min•Ep. 23
Join host Mike Gaskell, as he dives into the concept of complete immersion that leads to extraordinary productivity and creativity, something researchers call "flow." Through scientific evidence and real stories about famous individuals using practical techniques, you'll discover how clarity, challenge, and concentration can set the stage for peak performance, helping students unlock their full potential in the classroom and beyond. Don't miss this deep dive into the gateway to extraordinary pro...
Sep 17, 2023•28 min•Ep. 22
In this episode, Mike discusses studies, stories, and strategies to support children in their journey towards success. Notable strategies include utilizing "coffeehouse chatter" to enhance student focus, employing therapeutic breathing techniques to alleviate anxiety, and embracing story therapy to boost children's self-belief! Mike mentions a lesser-known yet impactful <a href="https://www.pathwaysrtc.pdx.edu/pdf/fpS0504.pdf"><strong>longitudinal study</strong></a> condu...
Sep 10, 2023•13 min•Ep. 21
Topics Based on Ideas from the book, Radical Principals In this practical episode, we delve into the transformative world of feedback and communication within schools. Explore the often underestimated power of delivery in conveying messages that can inspire rather than deflate, from teachers to administrators, families and beyond. Discover how positive interactions and effective communication can significantly impact student behavior, engagement, and academic success, and gain valuable insights ...
Sep 03, 2023•12 min•Ep. 20
In this episode, we explore how storytelling helps children overcome trauma and builds resilience. We discuss Emmy Werner's groundbreaking study, the impact of post pandemic challenges, and the power of narratives to overcome these barriers for children in need. We uncover strategies to empower young minds and foster resilience through the age old art of storytelling. Article on storytelling to help children Ideas adapted from Radical Principals We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s compr...
Aug 27, 2023•12 min•Ep. 19
In today's episode, we explore how seizing on small wins empowers students for success at the beginning of the school year and throughout. Inspired by an ASCD blog article and adapted from Radical Principals we'll discuss the impact of recognizing incremental achievements on student growth. Join us to learn practical strategies, the 4% Rule, and how technology can enhance progress tracking. Together, we'll uncover the psychology behind small wins and their role in building a brighter future for ...
Aug 20, 2023•17 min•Ep. 18
AI Edcamp for faculty Schools are opening and AI looms as a BIG question mark. How will teachers and administrators use it? What about students? How can we start to understand the complexity of AI in schools? This brief, chock-full episode offers a prescription for busy administrators and teachers. Use the simple formula of an Edcamp and bring the expertise to your school community today! Concepts adapted from my book: Radical Principals More info: How to run an Edcamp virtually We’re thrilled t...
Aug 13, 2023•10 min•Ep. 17
Episode adapted from this article The use of AI chat tools has rapidly increased this year. AI chat tools have a difficult time with voice since they lack the emotional context that humans can interpret through the nuances of tone, pitch, expression, and most of all, uniqueness. More significantly, AI chat tools cannot express a person’s point of view because they lack the complex beliefs, values and opinions that form a person’s consciousness. Educators should make this clear to people accessin...
Aug 06, 2023•15 min•Ep. 16
Welcome back to Big Ideas in Small Windows, where I interview Karen Dudek-Brannan, a Professional Development and Product Specialist, SLP, and founder/CEO of Dr. Karen, LLC, share insights to empower therapists, educators, and aspiring school leaders. With a focus on language, literacy, and executive functioning, Karen develops engaging professional development programs and products to enhance school team collaboration and drive better results. Tune in to her at the De Facto Leaders Podcast for ...
Jul 30, 2023•38 min•Ep. 15
https://www.techlearning.com/news/navigating-ai-biases-in-the-classroom Generative AI offers many advantages for educators, for use in and out of the classroom. When I prompt for images of "a focused student," the first three are boys, two are white, the third is an Asian boy, and the fourth is an apparent high school female. If my anecdotal examples haven't convinced you, try for yourself, or refer to a respected resource on this subject, which characterizes how bias is becoming a more obvious ...
Jul 24, 2023•14 min•Ep. 14
My guest, Mike Kuczala, presented a Tedx Talk, seen by over 1000,000 people about the benefits of teaching and learning in a “kinesthetic” classroom. He has been in high demand ever since, presenting, writing, and getting the word out on the mind-body connection. Author of the Kinesthetic Classroom and recently The Peak Performing Teacher; you have to tune into this episode to hear about the tremendous benefits of movement in class, and how a teacher can do this while meeting their curricular de...
Apr 10, 2022•32 min•Ep. 13
Please welcome my amazing guest, Lise Deguire, who is the award-winning author of "Flashback Girl," and a clinical psychologist in private practice. At just 4 years old, she was severely burned in a fire over two thirds of her body, spending most of her childhood undergoing countless surgical procedures. She has been on NPR, NBC, ABC, FOX and Sirius XM, and publishes a bi-monthly blog, about psychological resilience. She is a national keynote speaker, with over 12,000 social media followers on F...
Apr 03, 2022•42 min•Ep. 12
Please welcome my guest today, Dr. Caren Baruch-Feldman. When you have sold over 40,000 books, people pay attention! As a Clinical-Child Psychologist, she Wrote The Grit Guide for Teens. This book helps teens build perseverance, resilience, self-control, and stamina. Dr. Baruch-Feldman has a new book launching just days away, on March 31! The Resilience Workbook for Kids. She is hosting a Virtual Book Launch event for her new book that will be like its very own professional development for adult...
Mar 27, 2022•40 min•Ep. 11
I got to meet our latest guest at a national Edtech conference called FETC in Orlando this year. He had a posse hanging around him. I sat down and listened in. I could tell right away why, and knew I had to have him on my podcast. Tom Murray is an author of numerous best selling ASCD books, serves as Director of Innovation for Future Ready Schools, has won multiple distinguished awards, included 20 to watch, National/Global Edtech Leader of the Year, EDUCATION POLICY PERSON OF THE YEAR and even ...
Mar 20, 2022•42 min•Ep. 10
Welcome back to the podcast, BIG Ideas in small windows. I am delighted to have Dr. Todd Whitaker back on! In this episode, he talks about what distinguishes Great Teachers, and how to help teachers become great. Jump in to listen to Dr. Whitaker in this engaging interview, where we cover everything from managing difficult people, to changing school culture, parenting daughters, and how teachers showed the world to thrive, in spite of the pandemic. What Great Teachers Do Differently: https://www...
Mar 13, 2022•36 min•Ep. 9
Welcome back to the podcast, BIG Ideas in small windows. I am delighted to have Dr. Todd Whitaker on this episode. He has sold over 1.5 million books and is most well known for his book, What Great Teachers Do Differently, offering a refreshingly digestible account of what separates the great ones from the rest. He has a giant twitter following of 146,000 and growing. Jump in to listen to Dr. Whitaker in this wide ranging interview, where we cover everything from imposter syndrome, to shifting t...
Mar 06, 2022•43 min•Ep. 8
Please welcome my guest here on the podcast, BIG ideas in small windows, I am so excited to have influencer Erika Garcia, who has gained another thousand followers since we recorded just a couple weeks ago! If you're one of 22,000 followers, then you have been captured by Erika’s one phrase tweet perspectives…now it’s time to hear more in our deeper dive with Principal Niles, in a 30 minute podcast learning about the woman, the leader behind the huge and growing following! Erika was a teacher li...
Feb 27, 2022•34 min•Ep. 7
Join me with my latest guest, Frederick Lane, who is an expert in Cybertraps, having appeared on major networks, served as an expert witness, and written 10 books! Mr. Lane started as a lawyer, has been writing for over a decade and provides much needed educational consulting on the topic. His most notable work is being author of several books on Cybertraps and he collaborates on his Cybetraps podcast with Jethro Jones . He has a new much needed book coming out, The Rise of the Digital Mob. Fred...
Feb 20, 2022•40 min•Ep. 6
One of the giants in the education podcasting world, Jethro Jones joins my podcast! Welcome back to episode 5 of the podcast, BIG ideas in small windows. Today, we are in for a real treat. Jethro Jones, behemoth podcaster in the education world, with over 1 million downloads, He was the 2017 NASSP Digital Principal of the Year, is a former principal and host of the Transformative Principal podcast. Like many of us, Jethro struggled to turn around his school, under constant pressure, overwhelmed,...
Feb 13, 2022•35 min•Ep. 5
Welcome back to the podcast, BIG ideas in small windows. I am your host, Mike Gaskell and am delighted to welcome my next guest, who is a podcaster in the world of learning and the brain. Andrea Samadi, started as a teacher in Toronto, Canada, and has spent 26 years working on social/emotional learning, to help students. Andrea knows first-hand about stress in the classroom as her first job from The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Education, was a behavioral class. She felt overwhelmed by the...
Feb 06, 2022•40 min•Ep. 4
Show Notes: Micro wins build cumulatively to internalize belief Power of story- check out DDPs 2017 speech Everyone fights negatives, and chooses positive affirmations Relentless on Amazon Prime "It took me 8 years to be an overnight success!" The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that successful people fall down 3 times but gets back up 4 times. Every star falls, experience struggle, allows the pain to be felt but they don't stay down, they move on. What looks like the wo...
Jan 30, 2022•25 min•Ep. 3
Welcome back to the podcast, Big Ideas in Small Windows-where we offer great solutions in simple ways. It is my pleasure to invite someone who needs no introduction, but I'm going to brag a little bit about him anyway: Today's featured guest is Diamond Dallas Page, who is well known for his wrestling career and has built a thriving business organized around yoga Yoga, Calisthenics & Dynamic Resistance to Improve Overall Health & Wellbeing. DDPY is a Revolutionary Fitness Program that Any...
Jan 26, 2022•32 min•Ep. 2
In this episode, Mike refers to studies, stories and strategies, to help kids, teachers and families support children in reaching for success. Specific strategies include using "coffeehouse chatter" to increase student focus, therapeutic breathing techniques to reduce anxiety, and story therapy to get kids to believe in themselves! Mike refers to a longitudinal study that is little known yet has remarkable implications, conducted by researcher Emmy Werner on 3 protective factors we can give kids...
Jan 23, 2022•13 min•Ep. 1
