Dave Burgess, of Teach Like a Pirate , is one of the most energetic and positive people you’ll hear. In this inspiring and fun conversation, he gives great practical tools and ideas for how to hook our students into our lessons, helping them buy into the content with joy whether in person or online. Then Dave plays a pirate-themed The 5-Minute Game Show, of course.
My guest, Amber Harper of T he Burned-In Teacher Podcast is a valuable resource for helping with the very real problem of teacher burn-out that affects almost all teachers often multiple times in a career. After one of the most challenging semesters in most teachers' careers Amber’s Burned-In Teacher approach is a true remedy giving solid tools and advice on what to do when feeling burnt out. And then we play a fun The 5-Minute Game Show, where the clues are Haikus....
Welcome to this special holiday bonus episode that is all about enjoyment. Whether you are an educator, parent or student, or really anyone on this planet right now, this has been a really challenging year. So I wanted to give you a well-deserved gift of this fun game show compilation taken from a few older episodes and give you a chance to get some real gifts by flexing your creativity.
Natalie Vardabasso, a true assessment innovator and host of the #Educrush Podcast speaks with me about how we can move way beyond tests, quizzes and other traditional paradigms of assessing students to find creative and authentic ways for students to express their knowledge, actually understanding where our students are at and how we can move them forward. This episode explores the bigger philosophy behind overhauling assessments including why we should be assessing for mastery and not grades, a...
Today’s show with wonderful and generous guest, Zack Hartzman of Hey Listen Games , is filled with practical ideas and resources for engaging students through using video games. Zack explains how he uses “non-education” video games in his lessons, and all the resources he has created for educators free of charge, so they can do the same. This interview was recorded at the end of February of 2020, and like so many interviews I did before mid-March, I put it aside for a while to deal with what was...
My guest in this episode, Kevin Stoller, started Kay-Twelve in 2009 to help educators design better learning environments. He is the author of “Creating Better Learning Environments” and host of the Better Learning Podcast. We discuss different ways to enhance student engagement and provide true equity by focusing on the design of classroom. He gives lots of tips for educators even with no budgets, and in an interview update, talks about what to do now, and why there are better options than plex...
My guest is the incredible Joshua Silverstein , an educator who is also a beatboxer, rapper, comedian and writer. In fact, he wrote, produced and performed the entire fauxmercial this week! And our conversation in this episode focuses on the importance for both students and educators to be creative, find ways to allow for self-expression, again – for both teachers and students. And how doing so creates personal and powerful learning for all....
On this episode my guest is the wonderful and kind, Dr. Sam Fecich , the prolific author and host of the EduMagic podcast , which focuses on guiding preservice and new teachers to greatness. But I found so much of what we discussed to be relevant to all teachers in this time. Then hear Sam (mostly) rock The 5-Minute Game Show. Today’s fauxmercial is an homage to every teacher who suffered bad advice and was inspired by good advice when they were new. Special thanks to Dr. Samantha Fecich and my ...
In the last part of this 3 part series, our panel - Andre Daughty , Stacey Joy , Charity Parsons, Brett Mitchell, Jason Ernest Feldman and Dr. Hattie Mitchell - brings solid ideas for moving forward in trying to eradicate racism in education. They speak to all the stakeholders including schools, districts, teachers, parents and students - letting us know what it will take to bring an equitable, enjoyable and meaningful education to every student. Special thanks to my co-host and co-producer of t...
In this second episode of the series, our panel - Andre Daughty , Stacey Joy , Charity Parsons, Brett Mitchell, Jason Ernest Feldman and Dr. Hattie Mitchell , share their powerful and painful stories of personal experiences with racism in education. Before we can move forward, we must understand what the many issues are, and the best way to truly understand them is by listening to people’s experiences. Even though we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, this sampling of what our panel ...
Veteran educator Lacrecia Terrance co-produced and co-hosts with me our 3 part series with a prestigious panel of guest for what many may call tough conversations on racism. With all that is happening, as a global pandemic has further peeled back the cover on generations of systemic inequities rooted in racism, we feel these conversations are a crucial part of moving education forward for all. In this first episode we will be defining the issues - what do we mean when we talk about racism in edu...
Ron Berger, my educational hero, joins me to talk about his new book, We Are Crew: A Teamwork Approach to School Culture and presents some important and beautiful ideas about what education should really be all about. I was so grateful to get this opportunity to speak with and learn from Ron and learn how we can all work together to “get everyone to the top of the mountain.” My very special thanks to Ron and to Yossie Frankel for his voice work on this episodes fauxmercial....
Today’s subject is all about making meaning with project-based learning . My guest today is the passionate and entertaining Ben Talsma from Blue Apple Teacher. Ben also co-wrote the fauxmercial “Empower-Mints” with me. This parody of the old Mento commercials features the very talented musician Robby Helperin of Spotlight Music , giving us his cheesy best, and Eli Schiff , who is one of my favorite voice actors. After my initial interview with Ben, he nails The 5-Minute Game Show, and then I bri...
We are tackling some big, possibly controversial ideas in this episode. It’s all about calling into question everything we think about education. While I do that all the time on this show, we are going further this time. My two incredible guests are, TedX speaker and an educator with Alpha , Mike Yates and Naphtali Bryant, founder of Spark-Ed University . We have a great, sometimes radical, and totally entertaining look at how to reinvent school. And they slay The 5-Minute Game Show. But first, ...
As school’s are still debating, at least in most places, about whether to or how to safely open schools, and many have already committed to beginning the school year remotely, we know that there will be so many challenges ahead no matter what route a school takes. One of the biggest challenges, that many are not even considering with everything else to think about, is how to connect with our students, create a strong positive school culture and build a classroom community whether in a masked/phy...
I have a great discussion with Shoshanna Sumka of ISEEN about experiential learning with an added recent interview at the end that includes experiential learning in remote and online class situations. After our talk, Shoshanna bravely conquers a really hard The 5-Minute Game Show. Then, on In the Trenches , I talk about a way to provide experiential learning opportunities for your online students or at home kids. You’ll hear about how my 15-year old son helped me solve a problem I have been thin...
Host Batsheva Frankel recreates her presentation, "What Do We Mean by 21st Century Education When the 21st Century Changes Dramatically?" In this talk, given on June 10, 2020 for the site, Hopes, Dreams, Journey (connecting parents with information, tools, resources and providers of services to help their children succeed and thrive), Batsheva lays out some of the skills, knowledge and systemic changes that need to be promoted in order to adequately prepare our students for the increasingly shif...
This episode on why kids hate math and what we can do about it features a conversation with John Bianchette of Mathnasium from January 2020 with a recent additional talk to reflect the radical changes that have taken place since then. In the Trenches I trace my journey from hating math as a student and defining myself as “I’m not a math person” in adulthood to finally realizing that I actually enjoy math because of the math teachers at Arete Preparatory Academy. I’ll share some of their tips and...
My guests today, Shannon Green , Vickita Bhatt and Jim Hahn show how, now more than ever, we see the benefits of going gradeless. True educational equity, social justice, decreased anxiety, no cheating, eradication of bullying, and growth mentality are just some of the positive ramifications of providing meaningful feedback in place of the usual letters and numbers. Any school can do it, and my guests give practical tips and tools for how....
Two special guests join me in this inspiring episode - Marie Kueny of the Compassionate Educators podcast, and grief coach, Kaley Zeitouni . They are here to help us deal with everything that is going on, and all the things that no longer are. So If you are a parent, teacher or student feeling burnt-out, depressed or overwhelmed or if you are grieving over what we lost from the past and what won’t be happening now in the future, this episode is for you....
In this episode you will hear from educators around the world- in the United Kingdom, Japan, The Netherlands, Israel, Denmark, South Africa and Canada – telling us what’s happening in their part of the world. These global educators share not only how they are coping, but also how they are growing, inspiring us with wisdom and hope.
Today I speak with Liz Vogel from Facing History and Ourselves who gives us a snapshot of how to use history to strengthen our students and help them become true up-standers. As this episode comes out on April 19th, 2020, most of us have been hunkered down in our homes, dealing with distance learning and lots of other issues right now. One thing that is always a problem whenever troubling times arise whether it’s a health crisis or a financial crisis – or in this case both – is the rise of hate ...
In this powerful episode, 12 educators in the trenches share their challenges, tips, tools and words of inspiration during this challenging time of a shut-down schools and distance learning. This is a double-sized episode that is filled with not-to-be-missed dispatches from all over the US (and one from Canada) representing all different communities and the difficulties they are facing along with the creative approaches these passionate educators are using. The Best part is that this episode can...
In this incredibly challenging time of new realities every day, I have put together a special episode with Educational Tech expert Dr. Monica Burns and long-time awesome home school mom Kelila Sicilano who started OURSandYRS: Our Online Village They each bring lots of sage advice, tools, tips and strategies for helping educators and parents figure this out and try to make it work. Please share this episode with everyone you know! And go to www.overthrowingeducation.com for tons of great resource...
Two of my previous guests, Jesse Stommel and Sean Michael Morris and I discuss digital pedagogy, bettering education, and why teachers will not be replaced by robots. However, In the Trenches, we have my 14-year old computer wiz son explaining why they just might be. Jesse and Sean play a super fun The 5-Minute Game Show after their interview. And I do want to give a shout out to all the great educators on twitter who inspired my Robo-Helper commercial by answering my question: What are school-r...
If you want a quick taste of what's in store for you on Overthrowing Education, here it is!
Author and Blended Learning specialist Catlin Tucker makes a second appearance on this episode discussing her new book , “Balance with Blended Learning” and great ways to engage students in their learning process while helping teachers bring balance to their lives. Then we play a challenging and fun round of The 5-Minute Game Show. In the Trenches, an Arete Preparatory Academy senior explains Symposium , a unique approach to “finals”....
Nick Covington and Chris McNutt are fun, passionate advocators for great education. We discuss the importance of human centered learning and what they are doing with The Human Restoration Project, a fantastic free resource for educators. Then they compete with each other in a nerdy throw-down during The 5-Minute Game Show. And on In the Trenches today, we have a mystery guest! Our fauxmercial stars this week are Barbara Heller, Elliot Schiff , Jill Moray and Yossie Frankel....
Melissa Tomlinson a public education advocate leader in BATS –the Badass Teachers Association and I discuss the problems with standardized testing and other important issues. Then on In the Trenches, Christi Gambil tells how Arete Preparatory Academy found a great alternative to traditional standardized testing. Lastly, Teacher2Teacher prompted a follow up to our previous “Be the Match” episode with practical ideas for teachers to help their fellow teachers take on new techniques or innovative a...
Mark Taylor, host of the podcast Education on Fire, among others, discusses how all of us can make a positive impact on education. As Mark demonstrates, it only takes one match to light up a dark room, so today we are focusing on how to be that match. Because Mark is from the UK. The 5-Minute Game Show is totally UK based. Then on In the Trenches we hear from two parents and a student sharing strategies that students and parents can do to be the match. Our "sponsor" today in our fauxmercial is "...
