The 21st Century Teacher: Recent Episodes
Blue Netherclift, David Russell Loewen
The Live It Earth Pro D podcast for teachers where creative ideas and innovations are shared by teachers from a variety of backgrounds.
In each episode our podcast shines a light on education solutions for the modern age with interesting perspectives and stories from a variety of teachers and educators sharing their unique experiences.
Megan has over 25 years of professional experience teaching in urban public elementary schools and teaches K-7 outdoors in West Vancouver and advocates for unstructured nature play in schools. She is a qualified master gardener with hundreds of stories to share to highlight that elementary curricular content that can be taught in a school garden. She is working towards a PhD at UBC in the faculty of education in curriculum and pedagogy. Megan discusses why play so important to learning for young children. She discusses the kind of impact school gardening has on students - the movement relating to their health and wellness. There are some simple steps to improving student experience in gardening and Megan offers some ideas that teachers can incorporate. This is a great episode for any teachers considering embracing the outdoor learning for their class, as Megan discusses some of the common road blocks that teachers face.For more information please visit Megan's website: https://meganzeni.com/
In this episode Dean Shareski is invited to discuss aspects of his book “Embracing a Culture of Joy: How Educators Can Bring Joy to Their Classrooms Each Day.” He has worked as a K-8 classroom teacher for 14 years and as a district leader for 9. He has been an educational consultant for Advanced Learning Partnerships and was the Community Manager for Discovery Education Canada for several years and also a Digital Learning Consultant with the Prairie South School Division in SK.
Dean believes that teachers and students ought to use technology to connect ideas and learners in safe, relevant, authentic ways to answer questions, share ideas and develop community. Learning he believes, can be, and should be, fun and personal.
I ask Dean: what does joy looks like in a classroom and how can teachers bring joy in a meaningful way, into the classroom and any ideas he has to make classrooms a joyful learning environment? And are there any examples about real classrooms that have successfully implemented joy? As a digital consultant what are some of the challenges he hears about in the classroom?
Morgane is a primary educator, an author, a speaker, a mother of two young children and the creator of the small act big impact 21 day challenge, and in her free time enjoys making big impact through small daily acts. Morgane believes that we are all responsible for the cultures in which we learn, work, and live.
She is the author of From Burnt Out to Fired Up: Reigniting your passion for teaching. Morgane is also the producer and host of KindSight 101, a leading educational podcast with game-changing guests
Trevor MacKenzie is an experienced teacher, author, keynote speaker and inquiry consultant who has worked in schools throughout Australia, Asia, North America, South Africa and Europe. Trevor’s passion is supporting schools in implementing inquiry-based learning practices.
Trevor’s graduate research focused on identifying and removing the barriers to implementing inquiry-based learning in the K-12 setting. He is an inquiry practitioner currently as a teacher with the Greater Victoria School District in Victoria, Canada. He has two publications: Dive into Inquiry and Inquiry Mindset
He has vast experience supporting schools across several years in implementation strategies in public schools, international schools, and International Baccalaureate programmes (PYP/MYP/DP).
Chris Kennedy is the Superintendent of West Vancouver Schools and one of the most progressive voices in BC education. He was recently named as one of the Top 10 Canadian Newsmakers in Educational Technology and has been featured by Maclean’s Magazine as one of the “100 Young Canadians to Watch” and his work has been featured in various local and national publications.
As a writer and presenter on personalized learning and infusing technology in the classroom Chris balances his professional passions with life as the father of four children. Chris has also taught secondary English and Social Studies, and been both an elementary and secondary school principal.
Luke is on the SD22 Learning Directions Team as the Director of Instruction and well positioned to talk about core competencies within the BC curriculum. Luke is able to explain what they are, as well as how teachers, parents and students are engaging with this new approach to education within the framework of the BC curriculum.
Dr. Gillian Judson is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. She teaches in Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction programs. Her scholarship looks at imagination’s role in leadership and learning (K-post-secondary). Gillian is an educator, writer, researcher, and parent. She is also the primary catalyst behind the creation, direction, and expansion of imaginED.
In her role as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University (SFU), she teaches mostly about an imagination-focused approach to teaching called Imaginative Education (IE) and the specific ways to engage imagination in leadership and in learning all aspects of the curriculum.
Imaginative Ecological Education, or IEE, has been the focus of her research for 15 years. IEE is about engaging the body and emotion in place-based and imagination-focused teaching. All ages, all topics, all contexts. The Walking Curriculum is the most recent publication on this topic.
We are excited to have Dr. Judy Halbert and Dr. Linda Kaser, co-authors of The Spiral Playbook (2017), System Transformation for Equity and Quality (2016), Spirals of Inquiry (2013), Leadership Mindsets: Innovation and Learning in the Transformation of Schools (2009) and with Helen Timperley, A Framework for Transforming Learning in Schools: Innovation and the Spiral of Inquiry (2014).
They lead the Transformative Educational Leadership Program at the University of British Columbia. Prior to this, Linda and Judy developed and taught graduate leadership programs at the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University.
Linda and Judy have served as teachers, principals, district leaders and policy advisors with British Columbia’s Ministry of Education. They are the founders of the Networks of Inquiry and Indigenous Education. In 2019, along with NOIIE leader Debbie Leighton Stephens, they were awarded the prestigious Cmolik Prize for the enhancement of public education in British Columbia.
Deeply committed to achieving equity and quality for all learners and networking for innovation and improvement across systems, they served as Canadian representatives to the OECD international research program on Innovative Learning Environments. Their work has gone global, supporting inquiry networks in British Columbia, the Yukon, England, Catalonia, Spain, Sweden, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, New Zealand and Queensland.
Here are Emily's social media links:
www.facebook.com/thescreentimeconsultant
www.facebook.com/groups/techintentionalfamiliesunited
www.instagram.com/thescreentimeconsultant
www.linkedin.com/in/emily-cherkin
YouTube
Website is: www.thescreentimeconsultant.com
I also mentioned my colleagues at EverySchool.org and their EdTech triangle as a great resource for schools and teachers.
Sources for Educators
- https://www.calm.com/schools/resources-Free for educators and students
-30 days of mindfulness in the classroom
-self-care guide for teachers
-
EFAP (Employee Family Assistance Program) Life Works-for School District 8 teachers
-
LifeWorks, a one-stop solution that includes confidential consultation,
information and educational resources, counselling (both telephonic and in-person),
and personalized community referrals
-accessible 24/7
- Mindfulness Self-Compassion exercises by Dr. Kristin Neff
https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#exercises
For more information about Diane's offerings and resources here is a link to an article article and short video
http://teachingintothefuture.com
Story Telling
The human story is our birthright and the means by which cultures across the globe have taught upcoming generations with wisdom and guidance. They are the backbone of human imagination and collaboration; two significant traits we have developed since the Palaeolithic age.
Across time and culture, stories have been agents of personal transformation in part because they change our brains.
Some of us have always known this while it takes others scientific evidence: In 2010 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, the psychologist Uri Hasson and his Princeton University colleagues had a graduate student tell an unrehearsed story while her brain was veins being scanned in an fMRI machine. Then they scanned the brains of 11 volunteers listening to a recording of the story. As the researchers analysed the data, they found some striking similarities. Just when the speaker’s brain lit up in the area of the insula – a region that governs empathy and moral sensibilities – the listeners’ insulae lit up, too. Listeners and speakers also showed parallel activation of the temporoparietal junction, which helps us imagine other people’s thoughts and emotions. In certain essential ways, then, stories help our brains map that of the storyteller.
Link for free tips and more about the course here and how to tell a good story:
https://mailchi.mp/teachingintothefuture/how-to-tell-a-good-story
Do you want to know more about the Valhalla Wilderness School Program at WE Graham in Slocan City? Click this link and enjoy a short video highlighting the merits of the program:
https://www.sd8.bc.ca/programs/valhalla-wilderness-program
Sources for Educators:
Shi shi etko
The Gladys that we never knew
Phyllis Webstad On Orange Shirt Day
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