Innovative Education in VT: Recent Episodes
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John Dewey once famously said, “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” As the Tarrant Institute for Innovation Education (TIIE) sunsets as an organization, we found it appropriate to reflect and share some tidbits of what we have learned. Here are some thoughts and reflections from former TIIE staff (alphabetized by … Continue reading Some final reflections from former TIIE peeps →
The post Some final reflections from former TIIE peeps appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
There is a reason that we’ve written so many stories about students doing cool projects in and with their communities!
The post Introducing our Community Engaged Learning Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
We have a saying around here that “middle school is not a building” and we also believe that classrooms do
The post Introducing our Outdoor and Place-Based Learning Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Equity is the moral imperative behind all of the work we do here at the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education.
The post Introducing our Equity Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Dillin, a seventh grade student at Newark Street School (NSS), had this to say about starting school with 30 minutes
The post Prioritizing daily movement and experiential learning in Newark appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
At the Tarrant Institute, we write a lot about Project Based Learning (PBL). We consider it one of the engaging
The post Introducing our new Project Based Learning toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
It’s that time again! One of our favorite times of the year around here: our annual Winter Reading post. This
The post Winter Break Reading & Listening: 2022 Edition appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
It’s no secret we’re big fans of advisory around here. And we don’t just mean the time on the schedule
The post Introducing our new Advisory toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
You know the vibe when you walk into a classroom where everyone is engaged and buzzing with learning, and the
The post Introducing our NEW Community & Culture Toolkit! appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
It was a perfect match. The sixth grade team at Lyndon Town School were looking for an end of year
The post Sixth Graders Revamp Lyndonville appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
It was a perfect match. The sixth grade team at Lyndon Town School were looking for an end of year
The post Sixth Graders Revamp Lyndonville appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Many schools and classrooms across the country identify student skills for success. Ideally, those skills cut across content areas and
The post NEW Essential Skills & Dispositions Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
A positive and collaborative adult culture is essential to a positive and collaborative student culture. As educators, we must attend
The post Introducing our NEW Adult Culture toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Knowing each student well is essential to a year of flourishing for students and educators. It’s a prerequisite to ensuring
The post PLPs to Know Students Well: Introducing the Personal Learning Plan Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Around this time of year, many middle schools begin to prepare for a fall student-led conference. This conference serves as
The post Updated Student-Led Conferences Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
The Why We teach a precious and somewhat precarious age group. Our middle grades students are in the throes of
The post Why Advisory matters so much appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
The Why We teach a precious and somewhat precarious age group. Our middle grades students are in the throes of
The post Why Advisory matters so much appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
The beginning of a school year is a great time to explore and reflect on identity. For teachers who are
The post Introducing our updated Identity Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
The beginning of a school year is a great time to explore and reflect on identity. For teachers who are
The post Introducing our updated Identity Toolkit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
We at the Tarrant Institute look forward to summer reading every year, but THIS year… this year we all deserve
The post Happy Summer Reading! appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
The school year is almost over and this one may well be remembered as your toughest yet. If hardship makes
The post What Matters Most Now: Lesson Three – Authenticity appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Lovely listeners, welcome back. I’m Jeanie Phillips, and on this episode, I get to talk about “The Last Cuentista”, a
The post #vted Reads: The Last Cuentista appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
This is the second in a series of mini blogs with attention to priorities in the not-so post pandemic world.
The post What Matters Most Now: Lesson Two – Rethink What We Teach appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
This is a the first in a series of blogs with attention to education priorities in the not-so post pandemic
The post What Matters Most Now: Lesson One – Slow Down appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Welcome, listeners, to another episode of vted Reads: talking about books by, for, and with Vermont educators. In this episode…
The post #VTED Reads: Care Work with Dr. Winnie Looby appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Testing helped me be successful in school. And it was horrible for my learning. I was good at tests. The
The post Rethinking assessment to rebalance education appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
As we move through another calendar year impacted by COVID, I find myself taking stock of what’s important for our
The post Centering Connection and Wellness: A Lifelong Sports Program at Rutland Middle School appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Jeanie: In this episode, I sit down with educational phenoms Christie Nold and Jess Lifshitz. And we’re joined by Brendan
The post #vted Reads: The Other Talk appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
I’ve had to work really hard to learn how to collaborate. Yet, my K-12 teachers always gave me A’s on
The post Strategies for Fostering Student Collaboration appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
In this episode, we welcome author, educator, and Vermont transplant Kathleen Kesson who talks about Community Schools Blueprint: Transforming Our School Community Partnership. Kathleen and I talk about the possibilities we see for widening the cracks in traditional schooling by building opportunities for students and communities to support one another in authentic, real-world ways.
The post #vted Reads: Community Schools Blueprint with Kathleen Kesson appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Why is change so hard? Why, when our minds can be so clear on the direction we want to go
The post Change is hard, sometimes tweaking our habits can help appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
What if we could give more time to educators, many of whom are overworked and in danger of burnout? The
The post How one district gave teachers the gift of time appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Listeners, I’m going to ask you to bear with me on this one. This is one of my favorite episodes
The post #vted Reads: Dig appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Many of the routines of the school day have been frayed by the pandemic. From kids unable to engage in work
The post Centering Relationships & Routines appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Lovely listeners: today is a work day.Now, we all know that talking about anti-bias work is a vital component of
The post #vted Reads: Start Here Start Now appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Dear Readers, We are rolling into that time of year when we hope that you find time to get cozied
The post The Annual TIIE Winter Reading Round Up appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Need more student engagement and wellbeing? Join the club! Educators are always looking for ways to get students more engaged
The post Student clubs for engagement and wellbeing appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Lovely listeners: we’re baaaaaaack! And we missed each and every one of you. To celebrate our return, in this episode
The post #vted Reads: We Contain Multitudes appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Take a moment to think about a learning experience that was meaningful to your students. How do you know that
The post Care and Feeding of the PLP appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
In late October, the middle school 7th and 8th grade team at Flood Brook School realized that the 2021 school
The post Do you need a radical reset? appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
The recent issue of the research journal Middle Grades Review was extraordinary for two reasons. First, it focused on the
The post A Vermont-centric look at personalized learning for social justice appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
What do you see when you look at this picture? (For real, I’m not being sarcastic, what do you see?)
The post Transferable Skill Deep Dive: Fostering communication appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Even in the best of times, October can be a tough month for teachers. And it’s hard to call covid
The post Building resilience (for all) through personal efficacy appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
What we can learn from Kingdom East School District’s summer camp? The 2020-2021 pandemic school year was uniquely challenging and
The post Lessons from summer camp appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
A student-led conference that brings together the student, teacher, and parent or guardian is a very powerful thing. It puts
The post Successful student-led conferences appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
“Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” That. Quote. Drives. Me. Nuts. I mean, duh! And of course! And who else
The post Student-centered personalized learning starts with identity appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
As we begin the year with students in our classrooms, it’s important to start with a focus on building the
The post Start the year with building the culture appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
The most wonderful time of the year It’s that time of the year again – the beginning of a new
The post Happy new (school) year! appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Hooray for summer! Sure, we usually say something along those lines this time of year, but this year? ONCE MORE
The post Summer Reading 2021 appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Like so many students this past year, the 7th and 8th students at Crossett Brook Middle School in Duxbury, Vermont,
The post How a PTO connected students with community during COVID appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Art for social change? How do you engage students in an exploration of the ways that art impacts social change?
The post Art for Action at Rutland Middle School appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Margaret Dunne, a fourth and fifth-grade educator at Mount Holly School in Mount Holly VT, originally presented “Exploring Identity with
The post Exploring Identity with 4th and 5th Graders appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
In a year of many firsts, both good and bad, the Learning Lab faced a lot of unique challenges. This
The post Learning Lab Lessons Learned appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Back on the show: it’s Bill Rich! But first: Lovely listeners, a few episodes ago, we turned fifty. Fifty! Can
The post #vted Reads: with Bill Rich appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
WHOOSH! Imagine rows of students using medieval replicas of catapults and trebuchets to hurl objects across an open field. An
The post Launching toward engagement: integrated units at Miller’s Run appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
How can a school community emerge from isolation to reflect on individual and collective experiences from this uniquely challenging and
The post Fostering a Sound Culture at Hazen: Youth Voices and the Sounding Board Project appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Listeners! Today I’m joined by Jaida and Emma, two marvelous students from Southern Vermont, and the three of us share
The post vted Reads picture books! appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
From the innovativeEd mailbag: a reader looks for ways to keep pathways of conversation open with their colleagues when it
The post From the innovativeEd mailbag: Flummoxed in Flannery appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Audio only Resources Slides from “Fostering Brave Spaces” Annotated Transcript Hello, my name is Grace Gilmour. I’m a seventh
The post On Fostering Brave Spaces appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
In the past few months, we’ve been meeting with groups of students from six Vermont schools, asking them about their
The post Voices Heard: learning from our students appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
When schools closed to in-person learning in March of 2020, UP for Learning’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) continued to meet
The post UP for (Changes to) Learning appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
On this episode… we have Ann Braden!!!! Ann is one of my favorite authors, and she’s also a former Vermont
The post #vted Reads: Flight of the Puffin appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Drew Kutcher, an art teacher in her first year teaching at Proctor High School has built Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and
The post SEL and mindfulness with the Learning Lab appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
St. Johnsbury School District is committed to building on their assets, seeking input from all stakeholders, and planning in phases
The post St. Johnsbury District’s reignite planning process appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Flood Brook School has been talking about a classroom library audit for A LONG TIME. Like, a real long time.
The post Flood Brook’s Classroom Library Audit appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
“Increasing Student Self-Direction” was a webinar presented by Rachel Mark as part of the 2020-2021 UVM Tarrant Institute Professional Learning
The post Increasing Student Self-Direction appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Middle school students are ever-changing, curious, socially and globally aware, and incredibly capable. Their energy and urge to explore can
The post The successful, sustainable middle school appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Chicago-based educator and twitter wunderkind Jess Lifshitz joins Jeanie on the podcast to talk about Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s seminal text
The post #vted Reads with Jess Lifshitz appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
At their heart, Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP) are about teaching the way students learn. It is an unfortunate truth
The post Culturally Responsive Instruction and Assessment appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
This year, for Teacher Appreciation Week 2021, we decided to do something different. We love and respect and miss and
The post Teachers, we appreciate you. appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
This week, something new for us: a letter from our mailbag. While we aim to help everyone on a regular
The post From the innovativeEd mailbag: Sustainably Yours appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Today on the podcast, Alex Shevrin Venet joins us to talk about her new book, Equity-Centered, Trauma-Informed Education. How does
The post #vted Reads: with Alex Shevrin Venet appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
If you want to know what an organization prioritizes, examine its budget. If you want to know what educators care
The post Culturally Responsive Curriculum by design appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Oh lovely listeners, we are all still here, and we are all noticing the change of the seasons. This year
The post #vted Reads: The Shape of Thunder appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Remote learning. Before COVID’s pandemic year, I did not even know that was a thing. It wasn’t, really. Now, I
The post What I Learned from my Pandemic Year of Learning appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Lindsay McQueen, a middle school science educator at Edmunds Middle School, in Burlington VT, originally presented “Challenging Simplified Notions About
The post Challenging Simplified Notions of Health Equity in the Middle Grades appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
“How to Facilitate Healthy & Respectful Conversations (Online & Off)” is an interactive online workshop for educators that we offered
The post How to Facilitate Healthy & Respectful Conversations appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Are you wear-your-mask-in-a-pandemic brave, listeners? Or get-vaccinated-when-needles-scare-you brave? On this episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Vermont author and
The post #vted Reads: Brave Like That appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Natalie Smith, a middle school science educator at Lyndon Town School, in Lyndonville VT, originally presented “Making Science Authentic: Teaching
The post Place-Based, De-Colonized Ecology in Middle School appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Signs of spring surround us: snow is melting, the days are lengthening, and the mud has returned. So it must
The post Personalized learning in the spring garden appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
We’re here to talk books for educators, by educators and with educators. Today I’m with Dr. Penny Bishop and we’ll
The post #vted Reads: The Successful Middle School appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
We asked three Vermont educators to share some of the most powerful lessons they’ve learned from teaching virtually during the
The post Lessons Learned from Vermont’s Virtual Academies appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Imagine a place where every person can be their authentic whole human selves. A culturally responsive learning environment is
The post The Culturally Responsive Learning Environment appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Playlists & Other Strategies for Supporting Independent Learners is an interactive online workshop for educators that we offered in December
The post Playlists & Other Strategies for Supporting Independent Learners appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Virtually every night around 8 pm, I hear two teenage boys shouting. They’re yelling commands and occasionally letting expletives fly.
The post The unexpected joys of screentime in a pandemic appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Right now the problems of the world can feel so very big. And we can feel small. We can
The post The Power of One Person appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
In January 2020, the Vermont state legislature proposed a resolution formally apologizing for the legislature’s role in passing a 1931
The post #vted Reads about Equity & Cultural Responsiveness in the Middle Grades appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Equity. In Vermont and beyond, educators and administrators are talking about equity. But what does equity look like in practice?
The post Culturally responsive practices for equity in the classroom appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Decolonizing Place-Based Education is an interactive online workshop for educators that we offered in February 2021. It is a collaborative
The post Decolonizing Place-Based Education appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Mornings at Mount Holly used to buzz with parents and kids in the cafeteria, in the hallways and in our
The post How a classroom newsletter gave my students a voice appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Are you there, #vted? It’s me, Jeanie. On this episode of the podcast, we’re re-joined by one of the very
The post #vted Reads: All-American Muslim Girl appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
We talk a lot, as professional development coordinators and as educators, about self-direction. We think a lot about ways to
The post Scaffolding success for self-directed learners appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Who’s Outside? How to Build An Anti-Racist Bookshelf is an interactive online workshop for educators we offered in January 2021.
The post How to Build An Anti-Racist Bookshelf appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Ways to move beyond “I’m fine” How are you? No, really. How are you? Right now, that’s a tough question
The post Authentic ways to check in on your advisees appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
Walking through what it looks like to take commercial curriculum and develop a vibrant, personalized integrated unit. One thing we
The post Developing integrated units from commercial curriculum appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.
This year, I am hearing that many teachers feel they aren’t practicing the kind of teaching they believe in as
The post Service learning (during a pandemic) appeared first on Innovative Education in VT.