The Epic Classroom with Trevor Muir: Recent Episodes
Trevor Muir
Ideas, stories, and inspiration for creating and leading a more memorable and transformational classroom, one that is epic.
Let's talk about creating a classroom climate that helps make students feel safe, secure, and ready to engage in this year.
This might be my favorite episode yet. I sat down with Dr. Sheri Steelman, a teacher of 50 years, published author, inspiring human, AND my mentor teacher during student-teaching. Sheri shares wisdom from her many years in the classroom and how she's adapted to the many changes in the world of education.
Sheri's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Shakespeares-Shoes-Connecting-Primary/dp/0814144527
http://www.shakespearedocuments.info
Asking questions is an essential skill. It's how we express our curiosity, solve problems, engage in public discourse, and gain deeper understanding of what we are learning. In this episode, I share some concrete ways to helps students generate deeper, more productive, and effective questions.
Get the Question Formulation Technique Poster FREE here: https://www.trevormuir.com/blog/question-formulation-technique
Educators are so often given new ideas and strategies to get better at what we do, but we don’t have space for them. There’s got to be room to grow, and sometimes that means making room by discarding practices that aren’t working like they use to, or never worked and you are finally realizing that.
What might come across as chaos might actually be a carefully planned and executed project, one that is fun on purpose. When learning is fun, it is likely engaging. And more engaging learning usually means deeper learning.
Our culture has a problem with boredom, and yet boredom is the birthplace of creativity. It's where the best ideas come from, solutions to problems, and the satisfaction of gritting through boredom to find the payoff. This is one of the reasons cell phones in classrooms might not be the best idea. In this podcast, I give my hot-take on why cell phone bans might be the best idea.
Has a student ever said something AWFUL to you and you took it personally?
Me too.
This is what we talk about in the latest episode of the podcast.
It's easier said than done to not take it personal when students say hurtful things. But what if it's not actually personal?
Let's talk about how to respond to a student when they are deliberately trying to get under your skin, and how we can approach our work despite not being loved by every student.
Because of all the disruption caused during the pandemic, many teachers have seen students struggle to socialize and interact with one-another. In this episode, we talk about concrete ways to get students talking, interacting, and socializing with each other again in the classroom.
There's a lot of noise about "what's happening in schools" right now. So let's talk about what's really happening in classrooms across the country.
No one likes being uncomfortable, yet brain science shows that the most growth happens outside of the comfort zone. When we are exposed to new scenarios, new challenges, and new adventures, our brains literally grow and we become more capable of solving problems and thriving in our work.
It's neuroplasticity, and it is fascinating.
In the latest episode of the podcast, we talk about how this applies to teaching and ways we can thrive outside of the comfort zone so we can help students do the same.
Whatever you are doing this week, whether it is laying on a beach or backyard, walking down sidewalks or school hallways, I hope you have a little time to listen to this episode and feel inspired to step out of your comfort zone in some way. As I talk about in the podcast, doing so is guaranteed to bring you life and growth.
For a lot of educators, this year has delivered a beating, and the passion for teaching is waning. Here are strategies to reignite your passion for teaching after an abnormally challenging year.
Remember at the beginning of the school year when there was this great hope that school would finally get back to normal? "Covid is over, things have settled, we can finally have the great year we've been waiting for!"
Most educators would agree that didn't happen.
So is there any point in holding out hope for a better year next year? Let's talk about it.
Are desks in rows a bad thing? Are rows outdated and therefore should have no place in the modern classroom?
Good question.
This is what explore as well as other aspects of classroom design to maximize learning and engage students.
There are many parts of teaching that can only be learned from experience, OR from those who are experienced.
Here's why it is so crucial new and young teachers learn best practices from veteran teachers.
Summer Break may be close, but it also feels a long way off. You may be running on empty right now as you search for inspiration and energy to make it through the rest of the school. So let's talk about some ways to find energy in your work as an educator and help students finish strong as well.
The bad news: As social media and cell phones become more prevalent, it seems strong discussion skills are become more scarce. The good news: People can learn how to discuss! Discussion skills can be re-strengthened and taught. This is why discussion should be one of the key pillars in the classroom. In this episode, we talk about ways to teach student how to discuss and share strategies to get them to speak up in class more.
The Spring can be one of the most difficult times of the year to be a teacher. The energy and excitement from the beginning of the school year may be waining, testing looms, behavior problems are high, and Summer Break is still a ways off. Many teachers hit the Spring Wall this time of year.
In this episode, we talk about concrete ways to make it past the Spring Wall and have a successful season in the classroom.
True personalized learning is often unconventional. One-size-fits-all doesn't work for every student, and so teachers sometimes have to adapt their practices to meet their needs, and this often means breaking the norm.
In this episode, we talk about the need to be unconventional to meet student-needs, what this can look like on teacher evaluations, and why my high school English teacher let me take a month off of school.
Of course I think parents can be overbearing sometimes. I’ve seen my fair share of helicopter and lawnmower parents, and have even seen an uptick in this behavior the last 10 years. However, I think dismissing them with a label misses out on a huge opportunity. The fact is, parents can be overbearing because they want what’s best for their kids and don’t always believe teachers share this same sentiment.
When parents can see that teachers have the best intentions for their kids, they can become allies like no one else.
According to a survey conducted by entrepreneur.com, lacking confidence is one of the key reasons young people get fired from their jobs. Not having the courage to make firm decisions and take concrete action leads to a lack of productivity.
Building confidence and assurance in oneself starts at a young age, and there is something every educator can do to help their students grow this vital characteristic. That's what we talk about in this week's episode.
trevormuir.com
There's a common proverb that says a teacher "Should not smile until Christmas." Essentially, if a teacher is too friendly or fun with their students, students will take advantage and walk all over them.
Is this true? Is it possible to have fun with your students but also have a well-managed and respectful classroom?
This is what we talk about in episode 6 of The Epic Classroom Podcast: how to set firm expectations, being consistent, and still finding joy with students.
trevormuir.com/speaking
Scripted or boxed curriculum might be convenient and maybe even safer sometimes, but it can restrain teacher creativity and limit student engagement. Not to mention, what message does it send to teachers that they cannot be trusted to have a say in what and how they teach?
However, it's also a reality for many educators, so let's talk about how to still be creative and work within the constraints of a scripted curriculum.
trevormuir.com/speaking
Ask anyone why they hate group projects and you'll likely hear the same response: either hogs or logs.
Hogs are those group members who take over the bulk of an assignment or project, not allowing other group members to participate. They hog the projects.
Logs are the opposite, one's who ride on coattails, doing nothing and yet reaping the benefits. They just sit there, still and stagnant, like logs.
Let's talk about how to teach students to hold each other accountable and actually thrive during classroom collaboration.
trevormuir.com/speaking
I once had a guest speaker share his success story with my class. A student afterwards asked where he went to college, and the speaker said he didn't go to college.
That student, who struggle academically up to that point, was inspired that there might actually be a career path for him.
My principal on the other-hand, was not happy that there was any kind of messaging in my class that was not college-focused.
But that student's fire was already lit, and he now had a concrete goal to aim for. This episode is about that, and the power of teaching students how to set goals and how having goals can inspire unbelievable effort in the classroom.
We also talk about what setting goals can do for us in our own lives as well.
trevormuir.com/speaking
A boring classroom does not inherently mean a disengaging one.
When I was a young teacher, I did everything in my power to NOT let my class be boring. Boredom was the enemy. But what if boredom does not mean lack of engagement? What if we could rethink what student engagement actually means?
What if boredom isn't the enemy?
trevormuir.com
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-gift-of-boredom
There's a common misconception (mostly from outside of education) that teachers are merely 'deliverers of content,' and even worse, 'babysitters.'
This episode takes those notions apart, and explores why teachers and all educators are actually creatives.
The work of a successful teacher takes immense creativity. Designing engaging work for students, having the ability to constantly improvise, overcoming obstacles and barriers, and crafting a space or setting for others to flourish are among the many daily tasks of a teacher.
In the first episode ever of The Epic Classroom podcast, we define the creativity of teachers and explore how to adopt that mindset in your work.
trevormuir.com