Episodes

  • Transition and connection

    Transition and connection
    Jun 5 2024
    Use the summer to prepare kids to comfortably start the year together. Offering some short, easy connection opportunities, like popsicles in the park, is good for teachers, parents, and students.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Things in Moderation

    Things in Moderation
    Jun 4 2024
    Trying to make big changes all at once can result in undesirable outcomes. Making changes, personally or professionally, can be a slow and steady process. Whether talking about personal fitness, redesigning your classroom, or getting kids to participate in silent sustained reading for 25 minutes, moderation and slow build will get you there.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Nervous system reset

    Nervous system reset
    May 30 2024
    The vagus nerve connects the brain to all bodily organs and is therefor affected by almost every internal and external stimulus. In this episode, Colleen and Jill discuss the importance of knowing some basics of neuroscience to help kids with self regulation and stimuli that affect classroom performance and behavior.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Life on display

    Life on display
    May 29 2024
    Seeing and hearing an unborn baby impacts pro-life beliefs and advocacy. Jill shares a story about an elementary school having live ultrasounds for the student body to experience life in the womb.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Using interviews as a learning tool

    Using interviews as a learning tool
    May 28 2024
    Interviews can be used as a flexible teaching, learning, and assessment tool in many classes and at any grade level. This episode highlights ways to integrate interviews to create perspective, teach critical thinking, and more.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Coding Student Work

    Coding Student Work
    May 23 2024
    The methods of qualitative research apply to grading papers, too. When grading a stack of papers, how do you categorize them by what you notice? Using codes to create different learning paths based on how students responded to particular quiz questions will help to improve your instruction for the next year. Connections to standardized test data is also discussed.
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    12 mins
  • Teaching Writing in Lower Grades

    Teaching Writing in Lower Grades
    May 22 2024
    Learning to write is a long process with milestones at each grade level. In this episode Colleen and Jill discuss the fundamentals of learning to write in the lower grades using graphic organizers and having realistic expectations for idea development and grammatical and structural skills.
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    13 mins
  • AP vs. Dual Credit

    AP vs. Dual Credit
    May 21 2024
    Which is better, Advanced Placement or Dual Credit? This episode debates the merit of offering these types of courses in high schools.
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    12 mins