Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to listen to interviews with educators who are on the forefront of innovative pedagogy, with your host Aviva Levin. Check out www.lesssonimpossible.com for podcast info and blog.
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: FamilyBookForm, a digital template for students to collect stories from their family or larger community. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Carey Furze of Sydney, Australia.
Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.
Sunday Aug 30, 2020
Sunday Aug 30, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: the Social Studies Network, a community of over 11,000 teachers who are sharing their lessons and supporting each other. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Agent Gabriel Valdez, from Fort Worth, Texas.
Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.
Sunday Aug 23, 2020
Sunday Aug 23, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to make your (virtual or in-person) classroom a safe space for students as you embrace the principles of trauma-informed teaching. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Emily Santiago from the Center for Cognitive Diversity.
Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.
Sunday Aug 16, 2020
Sunday Aug 16, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to engage and empower your students by going ‘gradeless’. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is sixth grade English and Social Studies teacher, Katelynn Giordano of Illinois.
Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.
Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to reflect on all the wisdom shared in Lesson: Impossible’s second season. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is your host, and mission coordinator, Aviva Levin.
A transcript for this episode can be found here.
As many school years come to an end, so does Lesson: Impossible’s second season. I will be taking a break in July, and will be back in August with some episodes I’m really excited about, such as home-schooling partnerships, gradeless assessment, and trauma-informed teaching.
However, for our last episodes I wanted to reflect on some of the wisdom my special agents/guests have shared, and pull a quote from each interview that really impacted me, and hopefully you as well. This is Part II of a two-part set of bonus episodes.
Some updates for the summer from the guests of Part II:
- Agent Lauren Porosoff: Lauren’s book, “Teach Meaningful: Tools to Design the Curriculum at Your Core”, was delayed because of the pandemic and instead was released on June 30. Also, she’s now part of a team called Re-Set School which is helping school communities tell the stories of their struggles and achievements, and bear witness to one another’s losses and gains, as a way of reaffirming the values that make them a community.
- Agent Shannon Anderson: Both of her growth mindset books are releasing in August: “Mindset Power: A Kid’s Guide to Growing Better Every Day” and “Y is for Yet: A Growth Mindset Alphabet”
- Agent Marie Kueny: Marie is doing a ‘summer enrichment’ series on her podcast ‘The Compassionate Educators Show’. I was honored to be the first guest in this series, talking about how to engage and motivate your students, regardless of academic or language abilities, in an incredibly fun way, through improv!
If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to reflect on all the wisdom shared in Lesson: Impossible’s second season. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is your host, and mission coordinator, Aviva Levin.
As many school years come to an end, so does Lesson: Impossible’s second season. I will be taking a break in July, and will be back in August with some episodes I’m really excited about, such as home-schooling partnerships, gradeless assessment, and trauma-informed teaching.
However, for our last episodes I wanted to reflect on some of the wisdom my special agents/guests have shared, and pull a quote from each interview that really impacted me, and hopefully you as well. This is Part I of a two-part series of bonus episodes.
Some updates for the summer from the guests of Part I:
- Agent LaTezeon Humphrey Balentine: Her book, Fur Friends Forever, came out April 24th. She’s also currently gathering pantry items for 50 elders at her grandma’s church, which you can help with here.
- Agent Rita Wirtz: Rita is continuing her advocacy. Her latest blog post is “Challenging Times, Extraordinary Opportunities!”
- Agent Rebecca Blouwolff: Rebecca is leading some PD this summer: MaFLA Collaborative Classroom on target language use Week of July 13 (members only, register here), ACTFL Summer Learning Series on authentic resources with Leslie Grahn Week of July 6 (register here), and a live "spark talk" and a session at National Foreign Language Center's virtual summit July 21-23 (free, sign up here)
- Agent Kate Ames: Kate was featured on an Australasian series on online teaching. So if you want some more tips from her, check it out here.
If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sunday Jun 21, 2020
Sunday Jun 21, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: #clearthelist, a global movement to help teachers buy supplies for their classrooms. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Courtney Jones, from Denver, Colorado.
In this episode we discuss:
- The origin of the #clearthelist and #supportateacher movement and now the Clear The List Foundation
- Why the movement is open to all teachers, regardless of their student population
- How ClearTheList also involves empowering teachers to advocate for funding for resources and raising awareness of the financial burden that teachers take on
- Piloting school stores for community members to donate to their locals schools
- How much teachers actually spend, and questioning the status quo
- How teachers can join the ClearTheList movement
- How any listeners can help ClearTheList by donating
Links:
- The Clear The List Foundation website
- ClearTheList School Stores and Wish Lists
- ClearTheList how-to guides and videos
- ClearTheList’s Twitter
If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Wednesday Jun 17, 2020
Wednesday Jun 17, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Hands-On Entrepreneurship for Kids, which provides guidance for students who want to turn their big ideas into businesses. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Patricia Clahar, from Greenwich, Connecticut.
In this episode Patricia and I discuss:
- Patricia’s path to starting Hands-On Entrepreneurship for Kids
- The benefits of students engaging in the process of starting a business, from practical skills, to SEL skills, to adding more dimensions to the teacher-student relationship
- One of her favorite recent projects: Books in Color*
- The various ways that students, teachers, and schools can work with Patricia
- How young entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks
- The various ways young people raise money to fund their businesses, including the Idea Tank for Kids competition
- How to get in contact with Patricia: her website, Instagram, Facebook
*If you’re interested in getting involved in this book club, please contact Patricia
If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sunday Jun 14, 2020
Sunday Jun 14, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore how to increase engagement, lessen anxiety, and create real-world connections by teaching math through a Conceptual Based Instructional Model. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is JoAnna Castellano of New Brunswick, New Jersey.
A transcript is available for this episode.
In this episode we discuss:
- JoAnna’s path to teaching
- Her pedagogical perspective: student agency, productive struggle, teacher as facilitator, providing real-world context
- An example question using the Pythagorean theorem with Benjamin Watson’s tackle saving touchdown
- How to differentiate in the conceptual model
- Walking through a lesson from idea to assessment: ratio and proportions using Mayan ruins
- Her biggest success: lessening math anxiety; her biggest struggle: getting teachers to buy in initially
- How she has transferred this model online for distance learning
- Who to check out for math teaching inspiration
- JoAnna’s ideal curriculum: expanding on her work with NBPS’ Summer Bridge Program
- The value of movement and interaction (ex. Sara Vanderwerf’s ‘stand and talks’)
Links to check out:
- Article co-written by JoAnna: “Agency and voice: a push for greater equity and what it looks like in math”
- Dan Meyer (Twitter: @ddmeyer)
- Jo Boaler (Twitter: @joboaler)
- Graham Fletcher (Twitter: @gfletchy)
- Robert Kaplinsky (Twitter: @robertkaplinsky)
- Sara Vanderwerf (Twitter: @saravdwerf)
- Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburg
- Activities for students with math anxiety (no answer is incorrect if can be justified/explained): Which One Doesn’t Belong?
If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sunday Jun 07, 2020
Sunday Jun 07, 2020
Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to be compassionate to yourself as you develop strategies for mental wellness. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is counselor, coach and podcaster Marie Kueny of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
A transcript is available for this episode
In this episode we discuss letting go of the perfectionist mindset, how we can Teach and Go Home, the Helper’s Risk Trifecta, the counselor’s role in supporting teachers, how to set up your teaching career for mental wellness, and having an identity outside the role of teacher.
Links:
If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.