Podcast Archives - Page 17 of 27

Jun 02 2020

Making Anti-Racism a Priority (Lessons from My Former Principal)

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life 15 Comments

It was my sixth of teaching but everything felt new. I was in a new position (photojournalism) at a new school. So, when I heard the words, "we need talk," from my new principal, I panicked. "John, I think the morning announcements have been working…

May 18 2020

Seven Teacher-Tested Ways to Find Renewal During Distance Learning

By John Spencer Distance Learning, Podcast, Teacher Life 5 Comments

Last week, I created the following goofy video as a reminder about the differences between teaching in-person and teaching from home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adrezHg-Aj0&t=97s Subscribe to YouTube Channel While this video is a little goofy, it points to a reality that teaching from home is vastly different…

May 11 2020

Seven Reasons to Pilot Genius Hour Projects

By John Spencer Creativity, Empowering Students, Podcast, Student Choice 7 Comments

Genius Hour (or 20% Time) projects begin with a simple idea: give students a dedicated period of time to pursue their passions, interests, and questions in a creative way. In this blog post and podcast, we explore the benefits of doing Genius Hour projects. This…

May 06 2020

4 Ways to Craft Choice Menus in Distance Learning Classes

By John Spencer Creativity, Distance Learning, Empowering Students, Podcast 13 Comments

I have three kids ranging from older elementary to high school. Each one of them is handling distance learning differently. My daughter, who is also the youngest, initially felt overwhelmed at the list of assignments that popped up each Monday and the scheduled meetings twice…

Apr 28 2020

Empowering Students in Distance Learning Environments

By John Spencer Distance Learning, Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy 9 Comments

Student engagement can be a real challenge in this sudden shift toward distance learning. But one way to improve engagement is by empowering students. In this article, we explore how to improve equity and access and how to shift toward student ownership. Listen to the…

Apr 18 2020

5 Ways to Boost Attendance in Virtual Class Meetings

By John Spencer Distance Learning, Innovation, Podcast 34 Comments

I have a friend who is a phenomenal teacher. She has been making a positive impact on middle schoolers' lives for 20 years. I used to go into her classroom during my prep period and take detailed notes so I could refine my class. She…

Apr 14 2020

How to Make PBL a Reality in a Distance Learning Environment

By John Spencer Podcast, Project-Based Learning 5 Comments

If you think about your most powerful learning experiences, there's a good chance at least one of these experiences involved a project. This is where you learned how to research, how to ideate, how to work with others, how to engage in productive struggle, and…

Mar 30 2020

There’s No Single Right Way to Do Distance Learning

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast No Comments

The last week has proven to society something that we, in education, already know. Teachers care deeply about their students. I’ve seen so many examples of teachers making phone calls to families, having class Zoom meetings to just do a pulse check on each child,…

Mar 27 2020

Taking Distance Learning Away from the Screen

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 19 Comments

In education, we often use a metaphor of content delivery. We use terms like "deliver a lesson." We ask, "did the students get it?" But the last week and a half has proven that teachers are not merely content delivery machines. In my last post,…

Mar 23 2020

I’m Releasing a Free Audio Book for Middle Grade Students

By John Spencer Creativity, Literacy, Podcast 35 Comments

Before getting started, I just want to point out that teachers have been amazing over the last few weeks. I've watched entire districts mobilize to provide online and long-distance instruction while also providing a safe way for kids to get breakfast and lunch. Someone tweeted…