Podcast Archives - Page 24 of 26

Sep 25 2017

The Roadmap for Collaborative Projects

By John Spencer Creative Collaboration, Design Thinking, Podcast No Comments

Five Really Good Reasons Not to Do Collaborative Projects With Your Students “Group project.” Say those two words and you’ll instantly notice the face of sheer dread as a handful of students calculate just how much extra work they’ll need to do in order to…

Sep 16 2017

Collaborative Projects Can Work in Any Subject

By John Spencer Creative Collaboration, Creativity, Podcast, Project-Based Learning 10 Comments

If we say we want students to become critical thinking life-long learners, we need to provide projects that encourage them to engage in creative collaboration. But what does this look like in each subject area? How do turn this idea into a reality? We'll be…

Aug 26 2017

6 Student-Centered Projects for the First Week of School

By John Spencer Creativity, Empowering Students, Podcast 10 Comments

Don't Wait to Innovate! Teachers often begin the school year with team-building activities or a review of the rules and procedures. But what if we began with student-centered projects? The following is an exploration of six student-centered projects you can launch in your first month…

Jul 10 2017

Why Every Classroom Should Be a Makerspace

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed, Innovation, Makerspaces, Podcast 12 Comments

This is the first post in a week-long series on makerspaces. I once taught an eighth-grade student who had written four novels online, despite the fact that she had only been learning English for three years. She spent her free time in class looking up…

Jun 02 2017

The Five Biggest Fears that Kept Me from Empowering Students

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Podcast, Student Choice 4 Comments

Moving Toward Student Empowerment s I Wanted to Empower My Students But I Was Afraid Show Visuals I'd like to explore some of these fears a little more in-depth. Fear #1: Classroom Management Might Suffer I was terrified that students would turn their freedom…

May 27 2017

Fidget Spinners Aren’t the Issue (The Real Issue Is Student Ownership)

By John Spencer Empowering Students, Podcast, Student Choice 3 Comments

The debate about fidget spinners often misses the bigger issue of student ownership. When we focus on student distractions and student engagement, we miss out on student empowerment and student ownership. Listen to the Podcast Just click on the audio below to listen to this…

May 04 2017

Was Yoda a Good Teacher? (Happy Star Wars Day)

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life 4 Comments

Happy Star Wars Day! Here's a reflection about Yoda, teaching, and the deeply human element of being a teacher. Why Yoda Was a Bad Teacher A Fixed Mindset: Yoda took one look at Anakin Skywalker and determined that he had no future. He believed that…

Apr 24 2017

Be Wildly and Unabashedly Different (My Hope for My Cohort as They Graduate)

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life 2 Comments

My cohort graduates today. I feel so honored to be a part of their journey. So, here is my hope for them. My Cohort Is Graduating Last Wednesday, I sat at a table surrounded by members of my cohort. I listened to them share stories…

Mar 07 2017

You Don’t Have to Wait to Innovate

By John Spencer Innovation, Podcast 3 Comments

When I was a first-year teacher, my team leader Nancy gave me this heaping box of classroom supplies. On the top, she placed a notecard with the words New Teacher Card. On the back of the notecard, she wrote a note explaining that I could play this…

Feb 11 2017

We Need Librarians More Than Ever Before

By John Spencer Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy 7 Comments

It was about five years ago when a boy walked up to me and asked, "Hey Mr. Spencer, can you talk to the district and see if they'll open up the library over the summer?" "I don't think they can," I answered. "But the city…