Lesson: Impossible - An Exploration of Educational Innovation (Aviva Levin)

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider becoming an educational podcaster🧑🏽‍🏫💬. The special agents🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️  assigned to help you with this task are co-hosts Mealey and Tudisco of the Unprofessional Development Podcast.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Their origin story and how podcasting has enriched their teaching

2️⃣ Their division of labor and co-hosting dynamic

3️⃣ Their only rule: don’t get fired

… as well as Tudisco and Mealey going on many hilarious tangents

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to face unexpected challenges with a positive mindset, transparency, and humor. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Merlyna Valentine of Louisiana.

In our conversation, Merlyna discusses:

1️⃣ Leading by building relationships, being transparent, exuding positive energy, and using humor

2️⃣ Being willing to talk about the elephant in the room, whether it is trauma, illness, physical limitations, or teacher burn-out

3️⃣ “Dancing back in” to new opportunities and never looking back!

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate computational thinking into all content areas. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Jorge Valenzuela, of Lifelong Learning Defined, in Virginia.

In this episode we discuss:

• Jorge’s path to becoming a teacher
• Four elements of computational thinking: decomposition, abstraction, pattern recognition, algorithm design
• Work shopping how I could apply computational thinking to French
• Jorge’s perspective on including STEM into all subjects
• His favorite unit or lesson
• How Jorge’s personal pedagogical philosophy has evolved over time
• Why he thinks PBL is the best PD teachers can do
• Jorge’s success in improving his writing and his advice on how to do the same: write about something you’re good at, find a mentor, put in the time
• His struggle with emotional intelligence
• How STEM is becoming more inclusive for students
• Jorge’s hatred of buzzwords
• His ideal school system

Find out more about Jorge:

• Jorge's bio
• Jorge's Blog
• Jorge’s Twitter
• Jorge’s Instagram
• Jorge’s Facebook

Resources mentioned:

• Jorge’s book Rev Up Robotics (You can read the chapter on Computational Thinking for free)
• International Society for Technology Education
• PBL Works
• Park Based Learning with James Fester
• Jorge’s inspiration: Andrew Miller
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradbury and Jean Greaves
• Christine Primomo on the gender divide in STEM
• The Every Student Succeeds Act

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.

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to critically examine how language textbooks perpetuate colonialism. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Julia Spiegelman, a PhD Candidate at UMass Boston.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ How language textbooks position students as traveling consumers

2️⃣ Confronting linguistic prescriptivism and the idea of the textbook as the objective truth

3️⃣ Using the textbook to subvert the colonial narrative

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to examine how your various personal identities intersect and influence how you interact with students and colleagues. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Kwame Sarfo-Mensah, owner and founder of Identity Talk Consulting.

Kwame Safro-Mensah has over 14 years of experience in the classroom, teaching middle school math and science in Philadelphia, and then Boston, public schools. In addition to this, he has written two books and various articles, offers tutoring for students and online classes for first year teachers, and has his own internet talk show, “Identity Talk 4 Educators LIVE”, where he interviews guests about their personal stories and the specific elements that shape who they are as educators. Kwame was also named the 2019 Member of the Year by Black Educators Rock, Inc. and the 2019 Massachusetts Celebrity Educator of the Year!  I talked to Kwame in early April, a little over a week after he and his family had come back to Boston, after spending a year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where his wife was working as a director for the Peace Corp. Kwame is obviously an incredibly busy person, however his family was in quarantine after returning to the States, which was unfortunate for them, but a great opportunity for the podcast, and I was able to speak to him over Zencastr.

Links:

• Kwame’s website
• His books:
  • From "Inaction" to "In Action": Creating a New Normal for Urban Educators
  • Shaping the Teacher Identity: 8 Lessons That Will Help Define the Teacher in You
• Articles:
  • “Bringing a Culturally Responsive Lens to Math Class”
  • “3 Fun Activities for Strengthening Numeracy Skills”

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.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to work with colleagues👩🏼‍🏫🧑🏽‍🏫  from different subject areas👩🏾‍🔬👨🏼‍🎨 to create interdisciplinary units 🔢📝🔬  for students. The special agent🕵️‍♂️  assigned to help you with this task is Steve Capone of Utah.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣  How Steve and his team create, plan, implement, teach, and then assess cross-curricular units

2️⃣  The importance of maintaining relationships when collaborating in a multi-disciplinary team

3️⃣  The ways that freeing himself from traditional educational structures have improved his practice

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to create positive relationships with students and families in a kindergarten class for English Language Learners. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Mandy Yom of Skokie, Illinois.

In this episode we discuss:

• A game to put yourself in the shoes of an English Language Learner (ELL)
• How a sheltered ELL kindergarten program works
• How students are selected into the program in Illinois
• Mandy’s path to teaching
• Building relationships with ELL families
• Learning the value of boundaries
• Striving to find ways to include data-driven feedback into her practice
• Needing to adapt the kindergarten curriculum for ELLs
• The various challenges of distance learning
• Non-traditional ways of communicating with families
• Her ideal school: getting families truly involved

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to help students enjoy writing as they discover how to improve their written work. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Shannon Anderson of Rensselaer, Indiana.

A transcript is available for this episode.

I’ve really enjoyed the last few weeks of episodes that were looking at some resources and grappling with some big philosophical questions about teaching: what is my teacher identity? How can I infuse meaning into my curriculum? Is there a way to prevent teacher burnout? However, today’s episode has us focusing again on something very concrete, but incredibly important: how can I teach writing? As I, and you, my wonderful listeners, will soon discover, it’s easily done at any grade, if you have the right mindset and strategies. Fortunately Shannon Anderson was willing to share some of her writing wisdom when we spoke at the end of April over zencastr.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why training students to become good writers is like training for a marathon.
• An example lesson for introducing narrative writing
• The biggest mistakes teachers make when teaching writing
• Four tips she gives students to become better writers
• Publishing student work and Budsies

 Links:

• Shannon’s Twitter
• Shannon’s Facebook
• Shannon’s YouTube
• Shannon’s LinkedIn
• Shannon’s Pintrest
• Shannon’s Instagram
• Shannon’s Website

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to cultivate relationships, collegial collaboration, and a positive school culture in your role as school administrator.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Anthony Tyrkala, principal of ACES in Adventura, Florida

In our conversation, Anthony discusses:

1️⃣ How he defines his job as an administrator, building relationships with students and staff, the move from teaching to school leadership

2️⃣ Trying to stay positive, creating open communication and collaboration, dealing with behavioral issues

3️⃣ How the Army has shaped his perspective, advice for those considering a career change to administration, honoring a life-work balance

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to resources mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to join the global #ObserveMe movement by requesting constructive feedback from your colleagues. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Robert Kaplinsky

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ The origins of the #ObserveMe movement

2️⃣ Why we need to rethink how we ask for feedback and why it matters

3️⃣ The role of the observer

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to examine how science curriculum for female-identifying students can go beyond clichéd ideas in order to facilitate an informed exploration of their world. The Special Agent assigned to help you with this task is Christine Primomo from Lake Washington Girls’ Middle School in Seattle, Washington.

 Episode links:

• For more about the Lake Washington Girls’ Middle School: http://www.lwgms.org
• For more about Islandwood on Bainbridge: https://islandwood.org/school-overnight-program/
• For more about the IBM Hack a Hair Dryer Campaign: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35027902
• For the teaching guide for “Salmon vs. Dams:
The Dam Removal Debate on the Elwha River”: https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/indianed/tribalsovereignty/elementary/uselementary/uselementary-unit3/unit3materials/lesson7/americanfieldguide.pdf 
• For more on how women are othered in science research and elsewhere: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
• For more on Henrietta Lacks, including teaching resources: http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/ 
• For more on the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: https://www.history.com/news/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study 
• For more on teacher self-care: Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar
• For more on Christine’s frequent collaborator, and former Lesson: Impossible guest, Lewis Mayday-Travis: https://www.lessonimpossible.com/#/episodesix/ 

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to create powerful and sustainable professional development for your colleagues. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Joyce Matthews.

In our conversation, Joyce discusses:

1️⃣ The differences between andragogy (teaching adults) and pedagogy (teaching children)

2️⃣ Why good professional development needs to be self-sustaining

3️⃣ How facilitation allows learners to find their own pathways to their professional development goals by focusing on skills and feedback

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to use Trust-Based Observations to create relationships with teachers, celebrate their strengths, and encourage innovation. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is author and administrator Craig Randall.

In our conversation, Craig discusses:

1️⃣ How current evaluation models aren’t working and the evolution of the trust-based model to what it is today

2️⃣ Creating authentic, teacher-centered observations that build trust and celebrate strengths

3️⃣ Encouraging risk-taking, collaboration, empathy and a growth-mindset through observation and reflection

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

Your lesson, should you chose to accept it, is to use social media to create connections with, and educate, your teaching colleagues. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Andre Daughty, educational speaker and content creator, of Oklahoma City, OK

Andre Daughty has one of the most prolific online presences of any educator that I’ve seen: he’s on Twitter, Intagram, Facebook, has his own blog, multiple YouTube series, as well as an online office! Of course, he manages this all while facilitating workshops for schools and organizations. I wanted to talk to him about what being an educator that shares his life online is like, and give some perspective for others who may be considering doing something similar.  

In this episode, we discuss:

• Andre’s path to teaching, that started verrrrrrry early
• Why Andre wants kids to have their first Black, male, teacher in elementary school
• Why using his own kids in his workshops makes them powerful
• How teaching is 90% performing, 10% planning
• Bringing laughter into the lives of teachers (“Laugh a Lil”)
• How we can build community digitally without ever meeting a friend in person
• Why he prefers video communications to blogging
• Using movies to bring forth teachable moments (“Reel Moments”)
• Finding the lessons in life that help inform his teaching (“Chew on This”)
• Why he’s willing to share his life online
• Combatting racism in education
• Tips for starting a YouTube account
• Getting positive and negative feedback from his audience
• His willingness to engage in difficult conversations
• Why he doesn’t block anyone on his Facebook page
• The many ways to engage with Andre online

How to connect with Andre:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAndreDaughty/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andredaughty/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/andredaughty
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ardaughty/videos
• Website/blog: https://andredaughty.org/

NOTE: Lesson: Impossible listeners: I want to thank you all so much for your ratings and reviews on iTunes, as it helps others find the podcast, as well as those who contact me with suggestions for guest special agents! Due to the responses I’m getting, and the fact that my schedule is a lot freer under Washington’s stay at home order, I’m going to try to release Lesson:Impossible episodes more often, so that is why you’re getting this episode on a Wednesday instead of the usual Sunday.

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher who would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to examine the factors contributing to, and find strategies that teachers, administrators and districts can use to prevent, teacher attrition.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Jaime Bonato of Sacramento, California.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ The main factors that are leading to teachers leaving the profession (it’s not the money!)

2️⃣ How the traditional school system is set up so that the beginning years of teaching are often the most difficult

3️⃣ Strategies that districts, teacher prep programs, administrators, mentors, and colleagues can use to reduce the attrition rate

Click here for details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to lead through a global pandemic by adapting your routines, supporting your staff, and focusing on self-care.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Charles Williams, Principal of Plato Learning Academy in Chicago and host of the Counter Narrative Podcast.

In our conversation, Charles discusses:

1️⃣ Parent perspectives on the pandemic and how Covid has changed how he does his job

2️⃣ Extending grace to students, teachers, and himself during this time

3️⃣ His S.M.A.R.T. approach to leadership

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Video Journalism Pro, an online mentoring program that allows students to develop, produce and distribute their own stories.  The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Clement Townsend, founder of Broadcasting Career Mentor.

In our conversation, Clement discusses:

1️⃣ Building a media program, and school brand, with technology students already have access to

2️⃣ The impact of having an expert with professional experience share his perspective and strategies

3️⃣ Learning important skills: speaking, writing, creativity, media literacy, research

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and information about the podcast.

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.

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to teach students how to use a foreign language using authentic resources and relevant units, with the goal of making proficient speakers. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Rebecca Blouwolff of Wellesley Middle School in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Rebecca and I share a similar background: we both started our careers intending to teach Social Studies, and we both found ourselves teaching French instead! To make a long story short: in my second year of teaching I was given a contract that included teaching French because I was the most qualified of the unqualified, and then I fell in love with it. (If you’re interested in the much longer version of this story, I spoke about my journey to becoming a language teacher on Kris Broholm’s Actual Fluency podcast.) Along with going back to school to become qualified for real, I was able to become better by finding role models online who represented the kind of language teacher that I aspired to be, and Rebecca Blouwolff is definitely one of them. And I’m not the only one who thinks she is amazing; the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (or ACTFL) named her the 2020 National Language Teacher of the Year!

In this episode we discuss:

• Rebecca’s transformation to a proficiency based teaching model
• Why she chooses to use authentic resources
• How she’s still learning how to let go of accuracy in favor of proficiency
• How to help parents understand new ways of language learning
• Her favourite unit: “Un Meilleur moi” (“A Better me”)
• Why she’s so generous with her resources
• Her experience (so far) with distance learning
• What she looks forward to for when she’s back in the classroom
• Advice for beginning teachers
• Areas she’d like to improve in
• Rebecca’s inspirations: Lisa Shepard, Amy Lenord, Natalia DeLatt, Creative Language Class, We Teach Languages, ACTFL books, Paul Sandrock, Leslie Grahn
• How listeners can contact Rebecca through Twitter or her Blog 

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher who would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to find strategies, resources and school models that support gifted learners. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Megan Schutt, of Blaine Middle School, in Blaine, Washington.

According to the National Association for Gifted Children, the definition for giftedness is “Students with gifts and talents who perform - or have the capability to perform - at higher levels compared to others of the same age, experience, and environment in one or more domains.” Whereas many see giftedness as truly a gift, one of my education professors once described being gifted as being “cursed with an adult brain in a child’s body”. While I can see both the benefits and the challenges for gifted individuals, the more I learn about giftedness, the more I see the many roadblocks to success embedded in a traditional school system. Fortunately there are educators like Megan Schutt who are searching out ways to best support their gifted students. 

We discussed:

• Why she feels like a Jedi teaching online
• How she has taught all core Middle School subjects
• Why the struggle of teaching online has given her insights on how students feel working on collaborative projects
• How she was stymied by gifted students at the beginning of her career
• How Sir Ken Robinson inspired her through his TED talk
• How having her own children gave Megan her first tool to help gifted students: engaging authentically
• How the WAETAG (Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted) conference blew her mind
• Her five favorite resources:
  • SENGifted (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted)
  • Inquiry Partners
  • Kimberly Mitchell’s “Experience Inquiry”
  • PBLworks (Project Based Learning Works)
  • Gifted Guru (Lisa Van Gemert)
• Why gifted kids are not the stereotypical ‘high flyers’
• Why it’s beneficial for both students and teachers to use the cluster model
• Why the school system has an obligation to educate and challenge all students, including gifted students
• Her favorite Science unit: using hyperdocs
• Her favorite Social Studies unit: project based learning in the community (inspired by Ted Dintersmith’s “What Schools Could Be”)
• Why all students should have access to the same opportunities that are given to gifted students

For more on what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com.  If you have suggestions for a teacher who would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to welcome students with limited or interrupted formal education (aka. SLIFE) into your classroom. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Orly Klapholz, co-founder of “Inlier Learning” from Hollywood, Florida.

According to the UN, by the end of 2021 as many as half a million people will likely flee Afghanistan. After time spent in refugee camps, many families will resettle in North America and Europe, and I think it’s worth asking ourselves an important question:  would our schools, and would we, as teachers or administrators, be ready to provide Afghan students, or any other population with limited or interrupted schooling, with the best education possible?

In our conversation Orly and I discuss:

1️⃣ Defining SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) and the need for more data

2️⃣ SLIFE social, emotional, cultural, linguistic, and academic needs as well as the systematic issues that lead to a high drop-out rate

3️⃣ Providing age-appropriate appropriate and trauma informed resources

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to critically examine what we are expecting of teachers, students, administrators and parents as schools are being shut down around the world. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Rita Wirtz of Eugene, Oregon.

Rita Wirtz is the educational equivalent of Madeline Albright or Henry Kissinger: she’s seen it all, done it all, and weathered all the buzzwords and initiatives that have come and gone. I was honoured when she responded to an interview request made prior to COVID19, saying that she had an urgent message for teachers and administrators during this unprecedented time and it needed to be heard sooner rather than later. What follows is not a usual Lesson: Impossible episode, but an impassioned plea to do right by teachers and students in this trying time.

Find out more about Rita:

• Twitter: @RitaWirtz
• FB: Rita’s Facebook
• Website: RitaWirtz.com
• Instagram: @ritamwirtz
• Books: Stories From a Teacher’s Heart, Reading Champs  
• BAM blog:  https://www.bamradionetwork.com/user/ritawirtz/  
• Specific blog post referenced in the episode: https://www.bamradionetwork.com/moments-reflections-leaving-footprints-on-your-reading-hearts/ 

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher that would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to help your students, and fellow teachers, use technology in a mindful and transformative way in the classroom. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Hedreich Nichols, middle school technology teacher in Arlington, Texas.

In this episode we discuss:

• Being a teacher lead and mentoring other teachers around technology
• Why she wants to help teachers find and vet apps
• What to say to those who reject technology in classes
• Her favorite unit: students using social media to effect real world change
• Teaching students about building personal brands
• Educating other teachers about diversity
• Being "crotchety" (modeling good and bad moods; making family time explicit to students)
• Her dream school: multi-grade project-based learning focusing on interests and strengths

How to find Hedreich online:

• Website: https://hedreich.com/
• Twitter: @Hedreich and @MsNicholsTech
• Instagram: @HedreichNichols
• TikTok (NEW!):  @MsNicholsTech
• And for fun, check out her amazing voice on Spotify.
• You can also listen to her being interviewed on the 'Cult of Pedagogy' Podcast, where she discusses nine ways to create a more inclusive classroom

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher who would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to engage and motivate your students through improv.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is French and Social Studies teacher, as well as podcast mission coordinator, Aviva Levin.

This interview was originally recorded for The Compassionate Educators Show. This week Marie, host of Compassionate Educators, is doing something similar, as she’s airing Aviva’s interview of her as one of her own episodes.

In this episode, Marie and Aviva discuss:

1️⃣ Aviva’s journey to finding improv and creating a place for it in her French and Social Studies classes

2️⃣ How improv allows students to engage with the subject matter, self-differentiate, be their own representative resources, and practice a growth mindset

3️⃣ Being willing to hand over control to students’ imaginations

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your bonus lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider whether a problematic book still deserves space in a school library, and whether the same rules apply in the classroom. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Rebeca Rubio, coordinator for libraries and information services in the Richmond School District.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars in 2020 for Canadian Freedom to Read Week (www.freedomtoread.ca) from February 23 – 29 or the American Banned Books Week (https://bannedbooksweek.org) September 27 - October 3.

Mentioned in the episode was the Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium (ERAC) that provides guidance to teachers as a new, incorporated not-for profit society called Focused Education Resources, and can be found at https://bcerac.ca

I personally recommend this article when considering beloved books that, as the author tactfully puts it, “haven’t aged well”: www.tor.com/2018/08/27/problematic-classics-four-questions-to-ask-when-beloved-books-havent-aged-well/ 

You can follow Rebeca on Twitter @rebecarubi0 and check out our longer conversation about the changing role of the school librarian; how to thoughtfully purchase and integrate technology; why libraries are, at their core, democratic spaces; why ‘weeding’ a collection is a good thing; how to integrate Indigenous content in authentic ways; and why the future of libraries are ‘learning commons’ at https://lessonimpossible.podbean.com/e/agent-rebeca-rubio-school-libraries/ or on your preferred podcasting platform.

Often, the relationship between teachers and school leaders is framed as adversarial. However, your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to build strong🦾 relationships between administrators🧑🏾‍💻👨‍💻 and teachers👩🏼‍🏫🧑🏽‍🏫through empathy🧘🏽‍♂️, transparency🧊 and vulnerability👀.  The special agent🕵🏽‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is high school teacher Lorraine Connell.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ Why mistakes need to be celebrated

2️⃣ The value of empathy, transparency, and vulnerability

3️⃣ Understanding expectations and modeling self-care

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to resources mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to support neurodiverse learners👦🏽👩🏾‍🦱👱🏼‍♀️ by better understanding how their brains work 🧠. The special agent🕵️‍♂️ assigned to help you with this task is Michael Weingarth of Connecticut.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Why we need to assume all learners have undiagnosed learning differences and how our brains work when processing new information

2️⃣ The systematic issues that create a fundamentally flawed educational infrastructure for neurodiverse learners

3️⃣ What we need to be doing to help students succeed on the micro and macro level

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Please consider rating or reviewing Lesson: Impossible on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or your preferred podcast platform.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to connect Second Language Acquisition theories with practical classroom applications. The special agents assigned to help you with this task are Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins, authors of "Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom".

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Some SLA theories that refuse to die

2️⃣ Their favorite activities to use

3️⃣ The importance of both content and purpose

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s language teaching blog.

If you liked this episode you might want to check out:

• Ep. 18: Agent Rebecca Blouwolff (Teaching Language Authentically)
• Ep. 27: Agent Laurent Porosoff (Meaningful Curriculum)
• Ep. 72: Agent Julia Spiegelman (Challenging Language Textbooks)

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to empower students through civics education, specifically programs like the Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Amber Coleman-Mortley of Washington, D.C.

NOTE: Applications to become an Equity in Civics Youth Fellow are due on September 20 for the 2020-21 cohort

Click here for a detailed description of our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to create observant👀 critical thinkers🧠and creative film-makers🎥 through a film studies🎬 program.  The special agent🕵️‍♂️ assigned to help you with this task is Shane Lawrence of Edmonton, Alberta.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ How students grow as critical viewers and thinkers over five years of film studies

2️⃣ Choosing the right films to show (and some horror stories of what happens when you don’t!)

3️⃣ Equipping (literally and figuratively) students to make their own films

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to films mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to personalize your professional development to the unique needs of your teaching practice. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Agent Darcy Bakkegard.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Teachers taking agency over their own professional development

2️⃣ Using the design process as a model for innovating your practice

3️⃣ Removing the barriers and hypocrisy of traditional PD

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to ditch the red pen and begin ‘ungrading’. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Jessica Zeller, a professor of dance.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ What ungrading looks like in her dance history and dance methodology classrooms

2️⃣ How ungrading creates an environment for engaged, risk-taking, and honest students

3️⃣ Getting students to do the thinking instead of teachers doing the thinking for them

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about Jessica and/or the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore the diversity of engaging online learning experiences. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Professor Kate Ames, director of learning design and education, at CQUniversity Australia in Brisbane.

When I first started reading Kate Ames’ blog, and contacted her about a possible interview, distance education was a fairly niche topic. Since then, as the world has been attempting to slow the tide of COVID19, this has become a more pressing issue. My hope is that listeners who are currently facing the reality of distance and online education being thrust upon them will feel more confident as they move forward, and that those who are listening in the future where everything has hopefully gone back to normal can be equally intrigued by Kate Ames’ thoughtful practice. 

In this episode Kate Ames discusses how:

• being a life-long student informs her teaching practice
• distance teaching means being a facilitator and curator of resources
• to get away from the in-class mindset
• to reimagine learning time when students aren’t in class
• not to overwhelm students
• student-centered learning engages reluctant learners
• teachers can deal with criticism in student forums
• online learning promotes diversity
• to monitor and get energy from your class
• to keep expectations clear for students and teachers
• connecting with students is not only possible, but enriching 

Links:

• Kate's blog: https://onlineedreflections.wordpress.com/
• Kate's twitter: https://twitter.com/Kate_Ames
• Kate's research: http://cqu.academia.edu/KateAmes
• Kate's book on time management: “Time Management for Academic Impact: Controlling Teaching Treadmills and Tornadoes”

Thank you to everyone who has rated and reviewed Lesson: Impossible on iTunes! The podcast made it onto the US charts for the first time, which means more people have the possibility of discovering it and being inspired by my amazing guests. So if you were one of those who rated and reviewed, thank you very much, and if you haven’t already, please consider doing so!

A quick note: I had some technical difficulties at the beginning with our voices, but it soon smooths out to normal.

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher that would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your mini-lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Gimkit, a game show for the classroom. The resource specialists assigned to help you with this task are Josh Feinsilber and Jeff Osborn.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣  The origins of Gimkit: Josh’s high school project!

2️⃣  The ways Gimkit Live differentiates itself from Kahoot or Quizlet 

3️⃣  How cooperative modes, less time stress, and repetition make for impactful learning

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to examine what your students need, whether it be representative books, positive attention or hygiene products, and try to find ways to meet those needs. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is LaTezeon Humphrey Balentine of Natchez, Mississippi.

LaTezeon is an incredibly inspiring teacher with one of the most open and giving hearts. I found her on Twitter where she always has motivating words, and many many books to give away to teachers and students. LaTezeon recently left classroom teaching to be an educational consultant at Education Galaxy, which provides online assessment, practice and instruction for students. She also has a children’s book, called “Fur Friends” coming out on April 24, 2020, with a percentage of her sales going to an animal shelter.

This interview involved a lot of firsts for me: the first interview with someone outside of Washington or British Columbia, the first online recording I’ve done, and the first time I’ve cried with my interviewee at the end of the interview. 

Ms. Humphrey-Balentine’s goal is to provide two $200 book scholarships to students this coming June. Lesson: Impossible is happy to give $100, and will match up to another $100 that listeners are willing to give. So, if you donate through https://venmo.com/LaTezeon-Balentine and email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com or DM me at @avivalevin with how much you gave, I will add that to the total I will donate. Latezeon has given so much of her own money and time constantly, let’s help take a little of the burden off of her shoulders!

LINKS:

Donate to LaTezeon’s book scholarship: https://venmo.com/LaTezeon-Balentine

LaTezeon’s Website - www.lhbwithlove.com

LaTezeon’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/LHBLovesEDU

LaTezeon’s is an Educational Consultant for Education Galaxy: https://educationgalaxy.com

Books mentioned:

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

What Momma Left Me by Renée Watson

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake and Jason Reynolds

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher that would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to put students’ own values at the center of their learning in order to make school meaningful beyond academic skills. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Lauren Porosoff of Scarsdale, New York.

 A transcript is available for this episode.

In this episode we discuss:

• Parents advocating for meaningfulness
• The three kinds of relevance: personal, practical, cultural
• Her favorite meaningful units: A Midsummer Night’s Dream & spoken word poetry
• Addressing three criticisms of making curriculum meaningful: kids need to learn that not everything is about them, there’s no time to get to know students, and young people don’t know what is meaningful to them yet
• What to do if a teacher wants to change their curriculum
• Feeling lonely or disempowered while innovating
• ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Her decision to no longer teach Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian
• How to get in touch with Lauren

Links:

• Lauren’s Twitter, Facebook and Website
• Book: Two-for-One Teaching: Connecting Instruction to Student Values
• Book: Empower Your Students: Tools to Inspire a Meaningful School Experience
• Article: “A Midsummer Night’s Gender Diversity”
• Article: “Why I’ll Never Teach This Powerful Book Again”
• For more about ACT: The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

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.

Your bonus lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore how you think COVID-19 will change education. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Kwame Sarfo-Mensah, owner and founder of Identity Talk Consulting.

I chose to air a bonus episode in addition to Kwame’s full-length interview about teacher identity for two reasons: one, I thought his insights were worth sharing, and two, I liked the idea of creating a record of how COVID-19 has been changing the ways teachers view education. I spoke with Charles Williams at the end of March about this issue for an entire episode, and then spoke with Kwame a little over a month later, though that month felt like it actually lasted several years. In that time, almost all districts have switched to a distance education model, especially for younger students, with mixed results.

Moreover, while some parents are seeing their children struggle with distance education or miss school keenly, other parents are seeing their children bloom in a situation where they don’t need to face the racism, homophobia, or ableism that they are forced to deal with daily.

Another important change is that larger issues of equity in education have been highlighted publically and sparked mainstream conversations about how learning opportunities are distributed. Many districts seem to be waking up to the fact that just because all students enter the same building every day does not mean that every one of them has equal access to technology, the Internet, and time to try and replicate the school experience at home, not to mention the 1.3 million American students who experience periods of unstable housing.

All of this to say, we are having more productive national and international conversations about education than I ever thought possible, and stake holders like parents are looking critically at our education systems now that many of its faults have been exposed. This is not to imply that there are not amazing teachers and districts that are doing wonderful things, and I do want to acknowledge their incredibly hard work. However, unless we’re willing to call out the places where we’re failing students, there’s no way we can change.

This excerpt from our conversation begins around at the 24-minute mark of episode twenty.

Links:

• Kwame’s website
• His books:
  • From "Inaction" to "In Action": Creating a New Normal for Urban Educators
  • Shaping the Teacher Identity: 8 Lessons That Will Help Define the Teacher in You

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: iCivics, a collection of online games and lesson plans to help students engage with American civics. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Carrie Ray-Hill, Senior Director of Digital Learning.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ How iCivics defines civics, its civic education mission and maintaining political neutrality

2️⃣ Helping teachers prepare for the 2020 election with games, lessons, info-graphics, webquests,  and a Facebook group

3️⃣ The future of iCivics, including adapting materials to distance learning

Click here for a more detailed description of our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about Lesson: Impossible.

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:

• Marie’s Website
• Marie’s Facebook
• Marie’s Podcast

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore the perspective of an educator who researched and taught in rural schools.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Casey Jakubowski, of Watervliet, New York.

Click here for details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to create busy, multi-modal, and democratic libraries where students see themselves represented and feel welcome. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Rebeca Rubio, coordinator for libraries and information services in the Richmond School District.

In this interview we discuss: the changing role of the school librarian; how to thoughtfully purchase and integrate technology; why libraries are, at their core, democratic spaces; why ‘weeding’ a collection is a good thing; how to integrate Indigenous content in authentic ways; and why the future of libraries is the ‘learning commons’.

For more inspiring library ideas:

• Follow Rebeca on Twitter @rebecarubi0
• Check out an example of a book list, like the one Rebeca built her SOGI book bundle from: https://teach-educ.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2018/01/SOGI-Top-Books-List-2018.pdf 
• Watch this inspiring video about the exciting things Rebeca and SD38 are doing in their libraries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sadWGKFs4k#action=share

For more information about the podcast, check out www.lessonimpossible.com  If you, or an educator that you know, would make a great Lesson: Impossible agent, please contact me at aviva.levin@gmail.com.  

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to transform your passions for innovation and design into relevant assignments and global professional projects.   The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Evo Hannan of Dwight School Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

In this interview we discuss:

• His path to teaching design in Dubai
• How he stays relevant in his field
• What teaching design looks like
• Examples of student projects
• How he gets big companies involved in his projects
• Modeling being a designer and innovator for his students
• Making his projects and efforts transparent
• His live YouTube Ed Talks (next show is May 9 at 11am EST, 4pm GMT, 7pm GST)
• The Agency Project to promote student choice
• How Evo is able to stay passionate about teaching and avoid burnout
• His advice to new (and all) teachers
• His ideal school… that he’s currently developing in real life!
• Ways to get in contact: his website, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to make the Special Education classroom a welcoming and intellectually creative space for students of all levels.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Eugene Harrison, of Richmond Secondary School, in British Columbia, Canada.

You can find out more about what Eugene is doing by taking a look at "The Inclusion Project":  https://portal.sd38.bc.ca/class/6v8igit/Pages/default.aspx?ID=2#/=

Update: According to Eugene, "Biennale went really great! The tough kids actually wrote really meaningful and thoughtful reflections."

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to use inquiry in your classroom so that students can be engaged, make meaning from their learning, and integrate important skills. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Jillian Gordon, a grade 4/5 teacher and vice-principal in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Some further links about inquiry:

• https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2016/01/15/teaching-through-an-inquiry-stance 
• https://inquiry.galileo.org/ch5/an-inquiry-stance-on-practice/ 
• http://nvsd44curriculumhub.ca 
• https://www.wabisabilearning.com/blog/teachers-parents-independent-thinking
• http://theconversation.com/why-your-child-will-benefit-from-inquiry-based-learning-97245

You can follow Jillian on twitter at @msgordonclass or visit her class website at msgordonclass.weebly.com 

If you, or an educator that you know, would make a great Lesson: Impossible agent, please contact me at aviva.levin@gmail.com.  

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to make the classroom a community where students feel welcomed, supported and challenged.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Lauren Connaughton, of Tukwila Elementary School, in Washington, USA.

Your lesson, should you chose to accept it, is to create relevant, body-centered, and inclusive lessons that give students opportunities to feel optimistic for the future.

The Special Agent assigned to help you with this task is Lewis Maday-Travis, a middle school science teacher currently taking time off to write curriculum and provide professional training around inclusive classrooms, from Seattle, Washington.

Links mentioned in the episode (chronological):

• More "Ambitious Science Teaching" information and Lewis' lessons
• The photo of the dalmatian (from blog post "Think like an expert: teaching kids to see the big picture, Part 1")
• Brave Conversation Skills Handout (from blog post "Holding brave conversations, in and outside the classroom")
• Note to educators: hope required when growing roses in concrete by Jeffrey M. R. Duncan-Andrade
• "How one transgender teacher came out to his students" (KUOW article)
• Inclusive sex ed language checklist (originally AIDS Community Care Montreal & SextEd)

You can contact Lewis at fishyteaching@gmail.com and check out his blog at https://fishyteaching.com. 

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to view the job of the teacher as a farmer of nerds, curator of resources, and transformer of communities.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is 2016 Washington Teacher of the Year Nathan Bowling, formerly of Tacoma, and now Abu Dhabi. 

You can find out more about Nate and the work he does at www.natebowling.com and http://nerdfarmpod.com

You can follow Nate on Twitter at @nate_bowling and @nerdfarmpod.

You can read more about his choice to leave Tacoma at www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/matt-driscoll/article229043484.html

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to build, repair, and restore school relationships through restorative justice.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Laura Fittz, English teacher, Peace Team facilitator and PhD student from Nashville, Tennessee.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ Moving away from punitive practices and towards healing relationships between students, students and staff, and staff with each other

2️⃣ Letting students take the lead and getting families involved in the restorative process

3️⃣ Operating restoratively within an unrestorative system and starting the personal journey towards restorative practices

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to studies and resources mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙 Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate virtual reality👾 into your classroom👨🏻‍🏫🧑🏽‍🏫 to enhance student learning🎓. The special agent🕵️‍♂️ assigned to help you with this task is Craig Frehlich of the Canadian International School in Singapore.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Why VR is a great choice for enriching the curriculum, and current programs that Craig recommends for classroom use

2️⃣ Staying CRISP: VR applications should connect to a concept and to real life, they should be integrative, linked to standards, and carefully planned

3️⃣ How to set up VR in the classroom for a safe, meaningful experience (and some future ethical concerns)

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to programs and books mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Please consider rating or reviewing Lesson: Impossible on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or your preferred podcast platform.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to use comprehensible input when teaching languages, specifically the TPRS method.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Adriana Ramirez of British Columbia.

In this episode Adriana:

1️⃣ defines Comprehensible Input (CI) and explains how students are still learning grammar, just doing so intuitively

2️⃣ responds to a ton of misconceptions and critiques of CI and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling)

3️⃣ discusses students taking ownership of the stories, adapting for teaching during Covid-19, and finding inspiration in other teachers through social media

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to people mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to become more culturally competent🌏 by exploring research📙 on the varied educational📝 attitudes and experiences of Asian-American immigrants🔑. The special agent🕵🏽‍♂️assigned to help you with this task is Dr. Pawan Dhingra of Amherst College.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ What Pawan has learned through his research of how some Asian immigrant parents and their children view American school systems

2️⃣ How teachers can navigate relationships with parents when educational attitudes aren’t in sync (and how they may be more aligned than we realize)

3️⃣ Becoming a more culturally competent teacher and communicator

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

MEET A RESOURCE:  The Park Based Learning Project creates free lessons and resources using project based learning, and game based design, principles. They provide ready-to-use lessons and differentiated assessments, as well as opportunities to collaborate on specific local, state, or national park-based projects. The founder and leader of the Park Based Learning Project is James Fester who is also a teacher, consultant, author, and state and national park volunteer interpreter currently living in Minnesota.  

A transcript is available for this episode.

Links:

• Parks Based Learning Website & Twitter
• Visit a National Park (virtually) 
• Projects Gallery
• Structure of Parks Based Learning Experiences
• Hopewell Earthworks Project & Bears Ears Project
• Landmark Learning Project Handbook
• Article: “Engaging New and Diverse Audiences in the National Parks”

For more on what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com, where you can also reach out with recommendations for new guests.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to debate which three characteristics are the ingredients for a great teacher. The special agents assigned to help you with this task are Nick Zaveri, Christopher Tudisco, Jack Scanlan, William Mealey & Aviva Levin.

Prior to Edupodlooza 2022, teachers on Twitter responded to the question of what top three traits they though made a great teacher, which led to some interesting and contradicting responses! Thus, this episode involves the five participants (me, Nick from the popular news communication podcast “Can We Please Talk?”, Tudisco and Mealey from the humorous interview podcast “Unprofessional Development”, and Jack from the satirical podcast “EduChaos”) reacting to that thread, with some in-depth discussions about cultural awareness, humor, content knowledge, vulnerability, boundaries, and the concept of love for students.

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog about teaching world languages.

🎙 Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is instill a love❤️ of books📚 in even the most reluctant😩reader. The special agent🕵🏻‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is middle school teacher Kari Pitstick of Illinois.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Strategies to help students develop a love of reading

2️⃣ Helping students find appropriate books (content and reading level)

3️⃣ Why she’ll never give up silent reading time

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider ways to support teachers as they begin their careers. The agent assigned to help you with this task is last week's guest, Lauren Connaughton, in a special bonus episode.

For more information on teacher attrition, I recommend this article: https://tinyurl.com/y4ykgtgf 

Your bonus mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rethink how we teach sex education. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is middle school science teacher Lewis Maday-Travis, of Seattle, Washington, and last week’s guest.

 Sources from the intro:

• https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats17/adolescents.htm
• http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-policies-on-sex-education-in-schools.aspx
• https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-44812833

 Lewis’ recommended links:

• Inclusive sex ed language checklist - originally AIDS Community Care Montreal & SextEd
• Tips for talking with your kid about sex & relationships - Planned Parenthood
• Scarleteen - Inclusive sex ed resources aimed at young adults

You can contact Lewis at fishyteaching@gmail.com and check out his blog at https://fishyteaching.com. You can hear last week's full episode with Lewis here.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider the perspective of an educator who has experience with hybrid and at-home school models.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Dr. Scott Mauk, principal of Edmonds Heights K-12.

In this episode we discuss:

• What teachers should keep in mind about a hybrid model
• Some positives that families are reporting about pandemic learning and how to preserve them in a return to ‘normal’
• Working collaboratively and empathetically with parents

You can follow Scott on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebok or contact him through his website.

You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or explore other impossible lessons at www.lessonimpossible.com  

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Educalme, a school-based mindfulness app available in English and French. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Kailey Lefko, teacher and co-founder.

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

MEET A RESOURCE: Valerie Cerra, of Lesson aLIVE, a marketplace that connects educators and learners to experts and motivational speakers.

We discussed:

• Valerie’s background and her journey towards founding Lesson aLIVE
• How she finds her speakers
• Her most recent favorite presenter: Eva Pell
• How COVID19 has affected Lesson aLIVE, including adding relevant content via webinar
• The pricing model for speakers (including pro bono/grant options)
• How to contact her with new ideas and suggestions

NOTE: If this is the first episode of the podcast you are listening to, just a note that this episode is different than the rest. If you’re looking for interviews with educators about innovations in their practice, you can check out the most recent episode with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah, where we discuss teacher identity. However, if you’re interested in something new… give this episode a listen!

A little background: Occasionally I will get messages from businesses asking to come on the podcast. It has been my policy to say no (sorry Mensch on a Bench, aka the Jewish Elf on the shelf) but after some reflection, I realized that there are a lot of online educational resources out there, and it might make teachers’ lives a little bit easier during this pandemic if I were to highlight a few. Therefore, I’m starting a new series of bonus episodes that I’m calling “Meet the Resources” where educational product innovators can discuss the resource that they have created. To relate this to the Mission: Impossible theme, I am hoping to feature the educational equivalent of Gecko Gloves, Smart Contacts, or Flute Guns: technology that has been created to make your impossible lessons actually possible!  I want to make it clear that I am not endorsing any products that I feature, though I’ll only cover them if I think they have merit for working teachings, nor am I receiving any compensation whatsoever.

Please feel free to share any feedback on whether or not I should continue with this bonus series, or if you have a suggestion for a resource I should reach out to, at aviva.levin@gmail.com.

You can find out more about what innovative educators around the world are doing at:

• Lesson: Impossible’s Website
• Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter
• Lesson: Impossible’s Instagram
• Lesson: Impossible’s Facebook

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to help primary students👧🏻👦🏾🧒🏼 find success in a difficult time🦠 through engaging lessons💻 and responding to their needs🚑.  The special agent🕵🏻‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is Adrienne Barber of Milpitas, California☀️.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Strategies for teaching young learners, incorporating physical activity while online, and some helpful apps

2️⃣ Creating strong connections with families and taking inspiration from her students

3️⃣ The exhaustion of putting on a Zoom ‘one-woman show’ and some silver linings to online learning

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to examine the factors contributing to, and find strategies to prevent or recover from, teacher burnout. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Dr. Marquita Blades of Atlanta, Georgia.

In this episode we discuss:

• Marquita’s many educational projects
• Her path to becoming a teacher
• Her personal story of burning out
• How she defines ‘teacher burnout’
• The Mediocre Teacher Project
• How mental health impacts physical health
• The false narrative of teacher self-sacrifice
• Strategies to recover from a burn out
• How she thinks distance education will affect burn out
• How administrators can prevent burn out in their teachers
• How colleagues can help each other
• The Write Like a Gyrlfriend Scholarship
• Ways to contact Dr. Marquita Blades: her website, her Facebook, her Twitter, her Instagram

A transcript is available for this episode.

NOTE: Former guest/special agent, Charles Williams, has started his own education podcast! It’s called the Counter Narrative Podcast and its goal is “to challenge the dominant narrative surrounding our marginalized populations by highlighting the amazing work being done around the world by educators, students, and communities as they face daunting odds.” Dr. Marquita Blades also has a new podcast, Powarrful Teaching Strategies, where she recently interviewed another former guest of mine, Kwame Sarfo-Mensah, which just goes to show what a small world education can be!  

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to not underestimate primary students’ abilities to use technology, think metacognitively, and mentor their peers. The Special Agent assigned to help you with this task is Suzannah Evans a primary teacher and teacher mentor at Hygiene Elementary in the St. Vrain Valley School District of Longmont, Colorado.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Technology use with younger students
• Digitally inviting parents into the classroom
• How to give effective feedback
• Sharing updated brain science with students
• Student self-assessment and reflection
• Peer feedback and coaching
• The most adorable financial literacy podcast in the world

Links:

• Math Self Assessment
• Writing Rubric Self Assessment
• Powerful Teaching link
• Zones of Regulation
• Podcast Example
• Suzannah's Twitter: @SuzannahEvans2

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher that would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Classcraft, an app that fosters social emotional development and personalized learning through gaming principles. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Shawn Young, co-founder and CEO. 

Click here for a description of our conversation, links to the studies mentioned in the introduction, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to teach PE and health with a focus on all students’ needs. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Stephanie Ferri.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Developing her student-centered, holistic, motivating, ungraded PE and wellness curriculum

2️⃣ The messy conversations that need to happen in health classes and her favorite fitness units

3️⃣ How this model could be applied outside of her private, single-sex school context

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore the many ways COVID-19 can create positive changes to our educational systems. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Charles Williams, principal of Plato Learning Academy, in Chicago, Illinois.

Charles Williams and I spoke at the end of March, as many schools were figuring out what education was going to look like in the coming days, weeks, and months. His perspective comes from being a principal in one of the many Chicago Public Schools, or as he refers to it, CPS. My perspective comes from being an educational podcaster as well as being a person who has a special aptitude for worrying about the future.

Like many of my interviews during this pandemic, it did not follow the orderly set of questions that I had gotten used to asking educators about their practice. Instead, it became a conversation about how Charles and I hope educational institutions can be transformed. Before we began recording, we had been joking about the various methods of communication we had each been trying out, and that topic quickly launched into talks of possible positive change.

In this episode we discuss how COVID-19 has the potential to positively transform educational systems, specifically allowing us to:

• Reconsider how we’re using assessments
• Utilize assessment in a vastly different way
• Examine what the school day looks like
• Explore how content is delivered
• Incorporate trauma-informed teaching
• Move beyond hashtags to real change
• Facilitate transparent communication
• Be aware of the terminology that we use
• Figure out what is essential and non-essential
• Highlight the value placed on educators
• Heighten collegial collaboration
• Increase parental involvement

Find out more about Charles Williams:

• Plato Learning Academy: http://www.platolearningacademy.org
• CWS Consulting: https://www.cwconsultingservice.com
• Charles’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/_cwconsulting
• The ‘Parking Lot Thoughts’ Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUmY7pzvEaJfXDVXgSq_YXA

UPDATE FROM EPISODE 12: I wanted to say that we met our goal, and $200 has been sent to LaTezeon Humphrey Balentine. Although graduation is not going to look like what we expected when we recorded, I know LaTezeon will find a way to make sure the kids who need it get the money. So thank you to everyone who was willing to match my donation, or even just to share LaTezeon’s beautiful message of giving.

Lesson: Impossible’s Website: www.lessonimpossible.com

Lesson: Impossible’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/avivalevin

If you have suggestions for a teacher who would make an inspiring Lesson: Impossible guest, please email me at aviva.levin@gmail.com

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: GooseChase, an app for creating scavenger hunts. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Rebecca Yaffa, Director of Customer Experience, from Toronto, Canada.

This is the third installment in the ‘Meet the Resources’ series, where I feature the educational equivalent of Gecko Gloves, Smart Contacts, or Flute Guns: technology that has been created to make your impossible lessons actually possible! A reminder that Lesson: Impossible receives no compensation for featuring resources, just the satisfaction of knowing that somewhere a student might be more engaged in their learning or a teacher might be able to leave work a little bit earlier.

In this episode, Aviva and Rebecca touch on a variety of topics including:

• Who uses GooseChase EDU? (Hint: It's not just teachers!)
• How GooseChase EDU makes scavenger hunts easy and automated for educators
• How organizers can get started by using missions from the The Game Library.
• How educators utilized GooseChase for Virtual Learning during the social isolation period.
• GooseChase EDU availability for school and district-wide plans.
• How GooseChase handles personal data created on the platform.
• How Rebecca got involved with GooseChase and working as part of a fully-remote team.
• How K-12 teachers can take advantage of complimentary upgrades to Educator Plus until September 1st.

Links:

• GooseChase’s website
• GooseChase’s blog
• GooseChase’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate Project Based Learning into your teaching to support, among many amazing things, the Social-Emotional Development of your students. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Mike Kaechele.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Responding to school and community needs, such as reacting to an ICE raid, or helping farmers choose their next potato crops

2️⃣ Giving students agency and hope for the future, such as a Chemistry, English, US History project looking at poverty in America or returning the rapids to Grand Rapids

3️⃣ Making it work by providing structure, connecting to standards, learning from mistakes, adapting year-to-year, and having the students ask rather than the adults

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to find ways to incorporate gamification and game-based learning into your teaching practice.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Batsheva Frankel of the Overthrowing Education podcast.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ The differences between ‘game-based learning’ and ‘gamification’ and examples of each

2️⃣ How game-based-learning and gamification can open students’ creativity and increase engagement and enthusiasm for a subject

3️⃣ Making changes to education when we see room for improvement and the value of Twitter and podcasts to see what’s possible

❗Then Batsheva gets a taste of her own medicine when she plays her podcast’s signature 5-minute game show… as a contestant!

Click here for a detailed description of our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

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.

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to improve your teaching practice by being part of a Professional Learning Community, or PLC.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Chad Dumas.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ What is, and is not, a PLC?

2️⃣ How to start a PLC for the first time

3️⃣ How to improve an existing PLC with a focus on community

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about Chad and the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

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.

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.

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.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore the possibilities of standards-based assessment to further student learning. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Tyler Rablin, of Washington State.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ His journey towards proficiency-based assessment, learning progressions, & grade conferencing

2️⃣ How to make the transition, & what to do with students who are already proficient

3️⃣ The bonus of no grading to 3am, fewer retakes, & allowing students to explore passions

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to use various planning and instructional strategies to support your neurodiverse students. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Drew Thompson, of Organized Minds.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣  Drew’s personal experiences as a neurodiverse learner and the supports he wished he had received

2️⃣  Scope creep, the dark side of graphic organizers, inductive versus deductive thinking, the value of chunking assignments, and making social interpretations clear

3️⃣  Why sometimes giving students a “wiggle and a snack”, no matter what age, can make a huge difference!

Click here for links mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s new language-learning blog.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to celebrate🎉 math🔢 in front of your students as a joyful😃, relevant🗺, and inclusive❤️ subject. The special agent🕵🏻‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is Shelby Strong of New Orleans, Louisiana.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ How “I’m not a math person” is rooted in historical inequities and self-protection

2️⃣ Why the narrative we’ve accepted about math being objective and based in rote memorization is completely false

3️⃣ The joy of disrupting how math is taught and perceived in schools

You can find the original Twitter thread here. Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Please consider rating or reviewing Lesson: Impossible on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or your preferred podcast platform.

MISSION NO. 001

CODENAME: Lesson: Impossible - An exploration of educational innovation

SITUATION: Podcast launch