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Phenomenal Teaching with PEBC

Phenomenal Teaching with PEBC

By PEBC

Explore the PEBC's Phenomenal Teaching Framework. Each episode will take a closer look how the strands of the framework come to life in classrooms and schools. Join us as we unpack Planning, Community, Workshop, Thinking Strategies, Discourse & Assessment.
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Facilitating Phenomenal Virtual Engagements: Connect Purpose, People, and Tools to Elevate the Impact of Our Virtual Meetings with Scott Murphy

Phenomenal Teaching with PEBCNov 12, 2020

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28:34
Reading & Writing Connections in the Literacy Studio with Ellin O. Keene & Dan Feigelson

Reading & Writing Connections in the Literacy Studio with Ellin O. Keene & Dan Feigelson

How might we integrate whole class lessons, small group work, and individual conferences to support students’ growth as readers and writers?  Listen in as literacy leaders, Ellin O. Keene and Dan Feigelson join the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss ways to enhance student engagement and agency by integrating reading and writing. When teachers make these connections apparent, students comprehend more deeply, write more meaningfully, and develop individual identities as readers and writers in the world. This episode connects to the Planning, Workshop and Assessment strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework. 

On June 14th & 15th, PEBC is proud to host Ellin and Dan for our summer institute, "Reading & Writing Connections in the Literacy Workshop." They  will offer classroom-ready strategies teachers can use tomorrow and throughout the year and share videos of integrated classrooms that highlight key practices from their new books; Radical Listening: Reading and Writing Conferences to Reach All Students by Dan Feigelson and The Literacy Studio: Redesigning the Workshop by Ellin Keene.

Ellin Oliver Keene has been a classroom teacher, staff developer, non-profit director and adjunct professor of reading and writing.  For sixteen years she directed staff development initiatives at the Denver-based Public Education & Business Coalition.  She served as Deputy Director and Director of Literacy and Staff Development for the Cornerstone Project at the University of Pennsylvania for 4 years. Ellin works with schools and districts throughout the country and abroad supporting schools and districts with long-term, school-based professional development and strategic planning for literacy learning. Ellin recently published The Literacy Studio: Redesigning the Workshop for Readers and Writers which is focused on an up-to-date conceptualization of Readers/Writers’ workshop. 

Dan Feigelson has worked extensively in New York City schools as a teacher, staff developer, curriculum writer, principal, and local superintendent. An early member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, he has led institutes, workshops and lab-sites around the world on the teaching of reading and writing and is a regular presenter at national conferences. His latest book Radical Listening: Reading and Writing Conferences to Reach All Students,  refocuses reading and writing conferences to help all students reach their full potential. His practical approach centers on active listening―an equitable way to listen to, learn from, and guide students. He lives in Harlem and Columbia County, New York.  

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching. Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Feb 23, 202301:06:22
Unlearning the HUSH with Dr. Marlee Bunch & Brittany Collins

Unlearning the HUSH with Dr. Marlee Bunch & Brittany Collins

Listen in as Dr. Marlee Bunch and Brittany Collins join PEBC’s Phenomenal Teaching Podcast with Michelle Morris Jones to discuss planning for ABAR and SEL pedagogy. Both Marlee and Brittany value the importance of telling and understanding one’s own story as well as the stories of others.  Oftentimes the stories of history and our own students’ stories are “hushed” and not included in classroom curriculum, conversations, and experiences for a variety of reasons. Marlee and Brittany encourage educators to “unlearn the hush” and to more broadly incorporate stories of oppression and loss into the classroom so that all perspectives and lived experiences can be valued.

This episode highlights Dr. Marlee Bunch’s “H.U.S.H. Framework” which can be applied to any lesson plan or teaching content at the K-12 or post-secondary level. One can think of this framework as a guide and accountability piece to create inclusive learning content that supports all students. This framework considers both student and educator and requires mindful and consistent engagement from the educator.  Listeners will find that the H.U.S.H. Framework supports the strands of Community and Planning of the PEBC Teaching Framework.

The four key concepts of the H.U.S.H. Framework include:

  • The importance of marginalized histories
  • The importance of unlearning and reflection
  • The importance of stories
  • The importance of healing through connection and relationships

Brittany Collins brings her expertise in SEL and grief-responsive teaching to the conversation by explaining the ways in which the framework can support students’ social and emotional development and directly support the healing journeys of students who have experienced significant loss or trauma.  Brittany also helps us think about how we mustn't lose sight of the importance of authentic connection and relationships through integrated social emotional learning experiences.

Marlee is an educator with over 16 years teaching experience. She holds two graduate degrees, and recently completed her doctoral degree from the University of Illinois. Her study illustrates the impact the long history of segregation, Brown v. Board of Education, and desegregation efforts  had on the teaching experiences of Black, female educators particularly between the years 1954-1971.

Brittany’s work explores the impacts of grief, loss, and trauma in the school system, as well as how innovative pedagogies-- from inquiry-based learning to identity development curricula-- can create conditions supportive of all learners. Brittany is the author of Learning from Loss: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Grieving Students, which was published in 2021 and is now available as an audio book. 

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Jan 12, 202349:37
Grow the Good via Asset Based Responses with Julie Wright

Grow the Good via Asset Based Responses with Julie Wright

What happens when we focus on assets rather than deficits? Listen in as Julie Wright shares strategies for “growing the good” with Michelle Morris Jones on PEBC's Phenomenal Teaching Podcast.  Identifying and leveraging student and teacher assets allows us to, "Size up what students CAN do and use that to lift their learning."  This episode of the Phenomenal Teaching podcast connects to both the community and assessment strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework as well as the culture strand of the PEBC Leadership Framework.  

Julie Wright believes that autonomy and agency thrive for children and adults when responses are efficient, effective and equitable. Julie is a traveling teacher, instructional coach, educational consultant, author, and a short texts-of-all- types enthusiast.  You may know Julie through some of her writing, she is the co-author of What Are You Grouping For?, Grades 3-8: How to Guide Small Groups Based on Readers -- Not the Book and author of What’s Our Response? Creating Systems and Structures to Support ALL Learners and Side-by-Side Instructional Coaching: 10 Asset-Based Habits that Spark Collaboration, Risk-Taking, and Growth.  In her free time, Julie enjoys hiking with her family, tinkering in her garden, and is a wanna-be beekeeper. Click here for more resources. 

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Oct 26, 202242:26
Cultivating Spaces That Promote Agency, Equity & Connection with Nicole Tucker-Smith

Cultivating Spaces That Promote Agency, Equity & Connection with Nicole Tucker-Smith

Nicole Tucker-Smith joins Michelle Morris Jones on PEBC’s  Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to share ways teachers and school leaders can cultivate spaces that promote agency, equity and connection for all learners.  Nicole encourages us to confront how and why school spaces encourage assimilation, compliance, and conformity and to envision how we might transform our classroom and school environments to promote agency, equity and connection.

Auditing our materials and use of time provide helpful insights into which values our spaces are reflecting. Sometimes one's space may not be reflecting the values that we believe in, and then it is time to examine why or why-not our values and beliefs are not evident. In order to promote agency, equity, and connection we must value choice, ownership, and relationships when designing spaces for learners. Then we must choose actions that illustrate those values. Nicole asks us to promote equity over assimilation, agency over compliance, and connection over conformity.  We can take any moment in the school day, space or system and ask ourselves: Are we valuing assimilation over equity?  Compliance over agency? Or conformity over connection?

Think about something as simple as the way we greet students at the door or read aloud time.  Do our actions, words, and classroom arrangement encourage assimilation over equity? Compliance over agency? Or conformity over connection?  Nicole shares a variety of strategies, examples, and steps that educators can take to transform their learning environments. This episode connects to the Community strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework. 

Nicole Tucker-Smith, founder and CEO of Lessoncast, helps schools implement professional learning initiatives focused on inclusive teaching and equity best practice. Nicole co-authored Supercharge Your Professional Learning: 40 Concrete Strategies to Improve Adult Learning and wrote Remote PD Zen, available on Amazon, Apple Books, and Google Play. She also leads the Jumpstart PD Network, a community of educators to share ideas, spread resources, post tips, and dialogue on key areas of interest related to designing and delivering effective PD focused on inclusion and equity. Nicole’s article, “The Illusion of Equity PD,” is featured in the March 2021 issue of Educational Leadership. Learn more about Nicole here.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching. Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. 

Oct 14, 202243:01
Tilting Classrooms Towards Love: Incorporating Social and Emotional Learning into our Everyday Practices with Lily Howard Scott

Tilting Classrooms Towards Love: Incorporating Social and Emotional Learning into our Everyday Practices with Lily Howard Scott

Lily Howard Scott joins Michelle Morris Jones on PEBC's  Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss how a focus on social and emotional learning (SEL) isn’t simply a nice-to-have, a perk, but a need-to-have, a prerequisite for meaningful learning. How children feel in the classroom is inextricably linked to how they do in the classroom. Emotionally literate children who know how to navigate their inner lives can persevere through challenging tasks with resilience, and students who feel deeply connected to their peers and teachers can take the risks that inspire the greatest cognitive growth. Best of all, prioritizing SEL doesn’t mean adopting a new curriculum or adding one more thing to teachers’ plates—Lily introduces simple ideas and techniques that can be easily woven into every portion of the school day. These often-subtle shifts in practice can have a tremendous impact, tilting classroom cultures away from shame and competition towards love, creativity, and personal growth.  This episode connects to the Community strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework

Lily brings nearly 10 years of classroom teaching experience to our discussion. Currently an SEL coach, she teaches in the Continuing Professional Studies department at Bank Street College of Education and provides professional development to teachers and school leaders around the country. Her work is centered around helping children navigate their inner lives, connect with each other, and explore and empathize with varied perspectives. Lily presents regularly at national conferences and her writing about the importance of a child-centered, holistic approach to learning has been published in Edutopia and The Washington Post. Learn more about Lily at https://www.lilyhowardscott.com/.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Sep 20, 202236:46
Using Diverse Texts to Build Understanding, Empathy & Joy with Gita Varadarajan

Using Diverse Texts to Build Understanding, Empathy & Joy with Gita Varadarajan

Gita Varadarajan joins Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to talk about the ways in which diverse texts allow students to develop empathy for others, explore challenging topics, find joy and deepen their comprehension skills. Gita brings years of classroom experience to spark conversation and  scaffold opportunities that guide students toward a variety of texts to create a balanced diet of rich literature. As illustrated in the PEBC Teaching Framework, providing students with life worthy materials that mirror the real world, time to read and explore, and lively discourse create classroom communities that support agency, equity and understanding.

In addition, Gita shares her journey as an author, educator, and newcomer to the United States. Gita Varadarajan was born and raised in India. She is the co-author of the award-winning Save Me a Seat with Sarah Weeks and the newly released My Bindi (illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan). She has worked with children all over the world and currently teaches 4th grade at Riverside Elementary School in Princeton, New Jersey. As a children's author, Gita strives to incorporate her understanding of power and privilege along with the importance of hope and joy as her characters navigate the world of school and home. She hopes her stories provide new perspectives for her readers, opportunities to connect with diverse literature, and to create a place for laughter and joy.  Learn more about Gita by visiting her website or following her on twitter at @gitavarad1.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Sep 06, 202238:40
Cultivating Confident & Engaged Writers Through Responsive Scaffolding with Crystal Hughes

Cultivating Confident & Engaged Writers Through Responsive Scaffolding with Crystal Hughes

Listen in as Crystal Hughes shares how she developed scaffolds to support her 8th graders shift from passive online learners to engaged historians and writers on PEBC's Phenomenal Teaching Podcast with Michelle Morris Jones. When school began last year, Crystal’s students were quite reluctant to engage in writing, yet Crystal knew that her students were capable of being successful with argumentation. Tapping into the workshop model and formative assessment allowed Crystal to create a Writer’s Workshop within her social studies class.  Specifically, throwing away writing fears, setting high expectations, planning for engagement with intriguing topics, leveraging formative assessments, meeting in small groups, conferring, chunking the process, providing time to write, differentiating tools, using consistent rubrics, and developing a community of writers were some of the ways that Crystal moved students from producing a few lines on the page to crafting an argumentative essay with each unit.  Crystal believes in the importance of courageous curiosity and radical empathy and uses these beliefs as energy sources to support each and every student to be successful. This episode connects to the workshop and assessment strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework.

Crystal spent 10 years in the beauty industry before coming to teaching full-time. Throughout those years she worked with students in many different types of settings. Tutoring on weekends, volunteering with youth in her community and at local schools. During those years Crystal earned a Bachelor's degree at the University of Kentucky and her Master’s Degree from Georgetown College. Crystal is a first-generation college student who knows first-hand the challenges of generational poverty. With the love and support of her family, Crystal has been sowing roots at the Mighty Elkhorn Middle School for the past five years where she served as an 8th grade social studies teacher, team lead for seven teachers and a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports team member. She most recently completed her Principal Program at the University of Cumberlands and is now an Academic Dean. Follow her on Twitter @007CHughes.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Aug 16, 202235:31
Supporting Students in Their Journeys of Healing with Marlee Bunch & Brittany Collins

Supporting Students in Their Journeys of Healing with Marlee Bunch & Brittany Collins

Marlee Bunch and Brittany Collins join the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss the intersection of Grief-Responsive Teaching and Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist (ABAR) Teaching with Michelle Morris Jones. Developing our collective understanding of how to support students who have experienced trauma and loss increases our ability to develop classroom and school communities that support agency, equity and understanding as described in the PEBC Teaching Framework. Listen in as Marlee and Brittany share startling statistics, incredible resources, and practical strategies to support students in their healing journeys. Grief-Responsive Teaching and ABAR Teaching are distinctly different, yet have strong mutually supportive similarities. Marlee and Brittany share how paying attention to environment, connection and curriculum provide students with a safe place to land and thrive.

When supporting students who are experiencing grief or healing from trauma, Brittany encourages educators to:

  • Cultivate environments that are consistent and safe;
  • Create opportunities for students to connect with one another in authentic ways; and
  • Develop a curriculum that is steeped in choice so that students can process loss through shared literary experiences, writing, and personal narratives.

When developing ABAR school communities, Marlee encourages educators to:

  • Attract and retain BIPOC teachers so that the school environment honors all cultures and races;
  • Make connections with colleagues who don’t look like you to learn about other’s experiences; and
  • Develop a curriculum that is steeped in creativity, art, poetry, and allows for text pairing to explore a variety of perspectives.

Access the mentioned resources here.

Marlee is an educator with over 15 years of teaching experience. She holds two graduate degrees, and is currently working on her doctoral degree from the University of Illinois. Her study illustrates the impact the long history of segregation, Brown v. Board of Education, and desegregation efforts had on the teaching experiences of Black female educators. Check out Marlee's zine, "Unlearning the Hush: The Empowering Narratives of Black Educators and Mentors." 

Brittany’s work explores the impacts of grief, loss, and trauma in the school system, as well as how innovative pedagogies-- from inquiry-based learning to identity development curricula-- can create conditions supportive of all learners. Brittany is the author of Learning from Loss: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Grieving Students, which was published in 2021.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Aug 02, 202249:36
PEBC Teacher Residency: Professionalizing & Energizing the Teaching Profession

PEBC Teacher Residency: Professionalizing & Energizing the Teaching Profession

How might we support vibrant, diverse, passionate individuals to become teachers? Listen in as John Kearney, Director of Recruitment and Alumni Engagement for the PEBC Teacher Residency Program, shares the ways in which a career teaching is more accessible than ever before, and recent graduates, Nicole Herrera & Char Brock share their stories of their experiences of becoming educators.

John Kearney illustrates how the PEBC Teacher Residency is structured to meet a variety of incoming teachers’ needs, learning styles, and hopes.  In addition, he shares ways in which the program supports all residents via coaching, mentoring, cohort collegiality, lab classroom visits, and authentic coursework.  Finally, John highlights the ways in which the state of Colorado is elevating the importance of high quality teacher preparation by providing stipends that make teaching a reality for more people than ever before.

Nicole Herrera had never considered a career in education. She did not have teachers who looked like her nor had anyone ever suggested she enter the field of education.  Her love for learning, advocacy, and community piqued her interest and the PEBC Teacher Residency program supported her desire to learn alongside other teachers from day one.  As a resident Nicole was able to learn the craft of teaching, deepen her content knowledge, coach wrestling, serve on school based committees, and form the Journey of Our Heritage Club while earning her teacher license. This year Nicole will be teaching Social Studies.

Char Brock has worked in the field of education for nine years and served students through the Study Center at Arapahoe High School and Next Littleton GED Plus Program, yet she did not hold a teaching license. PEBC’s Teacher of Record pathway allowed Char to earn her license while concurrently teaching Intervention and Math at Englewood High School (with full pay and benefits). She was able to tap into her Masters of Educational Psychology degree and, with support from her cohort, co-teacher, clinical coach, and school mentor, she shifted from supporting students one-on-one to planning and teaching units and daily lessons. Char strives to elevate students’ assets so that they can see themselves as agents of their own learning.

If you or someone you know would make a Phenomenal Teacher, contact John Kearney at jkearney@pebc.org

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Jul 18, 202244:52
Advocates... Fill Your Cups! with Dr. Kimberly Muñoz

Advocates... Fill Your Cups! with Dr. Kimberly Muñoz

We can’t give what we don’t have! Educators more often than not play the role of advocate on behalf of their students, and this work can be equally rewarding and exhausting. Listen in as Dr. Kimberly Muñoz and Michelle Morris Jones dive into the realities of equitable education advocacy and suggestions for sustainable advocacy. Dr. Muñoz shares her perspectives on the importance of healing, and how in order to continue to move forward as individuals and as a group we must continue to heal. In addition, Dr. Muñoz offers the following invitations as ways for advocates to “fill their cups” as they engage in this meaningful journey.

  • Reframe our identities as advocates, as opposed to martyrs
  • Find joy and creativity in our work and life outside of school
  • Do what is in front of you, as opposed to taking on the world
  • Demonstrate empathy for yourself and others
  • Find your tribe and be a bit of a Chingona!

This episode connects to PEBC’s belief that each and every student deserves a great educator and by building one’s internal capacities we can create phenomenal learning experiences that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Dr. Kimberly Muñoz is an advocate for equitable educational opportunities for bilingual students in her roles as an educator and researcher.  She has served students as a bilingual educator for the past twenty years across the state of Texas. Dr. Muñoz earned her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Reading Education from Texas A&M-Commerce. She is currently an adjunct professor of preservice and in-service teachers at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas and participates in several local and international research teams which explore the development of teacher educator programs. Follow her on instagram/twitter @drkimberlymunoz or reach out at drkimberlymunoz@gmail.com.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching.  Those strands include community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are creating scaffolds for each and every student to ensure that classrooms and schools are places where agency, equity, and understanding can flourish.

Jul 06, 202236:37
Cultivating STEM Identity with Creative Problem Solving featuring Wendy Ward Hoffer

Cultivating STEM Identity with Creative Problem Solving featuring Wendy Ward Hoffer

Our students are the problem solvers of the future! Unfortunately, by 3rd grade 50% of kids have already decided if they are confident STEM learners or not. Let's disrupt this trend by creating learning experiences that shift mindsets from, "I don't like..." or "I've never been very good at..." to productive and positive STEM identities that foster joy, curiosity, and understanding of STEM related content.  Listen in as Wendy Ward Hoffer shares the what, why and how of cultivating productive teacher and student STEM identities on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast.  Wendy and Michelle Morris Jones discuss the connections between STEM education and equity, health, and authentic problem solving.  Wendy shares specific ways for teachers to increase their own efficacy so they may feel more confident and excited to support creative problem solving in their science and math classrooms. In addition, Wendy offers examples of life-worthy science and math experiences rooted in problem solving, reflection, academic language, and authenticity. This episode connects to the Planning and Community strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework.

Wendy is the author of the new Phenomenal Teaching, as well as Cultivating STEM Identities, Minds on Mathematics and Science as Thinking, all published by Heinemann. She is also the author of NCTM’s Developing Literate Mathematicians. Wendy serves as Senior Director of Content Development and Publications for the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC) and travels nationally to provide professional learning to teachers at all levels. Wendy is passionate about promoting rich thinking in all content areas, especially math and science.  She is the co-facilitator of our upcoming Science Institute.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Apr 06, 202242:29
Reimagining MTSS: Interventions That Honor All Students

Reimagining MTSS: Interventions That Honor All Students

Kids helping other kids get unstuck! After recognizing that the “old ways” weren’t working for kids or teachers, the leadership team at Cherokee Trail High School embarked on developing an MTSS structure that was more about meeting the needs of kids and less about being convenient for adults.  When asked, students reported that they wanted a place to go where they could get help from other students, and so the Cougar Resource Center was born. The Cougar Resource Center is a student-led tutoring center that supports all students, including those who are identified as in need of Tier 2 academic support. Students crafted the mission, “Create a sense of belonging where students feel comfortable asking for and receiving support,” provide tutoring for students who drop in during their off blocks, recruit new tutors, and strive to make CTHS a better place.  The CRC is wildly popular with students (with 3000 visits last semester) and has made a significant impact on student academic performance, culture, and community at CTHS.  Listen in as the Director of the CRC, Molly Robbins, shares the story of how one large high school developed an MTSS structure that is making a big difference.  Molly shares the philosophy and the day to day details that make the CRC such a success. This episode connects to the ways in which the PEBC Teaching Framework highlights the importance of creating schools and systems that value community and the use of data to foster student agency, equity and understanding.Click here to learn more about the PEBC Teaching Framework.

Molly has served students and teachers in many ways over the years as an English and English as a Second Language Teacher, an Instructional Coach, a Staff Developer and currently as the MTSS Coordinator at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colorado. When Molly isn’t working on finding ways to empower kids she enjoys traveling the world. 

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Mar 11, 202241:01
Museums as Fuel for Igniting Lifeworthy Inquiry, Engagement & Joy with Ellen Spangler

Museums as Fuel for Igniting Lifeworthy Inquiry, Engagement & Joy with Ellen Spangler

Striving to increase student engagement, wondering what community resources exist to bring content to life, needing time to recharge with art, science or history? Listen in as Ellen Spangler, Museum Educator and Consultant, shares all the ways in which museums, art centers, and nonprofit organizations can provide unique and engaging learning opportunities, high quality resources, and inspiration to bolster student agency, equity, and understanding on PEBC's Phenomenal Teaching Podcast. Like all organizations, museums and nonprofits have had to shift and with that shift there is an abundance of new resources that can be accessed virtually or in-person. Ellen shares strategies for researching possibilities, accessing resources, partnering with organizations, and finding energy in our community and national museums, arts organizations, and nonprofits. This conversation aligns with the Planning strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework in that it provides ways to plan with purpose, for the people before us, and with impactful processes. Click here to learn more about the PEBC Teaching Framework.

Ellen is the happiest when she is dabbling in new things, and she has worked for nonprofits for 20 years. Her first love will always be museums, but she has also cherished her work in education and membership organizations. She holds an MAT in Museum Education from the George Washington University and a BA in Art History and Italian from the University of Virginia. She is a seasoned educator and has designed and delivered programs, trained staff and volunteers, and conducted program evaluations for art and children’s museums. She has proven herself as a successful fundraiser, securing grants and managing events that have financially fueled the hard work of mission-driven organizations. Ellen founded her consulting business, Three Notch’d Nonprofit Solutions, with the premise that every organization has stories to tell. She is committed to bringing those stories to life and advancing the nonprofit sector by providing support when staff is stretched a little too thin or simply is in need of a fresh perspective.

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Feb 17, 202228:27
Creating the Conditions of Learning To Foster Engagement & Growth In Times of Disruption

Creating the Conditions of Learning To Foster Engagement & Growth In Times of Disruption

The “Conditions of Learning” work synergistically to support student engagement and understanding. But what happens when systems are stressed? What happens when deficit based language and practices start to creep into our work with children? What happens when teachers are not able to be responsive to the students before them?  In this episode of the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast, Michelle Morris Jones reconnects with Dr. Brian Cambourne and author Debra Crouch to unpack the ways the “Conditions Of Learning” are more relevant today than ever before.

First and foremost learners must be the “doers” of what they are learning. Today’s students must have ample time to read, write, talk, problem solve, and apply their learning.  Being a doer is supported by engagement, immersion, demonstrations, employment, expectation, approximation, responsibility and response ~ these conditions are commonly known as the “Conditions of Learning”  or “Cambourne’s Conditions” and are an essential component of “Cambourne’s Model of Learning.”   Our expectations for students and our responses to them are more important now than ever before, we must believe they are capable and they must know that we believe in them.  By honoring approximations we are able to see our students’ strengths and plan our instruction to support those strengths and address any needs.  Immersion, Demonstration, Responsibility and Employment (or use) come together to create opportunities for authentic application and practice.  Engagement is critical as we must strive to create environments where each and every student is able to create a bond so that learning can occur.  To learn more you can examine Dr. Cambourne and Debra’s book  Made for Learning: How the Conditions of Learning Guide Teaching Decisions.

Brian Cambourne is presently a Principal Fellow at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He began teaching in 1956 at the age of 19 and spent nine years teaching in a mix of one-room schools and primary classrooms K-6 for the New South Wales Department of Education. In his tenth year of service for this department he entered the groves of Academe as a teacher educator at Wagga Wagga Teachers College. He completed his Ph.D at James Cook University in North Queensland, and was subsequently a Fullbright Scholar and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard. He has also been a Visiting Fellow at the Universities of Illinois and Arizona. Since completing his doctoral studies (1972), Brian has been researching how learning, especially literacy learning, occurs. He has conducted this research in the naturalistic mode he prefers by sitting in classrooms for many hundreds of hours.

Debra Crouch works nationally as an independent literacy consultant, collaborating with districts and schools in designing professional learning opportunities to empower teachers, principals, and coaches as they envision instruction over time, across texts, and among practices. She has been involved in education for the past 32 years as a classroom teacher, coach, consultant, and author. She actively shares her thinking and practices through long-term professional learning opportunities with districts across the country serving children from diverse language and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Jan 21, 202239:02
Addressing The Teacher Shortage... Causes & Solutions

Addressing The Teacher Shortage... Causes & Solutions

At PEBC we believe that each and every student deserves a great teacher!  In many of today’s classrooms and schools, leaders are struggling to fill vacancies with high quality teachers who are well prepared for the rigorous yet rewarding work of teaching.  We are also well aware of the shortage of substitute teachers and other school based professionals who serve students in many, many ways.  So it is with this concern in mind, that Annette Konoske-Graf from TEACH Colorado and Jack Kronser from Douglas County Schools join Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to examine the realities related to the teacher shortage and ways to mitigate this crisis.  As the Senior Program Manager of TEACH Colorado, Annette has an incredible perspective on the issue at a state level, various programs that are in place to recruit and support new teachers, and a variety of new policies that have been put in place to support our educator workforce.  As a seasoned Director of Human Resources, Jack brings 27 years of recruitment experience to the conversation and shares the hurdles that districts face in recruiting and retaining teachers as well as a handful of possible solutions.  Both Annette and Jack believe that we must focus on competitive compensation, increasing educator diversity, and creating pathways for new teachers.

TEACHColorado.org is a free, one-stop shop for anyone interested in becoming a licensed educator in Colorado. The site provides 1:1 licensure coaching, information on teacher prep programs, application fee reimbursements, and scholarships. Check out TEACHColorado.org today!

Annette Konoske-Graf is the Senior Program Manager of TEACH Colorado. Launched in 2019, TEACH Colorado is a statewide, cross-sector initiative aimed at improving the quality and diversity of Colorado’s teacher pipeline. Annette has worked in a variety of education and philanthropic organizations in San Diego, New York, and Washington D.C. She spent two years teaching ninth- and tenth-grade English literature in Little Haiti, Miami.  As an education policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, she worked with more than 65 leading education organizations on the TeachStrong initiative, building partnerships to elevate the teaching profession.

Jack Kronser is Director of Human Resources and his entire career has been in public education, coordinating programs, providing leadership in school district programs and facilitating professional development. His last 27 years have been in school district Human Resources, with a special emphasis in teacher recruitment.  A special passion has been in promoting organizational equity.

Dec 12, 202138:52
Grade Less…Know More with Dr. Sarah Zerwin & Jenn Brauner

Grade Less…Know More with Dr. Sarah Zerwin & Jenn Brauner

Do you find yourself wondering how you will ever grade that giant stack of papers?  Wondering if there might be other ways to support your students’ progress or monitor their understanding? What would happen if we eliminated the points for compliance exchange, students advocated for their own grades, and grade books essentially became “point-less”?  Would student agency increase, would students’ reading and writing lives and habits reflect those needed to be successful communicators in the real world, could teachers grade less but know more about their students?  Dr. Sarah Zerwin and PEBC Lab Host Jenn Brauner join Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss Sarah’s book, Point-less: An English Teacher’s Guide to More Meaningful Grading, and how points based grading gets in the way of student learning and ways to reimagine one’s assessment system that meets the needs of traditional school expectations while at the same time providing more meaningful feedback to students.  Michelle asks Sarah and Jenn to dive into the trajectory of implementing a “point-less” grading system, including the big wins and the challenges. 

Sarah is the author of Point-Less: An English Teacher's Guide to More Meaningful Grading, high school English teacher, instructional coach and facilitator for the Colorado Writing Project.  Jenn Brauner is a middle school English Language Arts teacher, PEBC Lab Host and Staff Developer, and instructional leader. For more resources and information check out Sarah’s website: https://sarahmzerwin.com/resources/ 

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Nov 30, 202143:46
Texts in These Times with Cris Tovani

Texts in These Times with Cris Tovani

We don't want kids to leave school each day without reading 67 minutes or hating to read!  So how do we get texts back into kids' hands, hearts, and minds?  Cris Tovani joins the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss her latest book, Why Do I Have to Read This? Literacy Strategies to Engage Our Most Reluctant Readers, and research based strategies to get students re-engaged with reading.  Cris cautions us to watch out for practices that do not to support student growth and to leverage the following:

  • Volume: Increase independent reading time across the day and across subject areas ~ aim for 67 minutes each day!
  • Choice: Increase engagement by not asking every student to read the same text or complete the same task all the time ~ strive to include variety!
  • Relevancy: Increase agency by connecting content to students' lives outside of school ~ create opportunities for ownership!
  • Curiosity: Increase understanding by leaning into student generated questions rather than teacher produced materials ~ encourage students to ask their own questions!

In addition, Cris shares strategies for designing better units and text sets.  Crafting compelling topics, targets, tasks, and text sets that connect to kids increases student engagement, she offers the following planning questions:

  • Topic: What's the point of what we are studying?
  • Targets: What do we want students to know and be able to do?
  • Tasks: What are we asking students to do or make that reflects their true understanding and emulates real world products?
  • Texts: What anchor text is going to ground our study and serve as a touchstone for everyone? What supporting texts can we offer that span perspectives, genre, and accessibility?

Cris Tovani taught first grade to seniors for 31 years. Her entire career has been spent trying to figure out the “knowing-doing” gap. Researchers tell teachers what they should be doing but actually doing it with 125+ students is a whole new ball game. Throughout her career, Cris has tried to take reading and writing research and apply it to all levels of learners. She loves sharing her success and failures with colleagues around the world so they too, can better serve students. Cris is a founder of PEBC and an internationally known consultant focusing on issues of reading, content comprehension and assessment in secondary classrooms. She has been an adjunct professor and is the author of four books: I Read it but I Don’t Get It, Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, So, What do They Really Know?,  No More Telling as Teaching:  Less Lecture, More Engaged Learning and Why Do I Have to Read This?

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Nov 12, 202138:52
Check Your Landing: Planning Learning Experiences That are Worthy of Students’ Time & Attention with Gabrielle Hovinen

Check Your Landing: Planning Learning Experiences That are Worthy of Students’ Time & Attention with Gabrielle Hovinen

If we want to create learning experiences that are worthy of students’ time and attention, we must be planful!  PEBC Lab Host and 6th grade Advisor at Jefferson County Open School, Gabrielle Hovinen, joins Michelle Morris Jones on PEBC’s Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to share her process for cultivating a community of reflective, self-directed, and inquisitive students. Student centered, life-worthy and responsive planning promotes student empowerment and fosters the confidence, skills, and drive to engage in difficult work.  Gabrielle pairs content standards with carefully scaffolded inquiry based learning experiences which helps her students not only gain critical literacy skills but also make connections between school and the world around them.  Her process includes; chunking the year into manageable bits, starting small with shorter units and texts, building discourse skills, increasing the complexity of the tasks and length of units, and increasing the amount of choice.  Ultimately, we must “check the landing” by providing lessons that will guide students as they take on new personal, social, and intellectual risks as they climb the metaphorical tree of learning. This conversation connects to the "Plan" strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework. 

From an intermediate school in the inner loop of a major American city to an elementary school school resting over 8,000 feet above sea level. From a pre-K-12 grade international school near the Dnieper River to where she first attended school as a kindergartener, Gabrielle has been teaching and adapting to different learning structures for over twenty years.  She loves learning and the process of learning and, this month, she is learning how to work with polymer clay, learning how to make a birdhouse, learning how to teach her cats to stay, and learning how to speak Spanish.

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Oct 29, 202131:37
Strategies to Restore Peace & Sanity To Our Classrooms with Dr. Andra Brill

Strategies to Restore Peace & Sanity To Our Classrooms with Dr. Andra Brill

Educators and students have been weathering the storm for quite some time now, and while the waves of uncertainty, stress and trauma are diminishing for many, the after effects of the storm are still present.  Dr. Andra Brill joins PEBC's Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to talk about strategies teachers can implement to support students as they learn how to do school all over again. As many educators have witnessed the impacts of COVID, social unrest, chronic stress, and trauma can lead students to at times be dysregulated and unable to learn. In addition, many educators are also seeing disruptive student behaviors that they have not encountered before. While this all makes sense from a neurological standpoint, it can be challenging to know how to move forward and find new ways of meeting students where they are.

Andra shares a number of strategies, some do's and a couple of don'ts to help restore peace and sanity in our classrooms. Environment is key, particularly creating an environment that helps students (and teachers) feel calm and in control.  Shifting to responsibilities rather than rules, sticking with rituals & routines, and allowing time and space for reflection all build a container in which teachers can cultivate a supportive environment and community.  Leveraging relationships and taking on the mantra of reliable and relentless care, while intentionally carving out time to connect with students creates a level of trust which promotes personal connection and academic achievement.  And finally, regulating our own responses and extending empathy go a long way in de-escalating situations when students feel out of control or unable to self-regulate.

This episode links directly to the Community strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework.  Dr. Andra Brill is an independent education consultant and PEBC Staff Developer who strives to elevate the necessity of social and emotional learning, equitable literacy practices for all students, and culturally responsive leadership. Andra works with teachers, schools and leaders to develop instructional practices that foster social and emotional well being AND academic success.  Check out her latest blog to learn more about Andra and her work.

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Oct 13, 202133:16
Permission to Pump The Brakes: Suggestions on Slowing Down

Permission to Pump The Brakes: Suggestions on Slowing Down

Brooke O”Drobinak and Beth Kelley join PEBC’s Phenomenal Teaching Podcast with Michelle Morris Jones to share perspectives and practices to help educators 'make it to Monday” during this incredibly challenging time.  First and foremost, it is important to recognize that we are in the midst of a “mental health tsunami” and all of our feelings, reactions, and actions are NORMAL as we are all processing stress and trauma in different ways and at different times. Some days we might feel great and have tons of efficacy and energy to burn; while other days we might find ourselves quite low and culling through the Help Wanteds.  Nervous systems are taxed, reserves are depleted and many educators are finding that there is no resolution to the stress cycle, in other words it feels like there is no time for rest.

So what can we do? Educators can beat the stress cycle by reestablishing community, practicing prioritization, and making time for rest or rejuvenation  At school we can slow down and cut back, practice prioritization by not adding more initiatives, and invest in creating meaningful connections with colleagues and students.  Teachers and students are learning how to “do school” all over again and that takes a lot of energy and grace.  At the personal level, we must prioritize our health and take care of our bodies so that we can show up as the most effective educators we can be. This might include incorporating a mindfulness practice, tapping into opportunities to be creative, getting more sleep, finding time for movement or tending to one’s diet with more focus than before. Give yourself permission to rest!  Pump the brakes!!!

Thinking About Creating a Self Care Plan?  Check out this guide.

Thinking About Cultivating a Mindset of Possibility for yourself or colleagues? Check out this checklist.

Beth Kelley, MA, LPC, is a psychotherapist, who spent most of her 18 year career in schools working as a school-based therapist. Additionally she owned a private practice, worked in community mental health, and as a clinical supervisor. Currently, Beth is a consultant for schools and organizations interested in deepening their commitment to caring for their most precious resource, their people...by developing more holistic, relationship based, human centered models.

Brooke O’Drobinak, MA, has been in education for more than 25 years at various levels. She is currently working in Aurora Public Schools. She served in school administration for the prior 13 years at a high-functioning, inner-city Denver high school. Her work is founded on the belief that students and relationships are at the heart of school communities. She also deeply values the critical roles that professional learning and leadership play in supporting all students, and their teachers.

Oct 01, 202132:49
This Is What Comes With It... Stepping Into Real Classroom & School Leadership with Maggie Riley

This Is What Comes With It... Stepping Into Real Classroom & School Leadership with Maggie Riley

School leadership takes on many forms from those who serve in formal leadership roles to those who stand before students each and every day.  In order to step boldly into true service and leadership we must first know ourselves, our values, our why, and the habits and ways of thinking that hold us back.  Maggie Riley, a certified Integrative Holistic Wellness Coach and Assistant Principal, shares her insights with Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast.  Maggie believes that stepping into real leadership means knowing ourselves so we can be our best on behalf of those we serve.  When balancing compassion with accountability for both ourselves and others Maggie encourages us to avoid "that's just the way it is thinking," congeniality over collegiality, and burning out so we might step into possibility. Stepping into possibility requires connection, clarity, and compassion.  As we all strive to make schools more phenomenal than ever before, listen in for ways to tap into your self as leader and for ways to break the cycle of overwhelm and drama.

When Maggie Riley isn't serving students and teachers as an Assistant Principal she serves individuals and groups as an Expansion Coach through Riley Results Coaching.  Maggie has more than a decade of experience in public education as both a teacher and school leader, with seven of those years as an instructional and leadership coach.  She has her Masters degree in urban education from the University of Denver and her Integrative Holistic Coaching Certification with over 1000 hours in study and practice to earn certification as a Level II  IHC coach.

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to elevate the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Sep 22, 202139:58
Compelling Conversations with Jailyn Jenkins

Compelling Conversations with Jailyn Jenkins

Jailyn Jenkins believes that each and every learner deserves life-worthy conversations that promote community and deepen content understanding. Jailyn joined Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to unpack the PEBC Teaching Framework and specific ways in which teachers can promote student discourse that is meaningful, culturally responsive and sustaining, and inclusive of all voices. First and foremost, we must invest in building relationships with students and establishing rituals and routines that promote talk in our classrooms.  This involves examining our internal biases and beliefs about who’s holding the power and knowledge and who gets to have a voice.  Laying the groundwork for rich and lifeworthy discourse begins on day one by engaging students in conversations about their lives and interests as well as content.  This creates an expectation that each and every student has something to say that is valuable.

When planning for discourse Jailyn considers:

  • Lifeworthy Topics: What matters for students? How can you build a bridge between content standards and life outside of school?
  • Intentional Planning:  What do you want students to talk about and how will that build community or understanding? How are you going to scaffold the conversation for student success?
  • Multiple Entry Points: Can everyone contribute something to the conversation in some way? What modes of discourse or languages are students able to use to express their ideas?
  • Open-Ended Questions: Are questions crafted in a way that promotes critical thinking or are they designed to elicit a particular response? In what ways can students explore the “how” and “why” rather than the “what” or “who?”

In closing, Jailyn encourages us to double down on life-worthiness by building authentic relationships with students, expressing creativity that leads to innovation, and putting ourselves in the seats of students.

Jailyn Jenkins, "Educator, Advocate, Wellness Enthusiast" teaches science, facilitates professional learning opportunities, and serves as an instructional coach in Aurora Public Schools. Jailyn has a Bachelor's in Education from ASU and a Masters in Education Administration from GCU. She is a Denver native, loves adventure, trampoline parks, and just about anything that brings joy! Follow her on Instagram @Ms.Jenkins.Science

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Sep 10, 202134:03
Humanizing Schools with Samantha Bennett

Humanizing Schools with Samantha Bennett

As we strive to create schools that are more phenomenal than ever before Michelle Morris Jones sits down with Sam Bennett to discuss Humanizing Leadership.  Sam clearly spells out some of the ways in which schools systematically dehumanize teachers and students, and she suggests actions leaders can take to create schools that support the humanity of each and every teacher and student.  Sam encourages us to "break the fake" and examine the ways in which we use or abuse time, how to foster thoughtful and productive collaboration, and the importance of engaging in authentic work that is worthy of our students.  At the root of humanizing leadership is the power of trust and its ability to create schools where everyone wants to be and where everyone can grow.  Sam leaves us all with a call to action... Recreate schools that are joyful, life changing places of perpetual growth for all. 

Samantha Bennett is the author of That Workshop Book, and a contributing author to Comprehension Going Forward and The Right To Literacy. She recently edited Cris Tovani’s new book, Why Do I Have to Read This?  She is also the co-author and collaborator with Cris Tovani and Debbie Miller of two on-demand courses through Heinneman. Sam serves educators as an instructional coach and education consultant.  She is an expert in curriculum design and day to day instruction who works with districts and schools around the country to nurture Professional Capital.  She has worked for the PEBC and continues to be a dear colleague and supporter of our work.

The "Phenomenal Teaching Podcast" is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer's book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to elevate the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.

Sep 01, 202132:57
What Do You Hope the Teachers Remember? Student Perspectives on Virtually Connected Learning

What Do You Hope the Teachers Remember? Student Perspectives on Virtually Connected Learning

As we head into summer vacation, students Estella and Killian and their Virtual Advisor Karen Goodman share their reflections on their experiences as learners in their virtually connected classroom with Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast. It is informative and joyful to listen in on all the successes, challenges, and favorite memories as Estella and Killian share how they grew as a readers, writers, and thinkers! Both Estella and Killian highlight how they grew in terms of independence, time management, and self motivation. In addition, Killian shares how his writing took off this year via writers' workshop and engaging in meaningful inquiry projects. While Estella shares how she went from a student who didn't really like to read to a student who is always reading; in fact, her bookshelf is overflowing and she is now taking books to family gatherings! Karen shares how she grew as a teacher and how she had to practice the Jefferson County Open School principle of "adapting to the world as it is" to meet the needs of her 33 virtually connected 4th, 5th, and 6th grade learners. Karen prioritized maintaining personal connections, facilitating authentic inquiry projects, and utilizing workshop structures to maximize engagement, increase understanding, and to instill joy in learning. Killian and Estella hope that teachers will continue to be awesome (like Karen), practice flexibility, help students persevere through challenges, bring fun into the classroom, and recognize that virtual learners have become more self-directed and responsible. Most importantly, they want teachers to trust them as capable learners when they return to in-person learning environments in the fall.  Karen hopes that students will recognize all that they have achieved this year and the importance of perseverance.

May 25, 202133:36
Planning for Culturally Nourishing Learning with Nawal Q. Casiano

Planning for Culturally Nourishing Learning with Nawal Q. Casiano

By centering humanity we can plan for cultural sustainability and implement equitable practices that are not bandaid solutions or simply performative activities. Nawal Q. Casiano of NQC Literacy joins Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast and shares her beliefs and practical ideas for teaching literacy for agency, equity and understanding. 

Nawal and Michelle dive into the elements of the planning strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework and discuss how we must think outside of the box so that students can build their criticality muscles across contexts. Choice and flexibility are hallmarks of a culturally responsive learning environments that foster agency and independence. Choice can manifest itself in not only what students read, but also in how they respond to text.  And for writers, choice can go beyond topic choice and include choices about process and product. It is also important to expand our definition of text and provide opportunities for students to apply thinking strategies.  Criticality is providing opportunities for students to engage in inquiry and develop critical thinking skills not just fill-n-the-box skills. One concrete strategy for supporting multicultural and multilingual students who are translingual and shaping their identities as readers and writers is to encourage students to record their ideas as a prewriting strategy before committing to the page. Getting to know and honoring families and exalting cultural capital should also be top of mind when designing culturally sustaining curriculum. Nawal shares her list of Culturally Nourishing Resources that elevate the importance of traditions and food across cultures. 

Nawal and Michelle wrap up their conversation by diving into the ways in which we can diversify our classroom and school collections. First, Nawal encourages us to expand our familiarity with diverse texts and authors. She has recently teamed up with Cornelius Minor  to exalt the voices of diverse authors with We Need Diverse Books.  Check out the latest interview with Shape of Thunder and Other Words for Home author Jessica Warga!  When it comes to selecting new texts for our collections, Nawal encourages teachers, schools and systems to avoid promoting stereotypes by featuring a single diverse text about a particular culture, ensure that diverse texts were actually written by authors living those experiences, provide a wide array of choice texts for students, and reconsider some of our touchstone texts so that our instructional materials can truly serve as windows, doors and mirrors (c. Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop) To learn more about how to diversify your texts, check out https://disrupttexts.org; We Need Books that Center Black Joy by Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul; and Lee + Low Book Publishers.

May 17, 202130:29
Getting Unstuck: One teacher's story of how she found her greatest successes by tackling her greatest challenges with Kirsten Myers Blake

Getting Unstuck: One teacher's story of how she found her greatest successes by tackling her greatest challenges with Kirsten Myers Blake

Teaching first grade for the first time is tricky!  And teaching first grade virtually for the first time is even trickier!!  Listen in as PEBC Lab Host Kirsten Myers Blake shares how she got “unstuck” when times got tough by leaning into her beliefs, determining importance, and loving hard.  As a fierce believer in the workshop model Kirsten knew she had to provide opportunities for her young students to read and write everyday and to provide the “just right” amount of support. Challenges like supporting students during composing time, conferring consistently, managing virtual book bags, providing opportunities for collaboration, and learning skills like counting money seemed huge at times, yet Kirsten found that her greatest successes were born by leaning into her beliefs.  Isolation from colleagues and the deficit based rhetoric surrounding student learning were defeating at times, yet Kirsten found that by determining importance she was able to swim out of the ‘sea of grey’ and identify all of the amazing things her students were able to learn this year. Her belief in the power and importance of asset-based language and practices for children and adults were affirmed again and again.  And finally, Kirsten embraced her mantra of ‘loving hard’ and infused her virtual classroom with positive energy by throwing elaborate publishing parties, writing weekly notes to parents, and providing a space for her students to “play” and connect together virtually.  While teachers and students across the country have faced great challenges and have exhibited great resilience this year, Kirsten encourages us to come together next year to create schools and classrooms where everyone can come together to celebrate the brilliance of our children and all that they have learned this year. 

Check out this great blog and video that features Kirsten teaching a virtual writer's workshop for fifth graders If you are interested in learning more about the PEBC Lab Network or how to visit teachers like Kirsten, click here!   

May 06, 202133:13
Finding the Brilliance in Every Student… Asset Based Assessment with Katherine Bomer.

Finding the Brilliance in Every Student… Asset Based Assessment with Katherine Bomer.

In this episode Katherine Bomer and Michelle Morris Jones discuss the importance of asset based assessment practices and the ways in which adopting an appreciative mindset leads to student growth, efficacy and joy as Katherine's work aligns closely with the Assessment strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework as illustrated in Phenomenal Teaching by Wendy Ward Hoffer.  In Hidden Gems Katherine wrote about the importance of naming AND teaching from students’ brilliance.  She invited us to expand our vision of quality, identify student strengths, and to respond to student writing in ways that honored those strengths. On the podcast Katherine shares how her thinking about asset based assessment has evolved from the publication of Hidden Gems to include the development of her newest framework. Our feedback to students must not silence, correct, or simply tolerate the language and cultural differences of our students, rather we must move to appreciate our students' writing and ask ourselves what we can learn from the genius of each writer. This appreciation develops student confidence, command of craft, and the disposition to take risks as a writer; ultimately, our classrooms must be centered in joy and student creativity as we strive to create classrooms and schools that honor and celebrate each and every student.

Katherine Bomer is a writer and a teacher of writers. Her many books have helped countless teachers craft writer’s workshops and experiences for students that build off of students’ strengths, elevate craft and honor student individuality.  She has illustrated the ways in which the true essay can come to life in The Journey is Everything, in Writing a Life, she takes the common memoir and expands its power to show kids how far their writing can go, and in For a Better World with Randy Bomer Katherine encourages us to examine how to read with a critical lens and use writing to change the world. In her newest book, A Teacher's Guide to Writing Workshop Essentials: Time, Choice, Response, co-authored with Corrine Arens as part of The Classroom Essentials Series, she once again elevates the importance of looking for what students can do inside a workshop structure that honors the time, choice, and feedback that all writers need. Please visit Katherine's bio page to learn more about her and her work.

Apr 27, 202139:08
Planning Lifeworthy Writer’s Workshops… Ensuring the Work Our Students Do is Worthy of Their Time with Kelly Boswell

Planning Lifeworthy Writer’s Workshops… Ensuring the Work Our Students Do is Worthy of Their Time with Kelly Boswell

In this episode Kelly Boswell joins Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss how to plan and implement lifeworthy writer’s workshops.  In the PEBC Teaching Framework, "lifeworthy learning"  means engaging with classroom content in a way that has meaning beyond the classroom. Lifeworthy learning sees and supports students as scholars, citizens and humans and helps them to see connections between the learning in the classroom and life outside of it. Kelly strives to create learning opportunities that are worthy of students’ time and asks herself four questions:

  1. Is this meaningful?
  2. Is this purposeful?
  3. Is this something that real writers do?
  4. Would I be engaged in this task?

From there Kelly takes on an unfussy, yet not watered down approach, to crafting her daily plans. Exploring mentor texts, modeling productive struggle through one’s own writing, providing time to practice and apply new learning, and ensuring that students are creating real writing pieces for authentic audiences are the hallmarks of effective and engaging writing instruction regardless of content area or grade level.

Kelly Boswell is a well known author and literacy consultant who spends her days working with children and adults to develop writer’s workshops that are steeped in authenticity, choice, and voice.  This year Kelly is teaching 450 K-5 students asynchronously and has planned over dozens of writing units and recorded hundreds of mini-lessons.  Kelly is the author of Write This Way from the Start: The First 15 Days of Writer’s Workshop,  Write this Way: How Modeling Transforms Writing Instruction, and co-author of the book Crafting Nonfiction with Linda Hoyt. Her newest book is called Every Kid a Writer: Strategies That Get Everyone Writing.

To learn more about Kelly please visit her bio.

To learn more about the PEBC Teaching Framework, check out Wendy Ward Hoffer’s newest book, Phenomenal Teaching.

Apr 14, 202133:26
Finding Humanity in Hybrid Learning: How do we support students who are beside us and learning from home? with Jenn Brauner & Jennifer Engbretsen

Finding Humanity in Hybrid Learning: How do we support students who are beside us and learning from home? with Jenn Brauner & Jennifer Engbretsen

In this episode, PEBC Lab Hosts Jenn Brauner and Jennifer Engbretsen join Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to discuss the ways in which hybrid learning is playing out for them and their students.  We dive into how the various strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework support student community and learning. Intentional planning and formative assessment strategies have been crucial to student success and ensuring that students have a reason to keep showing up socially and intellectually.  Jenn shares the ways in which she plans mini units that are life-worthy and engaging for students, how she confers with students who are beside her and at home, and how she structures meaningful exit tickets. Jennifer shares the ways in which she collects data in real time via Desmos & Peardeck so that she can adjust her instruction to meet her students' needs, how she protects student privacy while teaching virtually and in-person simultaneously, and connecting with each and every student.  They also share the struggles associated with striving to "see" their students each and every day, challenges with the physical space, and continually reestablishing norms. 

Jennifer Engbretsen loves math and makes it come alive for 9th and 10th graders in Denver, Colorado. When she's not working with students she is supporting colleagues as a numbers crushing Data Specialist who believes that student data should guide daily instruction.  In addition to being a data guru she loves crafting and building furniture. Besides teaching high schoolers how to be great thinkers, the most interesting job she has ever had was working at a Glow in the Dark Putt Putt. Listen in for inspiration and information!

Jenn Brauner rocks the middle grades and has found that adolescents are just as quirky in a virtual setting as they are in the classroom. She recommends “predictability on steroids” and has found that a consistent opening routine has paved the way for student engagement and learning. When it comes to planning, prioritizing reading, thinking, and talking allows her to align her standards and assessments with the just right medium for student understanding, engagement, and equity. 

Apr 06, 202135:34
Argument Matters: Fostering Student Power, Wisdom & Empathy with Annie Patterson, Stevi Quate, and Alisa Wills-Keely

Argument Matters: Fostering Student Power, Wisdom & Empathy with Annie Patterson, Stevi Quate, and Alisa Wills-Keely

In this episode of the PEBC Phenomenal Teaching Podcast Michelle Morris Jones dives into the art of argument writing and the craft of teaching argumentation with PEBC Staff Developers Annie Patterson & Stevi Quate, along with PEBC Lab Host Alisa Wills-Keely.  This trio brings a wealth of experience to their work with students and adults.  Their conversation highlights the importance of planning for purpose, people, and process along with the workshop model as described in the PEBC Teaching Framework within Wendy Ward Hoffer’s Phenomenal Teaching. Annie, Stevi and Alisa lay out a compelling argument that argumentation, when taught well, fosters student empowerment, wisdom, and empathy that transcends the classroom and ultimately impacts the world.

Annie shares how teachers can “mentor the thinker” through studying evidence, experiencing perspective bending, and engaging in discourse.  Stevi emphasizes the importance of crafting lifeworthy workshops that are steeped in compelling topics, quality mentor texts, and the production of authentic products for real audiences.  Alisa shares how the study of argumentation cultivates classroom communities in which everyone is seen and heard, engagement soars, and students are afforded opportunities to make a difference in the world.

To learn more about argument writing, check out the PEBC Writing Institute, April 8th, 17th & 25th from 4:30 - 7:00 MST

Annie Patterson is the Senior Director of Lab Networks at PEBC.  She works locally and nationally to support student understanding, equity, and understanding through presentations, coaching, and facilitating teachers learning alongside one another in classrooms. When she is not supporting teachers and students you can find her reading poetry and taking long walks with her dog Henry.

Stevi Quate is the co-author of Clockwatchers and the Just Right Challenge, a PEBC Staff Developer & Independent Consultant.  Stevi a fierce advocate for student engagement and believes in the capacity of each and every student and teacher. Stevi is often found adventuring around the US and world, and is never without her writer’s notebook.

Alisa Wills-Keely is a PEBC Lab Host and Language Arts Educator, who is currently teaching a great group of middle schoolers remotely but looking forward to her return to the regular classroom in the fall.  She is a former Literacy Coach and District Secondary Literacy Coordinator. Spending time with her family and cycling keeps her busy when she’s not planning amazing reading and writing workshops for students.

Mar 25, 202138:29
Making Up for Lost Time with Joy, Inquiry & Community with Jana Durbin

Making Up for Lost Time with Joy, Inquiry & Community with Jana Durbin

In this episode  PEBC Lab Host Jana Durbin and Michelle Morris Jones unpack the fear of “learning loss” and how joy, inquiry, and community come together to create opportunities for supporting student wellness and academic achievement.  In the fall when Jana’s students returned to the classroom she quickly realized the importance of helping her students feel safe and the need for personal connection.  The rituals and routines of the workshop model, extended time to play, and art helped her young learners come together as a strong community of inquirers.

In November, Jana and her students returned to a remote learning model until it was safe for schools to reopen.  When her students returned to the classroom in January, Jana was shocked at how basic interpersonal and academic skills had slipped away.  Rather than focusing on the loss of discrete skills Jana doubled down on art, interdisciplinary inquiry, and communal goals for growth and high quality.

Today, if one could visit Jana’s classroom they would see her students engaged in Reader's & Writer’s Workshops where they are reading and writing with great engagement and 'just clicking through reading levels,' creating communal art projects that reflect their new learning, and engaged in deep inquiry as scientists and mathematicians.  Jana believes that the workshop model has provided her students with the opportunity to develop their stamina, identity, and find joy through engagement with juicy topics and texts. As Jana plans for next year, she intends on taking care of her students’ little hearts and hands so that their minds can grow. This includes intentionally integrating more art and interdisciplinary projects to build community, engagement, and deeper understanding of the world.

Jana Durbin is a PEBC Lab Host and multi-age primary teacher at the Jeffco Open School in Lakewood, Colorado and in normal times hosts visitors to observe her and her young learners in action. To learn more check out the PEBC Teaching Framework or dive into Phenomenal Teaching by Wendy Ward Hoffer.  

Mar 17, 202134:14
The Heart, Head & Hands of Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Teaching with Lorena Germán

The Heart, Head & Hands of Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Teaching with Lorena Germán

Listen in as Lorena Germán, co-founder of #DistruptTexts, joins Michelle Morris Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to unpack the Heart, Head, and Hands of Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist (ABAR) Teaching.  At the heart of ABAR teaching lies Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris & Alim, 2017) and the importance of exploring one's own identity, implicit biases, and instructional practices.  Lorena encourages all educators in an invitational yet firm way to consider, "Whose values are we holding onto tightly and how are those values impacting young people? and In what ways can our teaching be more inclusive of others?"  The what of ABAR teaching is the head and requires us to ask, "What do we teach and why do we teach it?" Moving from occasional performative experiences that feature a multicultural text, a holiday,  or event in history to a culturally sustaining curriculum requires us to re-envision our curriculum, units of study, materials and lessons.  Our planning practices must evolve to include the planning question, "How does this (topic, text, concept, etc.) move us toward positive social transformation?"  So what might ABAR teaching look like on Monday morning? Well that is the how or hands of ABAR teaching. Lorena introduces her framework for ABAR education, Textured Teaching, explaining that it is flexible, interdisciplinary, community centered & student driven, and experiential. Lorena and Michelle link these elements of ABAR Teaching to the areas of planning, community and workshop of the PEBC Teaching Framework which is published in Phenomenal Teaching by Wendy Ward Hoffer.

Lorena is is the Chair of the NCTE’s Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English and she’s a co-founder of #DisruptTexts. Lorena also co-founded Multicultural Classroom with her husband and education leader, Roberto Hermán and serves as the Director of Pedagogy at EduColor.  Lorena has held educational leadership positions at the department level, school-wide level, and in the larger district level from designing curriculum to strategizing for improvement. She is the author of  “The Anti Racist Teacher: Reading Instruction Workbook” and upcoming Textured Teaching.  To learn more about Lorena's work please visit https://www.multiculturalclassroomconsulting.com/

Mar 09, 202141:17
Made For Learning: An Exploration of Cambourne’s Conditions for Learning with Brian Cambourne & Debra Crouch

Made For Learning: An Exploration of Cambourne’s Conditions for Learning with Brian Cambourne & Debra Crouch

Learners must be the “doers” of what they are learning!  Being a doer is supported by engagement, immersion, demonstration, employment, expectation, approximation, responsibility and response ~ these conditions are commonly known as the “Conditions of Learning” or “Cambourne’s Conditions” and are an essential component of “Cambourne’s Model of Learning”theory.   This theory was originally published in Cambourne’s The Whole Story: Natural Learning and the Acquisition of Literacy in the Classroom in 1988. In this episode, Dr. Brian Cambourne and Debra Crouch join Michelle Jones on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to explore the art and science of teaching. The “Conditions of Learning” are just as relevant today as they were 36 years ago; yet, Brian’s recent research about implementation has led to an evolution of his original thinking. In order for teachers to be able to implement the “Conditions of Learning” they must embrace a transactional model of learning rather than a transmission model. Debra Crouch has spent many years in classrooms and schools implementing the model and utilizing the conditions as a means to make sound instructional decisions to create learning opportunities for students and adults that are predicated on meaning making. She brings a wealth of practical examples to their partnership. This partnership and collaboration has led to the publication of Made for Learning: How the Conditions of Learning Guide Teaching Decisions

Brian Cambourne is presently a Principal Fellow at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He began teaching in 1956 at the age of 19 and spent nine years teaching in a mix of one-room schools and primary classrooms K-6 for the New South Wales Department of Education. In his tenth year of service for this department he entered the groves of Academe as a teacher educator at Wagga Wagga Teachers College. He completed his Ph.D at James Cook University in Nth Queensland, and was subsequently a Fulbright Scholar and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard. He has also been a Visiting Fellow at the Universities of Illinois and Arizona. Since completing his doctoral studies (1972), Brian has been researching how learning, especially literacy learning, occurs. He has conducted this research in the naturalistic mode he prefers by sitting in classrooms for many hundreds of hours.

Debra Crouch works nationally as an independent literacy consultant, collaborating with districts and schools in designing professional learning opportunities to empower teachers, principals, and coaches as they envision instruction over time, across texts, and among practices. She has been involved in education for the past 32 years as a classroom teacher, coach, consultant, and author. She actively shares her thinking and practices through long-term professional learning opportunities with districts across the country serving children from diverse language and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Feb 17, 202144:28
Quit Telling Me To Take Care of Myself: Practical Self Care Practices for Educators with Beth Kelley

Quit Telling Me To Take Care of Myself: Practical Self Care Practices for Educators with Beth Kelley

How can educators build practical self care practices that go beyond chocolate, walks, and bubble baths?  Beth Kelley is a wellness consultant who works with educators, entrepreneurs, and organizations to build resiliency and to promote wellness practices that are achievable. She recently joined Michelle Morris Jones on PEBC's Phenomenal Teaching Podcast to get to the bottom of "self care" movement and how teachers can care for themselves.

As educators everywhere are managing the heavy lift of teaching and leading schools during this time,  Beth recognizes that educators are both hopeful and exhausted. Beth digs into her experience as a school-based therapist and consultant and shares ways in which educators can create practical and sustainable self care practices during this time.  Some ideas to consider:

  • Creating a self care practice is an internal exercise, it is not about doing more, it is about doing what you need. Setting reasonable goals and listening to one’s needs allow us to develop a self care practice that is personal and achievable.
  • Embracing a “less is more” approach can be challenging, however,  focusing on the most important thing can help us slow down and be present.  We simply can’t continue to try to "outlive our humanness."
  • Intentionally incorporating transitions into one’s day creates “mindfulness bookends” which can increase efficacy, focus and energy. Consider the ways in which you begin your day, enter your workspace or shift from one activity to another, are you creating opportunities for your mind and body to transition?

Beth Kelley, MA, LPC, is a psychotherapist, who spent most of her 18 year career in schools working as a school-based therapist. Additionally she owned a private practice, worked in community mental health, and as a clinical supervisor. Currently, Beth is a consultant for schools and organizations interested in deepening their commitment to caring for their most precious resource, their people...by developing more holistic, relationship based, human centered models.  She is also the co-author of Teaching, Learning & Trauma.  To learn more about Beth and to see some of her resources you can visit her website at https://bethkelleyconsulting.com/.

Feb 04, 202133:15
What If Reading Aloud Was the Front Porch? with Lester Laminack

What If Reading Aloud Was the Front Porch? with Lester Laminack

What if reading aloud was the front porch or the threshold that welcomed students into learning? As students, teachers and families prepare to return to their classrooms, Lester Laminack joins Michelle Morris Jones to unpack how reading aloud to students has the power to bring communities of learners back together with purpose and meaning.  For all of us, young and old, listening to others read aloud is generally a pleasurable experience as it can take us to other places, help us understand our paths and the paths of others, build background knowledge about topics of interest, foster emotional engagement, and introduce us to the beauty of the written word.  Listening to the written word is different from listening to oral language, it actually helps students "tune their ears" to the cadence and structure of text which supports language and writing development.  Reading aloud is also so much more than just letters and sounds, it provides a model that reading is about curiosity, joy, and understanding.  A well chosen read aloud can provide a space for students to "see" themselves and others, provide opportunities to explore the challenges and triumphs of others, and to develop empathy and agency to make changes in the world.  Just imagine, a poem as the opener as science class begins or the delicious chapter right after lunch that becomes a ritual or routine in a student's day.  We know that many students have experienced great trauma and stress during the pandemic and this time of social change, and reading aloud can serve as a transition into the school day or between classes that allows students to have time to move into calm and productive physical and emotional spaces for learning. Lester Laminack not only shares the reasons for reading aloud but also the importance of intentional planning.  Our text selection makes all the difference and can bring all learners together as teachers, students, and families navigate their return to the classroom.

Lester Laminack is a well known educator, consultant, and author.  You might know him through his contributions to the field via Reading with Children, Writer’s Workshop (Getting Through the Hard Parts and They’re All Hard),  Reading to Make a Difference, Writers ARE Readers, Bullying Hurts, The Writing Teachers' Troubleshooting Guide, and many others.  Or perhaps you know him best through his children's books like The King of Bees, Three Hens and a Peacock, Saturdays and Teacakes, Snow Day!, The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, Trevor’s Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth or Jake’s 100th Day of School. Lester believes in the power of stories and the importance of each and every learner having a voice and the opportunity to connect with texts, as he says, "Stories come out of your soul, past your heart, into your mouth... before they reach the pen in your hand." Learn more about Lester Laminack at http://www.lesterlaminack.com/ or reach him on twitter @lester_laminack


Jan 25, 202137:06
Impact over Intention: Actions To Foster Positive Student Behavior with Brad Riley

Impact over Intention: Actions To Foster Positive Student Behavior with Brad Riley

How can we be proactive in supporting positive student behavior?  Student behavior is a form of communication that students use to tell us what they are feeling, experiencing, and need.  Listen in as Brad Riley, Behavior Technician for Denver Public Schools, shares suggestions for teachers and school leaders to support positive student behavior as we all navigate learning under extreme stress and trauma.  As we strive to teach for agency, equity, and understanding we must slow down and focus on our relationships with all of our students, families, and colleagues.  By slowing down, we can create classrooms that are emotionally safe in which learning can occur. Brad encourages educators to strive for impact rather than intention by focusing on the following high impact moves to support positive behavior:

  • Develop Relationships with Students & Families
  • Ask Questions & Listen to Avoid Inaccurate Assumptions
  • Cultivate a Positive Mindset Towards Every Scholar
  • Model Safety to Establish Trust
  • Remain Vulnerable to Recognize Internal Bias
  • Breathe & Focus on Self Care

Brad Riley is a Behavior Technician for Denver Public Schools who provides supports to individual students and coaching to school staff to implement specially designed instruction to improve outcomes for students with challenging behavior, and provide positive behavior supports during the problem-solving process for students with behavioral challenges.

Jan 12, 202149:03
Removing the Masks of Disengagement with Cris Tovani

Removing the Masks of Disengagement with Cris Tovani

Every teacher dreads the question, "Why do I have to read this?"  Listen in as Cris Tovani shares her CYA ~ Curriculum You Anticipate ~ planning structure. When planning for student engagement we must consider how Topic, Tasks, Time, Targets, Texts, and Tending all come together to create  authentic learning experiences for students and teachers.  Cris shares her insights into the importance of connecting standards and objectives to relevant topics and texts so that our targets and tasks are engaging and meaningful for all students. She also shares how we must tend to students' needs and  consider how we structure our time for daily instruction and units of study.  Most importantly Cris bolsters our awareness of how to remove the masks of disengagement that so many students wear in our classrooms.  Michelle and Cris also make connections to the Planning strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework as they synthesis how the CYA Structures help teachers plan with purpose, people, and process in mind.  

Cris Tovani taught first grade to seniors for 31 years. Her entire career has been spent trying to figure out the “knowing-doing” gap. Researchers tell teachers what they should be doing but actually doing it with 125+ students is a whole new ball game. Throughout her career, Cris has tried to take reading and writing research and apply it to all levels of learners. She loves sharing her success and failures with colleagues around the world so they too, can better serve students. Cris is a founder of PEBC and an internationally known consultant focusing on issues of reading, content comprehension and assessment in secondary classrooms. She has been an adjunct professor and is the author of four books: I Read it but I Don’t Get It, Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, So, What do They Really Know? And No More Telling as Teaching:  Less Lecture, More Engaged Learning.

Jan 01, 202131:51
Talking About Talk During Distance Learning with Sathya Wandzek & Sarah Littmann-Berger

Talking About Talk During Distance Learning with Sathya Wandzek & Sarah Littmann-Berger

In this episode PEBC Staff Developers Sathya Wandzek and Dr. Sarah Littmann-Berger join Michelle Morris Jones to talk about talk!   The PEBC Teaching Framework highlights Discourse as an instructional strategy that supports student agency, equity, and understanding.  John Hattie’s meta analyses indicate that student discourse has an effect size of .82 on student achievement. Distance or Remote learning presents new challenges for fostering meaningful student discourse; however, for Sathya and Sarah the key to success lies in the elements of the PEBC Teaching Framework. They remind us of the importance of establishing classroom communities that promote risk taking and relationships, gradual release and scaffolding for student success, and planning rich opportunities for student talk. Most importantly, Sathya and Sarah give us ideas for implementation and the inspiration to implement what we believe is best for student understanding.  Starting off slowly, providing juicy questions, and taking the time to re-norm our understanding of school are all strategies that are highlighted.

Sarah Littmann-Berger joined the PEBC in 2010. Dr. Berger brings 18 years of teaching experience that includes teaching middle and high school science as well elementary literacy intervention and English as a Second Language. As a Staff Developer, she has worked with elementary, middle, and high school teachers, focused primarily on math and science. Dr. Berger works in Colorado as well as nationally, providing coaching and professional development for teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators. She also co-presents PEBC Minds on Math Institutes locally and nationally.

As a Staff Developer for PEBC, Sathya pursues mathematical understanding for all students and teachers. Through presenting the Math Institute and co-creating/presenting the Foundations of Numeracy Institute she gets the opportunity to cultivate mathematical understanding with teachers across the country. Her national work allows her to see many perspectives and pedagogies that support Sathya with her coaching and professional development work. Sathya has her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from CU Boulder, and was a cohort member of the Boettcher Teacher Residency Program where she graduated from Denver University with her Master in Urban Education. While teaching middle school math for 10 years in Thornton Colorado, she had the opportunity to mentor two Boettcher teacher residents, lead a curriculum development PLC, and be a lab host to the district. 

Dec 10, 202031:08
Reading Aloud in the Age of Distance Learning with Patrick Allen

Reading Aloud in the Age of Distance Learning with Patrick Allen

Typically, Patrick Allen's classroom brims with over 3,000 children's books and his students pour over them tucked into nooks and crannies all around the room.  This year Patrick is teaching remotely and most of his collection is in storage;  yet he is still bringing the gift of high quality literature to his students each and every day by reading aloud.  Patrick and Michelle discuss how reading aloud must remain a core practice and can't be tossed away during distance learning as it allows teachers to get to know their students, builds community, provides a reason for students to "show up," fosters curiosity, supports reading and language development, and creates a love of reading.  Patrick shares the importance of intentional planning and  how he carefully selects texts so that students are able to interact with texts that are familiar, favorites, and new discoveries.  Reading aloud is a necessity and a gift, and during this episode you will have the experience of processing the importance of read aloud while also being read to!

Patrick Allen is classroom teacher, PEBC Lab Host, well known speaker and blogger, the author of Conferring: The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop,  and a contributing author to Put Thinking to the Test.  He has also produced two video series entitled "Fact Finders" and "What are You Thinking?" through Stenhouse. 

Dec 03, 202032:47
Leveraging Community & Workshop to Develop Mathematical Agency & Understanding with Wendy Ward Hoffer
Nov 20, 202026:01
Facilitating Phenomenal Virtual Engagements: Connect Purpose, People, and Tools to Elevate the Impact of Our Virtual Meetings with Scott Murphy

Facilitating Phenomenal Virtual Engagements: Connect Purpose, People, and Tools to Elevate the Impact of Our Virtual Meetings with Scott Murphy

As school leaders grapple with the many challenges related to leading schools during this time, the need for staff meetings, PLC's, and professional learning remains constant.  PEBC's Director of Leadership, Scott Murphy,  joins us to talk about the importance of facilitation and crafting high quality virtual engagements that are rooted in purpose while promoting human connection.  After months of facilitating virtual meetings, PLC's, and professional learning engagements Scott has discovered that many of the facilitation moves that support strong in-person group development can be applied or adapted for the virtual setting.  And just like in classrooms, the elements of the. PEBC Teaching Framework can promote agency, equity, and understanding in the staff room. High quality engagements include intentional planning, opportunities to strengthen community, purposeful discourse & tasks, and can be organized using the workshop structure.   Listen in as Scott walks us through his planning process, shares specific facilitation moves, and shares technical tips for utilizing a variety of technology tools that support connection and collaboration. Scott will be leading PEBC's Facilitation Institute in December, join him to learn even more about facilitating in-person and virtual engagements. 

Scott Murphy, PEBC's Director of Leadership, is passionate about the role educational leadership plays in creating classrooms, schools, and systems that cultivate agency, equity, and understanding for students, teachers, and leaders.  Scott is well known for his blogs about leadership and facilitation, his development of the Futures Protocol, and his dynamic seminars and institutes.  When Scott is not working in schools you might find him rock climbing, cycling, playing his guitar, or talking to his garden.  

Nov 12, 202028:34
Less is More: Mitigating Trauma so Teachers and Students Can Engage with Beth O’Brobinak & Beth Kelley

Less is More: Mitigating Trauma so Teachers and Students Can Engage with Beth O’Brobinak & Beth Kelley

Educators are heart centered individuals who can be caught up in the “more is more” culture, however, at this time it is crucial to embrace a “less is more” attitude so that we can support students and colleagues who have experienced trauma. Trauma is like a wound and takes time and attention to heal; however, many individuals are currently experiencing prolonged and complex trauma which is causing their nervous systems to over or under react. Without mitigating the trauma response students can’t learn and teachers can’t teach!
Educators are amazing, creative, and innovative, they lead with their hearts and know how to care for kids. Yet, many are grappling with how to support themselves, students, and colleagues who are experiencing episodic and prolonged trauma. In this episode Beth Kelley and Brooke O’Drobinak help answer some of the questions about trauma and provide ideas that teachers, schools, and systems can put into place to support both mental health and learning. Brooke and Beth are the co-authors of Teaching, Learning, and Trauma, Grades 6-12: Responsive Practices for Holding Steady in Turbulent Times.
Educators owe it to themselves to take care of themselves right now, so that they can be a present and calm influence. Consider the following:

How am I taking care of myself so I can take care of others?
What are my daily rituals for starting and ending work each day?
In what ways might I connect with colleagues?
How can I apply the less is more strategy?

In order to support students, teachers and leaders must lean into planning and setting priorities. Consider the following planning questions:

How am I intentionally creating opportunities for human connection, particularly between students?
How can I simplify processes and routines?
What are my curricular priorities?
How can I apply the concept of less is more? What can I cut down or cut back?


Beth Kelley, MA, LPC, is a psychotherapist, who spent most of her 18 year career in schools working as a school-based therapist. Additionally she owned a private practice, worked in community mental health, and as a clinical supervisor. Currently, Beth is a consultant for schools and organizations interested in deepening their commitment to caring for their most precious resource, their people...by developing more holistic, relationship based, human centered models.
Brooke O’Drobinak, MA, has been in education for more than 25 years at various levels. She is currently working in Aurora Public Schools. She served in school administration for the prior 13 years at a high-functioning, inner-city Denver high school. Her work is founded on the belief that students and relationships are at the heart of school communities. She also deeply values the critical roles that professional learning and leadership play in supporting all students, and their teachers.
Nov 05, 202034:37
Elevating Teacher Voice: Education Policy Should Be All About People and Perspectives with Evan Kennedy

Elevating Teacher Voice: Education Policy Should Be All About People and Perspectives with Evan Kennedy

When it comes to education policy, practicing educators need a voice at the table! Listen in as Evan Kennedy, PEBC Director of Strategic Initiatives and Policy, joins the Phenomenal Teaching podcast to share how PEBC works with local, state, and national leaders to inform the development of sound education policy. Policy work is all about people and gathering multiple perspectives so that education policies can benefit all students. Evan shares how the PEBC strives to elevate teacher voice so that lawmakers have the information they need to make informed decisions. This work includes inspirational initiatives such as, holding a convening for teachers to share their experiences with COVID-19 for Senator Michael Bennett, collaborating with teachers to research and pilot various teacher evaluation systems to improve the system in Colorado, and looking long-term by uncovering how we can create a more resilient system for public education.
PEBC has developed decades of direct experience in schools, deep knowledge of theory and practice, and a network for thousands of exceptional educators and passionate business and community leaders. Policymakers and advocates count on PEBC to advise the development and implementation of policy so that good ideas translate to great outcomes – in classrooms, schools, and systems as well as for our nation’s workforce and economy. PEBC areas of policy engagement include: bolstering the educator pipeline, improving school funding, elevating teacher voice, and support of federal legislation in the areas of teacher wellness and funding for Quality Teacher Recruitment. In addition, PEBC established the PEBC Catalysts, a select group of business leaders who are ardent advocates for the elevation of the teaching profession and equitable outcomes for all students. Interested in learning more about how education policy can support phenomenal teaching and teachers? Visit
www.pebc.org/policy/
Oct 29, 202030:46
Teacher Feature: Possibilities & Pitfalls of Virtual Learning with Patrick Allen, Jenn Brauner & Carrie Halbasch

Teacher Feature: Possibilities & Pitfalls of Virtual Learning with Patrick Allen, Jenn Brauner & Carrie Halbasch

PEBC Lab Hosts Patrick Allen, Jenn Brauner, and Carrie Halbasch get real in a round table conversation about the possibilities and pitfalls of virtual teaching. All three of these Phenomenal Teachers are experienced educators whose classrooms exemplify the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework, so what happened when they shifted to virtual learning? During our conversation they all agreed that relationships, the workshop model, and simplification are key to facilitating virtual learning and that some of the rituals and routines that they implemented in their classrooms are essential to teaching virtually. They also opened their hearts and minds and shared some of the challenges that they, like many others, are grappling with as they navigate new roles, technologies, and challenges.
Carrie Halbasch teaches kindergarten and is determined to create meaningful virtual workshops for her students that support their foundational learning needs and identities as thinkers so that her students leave kindergarten filled with curiosity and joy. Early on she discovered that less is more when it comes to some of the fancy tech tools. On some Fridays she can be found leading her students on a virtual field trip in her jammies... yep school is still supposed to be fun!
Patrick Allen has taught 4th and 5th grade for years, but this year he packed up his thousands of books and bathtub and volunteered to teach 2nd grade for his district's virtual learning program. He encourages us to keep it simple and pay attention to what is developmentally appropriate without getting distracted by programs and products. Still the voracious book lover, Patrick recommends Halfway to Harmony by Barbara O'Connor for your next read aloud.
Jenn Brauner rocks the middle grades and has found that adolescents are just as quirky in a virtual setting as they are in the classroom. She recommends "predictability on steroids" and has found that a consistent opening routine has paved the way for student engagement and learning. When it comes to planning, prioritizing reading, thinking, and talking allows her to align her standards and assessments with the just right medium for student understanding, engagement, and equity.
In closing, keep things simple and you can't go wrong!
Oct 22, 202053:23
The Day in the Life of a Virtual Learner with Mary Korte

The Day in the Life of a Virtual Learner with Mary Korte

Mary Korte is a PEBC Lab Host and primary teacher who has historically co-taught a multi-age primary class at the Jefferson County Open School. In years past Mary could be found sitting eye to eye with her young learners and discussing the ways in which words can create beautiful images for readers or how the natural world unfolds right before us each and every day. This year Mary is teaching a group of second and third graders who have named themselves the "dragonflies." Mary has found that after 27 years in the classroom, she feels more like a novice than ever before. Listeners will appreciate Mary's candor when she shares the challenges and joys of virtual learning.
Mary believes in curiosity, self-direction, and play which initially made planning for and implementing virtual learning a challenge that she and her teammates took on last spring by providing rich asynchronous learning opportunities for their students. Yet, this year, Mary found herself teaching 29 second and third graders virtually without a teammate. Mary dug into her beliefs about community and workshop and started planning. Kicking off her year with virtual home visits, providing materials for students to manipulate at home, and creating a schedule that provided time for students to engage with rich tasks and texts she has established rituals and routines for her community of learners. Listen in as Mary describes how she incorporated morning meeting, reader's, writer's, and math workshops, reading aloud, science and social studies integration, and play into her students' lives. Mary actually walks us through how she structures her workshops so that students have rich mini lessons, choice, independence, discourse, collaboration, support, and time for reflection. In order to do this hard work, Mary has shifted her identity from a "remote teacher" to a "virtually connected advisor" who still leans into her beliefs, forms partnerships with caregivers, and gives herself permission to be a learner all over again.
Oct 15, 202043:16
What is Critical Multicultural Education? with Ashlee Sadler

What is Critical Multicultural Education? with Ashlee Sadler

Ashlee Saddler and Michelle Morris Jones discuss how the definition of "multicultural education" has evolved beyond recognition and celebration of different cultures to deepening our collective understanding of critical multicultural education and the concept of hegemony.  In order to serve each and every student we must build meaningful relationships with students, assess how our materials and curriculum are or are not reflecting cultural, linguistic, gender, socioeconomic, and exceptional diversity, and be willing to ask why certain systems and structures exist.  As designers of student learning experiences, teachers and curriculum directors can take the following steps to increase their multicultural competence in order to help students explain the relevance of their learning in their own cultural contexts and beyond: Engage in intentional planning & inquiry that can widen the cultural perspectives of units or lessons Recognize possible curricular limitations & take proactive steps to be more inclusive Consider text selection and include texts from various perspectives, authors, and cultures Expand one’s own cultural lens. As teachers and leaders, we can ensure that each and every student has an inclusive and equitable school experience by examining school and district-wide systems, structures, and practices through the lens of hegemony.  By eliminating hegemonic practices we can ensure that our systems are asset-based and supportive of all students. Ashlee Saddler is the Director of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education for the Aurora Public School district and an active PEBC board member. She believes that each and every student deserves a Phenomenal Teacher!  For Ashlee, phenomenal teaching is rooted in reflection, responsiveness, collaboration, and teachers learning alongside one another in classrooms.
Oct 08, 202040:59
Leading a Complex System During a Time of Great Complexity with Scott Bain

Leading a Complex System During a Time of Great Complexity with Scott Bain

Michelle Morris Jones caught up with Scott Bain to unpack how he and his staff are taking on the challenges associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic and its impact on the "Open School." Scott, a PEBC Leadership Lab Host, is the principal of the Jefferson County Open School which is a P-12 progressive school of choice in Jefferson County, Colorado. Supporting the whole child, believing that every learner is inherently curious, and fostering self-direction are keystones of the Open School experience. In addition, the Open School embraces and implements the instructional practices of Planning, Community, Workshop, Thinking Strategies, Discourse, and Assessment as described in the PEBC Teaching Framework and published in Phenomenal Teaching by Wendy Ward Hoffer.
In this episode, Scott shares the complexities of leading a complex system of four schools within a school, the importance of leaning into one's beliefs, and actions he is taking as an instructional leader. Scott has found that leadership during this time requires:

Maintaining a Strong Collective Vision
Delegating Leadership Responsibilities
Trusting Teachers
Tending to Community
Shifting from Crisis Mode to Creative Thinking

Scott and Michelle also discuss how the concept of "Beautiful Constraints" has allowed the staff to move beyond worrying about the things they cannot control to thinking about things differently. Through this lens Scott's team and staff have adjusted their instructional model to meet the needs of in-person, hybrid, and remote learning in unique ways. From creating cross curricular intensives to shifting resources to create artificially small class sizes for social distancing, the teachers have reimagined systems, structures, curriculum and assessment to meet the needs of their students. The Jefferson County Open School prepares students to "Create the World that Ought to Be" and Scott is wondering if the constraints put forth by the pandemic will encourage the education community to see new possibilities when we all return to a new normal.
Oct 01, 202046:23
Combatting Quarantine Fatigue for Teachers & Students: Slowing Down, Prioritization, and Wellness with Dr. Andra Brill

Combatting Quarantine Fatigue for Teachers & Students: Slowing Down, Prioritization, and Wellness with Dr. Andra Brill

In this episode Dr. Andra Brill joins the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast for a follow-up conversation on tending to the well being of students, families, and educators as the COVID 19 Pandemic continues to impact our everyday lives.  We are now faced with the impact of chronic stress and quarantine fatigue and there are some steps we can take to mitigate the negative effects of managing this challenging time. Tending to human connections, creating a self-care plan that is manageable, making the best decisions with the information we have, recognizing our locus of control, and prioritization of content and routines are all great strategies for teachers to maintain wellness; however, they are not always easy to implement. Listen in as Andra talks us through ways to slow down, make a plan, wrangle the beast of curriculum overload, and take care of ourselves so we have the energy to be our best selves professionally and personally. 

Special thank you to Chalkbeat, our first sponsorship partner.  Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of America’s most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children.  Stay up to date on all of the current events in education or career opportunities in education at www.chalkbeat.org.

Sep 24, 202037:17
Teacher Feature: Monitoring and Supporting Progress During Remote Learning with Jennifer Engbretson

Teacher Feature: Monitoring and Supporting Progress During Remote Learning with Jennifer Engbretson

Each and every day Jennifer Engbretson, a PEBC Lab Host in Denver, Colorado crafts math workshops that prioritize student thinking and understanding while also considering the importance of assessment and feedback.  In this episode Jennifer and Michelle Morris Jones discuss ways to monitor and support progress while teaching remotely that can be applied to any grade level or content area.  They specifically think through the Assessment strand of the PEBC Teaching Framework from Phenomenal Teaching by Wendy Ward Hoffer and discuss ways to encourage self-monitoring,  design formative assessments, collect data in real time, utilize data to guide instruction, and provide timely feedback during remote teaching.  Jennifer has found that many of the best practices that she implemented in her school-based classroom have transferred to remote teaching, although now she is finding that she has to be more intentional and reflective. Jennifer leverages an array of tech tools to allow students to "do the heavy lifting" while simultaneously being able to "see student thinking"  even when she can't look over their shoulders to see their papers.   

Some examples include:   

  • Multiple Screens to manage her LMS and additional tools 
  • Pear Deck & Desmos to "see" student thinking in real time  
  • Zoom to manage small group collaboration and for individual conferring  
  • Google extensions such as Forms and Form Mule to sort data and communicate quickly 
  • Ed Puzzle to provide extra support  
  • Schoology as the Learning Management System to organize and distribute materials    

Jennifer holds a BS in Mathematics and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction: Secondary Math from the University of Colorado at Denver. She teaches 9th and 10th grade mathematics and serves as her school's data specialist.  In addition to being a data guru she loves crafting and building furniture.  Besides teaching high schoolers how to be great thinkers, the most interesting job she has ever had was working at a Glow in the Dark Putt Putt.  

Special thank you to Chalkbeat, our first sponsorship partner.  Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of America’s most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children.  Stay up to date on all of the current events in education or career opportunities in education at www.chalkbeat.org.

Sep 17, 202033:42
From Corporate America to ECE... The PEBC Teacher Residency Fosters Phenomenal Teaching For All Educators

From Corporate America to ECE... The PEBC Teacher Residency Fosters Phenomenal Teaching For All Educators

What does it mean to be a pre-service teacher in the midst of a global pandemic?  If you are PEBC Teacher Residency it means learning alongside mentor teachers from day one, establishing connections with colleagues, and deep study of the PEBC Teaching Framework just like you would in any year.  In this episode Tyler Hansen shares his journey from corporate America to Early Childhood Education via his experience as a PEBC Teacher Resident, and John Kearny, Director of Recruitment and Alumni Engagement for the PEBC Residency Program, shares his role as a teacher educator who cares deeply about ensuring that each and every resident develop the tools to create rich cognitive engagement for their students.  This is not a "bag of tricks program." rather the PEBC Teacher Residency program is very similar to a medical residency in that each pre-service teacher in the program learns alongside a mentor while engaging in seminars and receiving coaching.  Residents and mentors engage in professional learning of the PEBC Teaching Framework together via parallel pedagogy... meaning that the residents and mentors engage in the type of learning that they are crafting for their students. Then they collaborate on ways to implement the nuances of planning, community, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment into their classrooms in ways that meet the needs of their students regardless of grade level, content area. or geographic location.  

Special thank you to Chalkbeat, our first sponsorship partner.  Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of America’s most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children.  Stay up to date on all of the current events in education or career opportunities in education at www.chalkbeat.org.

Sep 10, 202034:58