3 Ps in a Pod: An Education Podcast

Have you been wondering about how we can more deeply connect students to their local communities? Have you been curious about exploring how to co-construct learning opportunities with students? On this seventh episode of our 3Ps in a Pod series on "Healthy and Thriving Environments for Strong Connections and Strong Schools," we are investigating ways to strengthen the connection between students and community.

Leading the potential for bridging connections between students and the community is Josh Schachter, director and founder of CommunityShare, based in Tucson. Learning from Josh’s experience in this work, he shares with us how he and his team set out to build a “human library” and help others make meaningful connections.

Josh and 3Ps host Juliana Urtubey, NBCT, explore the need that CommunityShare fills through its rich and diverse resources and experiences. Josh shares how his team has developed a “learning ecosystem”, how we can tap into deep funds of knowledge by lifting the assets of families, and the impact that authentic engagement has on students and the community.

CommunityShare cares deeply about teachers and invests in them and their leadership skills through the Educator Fellowship Program. Through the support provided, teachers have an opportunity to learn more about redesigning learning experiences while developing their own caring network of peers. The program affords teachers a chance to explore their mindsets, work on a concrete project, and then spend the length of the fellowship co-designing the learning experience with a community partner.

Josh encourages us to start where we are and then be open to how projects can scale up and expand. He also calls on us to expand the way that we think about education and how this might impact economic mobility. CommunityShare seeks to bring people together to work on challenges and build networks based on what does unite individuals. 

Continue your learning

After listening to this episode, use the reflection guide to explore how you might further connect students to community and co-design learning opportunities unique to your location. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Learn more about CommunityShare at communityshare.org.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Liberatory Design is an approach to changing what is and creating a whole ecosystem that best supports all students. It is a process and practice to create designs that help interrupt inequity and increase opportunity for those most impacted by oppression.

In this episode, host Juliana Urtubey, NBCT, talks with Kathleen Osta from National Equity Project about Liberatory Design. Kathleen and Juliana explore the 12 mindsets of Liberatory Design and how they support collaborative work. These mindsets must be applied with intentionality and can support healing, being seen, and humanizing our spaces. The Liberatory Design Mindsets support us in reconnecting with one another as full human beings, which allows us to then bring our best thinking forward and design systems in innovative ways. Kathleen calls on us to think about how we create and tend to the conditions where together we are not only taking actions to learn but to also transform power. She reflects on how we talk about complex issues without blame or shame, come together to define the problem, and create new ways of doing things. Including those closest to a problem to generate a solution helps interest holders to feel seen and understood. This can shift the culture of a space and deepen relationships.    

Continue your learning

After listening to this episode, use the reflection guide to explore what new strategies you might want to try and how you will intentionally create an environment that explores curiosities you might have about fostering deep relationships with families/caregivers and the community. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Here are other related resources to today’s episode:

• Learn more about Liberatory Design at liberatorydesign.com

• Learn more about National Equity Project

• More about the Stanford D School and Liberatory Design

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

In this episode, we welcome back Principal Jose Lara from Gilbert High School in Anaheim (California) Union School District and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Teresa Hill of Tucson Values Teachers and a former coach and principal. They build upon the previous episode’s conversation, this time exploring the impact of deep relationships with families and caregivers and how these help influence school climate and culture.  

Dr. Hill and Principal Lara also explore what community means and how to build community among parents/caregivers. They discuss ways we can build deeper relationships and shift culture by building on assets. Principal Lara also discusses being inclusive in our language and honoring the many family structures that support our students. 

3Ps host Juliana Urtubey, NBCT, engages both guests in deep conversation about moving from transactional to more relational interactions and engagements with families/caregivers and community members. Dr. Hill and Principal Lara both offer ways that they have been successful in building relationships with families and community members through common happenings. By viewing these engagements as opportunities to engage and build relationships, we can shift the dynamics of interactions and strengthen the connections all interest holders experience. Principal Lara and Dr. Hill also give us ideas of next steps to make our spaces more inclusive of families, parents, caregivers, and community members. 

We invite you to join Principal Lara and Dr. Hill as they paint a picture of their vision for healthy and thriving schools and take a few minutes to dream freely and paint a picture of what this vision looks like in your context. 

Continue your learning

After listening to this episode, use the reflection guide to explore what new strategies you might want to try and how you will intentionally create an environment that explores curiosities you might have about fostering deep relationships with families/caregivers and the community. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Here are other related resources to today’s episode:

• Learn more about Gilbert High School at gilbert.auhsd.us.

• Learn more about Tucson Values Teachers at tucsonvaluesteachers.org.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

The way principals help support deep relationships with staff and students is essential to student learning. In this episode, we explore how the relationships between staff and students can create positive environments for teaching and learning. That’s what we’re exploring in this fourth episode in our series on Healthy and Thriving Environments for Strong Connections and Strong Schools.

Principal Jose Lara from Gilbert High School in Anaheim (California) Union School District and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Teresa Hill of Tucson Values Teachers and a former coach and principal reflect on how to foster these relationships in today’s episode.

Together, Principal Lara and Dr. Hill explore how they build a sense of belonging for both staff and students. They explore teacher voice, communication with staff, and building trust amongst staff to best support students. Principal Lara also shares about the importance of having fun and joy with staff to get to know each other and create a positive community.

They both emphasize the intentionality that building relationships requires and detail their approaches to supporting students to build healthy peer-to-peer relationships through teaching and modeling. They also reflect on how students can rise to high expectations with a supportive environment and structures. This requires cultivating hope and helping students see each other’s humanness.

In our next episode, we’ll continue talking with Principal Jose Lara and Dr. Theresa Hill – this time about relationships between schools and parents/guardians and community.

Continue your learning

After listening to this episode, use the reflection guide to explore what new strategies you might want to try and how you will intentionally create an environment that is inclusive of all kids/students. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Here are other related resources to today’s episode:

• Principal Lara mentioned the book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Father Greg Boyle. Find it at shophomeboy.com. 

• Learn more about Gilbert High School at gilbert.auhsd.us.

• Learn more about Tucson Values Teachers at tucsonvaluesteachers.org.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Understanding emotional regulation and dysregulation is foundational to well being, no matter our age. On this episode of 3Ps in a Pod, we explore this very important topic with Dr. Andrew Khan from Understood.org. Dr. Khan shares the why behind understood.org and the vast resources that organization has developed to support educators and parents. 

Juliana and Dr. Khan explore neurodivergence and how to apply strategies to all learners and make our learning environments more inclusive. By doing so, we can create successful and thriving environments that honor our students bringing their whole self to learning. 

Emotional regulation is our ability to modulate and regulate what is happening around us. When people are in dysregulation, they can experience barriers to finding success in both academic and non-academic settings. Dr. Kahn helps us understand how we can support the development of regulation skills and shares practical steps we can take to help us understand how to navigate dysregulated individuals in safe, autonomous, and appropriate ways. 

Juliana and Dr. Khan also discuss how to develop empathy in students as we support them through navigating interactions with someone who may be dysregulated. This can lead to more positive relationships and outcomes and a much more positive group setting for all. 

Continue your learning

After listening to this episode, use the reflection guide to explore what new strategies you might want to try and how you will intentionally create an environment that is inclusive of all kids/students. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Here are other related resources to today’s episode:

• Find articles, podcasts, and other resources related to dysregulation, ADHD, and learning and thinking differences at understood.org. 

• Find specific emotional regulation resources at this understood.org link.

• Learn more about Dr. Andrew Kahn at this link.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Author and teacher Patrick Harris will remind you to channel the magic of teaching in this episode of 3Ps in a Pod. He reflects on how teaching is human work and why showing up authentically is so important for both the teachers and the students.

This season, we are exploring healthy and thriving environments for strong connections and strong schools. Host Juliana Urtubey, NBCT, connects you with various guests to help us explore this idea from diverse perspectives and help us think critically about how we all work together to create strong schools that center our students. Through this series, you’ll find both thought-provoking conversations and complimentary professional learning materials linked in our show notes.

In this episode, we explore reflection, what it means to create space for healing, and connect to humanity. Patrick shares with us what this can look like and the importance of radical empathy. He encourages us to develop a reflective practice rooted in truth, how this all connects to healing, and will help us to deepen relationships with students, staff, peers, families/caregivers, and others. 

Juliana and Patrick explore the mentee-mentor relationship and the reciprocal nature of learning, feedback, and reflection. Patrick shares with us that by drawing on our own experiences and connecting with the why behind what we do, we can shape classroom environments that are truly inclusive.  

We hope that after you listen to this episode you will engage in deep reflection, either with another person or on your own, in order to further explore the ideas that Patrick offered. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Read about Patrick’s book The First Five: A Love Letter to Teachers at this link.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Welcome back to a new season of 3Ps in a Pod! This season we will deeply explore a focus on healthy and thriving environments for strong connections and strong schools. 

Host Juliana Urtubey, NBCT, will be connecting you with various guests who will help us explore this idea from diverse perspectives and help us think critically about how we all work together to create strong schools that center our students. Through this series, you’ll find both thought-provoking conversations and complimentary professional learning materials linked in our show notes.

In this first episode, we connect with Taryl Hansen, NBCT, and Mary Bouley to investigate how understanding Cognitive Coaching moves can help us reach greater levels of success in professional and personal relationships through improved communication and collaboration skills anchored in compassion. Discover how these ideas can help shift mental models and develop patterns and skills for listening and responding, and learn why communication is a way of being with one another, not just a skill. 

Taryl and Mary share how we can further build trust and communicate to others that we believe in them. They discuss how we can support others to be more empowered and self-reliant and ask us to think about how we continue to show students and others that we honor their thinking and encourage a sharing of viewpoints. Mary and Taryl also encourage us to think about what we really mean when we talk about building capacity and what that looks like. 

Continue your learning

After listening to this episode, use the reflection guide to explore this episode in a way that further impacts who you are and how you are showing up in your work and in your relationships. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Here are other related resources to today’s episode:

• “What’s All the Hype about Cognitive Coaching?”, an earlier episode with Mary Bouley and Taryl Hansen, NBCT, referenced in this episode

• Registration for the next Cognitive Coaching Foundations series at the Arizona K12 Center

• Learn about how to bring Cognitive Coaching Foundations, Advanced Cognitive Coaching, or customized Cognitive Coaching training to your school or district at this link.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

It’s another election year, and we’re talking with Gina Roberts of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission about the Civics Classroom Curriculum, a free and available resource to all Arizona teachers. 

3Ps host Donnie Dicus welcomes Gina Roberts, the voter education director of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, to the podcast. The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission is the state’s non-partisan voter education agency. The commission helps people learn about the logistics of voting and the candidates and the roles they’re running for. It also advocates for participation in the political process.

The curriculum includes lesson plans designed for grades 4-6, 7-8, and 9-12 with a variety of hands-on activities that can work in both an in-person or virtual setting. The curriculum is also aligned with Arizona State Standards.

Gina speaks to how the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission is a voter-created state government agency that is mandated by state statute to provide non-partisan, non-influencing voter education. The curriculum reviews the election processes, the roles and responsibilities of different elected offices, and media and information literacy skills. She also shares about ways students can become more civically involved aside from voting in elections.

Gina also announces that the commission will soon be releasing a comic book to supplement their Civics Classroom Curriculum. The comic book follows the conflict between the hero Captain Activate and the villain Doctor Apathy who aims to create apathetic voters. 

Find this free Civics Classroom Curriculum at azcleanelections.gov/civics-curriculum.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Rachel Martinez is in her first year of teaching third-grade in Tolleson Elementary School District. In this episode, 3Ps in a Pod host Kathleen Paulsen talks with Rachel about the support she’s received at her school and the learning she did at the recent Welcome to Teaching event with Dr. Doug Fisher.

She shares how struck she was by the six levels of engagement that Dr. Fisher shared and how he showed how even very young students can be aware of their engagement level and know what they need to do to be more ready to learn. She and Kathleen also reflect on the four types of learning: focused instruction, collaboration, guided learning, and independent learning.

Rachel shares about the support she’s received in her school and district, including working with a mentor. Rachel’s mentor is Michelle Doherty, who Rachel also had as a professor at Northern Arizona University. Rachel talks about how Michelle supports her and builds her confidence as she goes through her first year of teaching. 

As Rachel nears the end of her first school year, she says she’s excited to reflect and see the growth that both she and her students made during the year. She notes how important it is for her to reflect on her work and growth for herself but also to model the expectation and power of that for her students.

The Arizona K12 Center is also having Dr. Fisher back for another event based on his book Welcome to Teaching this fall! You can learn about and register for that event at azk12.org/24BTS2.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

In the final episode of this podcast series on AI in Education, Dr. Chad Gestson and Dr. LeeAnn Lindsey chat with Lauren Owens and Lindsey McCaleb about where teachers can go from here — where to begin, where they can find guidance, resources, and additional professional development for using AI with confidence.

Dr. Gestson and Dr. Lindsey are both a part of the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy, a part of Northern Arizona University, while Lauren Owens is the director of information technology for Agua Fria HS District and Lindsey McCaleb is the principal of an online school in the Balsz School District.

Lauren and Lindsey share how they have started to work with AI in their schools and districts and the discussions they’ve had with school leaders and teachers to move toward using AI. They reflect on the process of planning, implementing, and assessing when integrating any new technology or change initiative. 

Today’s episode also focuses on how policy creation, at the state or district level, can be much slower than how quickly technology is developing. Dr. Lindsey shares how only nine U.S. states have developed some guidelines for AI use in schools. The Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy has been working to add Arizona to that list of states and will soon be releasing an AI guidance document to help inform state, district, and school policies.

That guidance document will be available on May 13 at nau.edu/aiee/azai with a corresponding webinar, "GenAI Guidance for Arizona K-12 Schools," on May 15 from 3 to 4 p.m. To sign up to receive the webinar link, click here.

Learn more about the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at this link and about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.