APLC Change Maker Conversations in Education

Our last podcast episode of the 2023-2024 school year features Matthew (Matt) Johnson a Michigan area English teacher who has taught grade 6 - 12. Matt has written several books and his most recent book comes out during the summer of 2024 entitled:

Good Grammar, Grades 6-12: Joyful and Affirming Language Lessons That Work for More Students 

Don't fall over; it's not a mistake. Joyful and Grammar in the same sentence. Matt shares several ways by which teachers can better approach grammar in speaking and writing.

Matt mentions the ‘Da Art of Storytelling essay by Kiese Laymon as another resource to consider. Matt's own websitecontains a section with summaries of his books and links to his submissions to several journals and other resources. 

Matt also invites us to look at the choices that others make in their social media post, pulling texts and (X)/Twitter posts into the writing and into the writing structure. Little Nas X to Taylor Swift.

Every English teacher can benefit from this podcast as Matt discusses assessment practices and the mechanics of helping students enhance their understanding and application of the mechanics of English.

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This Changer Maker Conversations in Education—Literacy Across the Curriculum podcast episode features two outstanding educators, Michelle Bence and Michelle Ramzy. This dynamic duo came together through proximity in work and postgraduate studies, sharing a deep commitment to literacy instruction that has led them to share their understanding of the work with educators. Avid readers(no surprise there), Michelle and Miriam share thoughts on several professional and personal titles, thoughts on helping students read and write and the importance of seeking out sound research and methodologies to support the work. You can find them online through their Layers of Literacy website. The Alberta Professional Leaning Consortium (APLC) is grateful for the opportunities to partner in sharing their understanding through this podcast and sessions we've hosted and look forward to hosting moving forward. 

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​​Rebekah O'Dell believes in the power of choice, authenticity, and students' voices in the reading and writing classroom.

Travelling the country to work with teachers and students provides constant inspiration as she helps educators do the hard and transformative work of teaching real writing. In public and independent schools, she taught middle and high school students at all levels -from inclusion to AP and IB classes. In addition to being a real-time classroom teacher, Rebekah co-founded Moving Writers - movingwriters.org  and is the author of Writing With Mentors (Heinemann 2015) and Beyond Literary Analysis (Heinemann, January 2018).

Rebekah shares several insights into working with students to develop stronger writers and readers, resources for teachers to support that work and their development as mentor readers and writers.

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When you are blessed with an opportunity to visit with an individual whose career has been dedicated to helping children learn how to read and love reading, the conversation will be a good one. When you add decades of service as a professor at the University of Lethbridge, dedicated in large part to helping pre-service teachers develop the skills to support the instruction of all aspects of literacy, you are really on to something special. When it turns out that your guest is also a voracious reader of detective mystery novels that feed a desire to know more about other places around the world, that's just fun. Our podcast conversation with Dr. Robin Bright of the University of Lethbridge was all that and more.

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In this episode, Charlie Kraig and Rick Gilson visit with a long-time friend and colleague, Joanne Pitman, who was recently appointed as Chief Superintendent of the Calgary Board of Education or CBE. Jo (as she prefers to be called) shares some thoughts on her most recent read - and re-read, "What We Owe the Future" by William MacAskill and how it has influenced her thinking and work as a system leader and human sharing planet Earth. The episode draws to a close with Jo sharing one of many great poems from the book, "Leading from Within: Poetry that sustains the courage to lead."

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In this episode of our ARPDC Podcast - Literacy Across the Curriculum Series, we visit with Elyse Morin, one of our ARPDC team of Designers of Professional Learning and a seriously intense champion of reading and books in the classroom and at home. Elyse discusses some 15-plus titles for the Francophone or French Immersion classroom with Rick Gilson and Charlie Kraig - the conversation is in English. (for the most part;-)). Several books Elyse talks about are available in both French and English versions. 

One such example, Killer Underwear Invasion! or Alerte: Culottes Meurtriéres by Elise Gravel, has come up in a couple of episodes recently; the sub-title is timely for adults and younger children in today's world: "How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories." Spoiler Alert: Not everything called fake news is fake; not everything called news is news. Great books, how and why you might use them in the classroom is the focus of our conversation. The episode website link provides a full listing of the titles discussed in this episode.

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ARPDC Podcast Series hosts, Charlie Kraig and Rick Gilson roll up their sleeves and share excerpts and thoughts on approximately 15 books for the classroom, professional and personal reading libraries. Along the way, we talk about where and how they might be used, what we have taken away from them for personal and professional growth and offer a couple of online resources to check out. 

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Our conversation explores the links between identity and literacy, the importance of teachers exploring their own identity and where that can be found in the literacy they create and consume, as well as what we can do to help our students in their exploration of both the individual identity and how literacy can help us better understand those with whom we share our communities and the planet on which we live. We explore the opportunities to shine lights on those who have been less visible in all aspects and modalities of literature and writing and the importance of being aware of the advantages and disadvantages that exist for people of the majority and minority in any society.

Shawna's work in her most recent book invites readers to consider 5 Principles to guide their literacy work in the classroom:

Principle #1: Literacy involves both cognitive processes and social practices.

Principle #2: Identity and literacy are inextricably linked.

Principle #3: All human beings engage in literacy and language practices that are both valid and valuable.

Principle #4: Meaning-making occurs within a variety of equally valid communicative channels or modes.

Principle #5: Literacy can be used as a tool for liberation as well as a tool for oppression.

Coppola, Shawna. Literacy for All: A Framework for Anti-Oppressive Teaching (Equity and Social Justice in Education Series) (p. 51). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition

About our Guest:

Shawna Coppola has over two decades of experience teaching from Kindergarten through to University students. The majority of her professional life has been spent teaching literacy to middle school-age children as well as serving as a literacy specialist/coach in a k-6 school. Currently, Shawna spends most of her time writing, facilitating engaging professional learning opportunities for educators, and speaking at national education conferences. The author of three books and a Fellow/Literacy consultant with The Educator Collaborative, a K-12 Think Tank and professional development organization. Shawna is a member of the faculty at the University of New Hampshire's Learning Through Teaching program.

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Charlie Kraig and Rick Gilson are joined by Trevor Aleo, author, teacher, podcaster, and doctoral candidate, as we discuss and take a deep dive at times in the conversation, the many ways and means by which students of all grades can develop and demonstrate their literacy.

Trevor shares several titles, research points and resources that can support your professional learning and practice in the classroom to benefit your students. A classroom teacher primarily working with students in grades 9-12 Trevor is currently working on completing his doctorate working with Dr. Mary Kalantzis and Dr. Bill Cope at the University of Illinois Urbana-Chgampagne.

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Dr. Aly Ricke of the University of Florida Literacy Institute joins Dr. Rick Gilson and Charlie Kraig from ARPDC for another conversation focused on literacy, specifically looking at the evolution and development of UFLI's work, how it's growing across Alberta, Canada and the United States and what we might do to better understand and support the work. Aly also shares some of the work on Dyslexia being developed at the University of Florida.

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