Best Practices in Education

Odyssey High math teacher, Grant Yost, reflects on why he prioritizes getting feedback from his students throughout the semester. He shares the strategies he uses to both elicit honest responses from students, as well as how to set clear boundaries about what feedback can and can't change about the classroom experience.

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5th and 6th grade teacher, Kylie Hulver, talks about how to successfully settle and energize in the classroom. She uses silence and breath to support students in developing self-regulation.  She uses energizers to teach skills that are translatable to content. Plug in to listen to the conversation she and guest host Elijah Allread share.

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Teachers often report feeling unsupported and financially challenged when seeking opportunities for their students. First and second grade teacher, Barbi Brittain, shares how cultivating community support can bring new opportunities to the classroom. An outside-the-box thinker, Barbi encourages teachers to make strategic partnerships that empower students and also make parents and community members feel a part of something bigger. 

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What does it mean to act in the role of teacher as (loving) antagonist? Intermediate Language Arts teacher Elijah Allred answers random questions offered by students. We laugh a lot. And we get into a deep conversation about how when teachers challenge their students, when they play the mischievous trickster, the developmental process gets rich and rewarding for our students.

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Kindergarten teacher, Shirley Rotolo, talks about strategies to increase reading comprehension in students. She explores research based method from a practical standpoint, integrating Orton-Gillingham inspired practices with other strategies to get the best outcomes for her students.

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High School Science Teacher Andrew Rabin encourages science teachers of all ages to engage their students in bird watching. An experiential activity that brings core elements of science alive, birdwatching is fun, challenging, rewarding, and can be done without a significant cost to the classroom.

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Elementary Program Director Robin Skeen talks to us about creating learning paths in the classroom. We'll get a quick how to and learn some resources to get started. A bonus: these paths provide teachers with the opportunity to move smoothly between remote and on site learning!

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Teaching students to become systems thinkers is a priority for high school scienc teacher, Andrew Rabin.  In this episode, the last episode of Season Two, Andrew walks us through how to teach a life cycle analysis project in high school, what processes he uses, and what the value of this kind of project is.

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Kindergarten teacher, Shirley Rotolo, uses cultural art to support her students in engaging their creativity and passion. She talks about ways to include cultural art during thematic units, creating pottery, visual art, and other 3-D sculptures to build curiosity about our diverse  world.

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High School math teacher Grant Yost shares strategies for how to create a positive learning environment. He encourages fellow teachers to assess their own favorite learning spaces and make changes in the classroom with an eye toward calm, creativity, and connection.

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