Conceptually Speaking

Our guest this week is Angela Stockman, author of Hacking the Writing Workshop, Make Writing, and the upcoming Creating Inclusive Writing Environments in the K-12 Classroom. If you can’t tell by her titles, Angela’s passion is writing—sort of. At the heart of Angela’s work with writing is a deep commitment to broaden the ways students are able to make meaning, leveraging a wider variety of tools than just the written word. The education system’s relationship and centering of print is one with a surprising history with some  pretty serious consequences—ones that Angela is trying to rectify with her Make Writing approach. Over the course of today’s episode we’ll be exploring how Maker Writing and Multimodal Composition are approaches to writing that promote  equity, voice, and metaphorical thinking. Angela’s ability to distill and synthesize research and turn it in to classroom practice is second to none, and her knowledge and passion are evident throughout our dialogue. We hope you enjoy! 

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In today’s episode, Julie and I chat with Kathleen St. Villier Hill. Kathleen is currently the director Elijah Cummings Youth Program and an advocate for youth leadership and community building in Baltimore Maryland. Our conversation today will explore the relationship between identity, relationships, and action. With everything happening right now in the America right now, we felt this was a topical conversation that would challenge educators to grapple with how our own identity impacts the way we relate to and engage with our students and each other. The importance of this reflection is a major theme in this episode, and one that Kathleen takes personally and seriously. As protests around the country continue, many people are wondering what else they can do to be an ally for marginalized people in their community. Posting on social media might be a good first step, but following that with some serious reflection about our identity, relationship to others, and action are even more important. We hope this episode provides some insight to help us on our journey.
 
 
 

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Our guest this week is Oliver Caviglioi, an author, illustrator, and previous head of special school from across the pond in the UK. What makes him such an impressive thinker (and great guest) is his ability to explore educational theory from an artistic and scientific perspective. Better still, he weaves and integrates them to the point, where you’ll soon realize that there’s way more overlap than you might have expected. The true beauty of this episode though lies in Oliver’s ability to leverage the very metaphors he recommends teachers use in his own explanations.

Our conversation today will be anchored by the concepts of organization, design, and explanation, which undergird all of the fascinating educational and explanatory principles Oliver will be sharing with us today. Today’s episode is filled with tons of practical tips that you’ll be able to use in your classroom or online. By the time it wraps, we hope you’ll come to agree visual-spatial thinking and metaphors are two of the most powerful tools in our instructional utility belt. Enjoy!

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Our guest today is best selling author, consultant, and facilitator Jenni Donohoo. Jenni’s work focuses on the idea of collective efficacy—a belief system that asserts, through teacher’s shared beliefs and actions, schools can positively affect student outcomes. Something that, at first glance might seem straightforward, but as you’ll realize over the course of this episode, is infinitely complex. We used the concepts of beliefs, expectations, results, efforts, and collaboration to frame today’s conversation, and I know that personally, my head is still spinning at the game changing potential collective efficacy can have in education. Jenni’s vision for a more collaborative school is one that I’m sure you’ll find compelling. Over the course of today’s episode, we’ll dive in to a range of examples from psychology, history, and even our own lives to uncover the power of collective efficacy.

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Our guest today is none other than Julie’s mom, Justine Harris! In our first ever recording, Justine was kind enough to loan us her time and expertise talking about gardening. With many people looking for more sustainable ways to grow food, or even just time to pick up an ecologically friendly hobby, we felt a discussion about gardening would be pretty topical. Justine is a knowledgeable guest who provides some great, practical ideas about how to get started working on your own garden. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, our conversation today will touch on topics like sustainability, ecological ethics, and the importance of paying attention to what we put in to the earth.  

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Our guest today is Dr. Jody Carrington, author, consultant, keynote speaker, and all-around relationship expert. Over the course of this conversation we’ll be looking at how concepts like authenticity, connection, and physical presence impact human relationships. As you’ll immediately notice, Jody is a charismatic guest who is deeply passionate about what she does. What impressed us the most this episode, was how well she balances her deep specialized knowledge and accessible presenting style. Her message about forming meaningful bonds with those we’re entrusted to care for, whether that be between administrators and teachers or teachers and their students, is more important now than ever. As you’ll soon hear, Jody’s commitment to her message is as infectious as it is admirable. 

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Our guest today is Dr. Sheron Brown, director of Tampa Bay Healthcare collaborative and a certified yoga and meditation instructor. Over the course of the conversation we’ll unpack the relationship between equity and wellness—and believe me there’s a lot to work through! What I appreciated about our dialogue was that Dr. Brown approaches the idea of wellness holistically, evaluating it from both a personal and structural perspective. She’ll explain systemic issues like redlining and food deserts, as well as personal tips like breathing techniques and how to embrace uncertainty. What this conversation really made clear though, was that the suffering of racially and economically marginalized groups we’re seeing as a result of COVID 19 isn’t new, but has shone a light on the inequity inherent in a lot of our systems and it’ll take a lot of self-evaluation and complex coordination to rebuild them. Dr. Brown’s dedication to systems thinking and equity work will frame Dr. Brown’s message and advice in today’s episode.

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Our guest this week is writer, humanist, and self-described enthusiast, Ken Gordon. I met Ken a few years ago at a Business Innovation Factory conference, and was immediately drawn to his quick wit and authenticity. In fact, authenticity will be a big part of today’s conversation. When I asked Ken for a topic, he naturally chose writing--he’s been published by outlets like The Atlantic and New York Times, and is a true believer in the power of writing. What you’ll soon realize though, is nobody puts Ken in a corner, as no job title can easily nail down what he brings to the Boston-based innovation and design consultancy, EPAM Continuum, where he works. What Ken really cares about, and what we unpack in this conversation, is how writing can serve as a tool for exploration and a portal for self-discovery. We hope you’ll enjoy as much as we did.

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My guest today is Kristi Beckman. Kristi has been a teacher, adjunct professor, soccer coach and served as a culture and wellness coordinator for D. C. United Youth Academy. But she's more than the sum of her accomplishments and job titles. Wherever she goes, Kristi is a leader and a mentor. Whether it's the classroom or on the pitch, I've seen her transform the lives of young people in amazing ways. That's because, put simply, Kristi just gets people, and at the core of her various roles and responsibilities lies a deep desire to help others grow. Our conversation today will explore how the concepts of culture, connection, feedback and accountability impact leadership. 

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Welcome to our new podcast, Conceptually Speaking! Check out our teaser. First episode will drop Tuesday, May 12th.

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