Ed Soul

Preparing our students with 22nd-century skills that connect student abilities and interests to in-demand careers is largely tied to a solid career and technical education planning model.  Troy Haugen and Tami Martin share the importance of this model, acknowledge common misconceptions and barriers, and leave us with solid advice and strategies to get your district on the CTE path!

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

Kids are at the forefront of demographic change in our state. In this episode, hear from Senior Demographer Megan Dayton on how population changes are impacting our communities and schools in central Minnesota. Get ideas on what you can do to advocate for the supports and tools you need to equitably educate students as classrooms become increasingly diverse.

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

March is Women’s History Month, and this episode focuses on how education can build confidence, provide mirrors, and demystify pathways for our young girls and women to follow their dreams and take a seat at the table. Teresa Kittridge, founder of 100 Rural Women, shares personal stories, advice, and supports for each of us to lean into as we work to remove barriers and illuminate possibilities through the power of education.
Why women in leadership?

• It’s an equity issue, we need women to have a seat at the table
• Most women tend to work collaboratively, individual recognition is not often a priority
• Women want to “get stuff done and go home!”
• We don’t have enough women in leadership, it’s a crisis in rural right now

Advice for educators

• Connect young girls to the many options and positions they have available to them. 
• Keep girls believing in themselves, having those visions, seeing themselves in the future
• See kids as individuals with individual gifts and talents
• Highlight women in a variety of roles and throughout the curriculum
• Advocate for library collections with a broad array of people, culture, and topics
• Demystify the path, remove barriers, and help women see themselves in leadership roles

Advice from Teresa

• Find your passion and take some risks, believe in yourself
• It’s ok to make changes
• Anytime you have an opportunity to continue your learning, take it!
• You can’t change everything at once
• Don’t forget about appointed positions as pathways to other leadership or elected roles
• Not everyone wants to be out front, but how do you support the women that do?

Reflection Questions:

• Which educators (if any) do you recall elevating women in leadership and showing you examples of what is possible for women in leadership?  What do you do as an educator?
• Reflect on your own curriculum and classroom libraries; do you have enough representation?  How could you make it even better?
• What is the most important take away from this conversation and how will you use it to impact your life and the lives of those you serve?

Resources and References

• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Learn more about Erin Schutte Wadzinski and her work in Worthington, MN
• The Dress Maker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon  
• The Exceptional Attorney Woo
• Join a Sourcewell Media/Library Support Network

Connect with Teresa:

[email protected]
100 rural women website and on social media @100ruralwomen

• Mentorship networks
• Book Club 
• Ask a Leading Woman 

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

Educator Connection

As Educators, it is important that we continually expand our knowledge and understanding around multiple ways of being.  This episode helps us build that muscle!  Whether you teach in an area that has a high Ojibwe or other Indigenous population, or not, today’s episode will help build your own culturally responsive toolbox.

Who is The Cultural Toolbox written for?

• Ojibwe people who are interested in reclaiming, relearning, or reconnecting with their own culture
• The rest of the world to get a sense about one way of being
• We need respect, hold space for and allow the thriving of many different ways of being

Gender Roles

• Men and women each own half the lodge
• Traditional gender division of labor that favors balance over equality
• Caution around romanticizing or denigrating any one culture

School practices

• Everything humans do is a cultural decision (i.e., the bell system or music in choir programs)
• Modern education is for the most part still colonized (i.e., English is prioritized)
• Majority of students in schools are students of color, only about 60% of Native students are finishing high school

Education goals worth pursuing

• Foster positive identity development no matter your identity
• Create spaces where students know they are valued, sacred, and important; not just for being “good at whiteness” or “properly colonized”
• Engaging in acts of kindness
• We all need healing

Dos and Don’ts for Non-Native

• Do be curious, ask questions, hold and open space for everyone to learn about themselves and one another
• Do read a variety of Native perspectives and voices
• Do participate in Indigenous led activities (i.e. pow-wows, Native art, etc.)
• Don’t buy/participate in “Native-inspired” (i.e. “Sweat-lodge experience for a fee”)

Terms and references from today’s episode:

• Historical trauma, Institutional trauma & contemporary trauma
• Genocide
• Residential Indian Boarding Schools in Minnesota
• Denied access to opportunities: One example Why Treaties Matter
• 85% of Chippawa land is a national forest and managed by United States government
• Land Back: one example here
• 26 different distinct gender identities
• Flagship Hawaii Language school

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

February Celebrations: Black History Month & I Love to Read Month

• Author studies focused on authors of color
• A variety of texts, graphic novels, author websites or virtual author visits
• Martin’s Big Words
• No More Culturally Irrelevant Teaching

What’s happening at the state policy level?

• New ELA standards will be fully implemented fall of 2023 and assessed in ‘25-26
• MCA IV criteria and decision making is currently taking place
•  LETRS training
• Emphasis on the teacher licensing standards and backgrounds
• Licensure requirements around professional development in reading is changing for more veteran staff
• Minnesota Department of Education -- policy, guidance, and support on dyslexia

Get Connected!

• Share good news about what you’re doing in the classroom
• International Literacy Association for a national and international perspective on policy
• Minnesota Reading Association for state-level policy and professional learning
• Leaders in Reading Network 
• Higher Education Literacy Partnership (HELP)\
• Check out a free Summer Book Club provided by HELP. This summer’s focus: Multi-Lingual Learners

Literacy re-envisioned:

• Consider the ways we organize children for learning; competency-based vs biological age
• Rethink how we organize and staff our human resources
• How the teacher uses the tool (including technology) is the differentiator
• Collaboration around data analysis should involve multiple perspectives and roles
• Ensure instructional tools are being used as intended (i.e. Levels and Lexile numbers)
• Consider the (enabling) context of literacy practices
• Get familiar with implantation science; one resource: National Implementation Resource Network (NIRN)
• Recognize and respond to preconceived bias about what child can or can’t do 
• Restructure systems that create barriers to maintaining effective literacy practices
  •   Frequent initiative changes
  • Revolving door of resources
  • Leadership changes that shift the focus

Strategies & Advice:

• Don’t underestimate the impact you have on others
• Thank one of your mentors
• Invite a school board member into your classroom
• Give yourself permission to give up practices that are no longer effective

Connect with Deb and Mary:
Email Dr. Debra Peterson [email protected] or Dr. Mary Jacobson at [email protected]

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

February Celebrations: Black History Month & I Love to Read Month 

•  Flood the classroom library with texts from various cultures and backgrounds

• Be mindful of “windows and mirrors”

•  Read authors from a variety of racial backgrounds

What’s “hot” in literacy? 

•  Early literacy skills or foundational skills

•  Effective instructional strategies for struggling readers

•  Equity, access to high-quality, diverse books, and content

•  Science of Reading

How should we respond?

•  There will never be a one-size-fits-all for every student 

•  Encourage critical thinkers and readers 

•  We grow, change, learn, and take the best of what works with us

•  Sometimes implementation is the problem, not the original intent of the work

•  Know better, do better 

The truth about Teacher Preparation Programs

• Minnesota teacher licensing standards, including systemic, explicit phonics, has been in place for 10 years 

•  What is taught and what is implemented isn’t always the same

• Minnesota higher ed faculty is continually learning, including participating in LETRS (Language Essentials for Teacher of Reading and Spelling) training

•  Terminology changes, but many ideas behind them are consistent.  

What isn’t changing?

•  Using student data to guide decision making  

•  Diverse student populations with diverse needs

•  Teacher read alouds 

•  Collaborating with our colleagues

•  Time for professional learning 

Strategies & Advice:

•  Decrease teacher talk, increase student’s ability to think, talk, and write in response to text 

•  Keep good company that remembers their “why”

•  Once we get into the profession, our learning is truly just beginning

Resources & References: 

•  International Literacy Association 

•  LETRS training

•  The National Reading Panel Report 

•  The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf – Grace Lin Ted Talk

Reflection Questions:

•  Which of the “what’s hot” literacy topics are you currently studying?  What is affirming? What is challenging?

•  How are you supporting critical readers and thinkers with exposure to a variety of texts?

•  Would your colleagues identify you as “good company?”? Why or why not?

Connect with Deb and Mary:

Email Dr. Debra Peterson [email protected] or Dr. Mary Jacobson at [email protected] 

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

Each of us may have a different idea about what student engagement looks like or how we increase it in our classrooms. In this episode Sourcewell consultants, Julie and Maggie, share their expertise around learning targets and scales and technology to help your students feel connected to their learning. 

How do you know when students are engaged?

•  Engagement looks and sounds different for everyone, never assume!

•  Engaged students

           o   can articulate what they are learning and why

           o   know their learning progression and path

           o   know the target and can self-evaluate progress

•  Student agency and personalized connection to the content creates engagement

Who is responsible for student engagement?

•  It’s a collective effort that must include student and family input

•  Educators must clearly present the learning path and progression of learning

•  Educators must balance the needs of the variety of students

•  Center your students and the learning outcomes; de-center yourself (teacher)

What are common reasons that students disengage?

•  No relationship to the adults or to the content

•  Not feeling welcome or included in the class or school

•  When there is a singular (teacher selected) way to show learning

•  Not seeing themselves in the content or how it connects to their life

How can we proactively address disengagement?:

•  Create a safe space for students to share how they’re feeling

•  Provide multiple opportunities to support around content

•  Greet students at the door

•  Positive check-ins, observations, and sharing with families and caregivers

•  Specific positive feedback

Strategies to engage all students:

•  Use technology as an option to access and connect with teachers

•  Intentional and personalized conversations with each student or matching to other adults in the building

•  Using a seating chart to ensure that students are getting a check-in

•  Set clear and visual learning targets and proficiency scales

•  Use pre-assessments to match learning to a variety of skill levels

•  Use turn and talks, collaboration, and group work

•  Include student voice and choice in learning decisions

•  Recognize when a topic may be dry and invite students to weigh in on how to show learning

•  Help students see themselves and make connections to the content

Reflection Questions:

•  What is your one next step?

•  How has (or how would) using a clear progression of learning skills engage your students?

•  How have you (or how will you) used technology to help students better connect to their world?

Resources & References

•  High Reliability Schools Framework by Marzano Research

•  ISTE Student standards

•  ISTE Educator standards

•  TPACK in 2min

•  SAMR Model

Connect with Julie or Maggie via email [email protected]

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

Curriculum Revitalization through an equity lens with Marceline DuBose   

Ways to revitalize and diversify curriculum 

• Apply a good filter; watch for what explicit and implicit messaging in the content

•  Include a broad array of perspectives

•  Don’t sugar-coat hard things

•  Make sure students can students see themselves in the curriculum

•  Teach larger concepts of justice, democracy, human growth, and development using all kinds of people that have contributed to these concepts  

• Identify and include absent narratives

What gets in the way of revitalizing and diversifying our curriculum? 

•  Tradition, or personal affection or nostalgia for a certain topic 

•  Assumption of what students should learn: the cannon, college ready, standards and testing 

•  Educators feeling like they don’t have the knowledge or time to make changes 

•  Parents critiquing changes in the curriculum

•  Assuming students are too young to talk about difficult things or current events 

An example of revitalized curriculum: MLKJ 

•  Learn about his values and think about how would he apply it to current topics?

•  Give a full and accurate representation of who he was; not just dreamy 

•  Include MLKJ and other BIPOC leaders in the curriculum all year long

Dos or Don’ts for Black History Month

•  Do add stories of whimsy, love, friendship, and creativity; Don’t limit your discussion to stories of trauma, oppression, or overcoming adversity 

•  Do involve you students by making stories relevant to their lives

•  Do expand complexity and context, not just history but current events as well; Don’t limit yourself to single heroes – what are the stories of the people, the area, the geography?

•  Do expand the context where these stories live (math, science, tech); Don’t limit it to the humanities

•  Do balance our stories so they aren’t all victim-focused; who is the focus on? 

Resources & References 

Connect with Marceline: www.dueast.org; @dueeast

•  Unit or Lesson planning template 

•  Collective Knowledge Creation

•  Educational Equity Curriculum and Instruction Compass

•  No Stone Unturned Journal 

•  List of websites for curriculum 

•  Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Classroom Texts 

•  Diversity in Children’s Books 2018 Infographic 

•  Danger of a Single Story TedTalk

•  Absent Narratives Resource Collection from MN Humanities Center

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

December is a busy month and let’s face it, being an educator can be tough year-round!  I want to share 5 things to try when stuff gets tough in this bonus mini episode.  These are strategies that have been helpful for me, and I hope you find something helpful here as well.  If you have a strategy you’d like to share, email us at [email protected] and we will share out your ideas in our Educators Facebook Group. 

1. Change your password or passphrase 

• Make it inspirational, encouraging, or funny! 
• This helps sends a positive message every time you log into your device 

 2. Write self-affirmations  

• Handwrite self-affirmations and read them aloud! 
• Counteract the negative narrative in your brain 
• Use a journal, stickies on a mirror or bath crayons in the shower! 
• Consider the stories you are telling yourself, about yourself  

 3. Say Yes! 

• Prioritize the people in front of you 
• Rachel’s example: Emergency class meeting!  
• Don’t forget about the fun 
• Rachel’s example: Dance party! 
• Pay attention to the needs of others and yourself  

 4. Say no. 

• Set boundaries, and know your limits 
• Create a culture where it’s ok for other people to say no 
• Everyone has a different capacity level; don’t compare! 

 5. Use a visual to prioritize your needs 

• List everything that is stressing you out from the big to the little 
• Create a target with a center and two outer rings 
• In the center: people and relationship (don’t forget about yourself!) 
• In the middle ring: important tasks that need a plan 
• In the outer ring: not urgent, what can I let go of? 

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education

Whether you are a coach and you are engaged in sharing feedback with other colleagues, you are an administrator that evaluates, a teacher that delivers feedback to students, parents, or caregivers or a human being; we are all tasked with engaging in difficult conversations from time to time. Jacki shares about how having the hard conversations, that ultimately impact students, is our responsibility.  

What makes a conversation difficult? 

• Lacking confidence to articulate on a topic (articulation does not equal intelligence)  
• Topics around students that are misrepresented, marginalized, or misunderstood (based on preconceived ideas) 
• Inaccurate definitions operating as facts, including ideas that are misrepresented or misunderstood  
• Conversations that involved boundaries; advocating for yourself can be hard 
• Perfectionism 
• Providing feedback to the person in a power position or hierarchy  

What should we avoid? 

• Using common words without common definitions  
• Thinking someone else should have the conversation (“Passing the buck”) if it is our responsibility to own; however, if the harm did not involve you, keep yourself out 
• Centering or prioritizing your feelings or the feelings of the person receiving the feedback, over the impacts that the topic is having on students (or other affected groups) 
• Ignoring hard topics (bystander effect)  
• Taking others’ reactions or emotions personally  
• Jumping to conclusions, assuming how people will react, or what they may be thinking 
• Letting our past experiences put us on guard or on the defense before engaging  
• Only having deep conversations about things that need to change vs. ongoing deep conversations about practice  

Strategies that support difficult conversations  

• Creating a culture that encourages feedback, learning, and growth  
• Consider the reason for your feedback, the timing, and the relationship with the receiver  
• Focus on the impact over the intention  
• Recognize if you’re dysregulated (in your head, body, emotions)  
• Pause to find your words, “break and breath”  
• Listen, don’t speak to be heard  
• Know your own tendencies or fears and how they may impact your ability to give or receive feedback 
• If you’re in a position of power, create avenues where it is safe to both give and receive feedback 
• Think about the next engagement:  don’t avoid people and don’t “overdo it” 

Helpful Reminders 

• Initial reaction isn’t always the long-term thought; sometimes people just need time 
• Behaviors are not only an asset or a liability; they might be both; consider your “why” for engaging  
• Sort out whose feelings you’re prioritizing and protecting 

Connect with Jacki: thecatalystapproach.com 

References:   

Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. Random House Publishing Group 

Ed Soul Podcast Credit | Sourcewell

Find more educational resources by topic at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education