Education Evolution

Belonging is vital if our kids are to learn. They need to feel understood and safe, and that often starts with teachers. But teachers have a lot on their plates already, and new legislation has them fearful that they'll do or say something that might jeopardize their jobs.

While this podcast episode doesn't solve this challenge, it spotlights the need for more conversations around creating spaces for youth who don't want to fit in a box that society created for them.

Patti Hearn is a school and educational leader in the Pacific Northwest who started a school for girls and gender non-conforming kids so they would have the opportunity to "become competent risk takers and courageous mistake makers." In this episode, we talk about why parents and leaders might want to build their own school, why it's so important that we listen to our youth, how to honor student rights, how the legal landscape is impacting our ability to serve all learners, and so much more.

Patti has been there and done that and she's now using her knowledge to support other parents and educators in ensuring that more kids have access to the space and education they deserve.

Patti Hearn is passionate about education and believes in working to help individuals, families, and schools forge authentic paths. Patti was the Founding Head of Lake Washington Girls Middle School in Seattle, where, for over two decades, she offered girls and gender non-conforming kids the opportunity to become competent risk takers and courageous mistake makers. She then brought her knowledge and passion for innovative middle school programs to lead Seattle School for Boys, and she launched Verge Consulting to provide consultation and coaching to educators, school leaders, and founders of new schools, as well as school placement support for families.

Patti shares her thinking and work in feminist, anti-racist, and LGBTQ+ inclusive education, social-emotional learning, startup culture in education, creative confidence, STEAM, executive functioning, and inclusive leadership. Her conference presentations include the National Association of Independent Schools, the International Coalition of Girls' Schools, the Seattle Interactive Conference, the Teaching and Education Summit, and the Northwest Association of Independent Schools.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciahearn/

https://twitter.com/patti_hearn

• [1:33] - Where Patti's school transformation began
• [2:55] - Helping students to become competent risk takers and courageous mistake makers
• [5:25] - Why you might want to build a startup school
• [7:17] - How to make a change
• [8:19] - Youth speaking up about gender noncoforming; we need to address that
• [9:40] - All kids have value; it's about loving the individual not about the labels
• [10:26] - how the legal landscape is impacting our ability to serve all learners fully
• [11:56] - All kids benefit from inclusion
• [12:45] - Teachers aren't clear enough about they can and can't say and they fear for their livelihoods
• [14:32] - It's life-saving to have a caring adult at school
• [18:27] - How to honor student rights and be an advocate
• [20:30] - Turbo Time
• [22:39] - What people need to know about serving LGTBQ+ kids
• [25:48] - Patti's Magic Wand
• [20:02] - Maureen's takeaways

• Verge Consulting
• Connect with Patti on LinkedIn
• Episode 120: How Legal Decisions Impact Our Schools with Karen Kalzer
• Unprotected: A Menoir by Billy Porter
• Every Kid Needs a Champion - TED Talk by Rita Pierson
• We Need to Talk About an Injustice - TED Talk by Bryan Stevenson
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

Teachers are burned out and continue to leave the profession in droves. One of the biggest challenges is that there's so much out of our control as educators that we struggle to cope. Even before COVID wreaked havoc on our world, there was little we could do to control what happened in our day-to-day lives.

What if we just let go of what we can't control and instead focus on what is within our power? That's the mindset behind this week's podcast episode with Ryan Racine, author of The Stoic Teacher.

Ryan and I talk about planning ahead for adversity, letting go of those frustrating moments, looking at situations from an outside perspective, and gifting our children with these tools that will serve them well throughout life.

We'll never know a world where we can control everything. (And do we really want to?) It's time we take a step back and live and teach from a different perspective.

Ryan Racine is a high school teacher and college instructor from Canada. He earned his master's of English language and literature from Brock University and has published in magazines such as Modern Stoicism, PACE, The Ekphrastic Review, and University Affairs. His book, The Stoic Teacher: Ancient Mind Hacks to Help Educators Foster Resiliency, Optimism, and Inne Calm, focuses on how Stoic philosophy can help teachers deal with day-to-day stresses, manage classroom behavior better, and strive to become better teachers!

• [1:39] - What is Stoicism
• [4:06] - How he got involved in Stoicism
• [7:35] - Lessons teachers can learn from ancient mind hacks
• [10:15] - Premeditating for adversity
• [11:52] - Reframing adversity for yourself
• [12:57] - Work through self-imposed obstacles
• [15:45] - Taking a view from above
• [18:30] - How to apply these concepts with students
• [22:15] - Explicitly teach Stoicism vs. informal conversations
• [24:29] - The importance of modeling with kids
• [28:15] - Turbo Time
• [29:32] - What Ryan brings to teaching
• [30:10] - Fun fact about Stoics
• [32:38] - Ryan's Magic Wand
• [34:23] - Maureen's Takeaways

• The Stoic Teacher: Ancient Mind Hacks to Help Educators Foster Resiliency, Optimism, and Inner Calm by Ryan Racine
• Getting to Neutral
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
• Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficult People by Mark Westmoquette

• Troublesome Buddhas YouTube
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

In the U.S., we say we're growing global citizens, but are we really? Being a global citizen means that we're willing to have uncomfortable conversations, we are willing to see others' points of view, and we're cooperative across borders about global events.

It's interesting to look at how other countries' educational systems operate and believe that we can all learn so much from one another.

This week on the podcast, I'm talking with Brantley Turner, the founding American principal at Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School and new director of East Asian Education for the Dwight Schools Network. As someone who grew up in the U.S. education system and has in-depth knowledge of the Chinese system, Brantley has a unique perspective of global citizenship and preparing children in a variety of cultures.

Brantley shares why local learning is so valuable, what people need to know about global education systems, why we need to truly let our kids fail (instead of just telling them they can), and why a cooperative model is important in China and beyond.

For the past 10 years, Brantley Turner served as the Founding American Principal and a Governing Board Member at Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School where she passionately led all aspects of the school's international administration. August 2022 she will take on a new role as Director of East Asian Education for the Dwight Schools Network.

While operating Qibao Dwight, Brantley took the school from a start up to an institution that is peer-recognized as showcasing excellence in teaching and learning, management and curriculum innovation. This success story of China's only cooperatively-run, independent Sino-U.S. high school is thanks to her abilities as an innovator and solution-oriented creative thinker.

Brantley brings every ounce of her knowledge of multiple different industries to the challenges of international education. These broad reference points and an extremely open-minded approach to her close collaboration with the Principal, Wang Fang, set her apart in the industry. She has impeccable written and spoken Mandarin.

Her goal is to share the incredible successes of the Qibao Dwight faculty and students and the approaches that best supported them, so that others may enjoy also being swept up by the vital work of educating globally-minded students. Connect with Brantley on LinkedIn.

• [2:05] - Comparing and contrasting US and China education
• [3:30] - Are we up for continued dialogue
• [5:02] - Not all children can attend certain schools in China
• [6:48] - Why cooperative model is important in China and beyond
• [9:20] - Addressing the hate and negative stereotypes in media of the Chinese
• [10:10] - We can't solve global crises without cooperation
• [11:27] - Changes in life and relationships from living abroad
• [13:08] - Living abroad is an unshackling
• [15:31] - Key takeaways for global citizenship
• [19:00] - How kids in China respond to "What are you interested in?"
• [19:55] - Don't negate what's important to the culture
• [21:25] - 3 things that can better prepare our youth to be global citizens
• [26:12] - Internationalization of education isn't the westernization of education
• [28:12] - Turbo Time
• [30:10] - What people need to know about creating global systems
• [31:40] - What Brantley brings to global education
• [33:55] - How others can be activists
• [36:18] - Brantley's Magic Wand
• [38:05] - Maureen's Takeaways

• Connect with Brantley on LinkedIn
• Tim Ferris TED Talk: Why you should define your fears instead of your goals
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

It might seem like there's no correlation between recent Supreme Court rulings and what happens in our public schools. But that's not the case at all, especially if you look at potential translations of decisions down the road.

There's a new ideology in the Supreme Court, one that has leaders on both sides of the political aisle perking up. On one side, decisions are being handed down that are changing the fabric of our society; on the other side, they're scrambling to highlight implications and find new ways to protect everyone's rights.

I admit it's scary. And though Roe v. Wade seemed to not have any impact on my own micro-school, LEADPrep, or public schools, I know from experience that's not the case. So I invited Karen Kalzer, an education and nonprofit attorney, onto the podcast to share what she sees happening as a result of these decisions.

We talk about several cases that are setting precedent right now, why we now need to determine whose rights should be recognized, what people need to know about student rights, what the Constitution actually protects, and more.

This was an eye-opening, albeit frustrating, conversation about what's to come.

Karen is a practicing attorney with 25 years of experience representing schools and nonprofits. She is an adjunct professor in Education Law & Policy for Boston College and is passionate about helping schools achieve their vision and mission. Connect with Karen on LinkedIn.

• [2:07] - How the Supreme Court shifts will impact schools
• [3:43] - What is a shadow docket
• [5:47] - The message courts send when they don't take a case
• [7:39] - Roe v. wade ripple effects in schools
• [10:08] - Decision questioned entire right of due process, implicit liberty, and implied rights under constitution
• [13:07] - Connection between the Constitution and private schools
• [17:09] - How does the court differentiate between whose rights take precedence
• [20:05] - We want every child to thrive - what do we need to keep as school leaders and parents
• [22:10] - Turbo Time
• [25:00] - What people need to know about student rights
• [27:24] - Karen's Magic Wand
• [30:17] - Maureen's Takeaways

• Helsell Fetterman
• Connect with Karen on LinkedIn
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

We forget that in order for teachers to teach materials, they need to know how to use them. Most teachers today don't have any experience with robotics or computer science, so how can we expect them to teach these skills to our students?

There's a lot of talk about ensuring that curriculum is inclusive, but we forget about the teachers. Sure there are computer science teachers out there who can teach those higher-level classes where true expertise is necessary. But the curriculum is not inclusive for younger students because it's not presented in a way that teachers can teach it. The teacher is the barrier, and unintentionally so.

This week on the podcast, I'm talking with Adam Dalton, who co-founded Imagine Robotify, when he was just 23 years old. Robotify is a STEM-based curriculum designed to ignite excitement in tomorrow's leaders in a way that's accessible to teachers and schools of all sizes and budgets.

In the episode, we talk about the importance of preparing our children for the future and why robotics and automation will create jobs, rather than replace humans.

I'm so excited about the possibilities after talking to Adam. What an inspiration!

Adam Dalton is the CEO and co-founder of Imagine Robotify, a browser-based digital solution designed to teach coding using the world's best computer science simulator. With an idea that started in high school alongside his co-founder Evan Darcy, Adam used his background in and passion for inspiring others to create Imagine Robotify. Using Imagine Robotify, students have 24/7 access to the latest and greatest robots without having to ever purchase real hardware in a way that makes coding and robotics more affordable and more accessible for all students across the world.

Adam holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Studies from Dublin City University. Connect with him on LinkedIn and follow Imagine Learning on Facebook and Instagram.

• [1:36] - Imagine Robotify's story
• [2:33] - Why coding
• [4:33] - Mission to make coding and robotics accessible in an engaging way
• [5:30] - Virtual robots at a fraction of the cost can impact thousands of students
• [6:46] - More accessibility to variety of learners
• [12:16] - Building an immersive experience that performs on the devices that educators actual use
• [13:10] - Educators are preparing youth for a future that we don't know about yet
• don't know what will happen yet
• [13:28] - What might be in the future
• [15:48] - Teachers aren't getting taught computer science
• [17:15] - If you're an educator who's never done it before, you can still teach it
• [18:29] - Another evolution of human race
• [20:05] - Critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity
• [22:07] - Steps to take to make sure youth are prepared for tomorrow's workforce
• [24:24] - Turbo Time
• [26:55] - What people need to know about the future of the workplace
• [30:07] - The best thing about coding
• [31:55] - Adam's Magic Wand
• [35:18] - Maureen's takeaways

• Imagine Robotify
• Connect with Adam on LinkedIn
• Follow Imagine Learning on Facebook
• Follow Imagine Learning on Instagram
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

Language development isn't worksheets and passive listening, especially when it comes to language delays and struggling students. After a traumatic brain injury, guest Emily Cadiz learned first-hand how difficult it is to get back language skills, much less learn them in the first place.

Our pre-kindergarten children spend up to 4.5 hours a day in front of a screen, impairing their ability to use their language skills. The result is kindergarteners and primary school students who are far behind where they should be academically.

So Emily took what she learned trying to get her own language skills back and turned it into a fun, interactive curriculum that both teachers and parents can use. And to make it engaging, she used one of the most universal tools around: music.

Tune in this week to find out what happens in pre-k brains, how a former music professional developed curriculum for our most underserved (and overlooked) kiddos and teachers, and what dragons have to do with it.

Emily Cadiz is founder and CEO of Finnegan the Dragon, which creates tone-based curriculum and gaming systems that support early childhood language and literacy development. Her first book, Finnegan the Singing Dragon, introduces audiences to the main character in this adventure-based learning system. Emily,and her team, use inclusive music and tone/singing as the interactive tool for classroom and online learning so that children develop the needed language skills for greater communication, literacy, and social and emotional growth. She created Finnegan the Dragon, leveraging her experiences as a professional musician and working with special needs children to develop a learning system that directly addresses passive screen time and the effects it has on language and overall brain development between the ages of 2-6. A graduate of Columbia University in the City of New York, Emily holds graduate degrees in Education, Special Education, and Inclusive Music. After 15 years of direct classroom experience, Emily shifted to the world of virtual education which makes her well-suited to understand virtual learning needs.

• [1:40] - Who is Finnegan the Dragon
• [2:30] - Declining language and cognitive rates
• [3:08] - Kinder readiness is tricky
• [3:45] - Kids are spending too much time with screens
• [5:20] - In-person curriculum that supports real time language development
• [6:40] - Emily's journey
• [8:34] - Where Finnegan the Dragon came from
• [10:15] - What happens in pre-k brains
• [12:56] - Rewriting traditional songs so they work for language development
• [16:09] - Get free accessl
• [18:49] - Turbo Time
• [20:56] - You never know the value of something until you lose it
• [24:04] - What parents and educators need to do to support literacy
• [25:40] - Emily's Magic Wand
• [27:26] - Maureen's Takeaways

• Finnegan The Dragon
• Connect with Emily on LinkedIn
• Follow Finnegan the Dragon on Instagram
• Follow Finnegan the Dragon on Facebook
• Ben's Bells
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

As educators, you know that kids need independence. And yet, many our youth graduate from high school having never had to take responsibility for getting themselves up on time, fixing themselves a meal, or scheduling an appointment on their own.

Our kids are being raised in a bubble where parents (and sometimes educators) do it all for them, for fear kids might fail at something.

We're doing our kids a disservice if we don't back off and give them the power and independence they need to live a full life. That's exactly what this week's guest, Lenore Skenazy, did back in 2008--and received backlash for.

But that one action, allowing her 9-year-old to ride the subway alone, sparked the idea for a nonprofit and school initiatives that are helping kids across the globe grow into the independent individuals they should be.

Listen in to why she allowed her kids more independence than many and how educators can not only get involved but encourage parents to do the same.

After her column "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone" created a media firestorm, Lenore Skenazy founded the book, blog, and movement, "Free-Range Kids." She has appeared everywhere from The Today Show to The Daily Show, and hosted the reality show World's Worst Mom. Now she is president of Let Grow, the nonprofit making it easy, normal and legal to give kids the independence they need to grow into capable, happy adults. Let Grow's two main school initiatives are The Let Grow Project (kids get the homework assignment, "Go home and do something new, on your own!") and The Let Grow Play Club (schools stay open for mixed-age free play. Adults don't organize the games or solve the spats). All the implementation guides are free here. Lenore lives in New York City with her husband and beloved computer. Her kids have flown the coop.

• [2:40] - The uproar around letting a child ride the subway alone
• [4:19] - The birth of free-range kids
• [5:25] - Moving from trusting kids to a new generation we hover over
• [6:08] - Teachable moments don't always include a teacher present
• [11:50] - If kids aren't doing something just for fun, you have kids doing things for a coach and not themselves
• [13:02] - We're not just going to change minds; we need to change behavior
• [14:47] - The culture is the hamster wheel
• [15:51] - Free and easy ways to give kids back their freedom
• [18:45] - The benefit of boredom and free play
• [21:39] - No device rules
• [27:15] - What classroom teachers can do to support play
• [30:35] - Our kids are supposed to carry on when we're not there
• [32:50] - What happens when we let kids become independent too late
• [34:30] - Turbo Time
• [37:48] - Lenore's Magic Wand
• [38:48] - Maureen's Takeaways

• Email Lenore
• The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
• The Special Value of Children's Age-Mixed Play by Peter Gray
• Ido in Autismland by Ido Kedar
• Let Grow
• Let Grow Play Club
• Let Grow Teacher Resources
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

We assume our children will organically learn how to organize their thoughts and belongings, be able to manage their time, and more. Not true. In fact, if you thought about it, you'd realize that you struggle with this too.

We must teach these executive functioning (EF) skills to our children. In doing so, we can transform their family and school experience.

This week on the podcast, I'm joined by Sean McCormick, who was inspired to teach and coach executive functioning to empower parents and teens to be more organized, thoughtful, and goal-oriented. He shares how receiving executive functioning support impacts learners and families, why students with EF skills are more successful, how to have a family meeting about goals, and what educators can do when a student has a language barrier.

Every human needs to have EF skills, and if we as parents and educators struggle with it ourselves (as we often do), bringing in a professional is key. Listen in!

Sean McCormick is a parent, husband and international executive function coach. He founded Executive Function Specialists, a remote coaching business that empowers parents and teens to be more organized, thoughtful and goal-orientated.​

He also hosts the Earn More Tutoring Podcast, which helps educators world-wide build better practices to help more students and families with their educational needs.

You can learn more about Sean's work by Googling Executive Function Specialists or Earn More Tutoring.

• [1:20] - How I learned about executive functioning
• [3:13] - How executive function impacts learners
• [3:33] - Sean's story
• [5:12] - The impact communication and organization skills have on school
• [6:12] - How support impacts learners
• [6:57] - Research behind what's most impactful for students
• [9:30] - Helping others become EF specialists
• [10:39] - Scott's big mission - Ensure every student has access to EF and teachers are trained in it
• [11:08] - What everyone needs to know about EF
• [11:53] - EF skills have higher predictor of school readiness and outcomes
• [12:59] - What parents can do to ensure kids have EF skills
• [16:33] - Family meetings: start with gratitude
• [18:58] - Remember: there's an unequal power dynamic in families
• [20:01] - EF when kids have language barriers
• [22:05] - Suggestions for parents/teachers to integrate EF into work
• [23:10] - Reticular activation system
• [25:20] - Turbo Time
• [27:59] - Sean's Magic Wand
• [30:28] - Maureen's Takeaways

• Executive Function Specialists
• Dr. Adele Diamond
• Dominican University goals study
• Dr. Stephen Krashen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seanelliotmccormick
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanemccormick/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/efspecialists/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGGiMfT7eZVDn2LYkb1kmgQ
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

Neurodivergent students often get pulled out of classrooms and taught separately because they are "different." Well, we're all a little bit different. Does that mean we should all be taught in silos? Not a chance.

There's an inclusive program in the Seattle area that's supporting our colorful, mismatched students in a unique way that can help them on and off the stage. Youth are learning through theater and improvisation.

This week on the podcast, I'm talking with Lauren Marshall, director of Theater of Possibility, about the organization's unique take on theater and learning. And joining Lauren is Jackie Moffit, one of the school's former students and current teachers.

Together we explore the role the current education system has had on neurodivergent youth, why pull-out programs might work in some instances (but generally don't), the problem with special education, and why acting is a valuable tool for students with autism.

Lauren Marshall is the founding director of Theater of Possibility, serving neurodiverse youth, since 2010. A produced and published playwright, she has an MFA in Music Theater writing from NYU, and BA and JD from Stanford.

Jackie Moffit is an actor, writer, and musician on the autism spectrum who goes by any pronouns. They first started participating in Theater of Possibility in 2012 as a student and became an assistant teacher for the kids' class several years later. They are passionate about neurodiversity representation in education and the arts, and are excited for thier first session as lead teacher. In addition to his work with Theater of Possibility, Jackie also volunteers at Books to Prisoners and writes media reviews for the Northwest Film Forum and Redefine Magazine. Some of their interests include synthesizers, linguistics, and tabletop games.

• [1:55] - Creating community for neurodiverse youth to come together
• [3:15] - The commitment to Theater of Possibility
• [3:56] - "We can succeed in life not by repressing autistic attributes but by embracing them as much as possible"
• [5:07] - Lauren's journey with theater
• [7:04] - Why acting is valuable for people with autism
• [10:03] - The positive results that TOP is seeing
• [11:50] - Theater of the Oppressed
• [13:25] - It starts with community
• [14:20] - The present classroom model moves neurodivergent youth into another room; it's beneficial to bring youth together
• [15:25] - Neurodivergent need space to be around people the same as them
• [17:57] - Activities need to be rewarding in and of themselves
• [20:01] - Turbo Time
• [25:05] - Magic Wand
• [29:16] - Maureen's Takeaways

• Theater of Possibility
• Underestimated: An Autism Miracle by J.B. Handley and Jamison Handley
• Theatre of the Oppressed
• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
• Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry M. Brizant, PhD
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep

How do we know if our children are digesting what we're teaching? We give them assessments! And if you've ever stepped into a traditional classroom in the U.S., this could mean many things. Often it means large, summative assessments at the end of a unit or school year to determine what the students have retained.

Sadly, this type of assessment is ineffective, for more reasons than I can begin to explain. But I sure try in this episode!

There are many ways to assess student learning, aside from the traditional test. And traditional summative assessments only test a student's ability to memorize information for the short term. What happens when they need to remember information long-term and apply it in different scenarios?

I'm sharing my thoughts and more. Listen in!

Be sure to join me at the Beyond Multiple Choice virtual seminar. Find out more and sign up for free!

• [1:26] - Beyond Multiple Choice Conference
• [1:41] - Where to begin with assessment
• [2:18] - The open-ended essential question
• [3:11] - Inquiry-based learning isn't enough
• [3:39] - The questions teachers need to ask
• [4:13] - Model U.S. structure and how bills become laws
• [5:20] - Getting students to own their learning and apply them in real life
• [5:58] - Engaging and relevancy is non-negotiable
• [6:52] - Determine what you'll assess and how
• [8:01] - The big problems with summative assessments
• [8:51] - Summative assessments aren't the only way to assess learning
• [10:26] - Quality rubrics are created in partnership with students
• [11:00] - The existential question: What is important?
• [12:26] - Who takes responsibility to empower students to reach goals
• [12:50] - Maureen's magic wand
• [14:25] - Students can see when teachers are invested in learning

• Episode 73: Breaking Barriers for Our Students and Our Future
• Episode 39: Creating Human-Centered Learning
• https://summit.edactivecollective.org/schedule
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep