#EduCrush

Though we are learning more about the importance of human connections in schools and workplaces, which are the relationships that actually drive learning? In this solo episode, host Natalie Vardabasso explains how our relationships with a mentor, a champion, a coach, and ourselves create the optimal learning diamond.

Show Notes:

• Defining the pinnacle of the learning diamond and guide for our hero's journey: the mentor. (4:46)
• How the social norms around gender challenge the potential of mentorship. (9:00)
• How champions hold our hearts and show up as Marigolds in the workplace. (14:37)
• Why accepting champions means accepting ourselves. (19:49)
• Our coach is our ride-or-die and critical friend. (21:06)
• Radical acceptance for our emotions to show up better for others. (26:05)
• Accept your call to adventure and seek your learning diamond. (33:47)

View full show notes here!

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

We all have memories of Sex Ed that are filled with embarrassment and shame. How might we change our collective experience of this topic? What structural barriers create this problem? How might we reimagine Sex Ed as relationship education? Alex Noel worked for many years as a Sexual Health educator before stepping into his own classroom as a high school Science and Math teacher. The contrast of these two educational experiences has given him a passionate insight into how we might better achieve our collective goal of growing healthy kids.

Show notes:

• Alex's journey from volunteer to a sexual health educator, to finally, a classroom teacher. (7:45)
• Possible criteria we might use to define sexual health. (12:35)
• The barriers in school to achieving our shared goal of healthy kids. (14:55)
• Imagining the curriculum for "Relationship Education" 101. (18:40)
• Grappling with SB8, the controversial law in Texas that has made abortion illegal after six weeks. (22:40)
• Bright spots that Alex has seen where schools are living into the goal of healthy students. (29:40)
• Upholding the expectation of universal consent in every context. (35:11)
• Recalibrating to our changing social norms without a road map. (42:21)
• Advice for those wanting to hold space for relationship and sexual education in their classroom. (46:00)
• The purpose of education. (50:44)

View full show notes here!

Alex on Twitter: @MrAlexNoel

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

In nearly every field of work, we are quick to jump on the latest and greatest strategy leading to a habitual focus on what we do, rather than a deeper analysis about why we do it. Project-based learning (PBL) threatens to fall into this trap, but not if Loni Bergvist has anything to do about it. Loni discovered a purpose-driven passion for PBL as a teacher at High Tech High in San Diego and has been on a quest to bring it to the world. She is currently the founding partner of "Imagine If" a Denmark-based organization that aims to reimagine education to be authentic, collaborative, student-owned, and equitable through PBL.

Show notes:

• Describing the educational mecca that is High Tech High. (7:41)
• Staying grounded in the "why" behind project-based learning. (11:55)
• The biggest challenge faced when trying to scale the magic of High Tech High to other contexts. (14:00)
• Reimagining education has less to do with great projects, and more to do with change management. (22:00)
• The ongoing project of helping adults to collaborate in schools. (31:00)
• Exploring how schools can live in a space of continuous innovation and improvement. (36:31)
• Giving ourselves permission to cry and to feel joy. (41:45)
• Loni's advice for those who want to dip their toes into project-based learning. (44:00)
• The purpose of education. (50:10)

View full show notes here!

Loni on Twitter: @Loni_Bergvist

Loni on Linkedin

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

On the episode, we unpack how students were challenged to deepen and demonstrate their understanding of Ecosystems and Visual Literacy in a grade 7 interdisciplinary project. Teacher Jaclyn Demmers also shares her newfound insights about the potential of students with learning disabilities when given creative opportunities that spark their curiosity.

• Jaclyn's current role and what drew her into education. (1:45)
• A summary of the project. (3:05)
• A breakdown of the major milestones of the project—entry event, research, direct instruction, building, and showcasing. (5:40)
• Why Jaclyn was drawn to project-based learning and how it shifted feedback conversations in her classroom. (12:05)
• A personal highlight. (14:00)
• The biggest barrier that Jaclyn had to overcome. (15:10)
• How the project challenged our assumptions about learning as a siloed experience. (15:45)
• The potential for project-based learning to reveal the capacity of diverse learners when they have clear criteria. (20:30)
• The purpose of education. (22:45)

View full show notes here!

Jaclyn on Twitter: @JaclynDemmers

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

What is the truth about teacher leadership? Is it an exciting opportunity to become a change agent, or, is it just another managerial manifestation of the status quo? Randy Swift and Pedro Dones III are two teacher leaders from New York who have had very different experiences in the role. On the episode, we explore their perspectives and how they have each brought their unique purpose to life as teacher leaders.

Show notes:

• Randy and Pedro describe their current roles as teacher leaders. (4:40)
• The graduated program of teacher leadership in NYC that includes model teacher, peer collaborative teacher and master teacher. (7:20)
• Randy's experience as a teacher leader within his school. (12:00)
• Unpacking the purpose of teacher leadership. (17:00)
• Modelling what it means to be a reflective and responsive practitioner. (27:50)
• Teacher leadership as a career path to maintain engagement. (34:20)
• Maintaining a shared vision through observations, feedback, and presence. (39:00)
• Coaching peers to solve problems by coming up with their own solutions. (50:15)

View full show notes here!

Randy on Twitter: @RandySwift9

Pedro on Twitter: @dones_BIGaction

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

EduPodlooza is an all-day marathon, live-stream event featuring some of the dopest names in the education podcast space. The day is filled with many different segments including round tables, a radio play, and of course, a poetry slam. The slam segment was a collaboration between the following EduPodcasters who shared their own poems and responded to poems that had been submitted digitally:

Mealey & Tudisco of Unprofessional Development (@unprocast)

Gerardo Munoz of Too Dope Teachers and a Mic (@TooDopeTeachers)

Traci Bowder of Intelligogy (@intelligogy)

Natalie Vardabasso of EduCrush (@educrushpod)

Grab a coffee and get ready for some playful and powerful spoken word poems!

Despite our best intentions, collaboration in schools often looks more like cooperation (at best), or polite dysfunction (at worst). As an NCAA div 1 basketball coach and strategic business development professional, Tim Lewis has learned a lot that can help us build the schools we've always dreamed of, together. On the episode we discuss teaching like a coach, unleashing teams with collective accountability, and taking the imperfect first step to make your mission statement a reality.

View full show notes here!

Tim on Twitter: @Tlew2022

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

In this project feature episode, we explore how drama teacher Leeanne McLim reimagined the classic "Haunted House" project in response to the pandemic. While students learned a myriad of life skills through planning, pitching, designing, and hosting the event, Leeanne discovered a deeper appreciation for interdisciplinary collaboration.

View full show notes here!

Leeanne on Twitter: @lechiquita

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

The 21st century demands an updated definition of literacy and an expansion of our understanding of what constitutes a "text." For instance, how might we read and write our relationships? Our institutions? Our own thoughts?

Brent Saccucci (he/they) is currently a senior school teacher at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School and Ph.D. candidate in Literacy—focusing on social, emotional, and critical literacies—at the University of Alberta where he also teaches a course in the BEd program.

On the episode, we explore the relationship between social-emotional learning and lower-case "l" literacy.

View full show notes here!

Brent on Twitter: @BrentSaccucci

Email the Podcast: [email protected]

Podcast on Twitter: @educrushpod

Natalie on Twitter: @natabasso

Podcast on Instagram: @educrushpod

Podcast Website: www.educrushpod.com

For too long, the purpose of assessment has been to collect points for a gradebook. As a high school English teacher, Sarah Zerwin decided to uphold a better purpose for assessment: learning. On the episode, Sarah discusses many “point-less” assessment practices such as emphasizing reflection, dialogue, and process. Listen to learn how to shift from a culture of compliance towards a culture of authentic engagement. 

Sarah's book: "Pointless: An English Teachers Guide to More Meaningful Grading"

View full show notes here!