Welcome back to a fresh episode of Rebel Teacher Alliance! This week, we dive into the joys and challenges of breaking away from a "frictionless" learning environment to embrace novelty and active engagement in the classroom. From playful lawsuits with "The Firm" to discussions about middle schoolers' peak altruistic learning phase, Michael Matera joins us to share his gamified insights and classroom adventures. We explore balancing creativity and structure, the value of failure, and why sticky brains need recall, not cramming. Plus, don’t miss the cooperative game that turns Texas Hold’em into a heist in our ever-popular segment, "What'cha been playin'...?"

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Things mentioned on the show:

- The Gang Boardgame

- EMC2Learning