Hallway Conversations

This week is part two of our conversation with our co-host Abby De Groot along with our friends Rikki Brons and Gayle Doornbos as they share about their adventure this summer on pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. We recommend that you go back and listen to our last episode before diving into part two of the conversation. In this part of the conversation, we focus on what pilgrimage is, what it is all about, and how pilgrimage might even be educational—an adventure in pedagogy. We discuss the difference between pilgrimage and “going for a walk,” the role of community in our pilgrimage through life, and the way Christian educators might benefit from thinking about teaching as a sort of pilgrimage–walking on the way and seeking to faithfully follow Jesus. We hope you’ll be blessed and encouraged on your journey by listening in!

• If you are interested in learning more about traveling the Camino themselves, our friends recommend checking out Encounter: Travel for Transformation. You can find more information here: https://encounter-tft.com/ 

This week’s episode is a special first part of a two-part episode. We have a couple of friends joining us today, Dr. Rikki Brons and Dr. Gayle Doornbos. Abby, Rikki, and Gayle adventured together this summer, going on a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route traveled by Christians for centuries, and this was no vacation: this was a spiritual and educational journey! In this episode, we hear a bit about what prompted this pilgrimage for them, how it worked, and what they learned. We hope you’ll enjoy hearing about their adventures…and come back for part II in a couple weeks to find out more about the significance and influences they have found not only for their faith lives, but for their teaching as well.

So…we were a little punchy recording this episode, because it was Friday afternoon and it had been a long week. We hope you enjoy a little extra silliness and bantering back and forth! This episode is in response to a question from a listener; Mike asked us to share some of the podcasts we love (besides this one) and were happy to share. There are a wide range of different ideas here, but we think you’ll find something to add to your list for listening–things that we think will bring you opportunities for learning, or laughter, or both. You can find any of the podcasts we mention in your favorite podcast platform, so feel free to go searching! Here is the list of podcasts we named in this episode:

• Revisionist History

In this episode, Dave’s bi-weekly newsletter also came up as a topic of discussion. It is entitled “Positivity. Passion. Purpose.” and it’s meant to encourage and support educators who need a boost of positivity, a jolt of passion, or a reminder of their purpose. He would love it if you would check it out, and you can subscribe for free: https://drdave.substack.com

Welcome to Season 7! It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to get together around the microphones, but we are excited to dive into more conversations with you. Matt kicks off the new season by sharing a recent podcast episode that got him thinking deeply about the importance of reflection, and the surprising power of reflection for solidifying our understanding and learning. This prompted us to do a little shared reflection on the things we experienced and learned this summer, and we even get a little personal with the new things we are finding in this season of newness. These personal reflections further prompted us to reflect together about our development as teachers over the years and how seasons of newness often are opportunities for growth. We hope that listening in might prompt some reflection of your own, and some collegial conversations you might have about your personal and professional development.

• The podcast Matt referenced in this episode is called The Learner Lab, and the specific episode that got him thinking about the importance of reflection was this one, entitled “The Surprising Power of Reflection.” You can listen to it here: https://thelearnerlab.com/the-surprising-power-of-reflection-giada-di-stefano/ 

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are still in full summer mode, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. This week is a replay of a popular episode from about one year into this podcasting adventure; hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) 

And so, for today, one from the archives. Our main topic in this episode was sparked by a question from a listener; Loretta asks, “In the past few years, our school has embraced Project Based Learning as a preferred teaching method. What are your thoughts on PBL? And what do you think are some of the best things about PBL and maybe what are some of the downfalls of teaching in a PBL style?” This was a timely question, as Matt and Abby had visited a PBL school just the week before we recorded this episode! We think together about the similarities and differences between having students “do projects” and implementing “project-based learning.” We further explore some of the habits of mind that seem to be important for implementing PBL at a classroom level and at a school level. Expanding audiences, exhibitions of student work, student empowerment–we talk about it all!

This is a new episode, but perhaps a little different than most! We have had a terrible time getting the three of us to be in the same place at the same time with the mindset and wherewithal to record new episodes. (Never fear–new episodes are coming soon! Once we’re all back from our summer travels, we’ll get back into our normal routine.) :-) In the meantime, this one is made up of two elements: both a snippet from an earlier conversation that Dave had cut out during the editing process, as well as a solo recording Dave made of a piece that came from his old blog. We hope that both of these will offer encouragement for novice teachers…and their more experienced colleagues as well.

• If you’re interested in reading the original piece from Dave’s blog, you can find it here: https://iteach-and-ilearn.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-good-teacheror-great-teacher.html 

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are into full summer mode now, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. This week is a replay of a popular episode from about one year into this podcasting adventure; hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) 

And so, for today, one from the archives. In this episode, we begin by reflecting on our first year of podcasting. Listeners, we are SO grateful for you! And we want this show to be the sort of thing that encourages, challenges, and blesses you, so we would love to hear your feedback, questions, comments, and wonderings. You can always contact us at [email protected].

This episode was prompted by an email we had from Emma, a recent college graduate with a bunch of great questions, seeking our advice for how to navigate the beginnings of entering this profession. She had some great questions–thanks for asking them, Emma! We offer our on-the-spot advice to a variety of questions, from how to get to know the culture of the building, to getting how to build relationships with students, to what to do if you disagree with a seasoned colleague’s approach. We hope that if you are new to the profession, or joining a new school, or if you have a new colleague coming aboard in your teaching team you’ll find some encouragement in this episode.

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are into full summer mode now, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. We plan to work around our travel schedules and different pace of the summer months, and we will still have an episode for your listening pleasure every other week as has become our pattern. But we probably be alternating new episodes and replays throughout the summer--hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) to some of our earlier episodes.

And so, for today, one from the archives. In this episode, Dave kicks things off by sharing a story about how he has changed his mind about some things in education. We then have a robust conversation about the ways teachers probably should change their minds over time, which is a hallmark of learning, after all. We hope you'll enjoy and be blessed by this summer replay.

Original episode including show notes here: 

After our last episode where we interviewed two of our graduates who are right at the beginning of their careers, we thought it could be interesting to hear from some folks who are wrapping up long careers as professional educators. So we were delighted that our good friends, Kim and Ed Starkenburg, were willing to join us for this episode! Kim and Ed recently retired from teaching after 40+ years teaching. They have such great stories to share–from how they came into the profession, to how they have seen things change over their long careers, some of the joys and challenges they experienced, and the things they miss (and don’t miss!) now that they have retired. There is a lot of collective wisdom here that they shared, and whether you are new to the profession, are an experienced educator, or just think back fondly on some of your own teachers, we know you’ll be blessed by listening in. Blessings to you, dear listeners, as you wrap up this school year and transition into summer mode.