Today, Maria brings back Julie Delich, Vice President of Retention at Wiley Education Services, for a deep dive into the online learning advising model that Julie and her team developed using four principles: appreciative advising, proactive advising, cognitive behavioral theory and shame resilience theory. During this engaging conversation, they unpack how advisors guide students to complete their online learning program using the 5Cs: Connect, Create, Challenge, Collaborate and Commit. Advisors partner with students to ensure that they have the support, resources, confidence and resilience to overcome challenges during their learning journey. They accomplish that by helping students develop critical thinking, set achievable goals, be accountable to others and keep their promises. Tune in to learn from a person who combines a clinical mental health background with engaging storytelling. If you want to learn more about Julie’s learning journey, you can listen to episode 64 that offers resources and insights to help guide lifelong learners on their higher education journey.

For educators who feel that everything they love about teaching has been thrown away, this episode offers insights to help navigate the current turmoil in higher education by learning how universities can design a more equitable future of digital education to continue to serve teachers, students, staff and the local community. Our guest today is Michael Gallagher, lecturer in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh, co-programme director of the MSc in Digital Education and a member of the Centre of Research in Digital Education. Michael works on digital education projects in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda) and often collaborates with INGOs. He has been awarded The University of Edinburgh Principal's Medal for 2020 for his outstanding contribution to support the university during 2020. This is a rare conversation with a researcher and a teacher who wants to positively influence people’s view of what teaching can be, what teachers are and what role they serve in digital education.

Today, Maria talks with Jethro Jones, founder of Transformative Principal and author of the book SchoolX. Since he launched his podcast Transformative Principal in 2013, Jethro has been interviewing thought leaders in education and business to learn how to transform schools. After helping other principals, he realized that he could create the impact he always desired if he coached many more principals to transform their own schools. He wrote the book SchoolX to help principals redesign their schools (even in the midst of the pandemic) to better serve their teachers, students, parents, community, and themselves. In this episode, Jethro shares beautiful stories from his experience as a former teacher and principal helping his students discover their full potential by building trust with them and guiding them on their self-discovery path. This is an inspiring conversation with a patient and empathetic educator who is helping schools create a transformative learning experience for all.

Today, Maria talks with Yonat Sharon, a freelance iOS developer, writer, and speaker. Her learning journey, and that of her four children, is one of a kind and might change your mind about education as we know it. Yonat learned to code at home at a very young age after her father bought a computer for her older brother. And, for over twenty years, she has been unschooling her four children. This conversation provides actionable insights to help parents get started with unschooling and ease their way on a learning journey where life is the curriculum. For those not interested in unschooling, this episode offers recommendations on what schools can learn from unschooling to help them develop independent, lifelong learners who design their learning journey and create the life they want. This is an eye-opening conversation that turns traditional education on its head and provides actionable insights to help parents build better relationships with their children through learning at home.

Today, Maria shines the light on the change in education that often occurs unnoticed through initiatives teachers lead in their classrooms. She shares the stories of three high school teachers who teach different subjects from history to English, physics and chemistry but do have one thing in common: They want to help their students build skills that are rarely developed through the traditional curriculum, or they are developed in ways that students don’t find engaging. Under their respective circumstances and in their own ways, these three teachers decided to lead initiatives and create new experiences for their students. In doing so, they expanded or replaced the standard curriculum in their classrooms. Listen to these inspiring stories and Maria’s reflections to help you make education better, one classroom at a time.

Today, Maria talks with Sonia Tiwari, a learning scientist and, currently, a PhD candidate in the Learning, Design, and Technology program at Penn State University. In her research, Sonia explores how children learn in informal environments using educational media and maker activities. Through her training in electronic media, design and animation and former experience as a visual, game & user experience designer, Sonia brings unique insights and perspectives into the design of creative learning environments. Parents will learn many educational media resources and good practices to help them design engaging learning activities for their children at home. This is an insightful conversation with a visual designer and learning scientist who wants to put a smile on the face of learners by designing resources that are useful, beautiful, playful and funny!

If your child has a math problem or your students struggle in your math class, this episode is for you. You'll learn how to create lifelong learners confident in their math abilities, free from math-related anxiety and capable of thriving in a STEM-centric future. Today, Maria talks with Aditya Nagrath, cofounder of Elephant Learning, an automated math academy that guarantees children learn one year of math in three months. All it takes is thirty minutes of math a week on the Elephant Learning app. Also, according to studies, children who perform better in math perform better in reading, writing, speaking, and problem-solving. Tune in to learn from a visionary leader on a mission to change how the world teaches math.

Today, Maria talks with Florence Martin, Professor in Learning, Design and Technology at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. This episode is for you if you are interested in instructional design, educational technology, and online learning facilitation. Florence will teach you the skills and competencies of award-winning online instructors and define the eight key roles you need to assume to thrive as an online educator. She will also share good practices and simple recommendations to help you design and integrate online learning environments to improve student engagement and learning experience. Tune in to learn from a higher education leader who wants to train professionals to become better designers and instructors through her teaching and research. And in doing so, she continues to impact more students in classrooms around the world.

When Maria strained her lower back in September of 2020, she developed a plan to rest, recover and get back with her life. Only, this time, things were different. Today, she talks about her decision to pause the podcast and what she learned from this experience. She also shares an update on how she is doing today and the plan forward. Tune in to learn how to use our mental strength to press pause so we can get back in the saddle when the time is right!

Today, Maria talks with Christina Oliver, Executive Director at Classroom, Inc, an EdTech nonprofit founded by Lewis Bernard from Morgan Stanley to bridge the learning gap between middle school and the workplace.

Through Read to Lead, their digital learning games platform, they put middle school students in charge of their learning by becoming the boss in a virtual workplace. They read closely, think critically, and solve real-world problems, all while balancing the hectic demands of an exciting workplace. Most importantly, these middle schoolers build critical literacy and leadership skills to help them thrive in school, life and career.

The impact of Read to Lead is transformational. Students, especially those struggling with literacy and engagement increase reading achievement, find motivation in being the leader and see - often for the first time - a real connection between learning, career and their future

Middle school teachers and educators can join the Read to Lead platform at rtlgames.org for free to access their digital learning games and curriculum as well as a plethora of development tools and resources to help them build skills and increase their impact on their students.

Tune in to learn from a leader who believes that hands-on game-based learning can empower middle school students to build 21st-century skills and develop the confidence to thrive in school, college, career and life.