The Amazing Teacher Podcast

This week my guest is amazing teacher and fellow podcaster, Brian Sztabnik.

Brian is the host of the Talks with Teachers Podcast, and if you haven't already subscribed to his show, you have to check it out.

In this episode, Brian shares some of what he is learning from the amazing teachers that he has interviewed, and he also offers his own inspiring advice to new and soon-to-be teachers.

He shares that the three qualities that he finds in the amazing teachers he comes in contact with are that they:

1. have an unwavering passion and love for their discipline.

2. have a curiosity about new methods and looking for ways for new ideas and new ways to connect with students.

3. they are uncomfortable - they are never satisfied with what they do. They want to serve their students to the best of their ability.

Brian also offers some great advice about classroom management.

"Have a great lesson plan - a lesson that promotes interaction."

He also shares, "Understand you may not know what's going on in your students' lives."

I had such a great time talking with Brian. We found that we had many things in common, including a desire to have an impact on the future of education.

I know you will find what he shares as inspiring as I did.

As always, thank you for spreading the word about The Amazing Teacher Podcast.

Until next time... Be Amazing!

 

Thanks,

 

Sam

 

Find Brian:

Website: Talks With Teachers

Twitter: @TalksWTeachers

Facebook:  facebook.com/talkswithteachers

Mentioned on the Podcast:

This week, my guest is Jessica Pack from Pack Woman Tech.

Jessica is also the 2014 California Teacher of the Year.

I was so impressed with all that Jessica does with technology in her classroom and beyond.

She makes movies with her student. She has several iBooks and iTunesU courses online that help teachers incorporate technology in the classroom, and she is one of the Jedi Masters at AppsInTheClass.com where Jessica and the other members of the team  offer ideas and resources for teachers using iPads in the classroom.

In this episode, Jessica shares her insights about using technology in the classroom, offering some great advice to new teachers who are looking to include more tech in their lessons.

Her main advice to new teachers when it comes to using technology in the classroom is to "make it meaningful."

"If you can train up students to see purpose in tool, they'll choose the tool that's most appropriate for the task."

Jessica also shares her thoughts about what makes teachers amazing.

She says that amazing teachers have visionary passion, extraordinary empathy and teach without limits.

She offers great advice to those new teachers who are looking to take risks, but are feeling limited by their desire to meet the expectations of others.

"Your reputation as a professional that buys you that room to go full-bore for what it is that you want for your students."

After speaking with Jessica, it's no wonder why she was recognized as Teacher of the Year.

I had an amazing time speaking with Jessica. I know you will find great value in what she has to share.

Thank you again for helping spread the word about The Amazing Teacher Podcast!

Until next time...be amazing!

Thanks,

Sam

Find Jessica:

Website: Pack Woman Tech

Twitter: @Packwoman208

Also mentioned on the podcast:

SAMR Scale

Tweet Deck

Download Jessica's iBooks:

Digital Storytelling: Connecting Standards to Movie-Making by Jessica Pack

 Classroom Management Apps for iPad by Jessica Pack

This week, my guest is Dr. DeLancy Ganley.

Dr. Ganley is the Director of Teacher Education at Claremont Graduate University.

Twenty-five years ago, I was a student at Claremont Graduate University. CGU is where it all began for me in education.

I thought it would be a good idea to go back to my old school and see what's happening now in teacher education.

I contacted Dr. Ganley, and she was so awesome to let me pick her brain about teaching and education.

It was great going back to CGU. Walking around the campus brought back so many cool memories. It was really hard to believe that 25 years had passed.

Sitting down with Dr. Ganley was amazing and inspiring.

She offered some great advice for new teachers as well as for soon-t0-be teachers.

Dr. Ganley shares on the podcast that the most important variable in student achievement is not policy nor financing.  The most important variable is the teacher, and it doesn't matter who the students are.

"If you can have a high performing, highly committed teacher, that teacher can bring about academic success in any population."

Her best advice to new teachers was summed up in three words: "Hang in there."

Dr. Ganley assures new teachers that the first year may be difficult, but the second year will be easier - just hang in there.

I had such a great time speaking with Dr. Ganley. She is truly an amazing educator who is really making an impact on today's education. I know you will find great inspiration in what she shares on the podcast.

Until next time...

Be Amazing!

Find Dr. Ganley:

Web page: CGU.edu

Mentioned on the podcast:

Discipline without Stress Punishment or Reward - Dr. Marvin Marshall

Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting: Five Strategies That End the Daily Battles and Get Kids to Listen the First Time - Noel Janis-Norton

This week, my guest is Brad Currie.

Brad is a vice principal for the Chester School District in Chester, NJ. He is also the co-founder and co-host of a weekly Twitter discussion for current and emerging school leaders called #satchat.

Brad is also the first school administrator who I have had as a guest on the podcast.

I found Brad on Twitter a couple of years ago after he shared one of my SuccessInTheClassroom.com post on Twitter. At the time, it was one of the first - or maybe even THE first time - one of my posts was shared. It was pretty cool, so since then, I've been following Brad.

I was very pleased when Brad agreed to be on the podcast. I knew that from his position as school administrator, he would be able to share his unique perspective on the teaching profession with my audience.

I especially wanted to ask him about one of his most popular posts, Ten Reasons Why I Should Hire You.

This episode is full of amazing tips and words of wisdom for new and soon-to-be teachers.

As with many of the previous guests, building and maintaining positive relationships is very important to Brad, especially when hiring a teacher.

"I don't care what you know about math, what you know about history or science, you have to be able to establish positive and appropriate relationships with those kids."

Brad shares that amazing teachers:

1. Maintain positive relationships with all school stakeholders.

2. Provide autonomy - freedom to students, allowing them to explore the subject area in whatever way is most important to them.

3. Contribute to the school culture in more ways than one.

4. Are always getting better, always trying out new things and finding a different way to have an impact in class.

He also encourages teachers to "bring that passion. If you can bring that passion every day and you're waking up excited, then you know you're doing the right thing." 

It was great Skyping with Brad for the podcast. I know that you will find his insights on teaching as inspiring as I did.

Thank you again for spreading the word about The Amazing Teacher Podcast!

Until next time,

Be Amazing!

Thanks,

Sam

Find Brad:

Website: BradCurrie.net

Twitter: @bcurrie5

Mentioned on the podcast:

Educlipper

Harry Wong - The First Days of School

Todd Whitaker - What Great Teachers Do Differently

This week, my guest is Samantha Bates, co-founder of #TNedchat and organizer of Edcamp Tennessee.

Doug Robertson @theweirdteacher, connected me with Samantha, and I am so glad he did.

Samantha shares her insights in organizing the Edcamp in Tennessee. I found this to be very interesting, since I am such a believer in the Edcamp idea. In fact, I'm looking to attend an Edcamp in my area. I love the idea of teachers sharing best practices and ideas from each other.

Samantha shares that being yourself, being thoughtful and being flexible are the qualities that she finds in amazing teachers.

When it came to classroom management, Samantha encourages new teachers to know who they want to be and know what they want their students to do. She cautions teachers to not try to be like other teachers if it's not who they are.

Her most amazing advice came when I asked her about the one piece of advice she would offer to new teachers. She states, "Know that you are going to change the world." In a time when many are criticizing education, Samantha reminds teachers that this is an exciting time in education.

Samantha sees herself as having an impact on the future of her students. "What am I doing today," she reflects, "to make them better parents, better citizens, better community members?"

I had an amazing time speaking with Samantha, and I know that you will find great value in what she shares as well.

Thank you again for spreading the word about the podcast. You can follow the new Amazing Teacher Podcast Twitter account here: @AmazingPodcast.

Until next time,

Be Amazing!

 

Thanks,

Sam

Find Samantha:

Website: Sam's Reflections

Twitter: @sjsbates

 

Mentioned on the podcast:

Drew Dudley

Doug Robertson @TheWeirdTeacher

Crystal Pinson @krctl

Charlotte Loines @charelaine

This week, my guest on the Amazing Teacher Podcast is Amazing Teacher Doug Robertson, also known as The Weird Teacher.

When I saw his Twitter handle, @theweirdteacher, I had to check him out, and I'm so glad I did.

I found Doug sharing some great advice about student motivation on his Youtube channel. I've embedded the video below.

On the podcast, Doug offers some amazing insights on classroom safety, and how we as teachers need to make sure that our classrooms are places where students feel OK to fail. He tells his students, "If you're never wrong, I have no job."

He also emphasizes the importance of building relationships with students. He says that any kind of learning can happen if those relationships are built.

"Amazing teachers smile." 

Doug shares that many times teachers have to be actors. "Teaching is so much a performance art." Kids cannot see you in a bad mood. According to Doug, if a teacher is in a bad mood, kids will think that it is their fault.

I had a blast speaking with Doug.

He is truly a "Bombastic rock star front man of a never-ending education funk machine!"

I know you will enjoy the podcast.

Thank you again for spreading the word about The Amazing Teacher Podcast.

Sam

 

Find Doug:

Website: hestheweirdteacher.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @theweirdteacher

 

 

 Check out Doug's book!

"Welcome back to another day in paradise."

This week my guest is 2013 National Teacher of the Year - Jeff Charbonneau.

On the podcast, Jeff shares that he begins each class by saying, "Welcome back to another day in paradise."

What a great way to prepare the students for what's going to happen in the classroom.

I had such an awesome time talking with Jeff about education and being amazing in the classroom.

Jeff encourages us to use our influence as teachers to change the perception of education through sharing positive comments and telling people about the good that is happening in our classrooms.

"If just each of the 3.3 million public education teachers went to the grocery store tonight and told one person one good thing that happened at school today, what would happen to the perception of public education? That would be pretty darn powerful. I think that you get the most motivation, you get the most movement for improvement out of positive comments and positive reactions."

Jeff emphasizes the importance of building positive relationships with students. He shares that building relationships is even more important than the content that we cover as teachers.

One of Jeff's most amazing pieces of advice has to do with apologies and asking students for help. He feels that he can think of no better recipe for success.

I know you will find great value from what Jeff has to share in this episode.

Thank you for continuing to spread the word about the podcast.

Be Amazing!

Thanks,

Sam

 

Find Jeff:

Twitter: @JeffCharbonneau

Email: [email protected]

This week, my guest is Judi Holst from TBD Teacher.

Judi is an 8th grade teacher who shares her teaching tips on her Tumblr blog.

As I mention in the podcast, most of my career was spent teaching 8th graders, and as any 8th grade teacher will tell you, 8th graders are a unique group of students who fill our lives with adventure every day.

Judi offers some amazing advice on how to make teaching 8th graders exciting and engaging.

I ask Judi to share her Shark Tank lesson, which I found to be a very creative way to incorporate pop culture into a lesson

Judi encourages new teachers not to try and do it all, but to find another teacher who can help with ideas and planning.

She shares that amazing teachers are passionate and are life-long learners.

Judi also shares that, "An amazing teacher needs to connect with kids."

Judi spends the first few minutes of each class just talking with the students about their lives, which she sees as a valuable investment of class time that will pay off throughout the year.

I had an amazing time talking with Judi.

We could have gone on for hours just sharing middle school stories.

Even if you don't teach middle school, I know you will find Judi's advice very valuable.

Thank you again for spreading the word about the podcast.

Be amazing!

Thanks,

Sam

 

Find Judi:

Website: TBD Teacher

Twitter: @judiholst 

 

Mentioned on the podcast:

AMLE - Association for Middle Level Educators

This week, my guest is Amazing Teacher, Dave Burgess.

Dave Burgess is the author of the book, Teach Like a PIRATE: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator.

Dave shares on the podcast how teachers can create lesson plans that keep students engaged and learning.

He challenges teachers to consider the questions:

1. If the the students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching in an empty room?

2. Do you have any lessons that you can sell tickets for?

We speak on classroom management, and Dave states,, "An engaged student is not a behavior problem." He also states that "Rather than becoming experts in putting out fires, let's spend more time making sure we're not passing out matches."

Dave also encourages teachers to find creative ways to bring their passions into the classroom.

Dave shares that amazing teachers have passion, always learning, connecting with other teachers and collaborating with them. He also states that amazing teachers have courage. They're not afraid to try to new things and take risks.

My conversation with Dave was truly inspiring, and I  know you will find his insights inspiring as well.

Thank you again for spreading the word about the podcast.

Be amazing!

 

Thanks,

 

Sam

Find Dave:

Website: www.DaveBurgess.com

Twitter: @burgessdave #tlap

 

Teach Like a Pirate - Dave Burgess

This week, I had a great conversation with Amazing Teacher, Maureen Devlin. Maureen has a website called Teach Children Well where she shares her thoughts on teaching, teacher collaboration and learning design.

In this episode, Maureen shares many great pieces of advice for new teachers and soon-to-be teachers.

One of the topics we speak about is the importance of quality collaboration. Maureen and I have a discussion around the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) collaboration model.

Maureen also offers great advice on how to reach those "challenging" students. "The children that are the most challenging require the most time up front in your teaching year."

One of the best parts of the interview is when she shares about the Servant Leadership model of teaching that she has adopted. She shares that in the beginning of the year, she tells her students that she is there to serve them. I thought this was a great way to build that positive relationship with students that is so critical to a successful year.

Technology is also an important part of Maureen's teaching. She shares, "With technology, I have more hands."

I really had an amazing time speaking with Maureen about all of these topics.

I know you will also enjoy what she has to share on the show.

Thank you again for spreading the word about The Amazing Teacher Podcast.

Be amazing!

Sam

 

Find Maureen:

Website: Teach Children Well

Twitter: @lookforsun

Mentioned on the podcast:

Professional Learning Communities

UClass.org

 

Intentional Interruption: Breaking Down Learning Barriers to Transform Professional Practice - Steven Katz

Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning - John Hattie

Guide My Feet: Prayers and Meditations for Our Children - Marian Wright Edelman