The Continuing Educator

Sharron Stroman gives Jacob & Kailey a guided tour of her journey as a teacher and school leader focused on early literacy. Sharron is an education professional of nearly 3 decades who currently serves as a senior professional learning consultant with NWEA. Topics include the science of reading, resilience as a school leader, and why Sharron returned to school to become a structured literacy dyslexia specialist. 

What are the habits we know that enable teachers to be effective no matter the environment? And how do we build and sustain professional and personal practices that help us rise to every challenge? NWEA Senior Account Manager Piper Nichols stops by to talk to Kailey and Jacob about her new book she co-authored, "Habits of Resilient Educators." 

Grab your copy here: https://us.corwin.com/books/habits-of-resilient-educators-285205

Today, Jacob is joined by an Alaskan and a Texan: Moon McCarley, Principal at Nondalton School and District Testing Coordinator for The Lake and Peninsula School District, located on the Alaska Peninsula; and Ashley Cruz, State Professional Learning Consultant at NWEA. They discuss how NWEA partners with districts across Alaska to create high-impact professional learning opportunities to expand assessment literacy. Along the way, Moon shares her experience as a Certified Facilitator and talks about how it helped her grow as a leader.

Robyn & Sarah, a mother & daughter teaching duo, stop by to chat with Jacob about what each generation has learned from the other, what’s better about teaching today, and what’s more challenging. They also talk about Sarah’s alternative certification process and why Robyn left teaching—and then came back! 

For this episode, we're once again joined by Dr. Chase Nordengren, principal research lead for Effective Instructional Strategies at NWEA to talk about teacher-led approaches to academic recovery.

Chase works closely with leading scholars from around the globe to turn theory into actionable practices to drive instructional improvement. His latest study, High Growth for All, captured ways teachers in one Chicago-area district are leading the academic recovery effort and producing above average academic growth over multiple years for kids across the achievement spectrum 

Chase is also the author of Step into Student Goal Setting: A Path to Growth, Motivation, and Agency from Corwin Press. 

“Professional learning should be intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, and data-driven.” 

Jacob hops from the host’s chair to the hot seat as he sits down with Kailey to discuss his journey through the education world to become a leader in professional development for teachers. Starting with his time working with abused & neglected children, Jacob realized how much he would need to continue to grow to best serve his students. After time as a high school math teacher and coach for math educators, Jacob dedicated his career to serving teachers looking to improve their craft. Then, Kailey & Jacob get into the details of what kinds of professional learning teachers need more of now. They talk about why teachers aren’t taught about the assessment side of instructional practice and how new attitudes towards data literacy are changing that trend.

Kailey & Jacob are joined by two educators and NWEA content specialists who have thought a lot about how to improves student experiences in science. Kim Baker has been at NWEA for 13 years, and Megan Kuehl has been here for eight. We discuss challenging assumptions about the science classroom and unpack the notion that science is inherently impartial. 

Get ready for a blast of youthful energy and insight in this one-of-a-kind episode of The Continuing Educator! Join Kailey and Jacob as they dive into an engaging discussion with two bright young minds, Harper & Amelia, who are gearing up for their journey through middle school. These two students share their thoughts on how teachers can create a supportive classroom environment and explore ways kids can make a positive impact on their educator. They unravel goal-setting from a student's point of view and share a meaningful glimpse into the world of education through the eyes of those who experience it every day. Harper & Amelia also answer questions like, what back-to-school supply is the most exciting? And, why are people so afraid of math?  It's a conversation that's as fun as it is enlightening as these four explore the dynamics that shape the middle school classroom.

Send your back-to-school tips as a voice memo to [email protected] — we’ll play them on air. Lots of great teaching stories and tips in this one! Two teachers (and longtime friends) join Kailey to get the tea on getting back to school.  They talk back-to-school routines, first week tips, introducing yourself to new families, hitting the wall, relationship-centered learning, and more. And of course: What’s on your back-to-school playlist? Thanks to our guests: Shelby Coffin, ELA teacher @ Decatur High School, and Olivia Rocamora, high school Spanish teacher @ the Weber School.

Kailey chats with actor, comedian, and NWEA professional learning lead consultant Nicholas Joe about how, why, and when teachers get laughs in their classroom. Along the way they discuss strategies like how to pivot in the classroom with a “Yes, and…” mindset and how to utilize comedy in your lesson planning. And yes, Nick gets Kailey to do improv!