What does it mean to truly personalize education? In this episode of The Teaching Edge, we sit down with Nicki Slaugh, an educational leader, author, and principal at Quest Academy in Utah. With over 20 years of experience in transforming classrooms and schools, Nicki shares how personalized, competency-based education reshapes how students learn and how teachers inspire. You’ll learn how to implement personalized learning strategies, build a school culture that fosters mastery, and embrace technology as a tool for growth.

Resources Mentioned:

• Nicki’s book: Personalize: Meeting the Needs of All Learners
• Nicki’s website
• Nicki’s TikTok
• Nicki's Instagram
• Nicki’s Linktree
• Quest Academy in Utah
• Daniel Pink's book Drive
• Eric Sheninger's Disruptive Thinking
• Tim Grover's Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable

Key Takeaways:

1. Introduction:
   • Nicki Slaugh is a trailblazer in personalized education, using her experience as a principal and author to revolutionize learning.
   • She co-authored Personalize: Meeting the Needs of All Learners, providing a practical guide for educators to innovate and inspire.
2. Educational Leadership and Risk-Taking:
   • Leadership should foster a culture of love and safety where failure is a stepping stone.
   • Empowered teachers innovate, inspiring students to take risks and reflect on their learning.
3. Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose:
   • These elements fuel motivation for both students and teachers.
   • Purpose and autonomy are crucial for engagement, leading to mastery through calculated risk-taking.
4. Personalized Learning:
   • Personalized education creates a student-centered environment where everyone thrives.
   • Key strategies include:
     • Building relationships through one-on-one or small group interactions.
     • Using data to tailor learning paths.
     • Allowing students to demonstrate mastery before progressing.
     • Offering voice and choice in how students learn and practice.
     • Providing actionable feedback and fostering collaboration.
     • Integrating technology as a meaningful tool, not a distraction.
5. Practical Implementation:
   • Redesign classrooms to foster collaboration, removing traditional desks.
   • Leverage pre-tests, flipped classrooms, and project-based learning for personalized instruction.
   • Teach life skills with courses on coding, Adobe Suite, and public speaking.
   • Use formative assessments to guide next-day teaching and create tailored support.
6. Competency-Based Model / Proficiency Skills:
   • Break down standards into actionable "I can" statements for students.
   • Design assessments aligned with standards, focusing on mastery progression.
7. AI in Education:
   • Use AI to create tailored practice materials, adjust reading levels, and personalize learning.
   • Teach students ethical and effective ways to use AI for their development.
8. The Shift in Mindset:
   • Personalized education emphasizes engagement over compliance and meaningful learning over rote curriculum completion.
9. Additional Insights:
   • Lead with love and build relationships to create a thriving educational environment.
   • Education should combine academics with life skills to develop well-rounded individuals.
   • Discipline should focus on learning lessons, balancing warmth and strictness.
   • Grading should separate academic performance from character development.

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review! Check out www.theteachingedge.org for all episodes. Share this episode with fellow educators and join the movement to inspire and innovate in education!

In this episode of The Teaching Edge Podcast, we sit down with Meghan Lawson, an inspiring educator, author of Legacy of Learning: Teaching for Lasting Impact, and advocate for student-centered learning and teacher well-being. Meghan shares her insights on fostering hope, embracing happiness, and creating meaningful connections in the classroom. You’ll learn how to integrate hope as a strategy for student success, practical ways to prioritize teacher well-being, and the transformative power of storytelling in education.

Resources Mentioned:

• Website: www.meghanlawson.com
• Book: Legacy of Learning
• X (formerly Twitter): @meghan_lawson
• Instagram: @meghanlawsonblog
• Article: Willing to Be Disturbed by Margaret J. Wheatley
• Podcast: Hope Amplified

Key Takeaways:

1. Hope as a Strategy:
   Hope is not just a passive wish but an action-oriented belief that tomorrow can be better than today. It's about setting clear, meaningful goals and believing in your ability to achieve them. Hope fosters resilience, enabling teachers and students to view obstacles as opportunities. By nurturing hope in the classroom, teachers can empower students to take ownership of their learning and strive for success.

2. Teacher Empowerment and Well-Being:
   Empowering teachers and supporting their well-being are critical for fostering a positive and productive learning environment. Teachers thrive when they feel supported in their professional growth and instructional excellence. This includes recognizing their unique contributions, encouraging collaboration, and aligning their work with personal interests and strengths.

3. Student-Centered Learning:
   Student-centered learning puts students at the heart of the educational process. Connecting lessons to students' interests and curiosities makes learning personally meaningful. Celebrating their progress toward goals fosters motivation and reinforces the value of their efforts.

4. The Importance of Storytelling:
   Storytelling is a powerful tool for connection and engagement. It creates a sense of safety and community, helping students feel invested in the learning process. Stories also build empathy and understanding among students, enriching their educational experiences.

5. Willingness to Be Disturbed:
   Embracing new ideas and perspectives, even when they challenge existing beliefs, is vital for growth. This mindset fosters curiosity and openness, essential qualities for both teachers and students to navigate an ever-changing educational landscape.

6. Practical Teacher Well-Being Strategies:
   Small, manageable actions can have significant impacts on teacher well-being. From taking moments to connect with students to celebrating incremental successes, focusing on small yet meaningful practices ensures sustainable growth and positivity in teaching.

7. Parent Involvement:
   Parents bring valuable expertise about their children to the table. Schools should foster meaningful opportunities for collaboration with parents, enabling them to support their child's learning journey effectively.

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review! Check out www.theteachingedge.org for all episodes.

In this episode of The Teaching Edge Podcast, we sit down with Eric Sheninger, a renowned educational leader and author, to explore the transformative potential of digital tools and personalized learning in education. You’ll learn how to effectively integrate technology in classrooms, empower students through personalization, and embrace small, consistent changes for long-term success.

Resources Mentioned:

• Eric Sheninger’s website
• Drive by Dan Pink
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• The No Complaining Rule by Jon Gordon
• Eric Sheninger’s books: Digital Leadership, Learning Transformed, Disrupting Thinking in Our Classrooms, Personalize, and more

Here are some key takeaways from this insightful interview:

1. Digital Leadership in Education
   Digital leadership involves using technology to enhance existing effective leadership strategies, such as communication and building relationships. For example, leaders can use social media to engage with stakeholders and share pedagogical shifts using images, which are processed faster than text.
2. Personalization in Education
   Personalization ensures all students get what they need, when and where they need it, to learn. This involves building relationships, making learning relevant, and offering high-agency elements such as voice and choice.
3. Personalized Learning Approach
   Personalized learning is not just about putting all kids on devices, but rather about offering options for path, pace, and place of learning.
   • Path: Allowing students to choose how to demonstrate understanding, such as drawing, writing, or creating an artifact.
   • Pace: Allowing students to learn at their own pace, recognizing that learning is a process, not an event.
   • Place: Making learning environments flexible and varied, including virtual, outside, and flexible seating options.
4. Implementing Personalization
   Teachers can use various strategies to personalize learning:
   • Station Rotations: Using data to group and regroup students for targeted instruction after a mini-lesson.
   • Choice Activities: Providing options for tasks, including must-do and may-do activities, and choice boards.
   • Playlists: Offering a list of tasks that students complete in their chosen order.
   • Flipped Lessons: Providing content outside of class, such as through a video, to free up class time for differentiated instruction.
5. Purposeful Technology Integration
   Technology should be used as a tool to support and enhance learning, not as an end in itself. It should be used purposefully and effectively to improve teaching and learning. For example, technology can be used for self-graded exit tickets to give teachers immediate feedback.
6. Role of AI in Education
   AI can save teachers and administrators time by helping with scaffolding questions aligned to authentic scenarios. However, AI cannot build relationships or facilitate learning.
7. The Power of Small Changes
   Small, consistent shifts in practice are more impactful than large, infrequent changes.
8. Adapting to Disruption
   Disruptive forces such as technology and AI make us uncomfortable and require adaptation. Educators should prepare students to replace conventional ideas with innovative solutions. The focus should be on developing thinking skills and the ability to apply thinking in relevant ways.
9. Encouraging Questions Over Answers
   Questions are more important than answers. Educators should encourage students to question the why, how, and what behind their learning.
10. Timeless Effective Strategies
    Effective strategies have not changed much; technology should enhance them rather than replace them.
11. The Evolving Role of Teachers
    The teacher's role is more important than ever, serving as a buffer between chaos and students, and implementing technology purposefully.
12. Flexible and Personalized Education
    Education should be personalized and flexible, as that is what we expect as adults. The goal should be to inspire individuals to pursue a path of purpose.
13. Reevaluating Homework
    Homework should be limited and focused on reflection, as research shows little academic benefit for excessive homework at certain grade levels.
14. Relational Discipline
    Discipline should be strict in the sense that it is relational, with a focus on respect and routines.
15. Performance-Based Grading
    Grading should be based on performance, not effort.
16. Embracing Vulnerability in Growth
    It's OK to say, "I don't know" and ask for help. Educators should leverage their networks and always question their practice to grow.

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review! Check out www.theteachingedge.org for all episodes.

Are you ready to elevate your teaching and inspire your students? In this episode of the Teaching Edge podcast, we sit down with prominent educator, author, and speaker George Couros to explore innovative teaching, learning, and leadership. You'll learn the importance of connecting with people's hearts to drive meaningful change, how to foster creativity and innovation in educational settings, and how to develop an innovator's mindset.

Some of the resources mentioned:

• George Couros’ books: https://georgecouros.com/books/ or on Amazon here.
  • The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros
  • Because of a Teacher (Vol I and II)  by George Couros
  • Innovate Inside the Box by Katie Novak and George Couros
• Legacy of Learning by Meghan Lawson
• Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
• Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
• Drive by Daniel Pink
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Find out more about George and his work:

Website: georgecouros.com

X: @gcouros

Facebook: George Couros

LinkedIn: George Couros

Instagram: @gcouros

YouTube: George Couros

Here are some key takeaways from this wonderful interview:

• A teacher's influence extends far beyond the classroom and cannot be truly measured, as every student they inspire goes on to inspire others. Teachers have a lasting impact on their students, often in ways that are not realized until adulthood.

• Innovation is a human endeavor, not just about technology. It's about building relationships, trust, and a culture where people feel supported to take risks and try new things. It involves doing new and better things, and it's not just limited to teaching and learning, but also includes how schools are led and how professional learning days are structured.

• It's crucial to create a culture of learning that embraces a messy process, with ups and downs, rather than a linear path to success. It's important to focus on resiliency, and on what can be learned from challenges.

• Educators should focus on students' strengths and passions, connecting them to the curriculum in creative ways. For example, a student interested in YouTube could create a video explaining a science concept.

• It's important for leaders to model the behaviors they want to see from their staff, including a willingness to try new things and share their struggles. Leaders should create a culture that supports people trying new things.

• When trying to get people to move forward, listen and find common ground, rather than simply trying to convince them that your way is the right way. It is important to bring people along in the process of change.

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review!

Check out https://www.theteachingedge.org for all episodes.

What does it mean to “Teach Like a Pirate”? In this episode of The Teaching Edge, we sit down with Dave Burgess, acclaimed educator, speaker, and author of the best-selling book Teach Like a Pirate. Dave shares his revolutionary approach to making classrooms engaging, memorable, and transformative spaces. Learn how educators can embrace creativity, inspire students, and navigate the opportunities and challenges of modern education.

Find out more about Dave and his work:

• daveburgess.com
• daveburgessconsulting.com
• Dave’s podcast:  https://thedaveburgessshow.buzzsprout.com/
• Instagram: dbc_inc
• Bluesky: burgessdave
• X: burgessdave
• TikTok: @pirate.teacher
• Teach Like a Pirate:  https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Like-Pirate-Engagement-Creativity/dp/0988217600

Some of our key takeaways:

1. Create Experiences, Not Lessons: Teaching should be an adventure that captures students’ imaginations.
2. Find Your Hook: Use storytelling, theatrics, and innovative activities to draw students in and make learning irresistible.
3. Embrace Technology with Purpose: From AI to collaboration tools, Dave discusses using technology to amplify learning, not replace it.
4. Focus on Lifelong Impact: Teaching is about shaping character and critical thinking skills as much as it is about delivering content.
5. Rethink Standardized Testing: Dave critiques the overemphasis on test scores and advocates for a more holistic measure of teacher and student success.

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review! Visit www.theteachingedge.org for all of our episodes.

Welcome back to The Teaching Edge podcast!

We are happy to announce our relaunch, this time expanding our horizons - beyond technology in the classroom, encompassing all aspects of classroom teaching.

Enjoy our upcoming episodes!

In this episode, we meet with Ross Garrod, CEO of Practice Pal, for a fascinating conversation about the unique challenge of music teachers, how these are very effectively solved, how practice is best improved and the overall impact of music on the student's brain and abilities in general.

In this episode we meet with Jonathan Schor, CEO of Code Monkey, a unique and very successful platform for getting children from a young age into the world of coding and computer science, with teachers of any teaching background getting involved from the very start.

In this episode we meet with the CEO of Sparx Learning, who are focused on personalizing the learning experience, making homework much more engaging and effective, and providing teachers and educators huge teaching leverage.

In this episode we meet Knowledgehook, with innovative ways to assess students in the classroom while at the same time directing teachers on helping students reach their goals, with instant insights on student progress, directly within the class environment.