Best Lu Gerlach Podcasts (2024)

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C135 (Book Club): Creating an Alliance with our Learners (pg 88 -107) 26:04

8h ago26:04

26:04

Welcome back my friends to another episode of Confessions of a PYP Teacher. This episode speaks directly to my heart and I hope it will resonate with you too. Zaretta Hammond focuses on building deep alliances with our learners in chapter 6 of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. We will uncover some parts, but it’s not possible to unpack …

1
C134 (Book Club): Supporting Culturally Responsive Relationships with our Learners (pg 72-87) 20:08

2d ago20:08

20:08

Something I’ve been thinking about has been learner relationships and why they are not the primary focus in many elementary classrooms. Usually within the first month of school, teachers are building systems and routines of how the classroom will operate, but do they really take the time to get to know their learners personally? Zaretta Hammond poi…

1
C133 (Book Club): Continuing to Become Aware of our Actions (pg 59-69) 24:42

17d ago24:42

24:42

In the past episode, we discussed our own role as a culturally responsive teacher and how it shapes our frame of reference when teaching a classroom full of learners from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, let alone language acquisition, disabilities, and gender identity needs. This was compared to our understanding of surface, shallow, and de…

1
C132 (Book Club): Becoming a Culturally Responsive Educator (pg 52-60) 24:09

1M ago24:09

24:09

Welcome to another deep dive into the fabulous book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond. This week will be full of insights about ourselves. Are you ready to go deep into your practice? To be honest, this chapter left me with a feeling of being exposed, but that is the process of recognizing how our beliefs and behavior…

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C131 (Book Club): How Culture Effects the Brain (pg 36-51) 19:37

1M ago19:37

19:37

Welcome back to another episode of Confessions of a PYP Teacher and our exploration of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brian by Zaretta Hammond. I’m not going to lie, this next part of the book makes me feel like a numpty. Zaretta Hammond begins the chapter by stating, “If we want to use culturally responsive teaching to support the cognitiv…

1
C130 (Book Club): Understanding the Power of Cultural Roots (pg 21-35) 22:48

2M ago22:48

22:48

Welcome back to another episode of Confessions of a PYP Teacher. We are continuing our exploration of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond. This week, we will examine the influence of culture and shine light on our need for awareness. Zaretta Hammond states, “Building background knowledge begins with becoming knowledgeabl…

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C129 (Book Club): From Pedagogy of Poverty to Ready for Rigor (pgs 14- 20) 18:20

3M ago18:20

18:20

Welcome back to our book study of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain (CRT) by Zaretta Hammond. As I reviewed my notes for the last episode, I discovered that I missed two key significant ideas that I want to explore before moving forward. Hammond refers to the school-to-prison pipeline, which is something that is quite prevalent within th…

1
C128 (Book Club): Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain (pg 1-13) 23:36

3M ago23:36

23:36

Welcome my friends to a new book study. I have wrestled with what to talk about next within my podcast series and I kept circling back to Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond. This book changed me this past year and I couldn’t w…

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C127 (Application): Making our Classrooms reflect the PYP journey 14:44

3M ago14:44

14:44

Hello, dear educators, and welcome to the final episode of our application series. I'm Lu Gerlach, your host and fellow advocate for empowering young minds through thinkchat. Today, we're embarking on a thrilling journey, exploring how to craft a classroom that truly tickles our learners' brains and igniting a fiery passion for learning. It's all a…

1
C126 (Application): Lessons from The Expert Effect 13:50

3M ago13:50

13:50

Hidee Ho Neighbor, my name is Lu Gerlach and I’m from thinkchat. Welcome to confession #126! In this episode, we'll be exploring some of the big ideas presented in the inspiring book, 'The Expert Effect' by Zach Rondot and Grayson McKinney. Get ready to join me on a journey of reflection and growth as we uncover the transformative power of allowing…

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C125 (Application): Local and Global Inquiry in our Context 18:41

4M ago18:41

18:41

Welcome back my Lu Crew. I’m Lu Gerlach from thinkchat, just in case you forgot my name. This is confession #125! We are going to sit for a moment and reflect on how to make local and global inquiry happen within our context. This seems like quite an abstract concept to many people, because we tend to overthink it. Let’s take a deep breath and brea…

1
C124 (Application): Using Personal Inquiry in our Practice 12:28

4M ago12:28

12:28

Good day to my fabulous thinkchat family. It’s me again, Lu Gerlach, your host, and welcome to confession #124, where we will explore how to use personal inquiry in our practice. Every time that we loop back with an application series, it has helped me to grow as a practitioner and consider my own actions. For this episode, we are returning to Kath…

1
C123 (Application): Our Learning Journey with ChatGPT 17:15

4M ago17:15

17:15

Good afternoon to my favorite people, I’ll just call you my Lu Crew. If you haven’t guessed, I’m your host, Lu Gerlach from thinkchat, and I am having fun with today’s episode. As we end 2023, I want us to think about where technology has greatly exploded this past year and where it is rapidly going in the years to come. We cannot pretend that it w…

1
C122: How do learners visually represent their unit of inquiry journey? 12:18

4M ago12:18

12:18

Hey there, wonderful people! It's your host, Lu Gerlach from thinkchat, and I am beyond excited for today's episode. We're going deep into the heart of the PYP philosophy exploring how learners visually represent their unit of inquiry journey. So, buckle up for Confession #122, where we'll dig into the nitty-gritty of shifting from showcasing finis…

1
C121: How do we guide learning through differentiation? 19:02

6M ago19:02

19:02

In this episode, we are going to explore two questions posed by my Twitter friend, Donna Mathew. To what extent can we differentiate an inquiry classroom? What are the different ways of doing it? We will answer these questions through the wisdom of Lynn Erickson, Lois Lanning, and Carol Ann Tomlinson. Let's have some fun! For a written blog post an…

1
C120: How are we celebrating student voice through agency? 15:29

9M ago15:29

15:29

Welcome back to another episode of Confessions of a PYP teacher. I have taken a bit of a hiatus from this podcast due to personal health issues and work schedule. This is my ultimate passion project. When I’m not sharing with you, it means I’m off-balance and need to calibrate again. I’m super pumped to continue our series of creating a PYP classro…

1
C119: What key and related concepts live here? 27:19

1y ago27:19

27:19

In this episode, I was provoked by ideas and questions by Yuni Santosa and Shailja Datt. Yuni asked, ”Hmmm... is this the criteria based on the visible aspects (see and hear)? This made me think about how we are balancing what we put onto the walls into our daily practice that can be evidenced by learner behavior and thinking. Shailja suggested, "K…

1
C118: How are our walls interactive and transdisciplinary? 31:07

1y ago31:07

31:07

Greetings friends! Welcome to another week of our PYP Classroom Success Criteria podcast series! We are going to have a lot of fun exploring interactive walls that are transdisciplinary. More talk about the walls? Yep. They are the most underutilized teaching tool that we have at our disposal, so let’s talk about ways that we can use them better. T…

1
C117: How do we show the expectations of a school within the classroom? 23:19

1y ago23:19

23:19

This episode came from a question that was posed by Nirali Parikh, a transitional kindergarten teacher, originally from India that works at the Creation Village World School in Celebration, Florida. I’ve had the pleasure to work with Nirali on several occasions and she makes me think differently about the capabilities of an early years child. If yo…

1
C116: How do we tickle our learner’s brains through our teaching and classroom walls? 13:45

1y ago13:45

13:45

Welcome to our new series on a PYP classroom success criteria. I am so excited for this series, because I feel like it’s been so timely with things I have learned recently from the Pop-Up Studio Edu-Retreat in Brussels with Misty Paterson. In this workshop, Misty took items around the school to create a welcoming gathering place that was flexible a…

1
C115: Creating a PYP Classroom Success Criteria 19:43

1y ago19:43

19:43

In the past six months, I have visited a lot of schools through official IB workshops, independent workshops, and curriculum development. One repeating theme that came from these encounters is this simple question: What does a PYP classroom look and feel like in practice? On the surface it seems like an easy question to answer. But, as you unravel …

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C114 (Book Club): Teach others as experts (pg 131-148) 19:33

1y ago19:33

19:33

In this episode, we conclude our journey with The Expert Effect by exploring selective perfectionism, major takeaways from the book club experience, an excerpt from the companion book The Expert Expedition, and some reflections about our podcast experience. Be sure to join us for this action packed episode. For a written blog post and other resourc…

1
C113 (Book Club): Students become the experts (pgs 91-130) 17:44

1y ago17:44

17:44

In this episode, we unpack the big ideas from this section of the book with authors Grayson McKinney and Zach Rondot of the Expert Effect. During this dynamic conversation, we explored our own personal learning experiences, setting the conditions for learner agency to thrive, and leveraging technology as a teaching tool. There are so many aha momen…

1
C112 (Book Club): Talking with Experts (pgs 59-90) 16:32

1y ago16:32

16:32

Welcome to the third episode in our series about the Expert Effect. I apologize for such a delay, but sometimes our personal life takes time away from our passion projects. I hope to get back on track with this fabulous book in hopes to help you get connected with the expert effect. In this episode, we will talk about people who have influenced our…

1
C111 (Book Club): Learning from Experts Near & Far (Pgs 29-58) 15:38

1+ y ago15:38

15:38

Welcome to the second episode exploring the book, The Expert Effect by Grayson McKinney and Zach Rondot. It has been an absolute pleasure to read this book and learn how to set the conditions for engaging with experts. Now that we have started with our WHY, we can move forward with engaging with experts. In this episode, we will explore: Finding lo…

1
C110 (Book Club): Laying the foundation for the Expert Effect 16:38

1+ y ago16:38

16:38

Welcome to the #CITLreads Book Club for The Expert Effect by Grayson McKinney and Zach Rondot. I am so excited to explore this book through my podcast and appreciate the authors for indulging my connections and reflections. In this episode, we will explore: Pick a new book club role based on the approaches to learning Discover our "WHY" Define an e…

1
C109: Local and Global Inquiry in the Early Years 26:19

1+ y ago26:19

26:19

As I finish this series on local and global inquiry, I couldn’t forget my early years friends. Oftentimes, there are many strategies presented that are beyond the scope of what our little people can do. I wanted to honor your special role in making learning come alive too. In connection to the Crafting Inquiry conference, I was inspired by the idea…

1
C108: Local and Global Inquiry for Specialist and Supporting Teachers 21:15

1+ y ago21:15

21:15

In this episode, we will look at local and global inquiry through the lens of the specialist and supporting teachers. I see you my friends. I know many times you don't feel included in the planning process, because the ideas don't apply to your roles. This episode is an attempt to make local and global inquiry occur in your practice. It's not perfe…

1
C107: The Commonality of the Human Experience 14:01

1+ y ago14:01

14:01

As I mentioned in my last episode, I was able to interact with many of my eduheroes last week, including Stephanie Harvey. What a firecracker! She is not only quite intelligent and articulate, but she has a fire within the language development for all learners. Something that stayed with me was Writeacide; to die a death of writing worksheets. How …

1
C106: The Story Behind Local and Global Inquiry 14:49

1+ y ago14:49

14:49

Let's take a moment to discuss ways to shape the story of local and global inquiry. What does this mean? Take a look at these questions to get a flavor of this week's episodes. Why do stories matter when exploring various content areas? How can storytelling help us to make deeper connections to ideas? How do stories humanize the experiences being f…

1
C105: Going Local to Global (Part 2) 16:40

1+ y ago16:40

16:40

In the last episode, we talked about going from a local issue to more globally minded. I used the PZ visible thinking routine, Projecting Across Distance as an example. As I went through this past week, I realized that this may be a bit advanced for some people, so I scoured my files to find something that might be an easier starting point. A tool …

1
C104: From Local to Global (Part 1) 25:01

1+ y ago25:01

25:01

Wahoo! The moment has finally come. We get to merge the local inquiry with a global context. I’m physically and metaphorically rubbing my hands together with glee. I can’t wait to put these ideas together to create something meaningful. When I think of the relationship between the local and global inquiry, the first thing that pops into my mind is …

1
C103: Finding Experts in our Local Community 13:33

1+ y ago13:33

13:33

Now that we have stretched our learning to think a bit deeper about our standards, let’s think about how we are going to leverage the local community and beyond to add value to the learning and teaching. There are many people within our local community that want to give back, but don’t know how to do it. They are a valuable resource to adding a ric…

1
C102: Going from a Content Standard to a Local Issue 20:23

1+ y ago20:23

20:23

In the last episode, we ended with the idea of connecting our local issue to our curriculum and standards. So, I’d like to dedicate this episode to examining possible ways to explore this. I am providing some tips, but you and your team must decide what best fits for your school and learners. I love challenging myself in creating curriculum connect…

1
C101: The Properties of a Local Inquiry 14:54

1+ y ago14:54

14:54

Welcome to our new series on local and global inquiry. After the book club on “Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning” by Kath Murdoch, I wanted to extend my thinking towards making local and global connections to our inquiry. This seemed like the natural next step. When I think of local inquiry, my mind immediately shifts towards place-based learn…

1
C100 (Book Club): My Personal Inquiry Journey 19:45

1+ y ago19:45

19:45

We all have something that we are wanting to invest in ourselves that we have put off, because we are too busy, too tired, or overworked. Take the time to invest in yourself. There is only one you. In this episode, I'm getting more personal than I have ever been to set my goal and hold myself accountable. For a written blog post and other resources…

1
C99 (Book Club): Reflecting on the Process & Taking Action 15:57

1+ y ago15:57

15:57

After this book study, I decided to try something different. Instead of picking random goals for my action plan, I pulled quotes from each week and partnered them with the enhanced PYP types of action: participation, advocacy, social justice, social entrepreneurship, and lifestyle choices. I chose 3 or sometimes more quotes that resonated with me a…

1
C98 (Book Club): Managing Personal Inquiries (Section 4) 7:36

1+ y ago7:36

7:36

Welcome to our final session of our club for Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning by Kath Murdoch. This session leads out with a bang by looking at resources that make personal inquiry manageable. A big thanks to Bhavna Mathew for being our moderator. As usual, she posed some deep questions for us to ponder and we used a visible thinking routine …

1
C97 (Book Club): Documenting, Reflecting, Assessing, Sharing & Action (3.6-3.7) 13:31

1+ y ago13:31

13:31

Welcome to Week 7 of our Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning book club. This fabulous book by Kath Murdoch has stretched our capability of thinking about personal inquiry learning. This episode, we will explore how to document, reflect, assess, and share our process, so we are able to take meaningful action, which are sections 3.6 - 3.7 of the b…

1
C96 (Book Club): Supporting, Conferring, and Sustaining the Process (3.4-3.5) 20:22

1+ y ago20:22

20:22

Welcome back for another session of our book club on Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning by Kath Murdoch. We are focusing on sections 3.4 - 3.5 in this episode to learn how to confer and sustain the inquiry process. Before we begin, we need to give a big shout to Nisha Vahi, our moderator for this session. Nisha helped us to explore new reflecti…

1
C95 (Book Club): Lighting the Spark of Personal Inquiry to Proposing, Pitching, and Planning (3.1-3.3) 16:19

1+ y ago16:19

16:19

This is the section we have been waiting for! It’s at the heart of how to get started with a personal inquiry, how and what to document, and tons of reflection prompts. If I were you, I would have my notebook ready to jot down some notes. I can't wait to get started using the templates provided in this section. For a written blog post and other res…

1
C94 (Book Club): Designing and Assessing our Inquiry Framework (2.6-2.8) 18:34

1+ y ago18:34

18:34

This week, we are going to look at various scaffolds that will support and assess our use of inquiry within our practice. For newer teachers, we will explore some systems that may help you get started. For others, we will examine ways to deepen our practice so learners take more agency. For a written blog post and other resources, visit: https://th…

1
C93 (Book Club): Creating a Culture for Personal Inquiry (2.1-2.5) 23:18

1+ y ago23:18

23:18

In this episode, we will read sections 2.1-2.5 of Kath Murdoch's book, Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning. In this section, we will examine the factors that shape school culture and how we can determine if we are ready to move forward with a culture of personal inquiry. Join this thought-provoking discussion to identify where you can improve in…

1
C92 (Book Club): Why not PI, Sharing pictures of Practice, and Setting your Own Goal (1.4-1.6) 17:04

2y ago17:04

17:04

Just a reminder my friends, this new series will take an intense dive into the book, “Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning” by Kath Murdoch. This episode will focus on sections 1.4 - 1.6 of the book, so stay tuned to be inspired by Kath! This episode will examine the common issues that educators have about inquiry-based learning, common programs …

1
C91 (Book Club): What and Why of Personal Inquiry (1.1-1.3) 17:24

2y ago17:24

17:24

I am excited to co-lead with Aga Chojnacka-Al Atat and Kirti Kale a book club for Kath Murdoch’s latest title, Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning. I am already several sections into the book and I’ve found a treasure trove of little gems that resonate deeply to my teaching philosophy. Each week, our book club will focus on two to three sections…

1
C90 (Application): Playing with the ATL 11:55

2y ago11:55

11:55

As we look at playing with the ATLs, I’m reminded of my friend Vidhya. She is a passionate PYP educator from India. If you are on Twitter in the education community, you have probably run across her many tweets. Ever since last summer, she has opened my eyes to so many possibilities in seeing learning and teaching. In a recent chat, Vidhya and I we…

1
C89 (Application): Designing an Environment for Play 12:56

2y ago12:56

12:56

Let’s continue on with this theme about learning space design and how it impacts play. From an organizational standpoint, what makes your space so special? When you look around your special spot in your home, what are some special things and tools you use that inspire you to play? In this episode, we will examine how the environment layout, decor, …

1
C88 (Application): Shaping Learning through the Environment 11:55

2y ago11:55

11:55

Welcome to another application series, where we are going to take ideas we have explored before and apply them into a new context. I absolutely love this part, because it helps to look at old things again…the process of anew (4A’s by Misty Paterson). Since our last application series, you’ve had a chance to participate in the Transdisciplinary and …

1
C87: Using Design Thinking with our Learners 11:45

2y ago11:45

11:45

Learning transfer is our greatest gift. It helps us to better understand ideas that we are toying with during our learning. What better way to transfer all of these ideas in our design thinking challenge, but to teach them to our learners? Agency at its finest. Now, let’s circle back to the big ideas from Pop-Up Studio: Responsive Teaching for Toda…

1
C86 (Challenge): Evolving our Practice with POWR 17:01

2y ago17:01

17:01

I’m so excited to record this episode on the 2nd birthday of this podcast! What a journey. I never thought I would ever record a podcast, let alone 86 episodes of my meandering thoughts about the PYP. It has been truly a passion project as I share with you my love of learning and I hope it’s helped you as well. As we have gone through this Design T…

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