🔥 How can I control the chaos of my classroom? 🔥 What is Kami, and how can it support student learning? 🔥 What does it take to build an education YouTube channel? Join me for this conversation with STEPHANIE HOWELL as she shares her insights. ABOUT THIS GUEST: In education since 2014, Stephanie has been widely recognized as an education technology …

🔥 How can we assess our own social-emotional health, and what are some easy steps that we can take to strengthen it? Join me for this conversation with former Teacher of the Year WENDY TURNER as we dig into these and other critical questions. Wendy is a gifted communicator and brings incredible value that you won't want to miss. ABOUT THIS GUEST: W…

🔥 What’s your take on AI’s impact on K-12 education? 🔥 How can student voice and choice change the homework conversation? 🔥 What's your best advice for new teachers? Join me in LIVE conversation with ALEX VALENCIC as we dig into these and other critical questions. ABOUT THIS GUEST: Alex is an educator, former small business owner, Boy Scout leader,…

🔥 When is it time to leave the classroom? 🔥 Do teachers have any options outside of education? 🔥 What are the questions we must ask ourselves in order to determine whether or not we're where we should be Join me in conversation with Ashley Philipps as we discuss her journey, lessons learned, and the hopeful message that she shares with educators wh…

🔥 How do you recharge your fire over spring break? 🔥 What advice would you share with new teachers? Join me and Lauren MacLean, Tim Stephenson, and Bryon Carpenter for this unique episode of the Teachers on Fire podcast. Tune in for my regular Teachers on Fire interviews, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:00 Pacific and 11:00 Easte…

🔥 How can student-led conferences and portfolios transform learning and instruction? 🔥 What does meaningful feedback look like? 🔥 How can assessment practices empower our students? Join me in conversation with assessment author and speaker STARR SACKSTEIN as we dig into these and other important questions. ABOUT THIS GUEST: Starr Sackstein is a rec…

🔥 How can you build better relationships with your students WITHOUT spending money or buying candy? 🔥 What are some quick and easy practices that will pay the biggest dividends in the life of your classroom? Join me in conversation with middle school teacher and technology advocate LAURA BOYD. ABOUT THIS GUEST: Laura is a middle school teacher who …

🔥 How can drama activities support learners of all ages? 🔥 What are some easy ways that we can bring drama into our classrooms? 🔥 Where should I go to get started with drama? Join me in LIVE conversation with drama teacher and author SAM MARSDEN as we dig into the power of drama for all learners. ABOUT THIS GUEST: Sam teaches drama, writes fiction,…

Join me and Phil Stringer in this conversation as we discuss Math, assessment, and the science of learning. PHIL STRINGER is the department head of mathematics at Crofton House School in Vancouver. With over 25 years in education, Phil has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on assessment and pedagogy. Outside of the classroom, he ca…

It’s a thrill to get into creative design with elementary learners. Students at this age are fearless. They’re curious. They’re ready to create anything. And they’re ready to expand their creative powers. If you’re teaching in similar spaces, here is a list of tools, design challenges, and creative tasks that I’ve tried and recommend (I have no aff…

KIM STROBEL is a renowned motivational speaker, sought after by schools, businesses, and organizations worldwide. She specializes in empowering educators and professionals, equipping them with the necessary tools and strategies to shift their mindsets, reclaim their happiness, reignite their passion, and lead with purpose. Listen to her INCREDIBLE …

I will never forget one of my high school science teachers. He was a good man. A decent person. His instructional practices weren’t exactly progressive, but he meant well. The biggest problem for him was that he had a very short fuse. Get under his skin, and things could really unravel. He would raise his voice. His skin would start changing colors…

Should EFFORT and ATTITUDE be GRADED in PE class? Join me for this edited conversation with Josh Ogilvie as we tackle this and other challenges related to physical education, health, curricular standards, and assessment. Welcome to Teachers on Fire interviews, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:00 Pacific and 11:00 Eastern! Join the…

When it comes to names I trust in education, Danny Steele and Todd Whitaker are near the top of that list. They love people. They’re passionate about learning. They’re bold and don’t hesitate to tell it like it is. Essential Truths for Teachers isn’t a book about instructional practice. It’s not about classroom management techniques, the best uses …

I'm finally finished with vacationing, jet lag, and illness - now back in the interviewer's chair and excited to get back to the weekly podcast. DOK, inquiry, standards, and so much more: Here's the edited version of my conversation with Erik Francis. Enjoy! Welcome to Teachers on Fire interviews, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:…

Should student phones be banned in our K-12 schools? Join us for this debate - recorded live on Saturday, December 16, 2023. OPPOSING a ban on student phones is Christopher J. Nesi. Chris is a passionate educator, podcast host, and thought leader. With over 15 years of experience in the classroom, he has dedicated his career to helping educators in…

Welcome to the last edition of Saturday Morning Teacher Talk for 2023 and the indefinite future. I’ve enjoyed doing these mini-episodes but will be changing up my content format in 2024. Education X Posts Featured in This Episode: Teacher2Teacher asks: How do we let our students know their work is amazing? Joelie McCrary urges teachers to display s…

LYNNETTE EARLE is a high school teacher of 15+ years. She is currently teaching career-life education and a family studies ADST trio of courses as well as her own developed course: Intro to Careers in Teaching 12. Join this conversation to learn how Lynnette’s journeys with assessment, UDL, and design thinking are transforming her professional prac…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30 Eastern! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. Education X Posts Featured in This Episode: Howie Hua shares about a student self-reflection activity that he bookends at the beginning and end of his Math courses, …

ASHLEY AOKI is a settler and educator in School District #67 in British Columbia. She currently serves on the leadership team at the Network of Inquiry and Indigenous Education, and is passionate about educating for quality and equity so all learners can thrive. Join this conversation to learn how spirals of professional inquiry are changing Ashley…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30 Eastern! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. Education X Posts Featured in This Episode: What's the best way to motivate more student learning? Natalie Vardabasso points us to authentic audience. Katie White sh…

JOSH TOVAR is the proud principal at Memorial Pathway Academy in Garland ISD. He’s been in education for over thirty years and has served at all levels from elementary to university. Josh is the proud son of Virginia and Jesus Tovar, a proud immigrant to the USA, and former US Marine. Welcome to Teachers on Fire interviews, airing LIVE on YouTube e…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30 Eastern! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. Education X Posts Featured in This Episode: Emily asks: Do you provide time for students to reflect on their learning after a lesson or unit? If so, what strategies …

JASON KENNEDY is a 23 year veteran educator with experience in classrooms from elementary through college. He has served as an instructional coach, school building administrator and district administrator. His passion lies in collaborating with others in designing highest quality learning for all learners. Welcome to Teachers on Fire interviews, ai…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30 Eastern! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. Education X Posts Featured in This Episode: Tierney Kennedy asks "How would you creatively reduce teachers' workload/stress without reducing students' learning?" Dr.…

BRYAN GLOVER has served as a middle and high school teacher of science, principal, and district administrator. He is back in the classroom trying to bring to life a vision of learning that centers students' curiosity, agency, and creativity. Welcome to Teachers on Fire interviews, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 9:00 Pacific and 12…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30 Eastern! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. Education X Posts Featured in This Episode: Teacher2Teacher shares a Vocabulary Throwdown frame, courtesy of Jill Webs. The frame allows students to work in two team…

MELISSA BLACK has been an early childhood educator and teacher leader for over fifteen years. She believes that all children are capable of learning and achieving great success and believes that the role of a teacher is truly the work of an activist and requires the skills of an artist. Welcome to Teachers on Fire interviews, airing LIVE on YouTube…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30 Eastern! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. MAKING NEWS on X THIS WEEK: What advice would you give a new teacher feeling that late-fall energy slump? (from Teacher 2 Teacher) Annick Rauch, full-time teacher an…

JEREMY JORGENSEN is a veteran teacher of 25 years who's passionate about learning, teaching, working with kids, and supporting educators. Welcome to Teachers on Fire interviews, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 9:00 Pacific and 12:00 Eastern! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. IN THIS CONVERSATION with JER…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. MAKING NEWS on X THIS WEEK: Natalie Vardabasso calls out a series of oppressive assessment practices that she "has something to say about." Natalie is back with another chal…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. MAKING NEWS on X THIS WEEK: California's Governor Newsom just signed a bill requiring cursive writing (handwriting) to be taught to all students in grades 1-6. Here's why I …

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. MAKING NEWS on X THIS WEEK: Scare a teacher in four words! Thanks to @TeacherGoals for this fun challenge. Dr. Brad Johnson reminds us to show appreciation to our leaders du…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. MAKING NEWS on X THIS WEEK: In this edition: Bill Ferriter says that "Giving zeros is one of the most unprofessional actions a teacher can take." Do you agree or disagree? T…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. MAKING NEWS on X THIS WEEK: Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, going LIVE every Saturday morning. Join the conversation and see your comments featured live on the bro…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Teacher Talk, airing LIVE on YouTube every Saturday morning at 8:30 Pacific and 11:30! Join the conversation and add your comments to the broadcast. On X This Week: 0:45 - Where are YOU on the Teacher Hierarchy of Needs right now? (Dr. Brad Johnson) 3:33 - Tony Vincent shows off the new Quizizz AI feature that will autom…

Join me LIVE for Saturday Morning Teacher Talk at 8:30 Pacific, 11:30 Eastern on YouTube! Here's what we discussed on this edition of the show: How many hours of school work are you putting in daily outside of contractual hours? (Fixing Education) My colleague dreads coming to work each day. What can I say to them? (Crappy Teacher) How are you buil…

Dear New Teacher, Thank you for joining the teaching community. Thank you for your commitment to the learning and growth of our little people. Thank you for bringing your optimism, your ideas, your passions into our world. We love you. We need you. We’re glad you’re here. And it’s because we appreciate you that we want to help you make it. We want …

Here's the bitter truth about student video submissions. They take forever to fully review. FOREVER. Some of my dear students sincerely expect me to watch every second of everything they post. Bless their hearts, but I can’t meet that demand and stay sane at the same time. What are we to do? Should we just give up and avoid video submissions altoge…

The next morning, my principal was his usual encouraging self. At first. “Great email, Tim. Your communication was professional as always. There’s just one small issue.” Uh oh. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your practice. These short episodes are based on my written reflections, which you can read any t…

My creative silence is both a symptom and a cause, so finding the time and bandwidth to create again is bringing my fire back this summer. How are YOU recharging, colleague? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachersonfire/messageSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachersonfire/support…

What does the world’s most successful YouTuber have to say about creativity, learning, and education? [TIMESTAMPS BELOW] 0:00:00 - Meet Mr. Beast! He's the world's most successful YouTuber.0:27 - What does Jimmy think about education, learning, and creativity?0:52 - Lesson 1 from Mr. Beast: Extreme learning guarantees extreme results.2:09 - Lesson …

Are you ever bothered by school emails or communications stealing your personal time? Here are two radical suggestions that have been game-changers for me. Let me know what you think. TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - The problems of phone-related stress for teachers 1:43 - Scheduled emails problem no. 1: they waste too much time 2:09 - Scheduled emails problem…

I’m writing this post from a delightful cafe in a quaint little touristy town near my home. The sunshine is pouring in through three walls of windows. Steam from my freshly brewed coffee wafts lazily upward. A creamy slice of carrot cake sits waiting to be consumed. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your pr…

Love or hate the policy decision — speaking, teaching, and breathing just became physically easier for exhausted educators across North America. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your practice. These short episodes are based on my written reflections, which you can find on the Teachers on Fire Magazine at M…

The reality: not every student has submitted the required products for a particular learning activity by the due date or deadline. What should the responsible teacher do? Here’s how some teachers respond: They update checklists of unsubmitted assignments on a weekly or daily basis. They regularly post names of students whose work is overdue on the …

I knew that if we were to improve this student-teacher relationship and get learning back on track, this student would need to feel fully heard by the teacher. And the teacher would need to feel heard by the student. A meeting seemed like a logical next step. But I wanted to approach this very carefully. I wanted to think about ways to allow the st…

We recognize that our assessment beliefs and practices fundamentally shape every other aspect of learning that occurs in the school environment. As such, we engage in constant professional learning and seek to apply evidence-based thinking to our practices. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your practice. T…

Following the thread, I had a startling realization. It’s a thought that I’m sure has crossed many educators’ minds over the last two years. We don’t even let our middle schoolers behave like this. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your practice. These short episodes are based on my written reflections, whi…

How could you be so sure that your wonderful class or school community was X … only to hear that others view it as Y? Simple. You’re doing lots of great things within your own walls. But you’re doing a really bad job of telling your story. Welcome to SPARKS: mini-segments intended to spark your thinking and ignite your practice. These short episode…