Bringing Joy into the Classroom with Dean Shareski

The 21st Century Teacher

In this episode Dean Shareski is invited to discuss aspects of his book “Embracing a Culture of Joy: How Educators Can Bring Joy to Their Classrooms Each Day.” He has worked as a K-8 classroom teacher for 14 years and as a district leader for 9. He has been an educational consultant for Advanced Learning Partnerships and was the Community Manager for Discovery Education Canada for several years and also a Digital Learning Consultant with the Prairie South School Division in SK. Dean believes that teachers and students ought to use technology to connect ideas and learners in safe, relevant, authentic ways to answer questions, share ideas and develop community. Learning he believes, can be, and should be, fun and personal. I ask Dean: what does joy looks like in a classroom and how can teachers bring joy in a meaningful way, into the classroom and any ideas he has to make classrooms a joyful learning environment? And are there any examples about real classrooms that have successfully implemented joy? As a digital consultant what are some of the challenges he hears about in the classroom?