After 6 years, I am taking a break from podcasting. I am calling it a summer vacation for now, but we will see if the break is actually a bit longer. Before I go, I am going to leave you with a clips episode from some of my favorite conversations during the early years of the podcast. This episode could have easily been 60 hours long, but I hope you enjoy these 2 hours to keep you company during summer break. Clips are from: Episode 1: Brian Dempsey Episode 7: David Knuffke Episode 13: Paul Strode Episode 14: Chi Klein Episode 15: Lee Ferguson Episode 16: Paul Andersen Episode 17: Bob Kuhn Epi ..read more

We made it?! I don’t know if it was that we had our expectations too high or that the pandemic has broken us all, but the 2021-2022 school year was rough. With that in mind, we are going to hunt for the silver linings to the storm cloud that was this past school year. Show Notes: We start this show with the goofy question: What is one of your favorite things to do by yourself on a completely free, unscheduled day? Joining us from Texas, Lee Ferguson: catching up on TV, shopping Joining us from Wisconsin is Sedate Kohler: Walk my dog to Starbucks and listen to music (maybe sing out loud to the ..read more

One of the topics that teachers have been discussing a lot this year has been how issues with student behavior feel worse this past school year compared to the past. Today we discuss this topic and reflect on how we may reframe this issue next year. Show Questions: We start this question with the goofy question. What is a dumb rule that you have had to follow at some time during your life? Joining us from Ohio is Tanea Hibler: Honestly, most rules are pretty dumb, but we have them becuase humans are just dumb sometimes. Like in Arizona you don’t have to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle ..read more

As I have been reimagining my curriculum over the past few years, the idea of using a scientific phenomenon to hook kids into our work has been both exciting and challenging. Today, I discuss the concept of phenomena with Tanea, Mark and Jess. We definitely had a lot of fun, so we hope you enjoy the conversation. Show Notes: We start this question with the goofy question: What is an area of science that you find cool, but don’t really understand the underlying mechanism of (possibly nobody knows) Joining us from Minnesota, Mark Peterson: I ran across the idea of telescoping generations a few y ..read more

As we head into state assessment season (people who don’t spend their lives in schools call this spring), I thought it would be fun to talk about different forms of assessment and what this looks like in our classrooms. Show Notes: - We start this question with the goofy question. When was the last time you had to sit down to take a test? Joining us from Ohio is Tanea Hibler:I don’t remember. Oh, it was when I took the GRE about 1-2 years ago. I was totally freaked out and super nervous and actually did better on the English and writing then I did on the math. I almost walked out of the testin ..read more

On this episode we discuss the sometimes challenging issues dealing with late work, retakes and revisions, particularly considering the grading practices through the lens of grading equity. Show Notes: We start this question with the goofy question. How do you personally feel when you need to get to an event by a certain time? Are you an early person, a late person, or does it vary? Joining us from Illinois is Amy Kelly: I want to be an early person, and if I am on my own, I will generally be a little early because being late really stresses me out. When it involves my kids, I would say I am e ..read more

On this episode we discuss two grading practices that are used in many classroom but are certainly possible issues when it comes to grade equity. Show Notes: We start this question with the goofy question. Have you been caught up in the 2022 Wordle wave? Any other puzzle games popular with your family, friends or students? Joining us from Texas is Lee Ferguson: No but I have played Sweardle ?? Joining us from Illinois is Amy Kelly: I have to be honest, I hadn’t heard of Wordle until about a week ago. As far as puzzle games…and I am not sure if this counts, but I love my Rubik’s cube! Joining u ..read more

As a group of lifelong learners, we are in a community of teachers who are often getting additional degrees and certificates, some are for career advancement, while others are just for growth and learning. With that in mind, we are discussing the pros and cons of teachers pursuing additional degrees. Show Notes: We kick off our episode with a goofy question: Were you a good student in high school, good at “doing school,” both or neither? - Joining us from Texas is Lee Ferguson: Both. My grades in high school were good, but I was also good at playing the game of school because I was a rule foll ..read more

Today, as we return to the topic of professional development to discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of pandemic PD and what PD may look like in the future. We kick off our episode with a goofy question: If you could attend a PD workshop run by any person (scientist, author, teacher, etc) whose workshop would you want to attend? - Joining us from Missouri is Kelly Kluthe: Maybe because yesterday was Darwin Day, but I’m going with the obvious Charles Darwin pick. - Joining us from Texas is Lee Ferguson: I’ll go with Rudolf Virchow, because I have to know, is that story about you giving that p ..read more

Today, we return to a topic that comes up every few months, the concept of teaching an interdisciplinary class. Show Notes: We kick off our episode with a question: what was your favorite non-science subject(s) in school when you were a kid? Joining us from Missouri is Kelly Kluthe: Art and orchestra! I loved drawing and playing the violin. I was a quiet kid in school but was able to express myself through art and music. Joining us from Texas is Lee Ferguson: Music theory was one of my favorite classes. I also really loved Government class. Aaron: Probably History. I had several amazing high s ..read more