#educrush by Natalie Vardabasso
Hey there Friends,
On her final episode of the #EduCrush podcast, Natalie reflects on her personal growth throughout the past four years of creating the show and shares insights into what's next.
This new podcast from Natalie Vardabasso with co-host Tom Schimmer will help you leave the politics of your job behind and experience the freedom of becoming your own boss.
On this episode Alex interviews passionate and innovative educator Andrew Rigby, on the numerous benefits of TTRPG's for students in the classroom.
Though Starr is considered a leading voice in innovative assessment and grading practices, it didn't start out that way. Once upon a time, she was a teacher in her classroom on the precipice of making a terrifying change. In this episode, Nat talks with Starr about how her personal growth journey triggered a change in her practices and eventually a major pivot in her career. Learn how Starr learned to let go of control and empower students so you can do the same.
On this episode Alex interviews an expert in the community work that goes on in major cities. He has 20 years of experience working with children and youth, non-profits, schools, and families. He also happens to be my older brother, Rodney Noel.
Happy new year! What are the things in this world that make your jaw drop? Things that are so awesome that you can't help but get excited about it, about learning about it and experiencing it? On this episode of #Educrush, Alex explores knowledge for need, for honour and for awe as we take some time to look to the past and to space!
This week on #Educrush, Alex is looking back on some of the interviews that match with what has turned out to be the focal point of the year…Community.
In this crossover episode, Natalie joins fellow podcast host and co-author, Tom Schimmer, to discuss how story is critical to rehumanize assessment, embrace the messiness of change, and to cultivate the mindset necessary for inner peace.
As the winter Holiday's loom, now is the time of the year that I and others start to think about family. The countdown is on and we're ready for a break. What does it look like to use this time, leading to the holidays, as an opportunity for personal growth and community building? Join Alex for a brief discussion on sharing traditions for the season!
As soon as we say the word inclusion, there's an exclusion. Designing an education system that is grounded in the mindset that all students belong and are capable of high levels of learning is the real goal. Dr. Shelley Moore joins Natalie to talk about what inclusion means to her and how we can make change through collaboration, standards-based approaches, and stories.
Diversity, equity and inclusion will always be a complicated subject. It's worthwhile to learn and to grow from it, because that allows us as teachers to create environments where all students can learn. Not just about the subject matter that we're trying to teach but learn about what it means to be considerate of the communities we're in and the people we encounter. This week on #Educrush, Alex interviews Professor and Author, Dr. Shirley Steinberg as they start to explore what it means to consider Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accommodation.
Fasten your seatbelts as Natalie takes you on a journey through the inception, challenges, and triumphs of Bio-Med Science Academy with its founder, Stephanie Lammlein. They explore how she turned a bold vision into reality, how the students are thriving in this educational ecosystem and the impact it's making on the rural community it serves.
Leadership is often cited as one of the most important and contentious parts of school's life. Many dream of being a leader that is effective and inspiring and many more have opinions on what exactly a leader needs in order to be effective and inspiring. What if we focused on the leadership that lives in all of us? What does it look like to move away from a system where one person is always at the top and shift to looking at having the right leader for the right time. This week on #Educrush, lets explore a little of leadership and what it looks like when it is distributed through democracy.
In this solo episode, Natalie honors the Halloween season by describing five ghastly ghouls haunting our schools: phantom policies, zombie meetings, dementor processes, and the control and avoidance poltergeists. Learn what they are and how to defeat them!
School or Athletics? That's the question we often ask students athletes if grades begin to slip. What if we are misunderstanding the role that sports have in the education space? How can teams help students better grasp the concepts in the academic classroom. This week Alex sits down with Teacher, Coach and Athletic Director Nick Waterbury, who has spent time on a local and national and international level, giving opportunities for students and teachers to learn about leadership and participate in the athletics as an extension of education.
Is participation the only thing that can be assessed in Phys Ed class? How might health be integrated as a goal alongside physical activity? Nat joins Canadian PHE and assessment expert Josh Ogilvie to explore what's possible for Phys Ed when we embrace conversation, personal inquiry and belonging.
What is burnout? Why does it have such a tight grasp on discussions of educator's efficacy and longevity? This week on #Educrush Alex discusses learnings about the insidious natures of and potential strategies for dealing with Burnout.
Where is the space for entrepreneurship in education? How might visionary educators expand their impact outside the four walls of their classroom and school? Dr. Will joins Natalie to discuss what an EduPreneur is and how we can disrupt our limiting beliefs around money and worthiness to become one.
This week on #Educrush, we're talking to a recent high school graduate and previous guest to the pod, Reese Gagne. She shares her insights about the value, complexity and elusive nature of community as she begins her post-secondary journey, and we begin our school year!
What makes for good design? If teachers are to see themselves as learning designers, what qualities might guide their work? Join Natalie as she talks to a professional interior designer to discover parallels to teaching.
This week on #Educrush Alex talks a little bit about his summer learning and discusses the true enemy of education, Apathy.
In the season 4 opener, Natalie comes to you solo to share a story of failure that reveals an important truth about change.
Nat and Alex come together to answer the season 3 inquiry question, "How might we rehumanize education through story?" by reflecting on what they learned from conversations with guests.
What is decolonization? How is story integral to it? How might we all become better at receiving and telling stories? Natalie joins Indigenous scholar, teacher and changemaker Carolyn Roberts to discuss circle work, deep listening, performative allyship and finding our voices.
This week on #Educrush, Writer, Producer and Science communicator Ceri Riley shares her experiences being an educator outside of the classroom, the challenges that she has faces and the importance of making sure that everyone has access to learning!
Who is the greatest lever for change in our education system? Teachers? Parents? Students? In this episode, Natalie connects with three former students and their mentor teacher from Prince George, Canada, to explore how students can become visionary catalysts who spark learning in an entire community.
Description:
What is community? How do we build it, and break it? Who are we as a wider education community? Natalie connects with former teacher and current community engagement strategist, Melody McAllister, to unpack the complexities of both youth and adult communities in the age of social media.
Description:
Fresh off the first-ever Empowerment Ecosystem Summit in Vancouver, BC, Natalie sits down with co-hosts Katie White and Tom Schimmer to reflect on highlights, insights, and next steps for the innovative event.
This week on #Educrush, our guest Alora Popow shares the importance of both the Physical and Education portion of Physical Education. As a PE teacher herself, Alora shares her Philosophy of education, how classroom outcomes intertwine with outcomes in the gym space and how we can better utilize physical education to aid our instruction of class outcomes.
Wellness is so much more than a pizza party or a coffee cart; it's deep, personal excavation and ruthless time management. Jonathan Erickson is currently the principal of Parras Middle School in Redondo Beach, California, and he joins Natalie to share what he learned about the discipline of wellness when he studied it during his PhD, and how he's bringing it to life in his school.
This week we further explore what we started in Ep 72, where Natalie and Alex talked about what it means to "craft a public narrative" in education. Welcome to part of Alex's public Narrative. "Cross Curricular Conversations to energize your time."
This season, we have explored many stories of education here in the present, but what is the future of education? Join Natalie to play within two future simulations that will stretch your capacity to discover creative opportunities, today.
This week on #Educrush we dive into how our expectations of students change the stories that they get to tell about themselves. Kelsey Brown talks a bit about a restorative justice program run out of the Calgary Youth Justice society.
Breana Jacques and Shannon Finnegan are two "engagement guides" at the Collaborative Lab School in Minneapolis with a fascinating mission: to empower students to reinvent school. What principles do students think school should follow? What do they think should be assessed? How do they want to feel? They join Natalie to share the story of how they've shared power with students as co-designers of school and are rewriting the narrative of education.
Jill on Twitter: @engler_jill
Throughout history, we have told the story of girls as precious eggs and boys as kept princes. However, as we begin to explore gender identity as a spectrum rather than a binary, it's time to update this narrative and that begins with interrogating the scripts we perform when talking to students. Author, speaker and gender awareness coach, Jason Ablin, joins Natalie to unpack this gender equation in schools and uncover how it is impacting literacy and numeracy achievement.
Dave Conrad is the Community Engagement Program Director at a Non-Profit organization called the Mustard Seed. They are an organization that specializes in providing aid to people around Canada who are facing homelessness. On this episode, Dave and Alex explore what life could be like for students who could be experiencing homelessness and the importance of dignity and person first language.
A public narrative is a framework to help us craft a story that inspires others to take action. In this "coaching call" episode, Natalie walks Alex through the creation of his own public narrative for a cause he is passionate about.
On this week's episode, Alex explores his own thoughts and history around discrimination.
Stories are a powerful tool for liberation when we see ourselves in a character that demonstrates ingenuity and creativity on their quest for freedom. In particular, the stories of rebel Black communities can inspire our youth today when they are told alongside stories that describe historical violence and oppression. Dr. Crystal Menzies is a qualitative researcher and entrepreneur on a mission to uncover the hidden history of Black folks. She joins Natalie to tell the story of Maroon communities and how she is likewise on a quest to discover liberated spaces outside of the limitations of schools and organizations.
On this week's episode we discuss speech pathology and the profound impact that it can have on students' education and their future. Alex Henderson shares her insights, expertise, and optimism!
Six months ago, Natalie quit her job to unleash her entrepreneurial spirit on a mission to reimagine education. Now, she's back with an update about the Empowerment Ecosystem, an online program that provides the community, coaching, and tools for change agents to build an empowering assessment system. She's joined by three founding members, Lynette Earle, Kyle Webb, and Danelle Almaraz, who share their experiences in the ecosystem.
On this episode of #Educrush, Alex talks to a Planner named Srimal Ranasinghe who believes whole heartedly that one of the keys to students thriving is looking at the spaces that we all spend time in. Listen while they discuss why it's important and what it may look like to design spaces with health and engagement in mind.
What if qualitative evidence were amplified to the same status as quantitative data in our education system? How might our schools transform if we tapped into the rich insights that come from story, anecdotes, experience, and emotion? Shane Safir, author of "The Listening Leader" and recent co-author of "Street Data" with Jamila Dugan, joins Natalie to discuss why we need to amplify qualitative evidence to engage in equity transformation cycles, and how these cycles will radically transform our approach to pedagogy and assessment.
In this holiday special, Natalie explores the topic of grading through the lens of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Get ready for a visit from the ghosts of grading past, present and a future yet to come!
On this PodSwap episode, Natalie connects with Peter Hostrawser, one of the co-hosts of the Disrupt Education podcast, to talk about edu-podcasting, the industrial story of school that needs disrupting, and how Spikeview empowers students to tell their story.
What does a Tarot card reading have to do with leadership? How is our current story of work depressing? What are we getting wrong about change in our schools and organizations? Natalie joins Meghan Donohoe who is a Principal Catalyst at the Southern Alberta Institute for Technology to answer these questions and more!
This week on #Educrush I chat with Drama Teacher Arlene Orchard and Dance Instructor and Teacher Hayley Jonason as we continue our look into how electives and options courses lead students to build confidence and belonging in the classroom.
A story about the permission, vulnerability and challenge inherent in creating an interdisciplinary middle school program. Preston Hickert is a teacher from Kansas City and he joins Natalie to share his story of "playing the mud" to learn with his students.
On this episode of #Educrush we talk with Adam Mailman, a teacher, conductor, and musician who sees the potential for the music classroom to allow student to explore their limits. We explore some of the experiences and strategies that students undergo in the band room and how that can potentially apply to other spaces in school.
The field of psychology offers important perspectives on topics integral to education, especially engagement, agency and learning. Teacher, author, and psychologist Don Berg joins Natalie to unpack the concept of agentic engagement and to explain what joy has to do with equity and deeper learning.
On this episode of #EduCrush we are talking through the idea of belonging. Particularly in music class through out my years of school. I think that belonging can be a key component in student success, and this is the start of a series where we explore where that can come from and how we can learn from what other teachers do in their classes.
Power is neutral, but how we use it determines whether it is positive or negative. The old story of power tells of dominance and control and sees it as a finite resource that must be hoarded. But, how might we rewrite the story of power to include more feminine values? Elizabeth Lesser is the author of several bestselling books, has given two popular TED talks, and is one of Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul 100, a collection of a hundred leaders who are elevating humanity. She joins Natalie to explore the mythical stories that have defined us, how we might do power differently, and why we need to "dream a little" in schools post-pandemic.
Brene Brown says, "When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own them, we can write a brave new ending." Natalie's work in assessment, in many ways, has been her way of writing a "brave new ending" to her own experiences in school. In this episode, she comes to you solo to share how she broke free from perfectionism and a need for external validation to finally find her voice.
On this week's episode of #Educrush we continue to work through the essential question "How can we rehumanize education through story?". We talk to various teachers about their experiences with the first day of school and reflect on the idea that teachers are students too.
For too long, the "real world" has been a mythical place that only exists in schools when teachers are trying to make students do things they don't want to do. Stories of the real world create a culture of compliance. It begs the question… what's it really like in the world of work beyond school? Dr. David Finch is a Full Professor and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta. He joins Natalie to offer his research findings on the "enabling skills" that are required in every industry for a city to be able to adapt and tap into the competitive advantage of the future; learning. Get ready for a reality check on the real world!
On this Episode, we continue our look into how people feel about the first day of school. At least we tried, but in the process of spending time interviewing Parents, our theme for the episode shifted. This episode is simply about the stories of parents and School. You will hear from two parents as well as hear me summarize a few of the other conversations that I had. Truth be told, this was a challenging episode to work on, but I found it to be a worthwhile endeavor. I hope that as we continue to explore this question of rehumanizing education that you feel empowered to hear the stories of those around you, interacting with the education space.
One of the most persistent narratives of the school system is that it's a place where students do work in exchange for grades. However, what would school look like if grades didn't exist? Chris Sarkonak is one of many teachers involved in the grassroots movement called "ungrading" to move school away from a culture of compliance, towards a culture of authentic learning. He joins Natalie to talk about why he tried this approach in his Physics classroom, how he pulled it off, and why it helps to cultivate growth, risk-taking and confidence in learners.
During this season, we're looking at the role story has to play in how we see and interact with education. There are many people and perspectives needed for us to answer this question. Today you are going to hear from students, some at the very beginning of school life, some at the end and some far beyond the hallways of high school. They are going to share their perspectives, not about school in general, that's too big. Today, we're tackling the first day of school.
Welcome to season 3 of #EduCrush! As a primer for the season, we are talking about the secret to "rehumanizing" education. It is something that we ALL do naturally, yet don't understand very well. Learn what this powerful tool is and how it helps to elevate our consciousness, build empathy, and create a positive culture.
We're back, baby! This season, we're trying something new and organizing our episodes around a central theme: story. Join us as we release new episodes every Monday to explore the essential question, "How might we rehumanize education through story?"
In the final episode of season 2, Nat and Alex come together to look back on the highs, lows, and learnings from the past year and reveal the season 3 theme. #conceptbasedpodcasting
If you were to scroll through most job postings today, you will likely see creative thinking listed as a required skill. And yet, many workplaces do not have the psychological safety for this skill to thrive. On the episode, Natalie is joined by Dr. Caroline Brookfield who is a veterinarian that discovered her passion for creativity late in life as she began to explore performance and stand-up comedy. Listen to learn about the many researched benefits of creativity for both individuals and organizations and how we can all tap into the joy of this skill by remembering the acronym D.A.N.C.E.
This week a passionate teacher team talks about taking bold steps to innovate in their own classrooms to give students hope through a project they called the Sustainability Summit. Charlotte Nixon, Mark Schuegraf and Neil Frail bring their experience and expertise together to form an audacious team taking on an ambitious project.
How might school leaders apply inquiry-based learning in their work? If we know that inquiry can inspire curiosity, connections, and agency for our students, how might it transform the professional learning culture of a school? Jessica Vance is an Enrichment and Environment Coordinator in Austin, Texas, and author of the newly released book, "Leading with a Lens of Inquiry: Cultivating Conditions for Curiosity and Empowering Agency." On the episode, she connects with Nat to talk about the power of intentions, inquiry-based learning as a framework for designing PD, and practical ways that adult learners can make their learning visible.
How was school for you? What were you like as a student? How does that impact how you show up as a teacher? For Alex, it was a bit rough at points. That said, he would not trade the experiences he had as a student. They made him who he is and showed him what it feels like when a teacher believes in you. Those experiences give him real insight into the mind of students who struggle. This week, he's coming to you solo to talk about how being a bad student made him a good teacher!
Have you ever wondered if one of your students is capable of murder? Well, what if you knew that your entire class had committed violent crimes? How would you build a positive classroom culture!? Dawn Matthews-Nichols has been teaching since 1987 in a variety of settings with "emotionally disturbed" youth. She's seen education from the margins and has some powerful advice for mainstream teachers.
I don't remember learning writing strategies. Not that no one tried to teach it to me, it didn't sink in. More than that though, I was and am still struggling to find my voice as a writer. Recently, I've learned that I'm not alone in this. Karri Johnson is a seasoned teacher who understands the nuances of literacy education. This week, she walks us through ways that we can build confident writers.
Nat is coming to you solo in this bonus episode because she quit her job last week... but it's not for the reasons you might think!
This week's project feature is about breaking down the barriers between the siloed subjects that we've all become comfortable with. Jessica Bates is a 17-year teaching veteran who has made her career about asking the questions "what are the things that unite our subjects?" During this episode, Jessica talks about the ins and outs of combining the entirety of Social and Science in her Grade 9 classroom.
Traditional curriculum does not situate Black youth in a positive light and Kaya Henderson is on a quest to do something about it. Kaya is perhaps best known for serving as Chancellor of DC Public Schools from 2010-2016 and as the co-host of "Pod Save the People" podcast. Now, she is the co-founder and CEO of Reconstruction, a technology company delivering a K-12 supplemental curriculum that situates Black people, culture, and contributions in an authentic, identity-affirming way. In episode 44, she connects with Natalie to discuss the misconceptions about culturally-responsive teaching and how removing the barriers of the school system can unlock passion and joy.
Today's controversial topics tend to center around truth. Discussions can become so heated that many simply choose not to engage. Meagan Heard is a teacher who seeks a world where students have the skills to navigate difficult topics. This week, Megan gives a crash course on digital literacy.
Why do so many teenagers hate reading? Renowned author and Literacy advocate Penny Kittle believes it has everything to do with a lack of "book love" and that teachers have the capacity to ignite it. On the episode, she connects with Natalie to discuss how to expose students to a wide variety of books, conference to unlock the reading life, and ultimately, grow student agency by allowing them to make decisions as readers (and writers).
We've all heard the adage "with age comes wisdom" but what does it mean to be wise? If we view our work as educators through the lens of sustainability and legacy, the wisest thing we might do is lift up those younger than us to continue our work long after we are gone, especially in schools. In part two of Natalie's conversation with Cayla Brown and Kim Ondrik, we unpack these ideas further before holding space for both guests to share their biggest wonders as they continue to co-create Mill Bay Nature School.
In the simplest of terms, decolonization means moving from a triangle to a circle. From a hierarchy to a community. In the episode, Natalie joins the Head Learner of the Mill Bay Nature School, Kim Ondrik, and the Smuqw'a' (middle years) Clan Leader, Cayla Brown, to learn how they are building a decolonized school together through love and witnessing.
This week we're talking strategy. How we can we best help students who struggle with processing speed? When our students encounter difficulties, it can be heart breaking but how can we help students to reach their potential? Our guest Erin Ellis goes over strategies for our students to shine.
Too often, self-assessment is treated as a capstone, rather than a catalyst, and portfolios as a scrapbook, rather than a learning tool. On this episode, we go beyond the mistakes we've made with self-assessment and portfolios to discover how they can help students tell the story of their learning. Katie White is a Canadian author, consultant, and leader, and she joins Natalie to discuss practical ways that students can document learning, analyze evidence, and set goals while honoring their dignity as humans.
Going gradeless is one of those terms that generates excitement or dread, depending on your interpretation. It's a scary notion as a teacher to just take a chance and dive in. Charlotte Nixon, a seasoned teacher and playwright, has done just that. On this episode Charlotte explores with us the lessons she learned going gradeless in her High School English class.
Teaching has always been a profession that demands a lot from its practitioners. Between the global health crisis, political unrest and helping students navigate what the world is and is becoming, teachers need support from principals who are supportive and reliable. Tim Carlson is a School Principal and PhD candidate who embodies what it means to show teachers that they are supported. On this episode, we talk about things that principals can do to build trust in their communities.
A misconception about inquiry-based learning is that it means leaving students to "discover" the curriculum on their own. This couldn't be further from the truth. Trevor MacKenzie is a high school teacher, author, and speaker who is internationally recognized as a thought leader in inquiry-based education. In the episode, we talk about what inquiry is (and isn't) to better understand how to partner with students as co-designers of learning.
Many of our institutional norms are causing "studenting" behavior that stifles thinking. Dr. Peter Liljedahl's research aims to disrupt this behavior through "contrarian experimental methodology" and he has discovered 14 practices that liberate thinking in the classroom. Though his research took place in Mathematics, his findings are applicable for any educator that wants to tap into the emotional experience through story and teach with integrity to their values.
Assessment has many negative emotions attached to it due to the history of the word, yet it has so much potential to cultivate the equitable learning communities we all dream of. Adelee Penner has experienced the school system in a wide range of roles, from teacher to leader, public to private, and system-wide to independent. In the episode, we discuss how changing our approach to assessment can open our doors to each other as colleagues, and our students as learners.
Though we are learning more about the importance of human connections in schools and workplaces, which are the relationships that actually drive learning? In this solo episode, host Natalie Vardabasso explains how our relationships with a mentor, a champion, a coach, and ourselves create the optimal learning diamond.
We all have memories of Sex Ed that are filled with embarrassment and shame. How might we change our collective experience of this topic? What structural barriers create this problem? How might we reimagine Sex Ed as relationship education? Alex Noel worked for many years as a Sexual Health educator before stepping into his own classroom as a high school Science and Math teacher. The contrast of these two educational experiences has given him a passionate insight into how we might better achieve our collective goal of growing healthy kids.
In nearly every field of work, we are quick to jump on the latest and greatest strategy leading to a habitual focus on what we do, rather than a deeper analysis about why we do it. Project-based learning (PBL) threatens to fall into this trap, but not if Loni Bergvist has anything to do about it. Loni discovered a purpose-driven passion for PBL as a teacher at High Tech High in San Diego and has been on a quest to bring it to the world. She is currently the founding partner of "Imagine If" a Denmark-based organization that aims to reimagine education to be authentic, collaborative, student-owned, and equitable through PBL.
On the episode, we unpack how students were challenged to deepen and demonstrate their understanding of Ecosystems and Visual Literacy in a grade 7 interdisciplinary project. Teacher Jaclyn Demmers also shares her newfound insights about the potential of students with learning disabilities when given creative opportunities that spark their curiosity.
What is the truth about teacher leadership? Is it an exciting opportunity to become a change agent, or, is it just another managerial manifestation of the status quo? Randy Swift and Pedro Dones III are two teacher leaders from New York who have had very different experiences in the role. On the episode, we explore their perspectives and how they have each brought their unique purpose to life as teacher leaders.
EduPodlooza is an all-day marathon, live-stream event featuring some of the dopest names in the education podcast space. The day is filled with many different segments including round tables, a radio play, and of course, a poetry slam. The slam segment was a collaboration between the following EduPodcasters who shared their own poems and responded to poems that had been submitted digitally:
Despite our best intentions, collaboration in schools often looks more like cooperation (at best), or polite dysfunction (at worst). As an NCAA div 1 basketball coach and strategic business development professional, Tim Lewis has learned a lot that can help us build the schools we've always dreamed of, together. On the episode we discuss teaching like a coach, unleashing teams with collective accountability, and taking the imperfect first step to make your mission statement a reality.
In this project feature episode, we explore how drama teacher Leeanne McLim reimagined the classic "Haunted House" project in response to the pandemic. While students learned a myriad of life skills through planning, pitching, designing, and hosting the event, Leeanne discovered a deeper appreciation for interdisciplinary collaboration.
The 21st century demands an updated definition of literacy and an expansion of our understanding of what constitutes a "text." For instance, how might we read and write our relationships? Our institutions? Our own thoughts?
For too long, the purpose of assessment has been to collect points for a gradebook. As a high school English teacher, Sarah Zerwin decided to uphold a better purpose for assessment: learning. On the episode, Sarah discusses many “point-less” assessment practices such as emphasizing reflection, dialogue, and process. Listen to learn how to shift from a culture of compliance towards a culture of authentic engagement.
