In episode 24, Michael and Dan discuss student-centered education with David Johns, the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. David shines a light on the work being done on the national level with the White House initiative and describes ways that educators and administers can get involved in their communities.

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. Check out the work being done at the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans on their homepage. They have lots of great resources to check out including:
   1. Guide to hosting your own African American Education Teach-In.
   2. How Schools Can Support African American LGBTQ Youth
   3. Why Black Girls Need Diverse Books
   4. Get LIT(erature): Supporting a Lifelong Love of Reading

Contact

David J. Johns is the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Follow him on twitter at @MrDavidJohns. You can also follow the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans on twitter at @AfAmEducation.

In episode 23, Michael and Dan discuss the divide between educational research and practitioners and ways to bring the two together with guest Paul MacLellan. Former guest Jeremy Stoddard also joins the conversation.

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. MacLellan, Paul. “Why don’t teachers use education research in teaching?” Web blog post. Education in Chemistry. 9 August 2016.
   1. This is the article that inspired the discussion. Read it!
2. Here’s Michael and my paper we discussed at the beginning: Krutka, D. G. & Milton, M. K. (2013). The Enlightenment meets Twitter: Using social media in the social studies classroom. Ohio Social Studies Review, 50(2), 22-29.
3. Episode 12: Using Film Effectively with Jeremy Stoddard
   1. Jeremy was a past guest, check out his episode!
4. Episode 2: Student Dialogue During the Research Process
   1. This is an action of teacher research that Michael discussed in episode 2.

Contact

Paul MacLellan (@insidecircles) is the Deputy Editor of Education in Chemistry, a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Check out their website at www.rsc.org/eic.

Jeremy Stoddard is an Associate Professor of Education and Associated faculty in the  film and media studies program at the College of William & Mary. You can follow Jeremy on Twitter @Jeremy_Stoddard, find more of his research on his ResearchGate or his sites listed above, and learn more about his work on his William & Mary site.

In episode 22, Dan and Michael talk with Leigh Cassell about connections-based learning, including global videoconferencing with students.

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. Here is Leigh’s blog post about videoconferencing with 16 different countries!: http://digitalhumanlibrary.com/video-conferencing-with-kids-in-kenya-africa/
2. “The Digital Human Library (dHL) is a nonprofit organization that connects Canadian teachers and students with hundreds of organizations and experts around the world who are delivering interactive curriculum-based opportunities for learning using technology – for free!”: DigitalHumanLibrary.com
3. While dHL is obviously the best one, other services for connecting with other educators we mentioned on the episode include ePals, Skype for Education, Two Way Interactive Connections in Education, (TWICE), and Center for Interactive Learning (CILC).

Contact

Leigh Cassell is a technology coach, primary and intermediate grade teacher, and the founder of DigitalHumanLibrary.com. You can learn more about her and other dHL board members HERE and you can tweet at her @LeighCassell or @dHL_edu.

In episode 21, Dan and Michael talk with Kathryn Engebretson about gender and education.

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. The first chapter of Dana Goldstein’s 2014 book The Teacher Wars details the views of Horace Mann and Catharine Beecher on gender in the early common schools movement.
2. “The Declaration of Sentiments” (1848)
3. Here is a good, short article that defines terminology along the gender spectrum: Kilman, C. (2013). The gender spectrum. Teaching Tolerance (44). Retrieved from  http://www.tolerance.org/gender-spectrum
4. Wikipedia page on the Bechdel Test for movies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test
5. Engebretson, K. E. (2014). Another Missed Opportunity: Gender in the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Social Studies Research and Practice, 9(3), 21-34.

Contact

Kathryn Engebretson is an assistant professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Indiana University Bloomington. You can learn more about her work on her university page and you can tweet at her @engebretsonk.

In episode 20, Dan and Michael talk with Francesca Forzani of TeachingWorks at the University of Michigan about core practices (or high leverage practices) of teaching that can be used in practice-based teacher education.

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. You can visit TeachingWorks.org where the missions “is to ensure that all students have skillful teachers who are committed to and able to support their growth.”

2. You can find the list of 19 High-Leverage Practices on the TeachingWorks site.

3. Dr. Forzani has written a number of articles on core practices and high leverage practices. The two articles — one longer and one shorter — are available online without a password:

• Ball, D. L., & Forzani, F. M. (2009). The work of teaching and the challenge for teacher education. Journal of teacher education, 60(5), 497-511. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.441.7327&rep=rep1&type=pdf (longer article)
• Ball, D. L., & Forzani, F. M. (2010). Teaching skillful teaching. Educational Leadership, 68(4), 40-45. Retrieved from http://otheroptions.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/file/view/Teaching+Skillful+Teaching.pdf/199289184/Teaching+Skillful+Teaching.pdf (shorter article)

4. Dan mentioned this 2011 article by Pam Grossman, which argues that core practices can be learned through representations (e.g., novice teachers  watch videos of skillful teachers), decompositions (e.g., novice teachers break down a specific high leverage practice), and approximations (e.g., novice teachers work in simulations or student teaching: 

• Grossman, P. (2011). Framework for teaching practice: A brief history of an idea. Teachers College Record, 113(12), 2836-2843.

Contact

You can learn more about TeachingWorks by following them on Twitter @Teachingworks, find out more about Dr. Forzani’s work from her TeachingWorks page, or e-mail Dr. Forzani at fforzani@umich.edu.

In episode 19, Michael and Dan talk with a panel of K – 12 educators about the importance of the first five days of school.
The panel includes:

• Author and educator Quinn Rollins
• 7th grade science teacher Laura Vago
• 7th grade English teacher Jennifer Maio
• 2nd grade teacher Jessica Rosenthal

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. The Massachusetts Teachers Association’s New Member Committee has a blog for teachers in their first five year of education. Check it out!
2. Vago, Laura, “Don’t smile before Christmas: Is it true?” Web blog post. The First 900 Days: MTA New Member Committee. 24 Oct. 2014. 
3. Milton, Michael K. “Teaching Historical Interpretation: Interpreting Student Life Events.” Web blog post. Michael K. Milton’s Musings on History and Education (mostly). 30 June 2014.
4. Wong, Harry K, and Rosemary T. Wong. The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher. , 1998. Print.
   1. Dan made a reference to this early on in the podcast. But he thinks there should be many books on the topic.
5. Quinn Rollins was featured in a standalone Visions of Education! Episode 6: Superheroes in the Classroom. Listen to it!

Contact

Jennifer Maio, a seventh grade English teacher, can be reached on Twitter – @JMaio88

Quinn Rollins, author of Play Like a Pirate: Engage Students with Toys, Games, and Comics, can be reached on Twitter – @JediKermit

Jessica Rosenthal, a second grade teacher, can be reached on Twitter – @JessMorningstar

Laura Vago, a seventh grade science teacher, can be reached on Twitter – @LRVago

In episode 18, Michael and Dan talk with Joseph Boyle about note-taking strategies for students with learning disabilities.

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. Here is a link to everything that Joseph Boyle has written!  
2. Here is the link to Dr. Boyle’s very helpful strategic note-taking website! Peruse to learn more about the strategy, research information about it, and teacher resources!
3. Two articles that Joe recommends for teachers wanting to know more.
   1. Boyle, J. R., Forchelli, G. A., & Cariss, K. (2015) Note-taking interventions to assist students with disabilities in content area classes.  Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 59:3, 186-195, DOI: 10.1080/1045988X.2014.903463
   2. Boyle, J.R. (2012).  Note-taking and students with learning disabilities: Challenges and solutions.  Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 27(2), 90-101.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2012.00354.x.
      1. Note: This article was the one Michael read prior to meeting Dr. Boyle.

Contact

Joseph R. Boyle is an associate professor of special education in the College of Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. To contact him (or learn more about him), check out this link.

In episode 17, Michael talks with Torrey Trust, Jeff Carpenter, and Dan Krutka about teacher Professional Learning Networks (PLNs).

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. Most importantly, here’s Torrey’s blog post, How Surfing Prepared Me for Graduate School. Look for Okie Dan Krutka’s upcoming post about how the wave pool at Big Splash prepared him for teaching.
2. You can find the research study that is the focus of our discussion:
   Trust, T., Krutka, D. G., & Carpenter, J. P. (2016). “Together we are better”: Professional learning networks for whole teachers. Computers & Education, 102(1), 15-34. (Open access until August 29th, 2016!)
3. The 3-part framework we discuss is currently part of an article titled, “Enriching Professional Learning Networks: A Framework for Identification, Reflection, and Intention.” The framework encourages educators to consider to what degree the people, spaces, and tools (e.g., resources, skills, ideas, teaching strategies) benefit them and their students. This manuscript is currently under review, but we will share it once we are able to.
4. You can find Torrey’s research on PLNs on her ResearchGate profile.
5. You can find Jeff’s research on on his ResearchGate profile.
6. You can find Dan’s research on his page at ResearchGate (requires log-in), Academia.edu, or Google Scholar.
7. Some of the platforms and events you can use to grow your PLN include:
   1. Twitter (Jeff and Dan’s research) and Twitter chats (primer)
   2. Voxer
   3. Google+ Communities
   4. Edmodo Subject Communities
   5. Pinterest
   6. Edcamp unconferences (see Jeff’s ResearchGate profile for edcamp research)
   7. And more!
8. We will continually add links to our research and much more at ProfessionalLearningNetworks.com.

Contact

Torrey Trust is an assistant professor of learning technology in the teacher education and curriculum studies department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Be a part of Torrey’s PLN by tweeting her @torreytrust.

Jeff Carpenter is an associate professor of education and the director of teaching fellows program Elon University. You can be a learn more about his teaching fellow program by visiting elon.edu/teachingfellows. You can tweet at him @doccarpenter.

Dan Krutka is on, like, every episode. You know where to find him.😉

In episode 16, Dan and Michael talk with Destiny Warrior about mentoring for retention in schools.

Books, articles, lessons, and other amazing resources

1. Richard Ingersoll has done a lot of research on teacher retention, including the following articles: Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to the teacher shortage. Educational leadership, 60(8), 30-33; Also, here is a 2014 article Destiny recommends from Dian Schaffhauser “The Problem Isn’t Teacher Recruiting; It’s Retention.”
2. If you’d like to watch some teacher movies, we mentioned Dead Poet’s Society (inspiring, but Mr. Keating doesn’t do much actual teaching), Dangerous Minds (classroom management = black jacket and karate!), and Chalk (two thumbs up from Michael!)
3. Destiny recommended this interview with Coach K, basketball coach at Duke University, by Richard Hackman when considering how to connect with your star teachers: Sitkin, S. B., & Hackman, J. R. (2011). Developing team leadership: An interview with coach Mike Krzyzewski. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(3), 494-501.

Contact

Destiny Warrior is a classroom teacher in Mid-Del schools and an adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma. She can be contacted via email  – dwarrior@mid-del.net – or you can tweet her @destinylwarrior.