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That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersSURPRISE!Listen to find out our surprise for you, dear listener!Subscribe to the new podcast on AppleSubscribe to the new podcast on SpotifyFollow us on Instagram2024-05-2301 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E13: Want students to be more independent? 5 ideas for engaging and empowering classroom "management"This week on Season 4, Episode 13 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we're building on the foundation we set last week on rethinking classroom 'management' to be less about control and more about creating the conditions that bring out the best in students so there's less you feel like you have to "control." Today we dive into an element of the E part of T.E.A.C.H-- engaging & empowering classroom management and share 5 of our favorite strategies we're taking into this back-to-school season. Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C...2023-08-1321 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E12: 5 Steps to creating a classroom environment where students thrive and behavior challenges diminishThis week on Season 4, Episode 12 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, share our first piece of the roadmap!Last week, we unveiled our T.E.A.C.H. Framework-- a handy acronym to remember the pillars that make up our EDVOLUTIONARY roadmap.Today we dive into an element of the H-- human-centered environmental design. We look at 5 steps you can implement to fundamentally transform your classroom so relationships and student autonomy can thrive and many typical behavior challenges won't have a reason to exist. Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C...2023-08-0621 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E11: Our roadmap for engaging and empowering learningIn Season 4, Episode 11 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we're shifting gears!We've been talking about making a dang roadmap since we got started back in 2021. A roadmap that would take research from the last 30-40 years on how students learn and develop and make it actionable for teachers in the classroom. Tools and strategies to teach based on how humans evolved to learn so that we all don't have to feel like we're pushing a boulder uphill both ways in the snow each day.This roadmap came out of our own frustrations that educational...2023-08-0614 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E10: Play-based learning environments are more joyful and sustainable for teachers, tooThis week on Season 4, Episode 10 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments are better for TEACHERS too.The way we are doing school right now is just not at all sustainable for teachers. Nor is it respectful to their creativity or humanity. And many have lost their joy and passion for the profession and are leaving in droves. It's not them. It's not the kids. It's a poorly designed learning structure getting ready to break down under immense top-down pressure.If we have the guts to change how we structure our...2023-07-0221 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E9: Play-based learning can make equity and inclusion more attainableThis week on Season 4, Episode 9 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments by default lend themselves to equity (all students get what they need to be successful) and inclusion.Differentiation is a well-known word in the education space, but it is very difficult to pull off within our standard one-size-fits-all curriculum and pacing...and not to mention... is exhausting for teachers to figure out how to differentiate one learning goal for everyone.But play-based learning provides another way that is way easier for teachers and more empowering and affirming for students.2023-06-2524 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E8: Play-based learning environments create spaces to support student mental health and traumaThis week on Season 4, Episode 8 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments can help us support students in our classroom with trauma and mental health issues. We often can't know what's going on in all of our students lives, and so creating a trauma-informed classroom environment is best practice to meet the needs of all students.School can also be a place of trauma, as well as exacerbate mental health challenges in students and teachers alike. Just treating the symptoms will never be as effective as looking at the roots of these issues...2023-06-1837 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E7: Play-based learning environments are a vehicle for student engagement and deeper learningThis week on Season 4 episode 7 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about two buzzwords in the education space related to the quest to increase achievement and motivation: Student engagement and deeper learning.Everyone wants it to happen. And...if you are a teacher... you know how tough this challenge is. Finding points to engagement or ways to bring learning to life ALL DAY LONG feels like you already want to go home and crawl under the covers just thinking about it. But not to worry friends. Play-based learning offers us a rep...2023-05-1431 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E6: Play-based learning environments are an antidote to white supremacy cultureThis week on Season 4, episode 6 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we begin a mini-series on how play-based learning can help us start to alleviate many of the challenges we face in education today. And to kick it off, we're starting with a big one: white supremacy culture. If you haven't listened to last week's episode about the impact of the social environment on human behavior, you'll want to start there. Because not only is it interesting... but this episode builds on top of it. Often, our lens on 'how the world works' is just "cultu...2023-05-0728 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E5: Play-based environments foster positive student behavior and character developmentThe development of character is a big topic we talk about in education, especially in light of all the behavior challenges that seem to be increasing in schools. This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY we unpack the role of the environment on human behavior. And we are joined by some big experts: Simon Sinek and Alfie Kohn. Okay joined is a "loose" term. We play some clips of their brilliance to better understand some invisible forces that impact how humans behave and why kids might be struggling so much right now regardless of their "character". And we have g...2023-04-3027 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E4: What play-based learning looks like in our classroomIn this episode we finally spill the beans about how we've leveraged play to create environments that foster independent learning, allow teachers to meet the wide range of needs in a classroom, while also providing a structure to make teaching more sustainable (we'll talk more on the last point in a future episode). We are so excited to finally share these nuggets after many years of flops, iterations, and perseverance. Full show notes here. Resources/subjects mentioned in this episode: Join our newsletter to stay on top of...2023-04-2336 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E3: 5 mistakes standing in the way of harnessing the power of play-based learning in your classroom (we know from experience)This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY we reflect on many of our failures and how all of them have led to incredible insights about what actually works to transform teaching and learning through play. Go to the episode page to get the full show notes here. Resources mentioned in this podcast:Ken Robinson Ted Talk: How to Escape Education's Death ValleyEnd of Year Kindergarten Math GuideJoin our weekly mailing list and don't miss an episode or update!Other links:Ab...2023-04-1723 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E2: What do WE mean by play-based learning?This week we're sharing what we think is the secret to transforming classrooms so we can better meet student needs AND make teaching more sustainable.If you've listened to the podcast before... you might have an idea of where we are going with this. But this is a topic people have a WIDE range of feeling about and carries a lot of cultural baggage. We hope by the end of this episode, you know exactly what we mean when we talk about this in the future.Books, articles...2023-04-0821 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS4.E1: The journey of EDVOLUTIONARYHello fellow edvolutionaries!We set out two years ago to start building a roadmap to transform education. We podcasted for awhile... and then....disappeared.But now we are back for good and so excited to share what we've been working on. In this episode we recap previous seasons of the podcast, what we've been up to in our absence, and hint at where we are headed this season.You can find the full show notes for this episode here.Other links:About us2023-04-0213 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS3.E9: Teacher Talk- Creating the unlikely coalitions for changeThis week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we are joined by District Curriculum and Instruction specialist, Christina Jones who reached out to us a couple weeks ago to have a conversation about how we can work together to benefit kids. I gotta be honest. When Annie and I first received the email we thought... oh gosh. Someone from CENTRAL OFFICE. Which... to be very explicit and honest often means in our minds: that person is disconnected from what is actually happening in schools, wants to make top-down decisions rather than act in partnership, and won't say anything honest on mi...2022-05-1645 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS3.E8: Break Down the Silos- A Conversation with Vernon Jones Jr.This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we have an AMAZING conversation with former school board candidate and educational activist Vernon Jones Jr. Vernon is often painted as part of the “reform movement” which is often distilled down to pro-charter, anti-teachers rights, pro-testing accountability….but when we interviewed him during the election we heard someone who cares passionately about creating a more human-centered system of education for kids and the adults who support them.Vernon is 2 for 2 on our podcast-- Annie and I leave every conversation with him more hopeful and inspired in this work. But we al...2022-05-0357 minThat's SO EDVOLUTIONARY: A Podcast for K-2 TeachersS3:Ep7: Teacher Talk: Collaboration and Risk--the only way to build a new roadmapThis week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we are joined by Ellie Schafer and Heather Ott, two Kindergarten teachers at Palmer Elementary in Denver Public Schools for some pretty amazing Teacher Talk about taking risks to do what is best for our students. (Which may or may not involve our favorite topic, play). While one major aspect of our podcast has involved critiquing the broader education system-- we try every day behind the microphone to work on solutions that match what research and experience tells us is best for children and their learning. Heather and Ellie are two oth...2022-04-1952 min