Teachers on Fire

Nicholas Amaral is the district staff development coordinator at the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District in Bergen County, NJ. Nick’s passion is education technology: helping teachers help students create and innovate in their classrooms. In our conversation, Nick shares about a point early in his teaching career when he faced deep discouragement and a lack of motivation. Rather than turn in the towel, he doubled down, reinvented his practice, and engaged his learners like never before. Today, Nick gets excited about blended, personalized, and mastery learning, and he describes the personal habit that energizes him outside of education. Don’t miss his recommendations in books, Twitter, edtech tools, and more! Follow Nick on Twitter @NAmaralEDU and check out his blog over at https://edtechforay.wordpress.com/. VISIT the Teachers on Fire Podcast official site for more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links: TeachersOnFire.net.

Soney Day is a 2nd grade teacher at Coy Miller Elementary School in Frisco, TX. As a teacher, mom, tech integrator, proud Texan, and Seesaw ambassador, Soney enjoys advocating for young learners and strives to have an innovator’s mindset. In our conversation, Soney shares about an emotionally draining challenge she faced in just her second year of teaching. Although it was nightmarish at the time, she calls it a learning experience today and mentors new teachers using some of the knowledge gained from that ordeal. Soney tells us why she’s such a big booster of social-emotional wellness for learners, and encourages teachers to pay more attention to education policy decisions and governance. She also offers some great recommendations for Twitter accounts to follow, books to read, and more. Follow Soney on Twitter @DaysMrs. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net.

Jordan Potrzeba is a 4th grade teacher at Walter Caldwell Elementary School in Auburndale, FL. Imagine being told by your principal in your first year of teaching that you were different and didn’t belong. After experiencing just that, Jordan moved from Nebraska to Florida, where he found a school community that welcomes his energy, ideas, and unique personality. In our conversation, Jordan shares about his passion to see teachers grow, share, be vulnerable, and take risks. He also describes how travel and music enrich his life, and offers some great recommendations around books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, a great YouTube channel to subscribe to, and more. Follow Jordan Potrzeba on Twitter and Instagram @JordanPotrzeba, and check out his reflections on education at https://bloggingjungle.blogspot.com/. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net.

Tonya Gilchrist is a language teacher and literacy coach at Tokyo International School in Tokyo, Japan. An experienced speaker and presenter, Tonya advocates for learner agency, the inquiry mindset, and joyful leaders. Tonya knew she wanted to become a teacher since she was in third grade, but the daunting pressure and prescriptive directions to teach to standardized tests threatened to make her quit the profession altogether. It was after Googling “What else can I do with a teaching degree?” that she discovered the incredible opportunities in overseas education, and the rest is history. Today, you can hear the passion in Tonya’s voice as she talks about the influences of growth mindset, inquiry-based learning, translanguaging, and the importance of self-care. Follow Tonya Gilchrist @Mrs_Gilchrist, check out life at the Tokyo International School @TISLearns, and read Tonya’s latest thoughts on literacy and education at TonyaGilchrist.com.

Bobby McCutcheon is the principal of Randall Elementary School in Independence, MO. He’s a husband, father, #GeniusHour advocate, travel junkie, Royals fan, and occasional political expert. After teaching for several years at the middle and high school levels, Bobby was offered the position of elementary principal and has never looked back. He points to a decision to transform his diet and fitness three years as a turning point in what has become an exciting journey of growth. Today, Bobby is passionate about building a positive culture at Randall and promoting creativity in his students through Genius Hour. You won’t want to miss his remarkable story about a struggling student who dove deep into learning about K-9 police dogs. His learning took him to places he’d never imagined, and he was able to share that journey with the entire school community. Follow Bobby McCutcheon @Fight4Mizzou and see what’s happening at Randall Elementary @RandallBears.

Dan Ryder is the co-author of Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom and is currently the Education Director of the Success & Innovation Center at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, ME. In our conversation, Dan shares about what ignites his passion for education today: seeing the philosophical focus shift from the acquisition of information to problem-solving, creativity, and design thinking. He challenges teachers to go beyond learning activities that build things just for the sake of building things (ie. “dumpster projects”), and reflects on a personal habit that creates learning and growth in every area of his life. Dan also describes the main message of his book and gives us some awesome recommendations for accounts to follow on Twitter, channels to subscribe to on YouTube, and more. Follow Dan Ryder and catch more of his inspiration on these platforms: TW: @WickedDecent IG: @WickedDecent Websites: DanRyder207.com and IntentiontheBook.online

Christopher J. Nesi teaches 9th grade history at New Brunswick High School in New Jersey and is a Professor of Communications at Rutgers University. He also hosts the House of EdTech and Podcast PD podcasts and operates the Education Podcast Network. In our conversation, Chris shares his passion to see educators and learners of all ages take up the endeavour of creative work: “You don't have to share it with the world ... but just create,” he says. He also shares a personal habit that contributes to his success, and gives us some awesome recommendations for accounts to follow on Twitter, the best maker channels to subscribe to on YouTube, books to read, and more. Find more of Chris’s content on these platforms: TW: @MrNesi, @HouseofEdTech, @PodcastPD, @EduPodNet Websites: ChrisNesi.com, HouseofEdTech.com, PodcastPD.com, edupodcastnetwork For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit https://teachersonfire.net/.

Danielle Peters is an elementary teacher at Westerman Elementary School in Surrey, BC, Canada. Recently completing her Master’s in Ed. Tech., Danielle is passionate about helping kids learn, create, and innovate using technology. In our conversation, Danielle talks about how team teaching allows her to better meet the social-emotional needs of her learners and learn from her colleague’s perspectives each day. She describes how her third graders are using green screens and stop motion to make stories come alive, and explains how she combines her loves of book reading and photography to produce beautiful book reviews. Finally, Danielle gives us some great recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, a YouTube channel to subscribe to, and more. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps, links, and contact information, please visit TeachersOnFire.net. Song Track Credits Intro: Relax (by Simon More) Outtro: Starley – Call on Me Remix (by DJ Zhorik)

Diana Williams is an elementary teacher at Bayridge Elementary School in Surrey, BC, Canada. She is also a speaker, a consultant for her district, a student of PBL, award winner, and constant innovator. In our conversation, Diana speaks candidly about the challenges teachers face during labor disruptions and shares some frank advice for up and coming teachers. She talks about some of the initiatives that really excite her about education today, describes an important personal habit that contributes to her success, and offers some awesome recommendations for books to read, Twitter personalities to follow, YouTube channels to subscribe to, and more. Follow Diana on Twitter @TeacherDiana1 and on her blog at teacherdiana.com. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net Song Track Credits Intro: Relax (by Simon More) Outtro: Starley – Call on Me Remix (by DJ Zhorik)

In this episode of the Teachers on Fire podcast, we speak with Brooke Moore. Brooke is the District Principal of Inquiry and Innovation in Delta, BC, Canada. She is also an instructor at Vancouver Island University and the editor-in-chief of UBC’s Transformative Educational Leadership Journal, located at http://teljournal.educ.ubc.ca/. In our conversation, Brooke describes the experience of working through stiff parent resistance while introducing progressive strategies around assessment in a West Vancouver high school. She shares about some exciting cross-curricular learning initiatives she's involved with and lists some of her biggest passions outside of education: parenting, writing, and storytelling. Brooke also gives us some great recommendations regarding books to read, a Twitter account to follow, and much more. Follow Brooke on Twitter @BMooreintheloop and her blog at http://teljournal.educ.ubc.ca/. Visit TeachersOnFire.net for more info on this episode!