Hallway Conversations

Episode 023: Equity and Teachers' Time

In today’s episode, we have a question from a listener! Hayley is wondering about the way some students need more time and checking in from the teacher than others, and she asks, “Is it equitable or fair to spend more time with some students than others?” We think through the differences between equality and fairness, and how “fairness” might be more in line with all of our students’ flourishing. We get specific about the importance of soliciting feedback from our students about how our teaching is going, and think through the role of differentiated instruction and universal design for learning as ways of making classrooms more equitable for students.

Episode 022: Book Talks

Today’s episode is a bit of a departure from our norm, but it stemmed from one of our actual hallway conversations in which one of us started talking about a book we were reading. Pretty soon, another person said, “We should have an episode where we just share some of our favorite books!” And so, here it is, dear listeners: we each brought two books to recommend, and we invented a protocol for sharing that we call “2 by 2 by 2”: 2 books, 2 things about each book, and 2 minutes to talk about each book. (We absolutely failed at sticking to this protocol, so we need to refine it a bit.) We hope you might find some summer reading suggestions here! The books that we discussed are these:

• Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning by James Lang https://www.amazon.com/Small-Teaching-Everyday-Lessons-Learning/dp/1118944496/
• An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor https://www.amazon.com/Altar-World-Geography-Faith/dp/0061370479/
• On Christian Teaching: Practicing Faith in the Classroom by David Smith https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Teaching-Practicing-Faith-Classroom/dp/080287360X/
• Write Beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing by Penny Kittle https://www.amazon.com/Write-Beside-Them-Clarity-Writing/dp/0325078173/
• Leading with a Limp: Take Full Advantage of Your Most Powerful Weakness by Dan Allender https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Limp-Advantage-Powerful-Weakness/dp/1578569524
• It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens by danah boyd https://www.amazon.com/Its-Complicated-Social-Lives-Networked/dp/0300199007/

Bonus Episode: Responding to Student Work

This bonus episode is made up of a couple of leftovers that didn’t make the cut from our last episode about redos, but we thought you might still find this part of the conversation interesting, and maybe even helpful.

Dave asks the question, “How do you describe what you are doing when you respond to student work? Grading? Correcting? Marking?” We think through what feedback means, and how we provide students with the information they need to confirm and deepen their learning. We hope you enjoy this bonus conversation!

Episode 021: Redos

In today’s episode, we have a question from a listener! Anna asks about the challenges that come from giving students “redos” on their work. Specifically, she asks about the balance of some students needing multiple opportunities to succeed, while others take advantage of being able to do low-quality work on the first attempt, knowing they will have the opportunity to “fix it” later. We discuss the habits of mind needed to make redos work well, what it means to be people of both grace and truth, and our own experiences with making some learning activities lower stakes for our students by offering multiple attempts in learning. Along the way, Dave mentions and article by Rick Wormeli entitled “Redos and Retakes Done Right,” which you can access here:

• https://www.newenglandssc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Redos-and-Retakes-Done-Right-Rick-Wormeli-1.pdf 

Episode 020: Teacher Needs and Administrator Needs

In today’s episode, we have a question from a listener! Tom asks, “What do teachers need from administrators? What do administrators need from teachers?” We speak into this question from our previous positions in K-12 education, reflecting on the different roles administrators and teachers play. In the conversation, we focus on the idea that teachers and administrators are all on the same team, but have different roles to play. Some good laughs, as usual, but hopefully also some good food for thought for teachers and admins alike as we think through the ways our roles in schools complement each other!

Episode 019: Reputation

In today’s episode, we have a question from a listener! John asks, “How much should teachers worry about our reputations? Should we lean into a good reputation and take more risks? If we have a bad reputation, how should we go about correcting this?” In the conversation, we talk about some of the problems of how parents and students--and teachers--talk about reputations of teachers, and how they are sometimes unfairly arrived at. We discuss the role of risk-taking based on reputation, and committing to “daring acts of pedagogy.” We also consider the difference between reputation and legacy, and how teachers and school leaders can aim more for “legacy” than “reputation” in their schools.

Episode 018: Social and Emotional Development

In today’s episode, we have a question from a listener! Loretta asks, “How can teachers support social and emotional development in the classroom?” We discuss what it means that students are whole persons who are developing simultaneously in many different ways--physically, cognitively, socially, emotionally, spiritually, etc.--and the importance of teachers recognizing how these different developmental domains impact each other. We share some examples from our own parenting and teaching experiences as well. Abby shared some resources for further learning, which we recommend to you:

• If you appreciated this episode, you really should listen to this podcast as well: https://anchor.fm/donald84/episodes/Breath-of-Fresh-Air-ft--Nicole-Batiste-e11f44s 
• A collection of resources for educators interested in fostering social and emotional learning: https://www.hubforhelpers.com/
• A Facebook group for educators interested in fostering social and emotional learning: https://www.facebook.com/hubforhelpers 

Episode 017: Awards

In today’s episode, we have a question from a listener! Kevin asks, “What role do end-of-the-year awards ceremonies play in schools, and what role should they play?” Abby and Matt share their (very different!) experiences with high school awards ceremonies, and we think about what kinds of messages are conveyed through the particular gifts and talents we might award (or not.) Dave shares about an approach a school he used to teach at used for celebrating gifts of all of the students. We talk through various aspects of recognition, and the importance of “seeing” our students and “naming” their strengths as part of their formal education. We have lots of wondering, and perhaps you’ll even find a few new ideas about the role that awards can play in a healthy school community.

Episode 016: Professional Development

In today’s episode, Abby asks the question, “What does intentional professional growth look like for practicing teachers?” We wonder together about the pace of change, and whether some teachers get cynical about the constant flow of new ideas coming at them through professional development sessions with a sort of “this too shall pass” attitude. Matt gives insights on the importance of intentionality in professional development as a former school administrator, and  Dave shares his heuristic of “rest, reading, and reflection” as a means of structuring summer professional growth. We wonder quite a bit about the way schools can leverage the expertise of people in their own buildings as part of creating a culture of continuous professional learning, and wrap up with a few ideas about strategies for Christian educators to continue their personal, ongoing professional learning.

Episode 015: Positivity

In today’s episode, Dave asks the question, “Is there ever a point when positivity becomes toxic, or even just problematic?” We begin by talking about potentially-problematic positivity in our personal lives before turning our attention to our work as educators. We talk about how teachers can model for students and demonstrate appropriate ways to communicate emotions. We briefly touch on what to do with negativity in the staff room, and spend a little time thinking through how educators might be able to embrace healthy positivity even when things are hard.