Hallway Conversations

Summer 2023 Replay: What’s the Value in Project-Based Learning?

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are still in full summer mode, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. This week is a replay of a popular episode from about one year into this podcasting adventure; hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) 

And so, for today, one from the archives. Our main topic in this episode was sparked by a question from a listener; Loretta asks, “In the past few years, our school has embraced Project Based Learning as a preferred teaching method. What are your thoughts on PBL? And what do you think are some of the best things about PBL and maybe what are some of the downfalls of teaching in a PBL style?” This was a timely question, as Matt and Abby had visited a PBL school just the week before we recorded this episode! We think together about the similarities and differences between having students “do projects” and implementing “project-based learning.” We further explore some of the habits of mind that seem to be important for implementing PBL at a classroom level and at a school level. Expanding audiences, exhibitions of student work, student empowerment–we talk about it all!

Episode 094: More Encouragement for Novice Teachers (and the difference between ”good” and ”great?”)

This is a new episode, but perhaps a little different than most! We have had a terrible time getting the three of us to be in the same place at the same time with the mindset and wherewithal to record new episodes. (Never fear–new episodes are coming soon! Once we’re all back from our summer travels, we’ll get back into our normal routine.) :-) In the meantime, this one is made up of two elements: both a snippet from an earlier conversation that Dave had cut out during the editing process, as well as a solo recording Dave made of a piece that came from his old blog. We hope that both of these will offer encouragement for novice teachers…and their more experienced colleagues as well.

• If you’re interested in reading the original piece from Dave’s blog, you can find it here: https://iteach-and-ilearn.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-good-teacheror-great-teacher.html 

Summer 2023 Replay: Good Teaching Can’t Be Reduced to Technique (Can It?)

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are into full summer mode now, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. This week is a replay of a popular episode from about one year into this podcasting adventure; hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) 

And so, for today, one from the archives. In this episode, we begin by reflecting on our first year of podcasting. Listeners, we are SO grateful for you! And we want this show to be the sort of thing that encourages, challenges, and blesses you, so we would love to hear your feedback, questions, comments, and wonderings. You can always contact us at hallwayconvospod@gmail.com.

After that opening reflection, Matt brings us a quote from Parker Palmer’s book, The Courage to Teach, and shares a story of a recent interaction with a fellow educator who is grappling with the idea of the standardization of education–and wondering whether “teaching” is just being reduced to “technique.” We think through some of the challenges of developing as educators, and the difference between thinking of teaching as a science, as an art. After some disagreement about this, we settle on the idea that teaching is both an art and a science, and think through some of the ramifications for how that impacts our work as educators.

Episode 093: Advice for a Novice Teacher (or, eating the elephant one bite at a time)

This episode was prompted by an email we had from Emma, a recent college graduate with a bunch of great questions, seeking our advice for how to navigate the beginnings of entering this profession. She had some great questions–thanks for asking them, Emma! We offer our on-the-spot advice to a variety of questions, from how to get to know the culture of the building, to getting how to build relationships with students, to what to do if you disagree with a seasoned colleague’s approach. We hope that if you are new to the profession, or joining a new school, or if you have a new colleague coming aboard in your teaching team you’ll find some encouragement in this episode.

Summer 2023 Replay: Changing Our Minds

Greetings, loyal listeners! We are into full summer mode now, but don't worry--more new episodes coming your way soon. We plan to work around our travel schedules and different pace of the summer months, and we will still have an episode for your listening pleasure every other week as has become our pattern. But we probably be alternating new episodes and replays throughout the summer--hopefully, you'll enjoy re-listening (or perhaps listening for the first time!) to some of our earlier episodes.

And so, for today, one from the archives. In this episode, Dave kicks things off by sharing a story about how he has changed his mind about some things in education. We then have a robust conversation about the ways teachers probably should change their minds over time, which is a hallmark of learning, after all. We hope you'll enjoy and be blessed by this summer replay.

Original episode including show notes here: 
https://hallwayconvos.podbean.com/e/episode-024-changing-our-minds/ 

Episode 092: “During Our Careers, So Many Things Changed!” - A Conversation with Kim and Ed Starkenburg

After our last episode where we interviewed two of our graduates who are right at the beginning of their careers, we thought it could be interesting to hear from some folks who are wrapping up long careers as professional educators. So we were delighted that our good friends, Kim and Ed Starkenburg, were willing to join us for this episode! Kim and Ed recently retired from teaching after 40+ years teaching. They have such great stories to share–from how they came into the profession, to how they have seen things change over their long careers, some of the joys and challenges they experienced, and the things they miss (and don’t miss!) now that they have retired. There is a lot of collective wisdom here that they shared, and whether you are new to the profession, are an experienced educator, or just think back fondly on some of your own teachers, we know you’ll be blessed by listening in. Blessings to you, dear listeners, as you wrap up this school year and transition into summer mode.

Episode 091: Adventures in Becoming a Teacher (or, jump into the deep end and just start treading!)

In this episode, we were blessed to be joined by two of our now-graduated students, Shanoah De Waard and Josh Schouten. These are two amazing people who are right at the beginning of their careers as professional educators. We were so delighted to have had the opportunity to teach these two, and even more delighted to have them join us on the show! It was wonderful for the three of us to get to visit with them, and hear their stories about their experiences in their teacher preparation program and student teaching, as well as what they are headed into as they begin their work as professional teachers. Whether you are relatively new to the profession, or an experienced veteran educator, hearing from Shanoah and Josh will inspire you and give you some ideas about how you can encourage and mentor colleagues who are just joining us in this vocation. We hope that as you listen in, you’ll reflect on your own induction into teaching, and how you’ve grown in your understanding of the important work you do, serving kids through education.

Episode 090: A Christian Approach to Athletics? (Is it the great race to nowhere? Or a chance for redeeming culture?)

This week, we are joined by our friend and colleague, Ross Douma, who serves as Director of Athletics at Dordt University. Ross is a longtime educator and coach in both faith-based and public schools, and has a wealth of insight and experience to share. We asked Ross to share some of his vision for a distinctively Christian approach to athletics, and he has plenty of wisdom to share. If you are a coach, parent of athletes, teacher of athletes, or an athlete yourself, we are sure there will be things in this episode to both encourage and challenge your thinking! From the way the emphasis on athletics has shifted over time, to the need for redemption of athletics in contemporary culture, to advice for parents for how to encourage kids, to reframing “extra-curricular” activities to “co-curricular,” we talk about it all! 

• In the episode, Ross references the Defender Way, which is a coaching philosophy that guides the athletics department at Dordt University. You should definitely read up on it here: https://www.dordt.edu/athletics 
• We also talk about Coaching for Transformation, and if you serve at a faith-based school, we highly recommend you look into this framework as a way of reimagining what athletics might look like in your school: https://www.coachingfortransformation.org/ 

Episode 089: Efficient and Effective Grading (or, maybe we could just stop grading everything??)

Our discussion this week was sparked by a hallway conversation about all the grading we are doing these days. Abby shared a couple of resources (posted below) that she has shared with the future teachers we serve–some really good prompts! As we looked at these pieces, we saw many ways we are already implementing some of these strategies, and some strategies we might like to try in the future as well. We hope there are some great nudges here for you in ways to be more effective and efficient in getting feedback to your students, no matter the grade level or content area you teach.

• Check out this infographic full of ideas for efficient grading from Todd Finley: https://twitter.com/finleyt/status/1597809178827190274?s=20
• This post from Jennifer Gonzalez at Cult of Pedagogy also has great ideas that might be an inspiration for you: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/cut-grading-time-in-half/ 
• And, while we’re on Cult of Pedagogy, here’s an approach for writing better rubrics: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/single-point-rubric/ 

Episode 088: Math Anxiety and ”Mathletes”: A Conversation with Dr. Val Zonnefeld

This week, we are joined with our good friend and colleague, Dr. Val Zonnefeld, who teaches in the Dordt University Department of Mathematics. Her expertise is in math education, and she teaches multiple courses for the future teachers in our program–both math content, and math methods. We start this episode by sharing our own “math stories”: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Val has extensive knowledge from the research in math education as well as a ton of practical experience from her years teaching math in middle school, high school, and college classrooms. Throughout our conversation, Val shares lots of wisdom and ideas for teachers and parents alike in helping the kids in their lives wherever they are with mathematics–whether they feel the math anxiety (which is very real!) or if they are high-achieving “mathletes.” We hope this episode is an encouragement for you!

• In the episode, Val mentions the book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, by Peter Liljedahl and recommends this one for teachers. You can find it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Thinking-Classrooms-Mathematics-Grades/dp/1544374836 
• Dave also brings up a fascinating tool called WolframAlpha, which is an A.I. computational knowledge engine. It is worth checking this one out, and you can access it for free here: https://www.wolframalpha.com/