Episode 038: Kids First

This is part 2 of my interview with Kristi Mraz. This episode will focus more on learning environments and creating a mindset for learning You can find Kristi on Twitter @MrazKristi or on her blog www.kristimraz.com.

Reflection Guide:

• What values does your classroom environment portray about your teaching philosophy? What do you want it to say?
• What current classroom practices do you have in place that doesn’t match up with your values? How do you plan to change that?
• Have you audited your schedule lately? Is your schedule designed with child development and current research on how children learn in mind?
• Do you feel like a manger of students or a curator of community? Why?
• Take a moment to write down your beliefs about students and learning. What evidence exists in your classroom of those beliefs? What steps do you need to take to demonstrate your beliefs in practice?

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Episode 037: Legislative Update 7

Listen in as Todd Gragg and I talk all things Oklahoma education politics.

Episode 036: Purposeful Play

For this episode of Passing Notes, I interviewed Kristi Mraz. Kristi is a prolific writer and teacher researcher. She has co-authored a number of books; including, Purposeful Play, A Mindset for Learning, and Kids 1st from Day 1. Kristi teaches in New York City Public Schools and supports teachers across the nation. You can find Kristi on Twitter @MrazKristi or on her blog www.kristimraz.com.

Reflection Guide:

• What questions/problem of practice do you have about the work you do with students?
• What struggles/barriers exist for implementation of purposeful play in your classroom/school?
• Do you view play as an important part of your educational practice? How does your planning provide evidence of this value?
• How do you avoid the trap of cute?
• Do you view play as a right or a privilege?
• How are you bringing the energy of play to academics?
• How do you use your play personality in your teaching/classroom environment?

Reflection Guides

Not an April Fool’s Joke! Sometimes you get great ideas when you least expect it. My wonderful friend and hairdresser, Lucy Piercy, gave me the incredible idea of creating reflection guides for future episodes. So, in the future when I interview an awesome educator on how/what they do in education I will accompany the episode with a reflection guide for you the listener to think about your own practice and how you might integrate new ideas into your classroom. Let me know what you think!

Episode 035: Legislative Update 6

Another #okleg update with Todd Gragg and Shari Gateley. In this episode we talk about innovation and local control.

We all know that the April 1 deadline to pass education funding will probably come and go so we made bets on when we actually the budget will be finalized and sent to the governor. Shari claimed April 24, Todd picked May 8, and I went for the middle with May 1. We’ll see what happens as the legislative session continues.

You can find Todd on Twitter @MrGragg and Shari @ShariGateley

Episode 034: Legislative Update 5

For this legislative update of Passing Notes, Todd Gragg and Shari Gately join me to talk all the things happening in the Oklahoma legislature. In this episode we talk about revenue, the April 1st deadline, and classroom funding.

To find our guests, you can follow them on Twitter @MrGragg and @ShariGateley.

Passing Notes Anniversary

One year ago today I announced the beginning of the Passing Notes podcast. Several things have changed on the blog and the podcast since that day! Thank you so much for listening and being apart of the conversation. A huge shout out goes to Jordan Kopf for his incredible graphic design, Jimmy Owens and Design Tunnel studios for helping to improve the quality of audio and providing a beautiful studio space, and to all the wonderful educators and education advocates who have taken the time to answer my questions and share about the incredible work that they do!

Lastly, thank you to my husband for letting me turn our dining room into a make shift studio and for buying me podcasting equipment as requested.

Thanks for listening. Cheers!

The mission of Passing Notes is to support, inform, and encourage educators.

#OklaEd Podcast Network

I’m so excited to announce the creation of the #OklaEd Podcast Network. The #OklaEd Podcast Network was created through a collaboration with Michelle Waters with reThinkELA and Scott Haselwood and Erin Barnes with OklaSaid. The #OklaEd Podcast Network was created to link together great #OklaEd podcasts and bloggers to help educators find resources and information. Check it out at www.oklaed.wordpress.com and let us know what you think!

Episode 033: Civics Education

Amy Curran is the Oklahoma executive director of Generation Citizen. She works across the state to bring the programming of Generation Citizen to school districts and to also advocate for strong civics education in our state. You can find Amy on Twitter @amycurranokc.

Generation Citizen is a national organization that works to empower young people to become engaged and effective citizens. In Oklahoma, Generation Citizen partners with local school districts to provide curriculum and training for teachers that actively involves students in civic engagement. You can find Generation Citizen on their website or on Twitter @gencitizen or @GCFeelingOK.

Below are the questions that I prepared to ask Amy Curran for this episode:

1. Introduce yourself and your organization.
2. What does Generation Citizen do? What ages/grades does the organization work with? What districts/schools does the organization currently work with?
3. What are some of the projects the organization has been involved in within the state?
4. Why is Civics Education important?
5. Where do teachers start?
6. What are some good examples of implementing strong Civics Education practices in the classroom?
7. What classroom strategies/content is available? What classroom strategies/content should teachers focus on?
8. How do teachers engage in promoting civics engagement/practices in their classroom if they don’t have a strong understanding of the process?
9. What positive outcomes occur from civically engaging classroom practices?
10. What role does having knowledge of history and current government practices play in being civically engaged?
11. What resources/supports are available to teachers?

This episode was recorded at Design Tunnel Studios.

Episode 032: Legislative Update 4

For the fourth Legislative Update of Passing Notes, Todd Gragg, @MrGragg, of Mid-Del joins the podcast again. In this episode we focus on school entry dates, four-day school weeks, and the potential $1,200 teacher pay raise.