Stepping Toward Sensible, Valid Teacher Evaluations

I was recently interviewed for BAM Radio's Rae Pica along James Popham who wrote, “Everything School Leaders Should Know about Assessment.”  
In this show we look at formative and summative teacher evaluations and discuss what teachers can do to support more valid and effective assessments.

I talk about how teacher effectiveness gives teachers the opportunity to know only toot their own horn, but also toot the horns of their students.  I also discuss why it is important for innovative educators to helping those who are evaluating them understand the role of technology and social media in increasing effectiveness. 

You can listen to the program on the BAM Radio! site here. 

Taking Back the Teaching Profession: Can It Be Done?

Rae Pica asks, “Why are teachers the "Rodney Dangerfields" of the professional world?” on BAM Radio. Her guests move beyond lamenting the lack of respect teachers. They have some theories, and, better than that, they have some advice on how teachers can begin to turn things around and reclaim the profession!

Guests

Daniel Willingham @DTWillingham is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia.

Lisa Nielsen @InnovativeEdu  is an educator and author of the bookTeaching Generation Text.

Jerry Blumengarten @cybraryman1 taught for 32 years at inner city NY school.     

Steve Paine is the president of P21 (Partnership for 21st Century Skills) and a consummate lifelong educator who served as West Virginia's 25th state superintendent of schools.

Tune in

Click here to listen. Then after you've listened, please click here to join the BAM Radio Facebook page. Go here to listen on iTunes, Tweet your thoughts to @bamradionetwork

Do You Have to Be an Entertainer to Engage Your Students?

A contributing factor to the high school dropout rate and one of the biggest complaints of students is simply that “I’m bored.” And...many teachers know that their students consider them boring.   So, what’s the answer?  Some would say that you need to be an entertainer.   I was recently interviewed on BAM radio by Rae Pica along with Mike Muir, Lee Kolbert, and Pat Hensley who wrote, “Should Teachers Be Entertainers?” While many feel forced to entertain, is this the best approach? In the show we discuss how teachers can expect to engage students in the face of all that competes for their attention.

Can social media combat the issue of educator isolation?

Feelings of isolation occur with some regularity among educators, especially those who teach in specialty areas and/or small schools. Teachers spend much of their day separated from peers in classrooms that can become silos. However, technology is providing new ways for teachers to connect with peers both near and far.

This is part two of the show on this topic. In part one we invited listeners to join BAM radio's Rae Pica for a discussion about overcoming isolation by building a personal learning network which you can listen to here. 

In this show we walk listeners through the process of getting connected starting with the 5 C's of building your personal learning network moving to a discussion of what that looks like in practice.

Solution to combatting lonely, isolated educators: #PLN

Feelings of isolation occur with some regularity among educators, especially those who teach in specialty areas and/or small schools. Teachers spend much of their day separated from peers in classrooms that can become silos. However, technology is providing new ways for teachers to connect with peers both near and far. In this show, listeners are invited to join BAM radio's Rae Pica for a discussion about overcoming isolation by builidng a personal learning network.

Joining Pica are four innovative educators who walk listeners through the process of getting connected. They are:

• Rob Mancabelli is co-author of Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education.
• Nicholas Provenzano is a high school English teacher who is passionate about integrating technology into the classroom.
• Erin Klein is a second grade teacher who has her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and is the technology co-chairperson for the Michigan Reading Association.
• Lisa Nielsen (that's me!) is a seasoned public school educator and administrator and author of the book Teaching Generation Text

 You can listen to the program on the BAM radio site here!

Overcoming the Six Biggest Objections to Project- Based Learning #PBLchat

Join BAM radio's Rae Pica for a discussion about overcoming the biggest obstacles in project-based learning.  

While interest in project-based learning continues to accelerate, this approach to teaching has its share of skeptics and detractors. In this segment we lay out the benefits of project-based learning and dispelling the concerns, doubts and objections. 

Joining Pica are the following: 

• John Larmer a Director of Product Development at the Buck Institute for Education. 
• Nikhil Goyal a 17-year-old author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student's Assessment of School. 
• Nicholas "Nick" Provenzano a high school English teacher and writes thoughts on education at TheNerdyTeacher.com. 
• Lisa Nielsen (Me!), author of the book Teaching Generation Text and a long time public school educator. 

In the program I share the work of teacher Pauline Roberts who brings project-based learning to life which you can check out here. 
  
You can listen to the program on the BAM radio site here!

Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag  #PBLchat