James Sturtevant Hacking Engagement

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72-A Harvard MBA Inspires Educators to Reach out to People...Just Like Him...Starring Brent Wilkinson Sep 12, 2017

Show notes

About a decade ago, I attended the Mt. Vernon High School Class of 1981 Reunion. It was a lot of fun for a while, but as the night wore on, my ability to follow and contribute to stories that were unfamiliar with people I didn't know, became problematic. My wife was having a blast and was certainly entitled to uncompromised nostalgic bliss, so I had to step-up my social game.
Penny, fortunately introduced me to an old friend...Brent Wilkinson. The next 90 minutes simply evaporated. Brent is a fascinating guy with a wonderful Horatio Alger story. He left Mt. Vernon in 1981 bound for Boston. He went on to captain the Harvard football team, earn his MBA, and thrive as a corporate officer and entrepreneur in Boston's highly competitive private sector. I loved his story, but what impressed me more was his humble recounting of it. Penny and I visited Brent in Boston this past summer. As we strolled the city and interacted with this fascinating guy, I knew I had to get Brent on my podcast.
When educators and private sector types collaborate, it creates opportunities not just for students. My experience interacting with business folk has revealed that problems of communication, motivation, and management are largely universal. What's also universal is the value of growing human capital which is exactly what can happen if teachers reach out. Brent and his colleagues will absolutely collaborate with my kids before year's end! Why don't you create such an opportunity for your students?

71-Issue the Nonverbal Communication Challenge to your Kids Sep 05, 2017

Show notes

It's hard to believe, but humans communicated before there were words. We may not realize it, but we still use pre-verbal methods of communicating. There's an entire language that we unknowingly transmit with each interaction...it's nonverbal! It comes naturally to us. All we have to do is tune in to an ancient frequency. Think of when you're trying to communicate with someone who can't speak your language. You default to expressive arm gestures and facial expressions. You probably also do this when communicating to your four legged pal. Dogs are champs at reading nonverbals.
As teachers, students come at us in waves. It's hard to give kids our undivided attention, but that's precisely what we should TRY to do. Transmitting the right nonverbals is an essential skill that teachers should master. The good news is that mastering such skills is a blast! You can even get your students in on the game.

70-Don't Just have Kids Read About a Place...SEND THEM THERE...Starring Quin Thomas Aug 29, 2017

Show notes

Picture this...you're studying really cool places like Machu Picchu, Tiananmen Square, the Coliseum, the Taj Mahal, or Timbuktu. Instead of just yakking about it, or having students reading about it, tell kids to hop on their Chromebooks, fly around the world, and then drop in for a close-up view from ground level. In this episode, Quin Thomas will explain how to do just that with Google Maps.

69-Rebel Against the Bell...Starring Melissa Maxson Aug 22, 2017

Show notes

Kids are just starting to get it, they’re finally opening up in a discussion, they’re finding great resources for a research paper, they’re starting to harmonize in choir, their sculptures are just beginning to take shape, their findings in a science experiment are just about to materialize and then the bell rings.
This frequently happens to Melissa Maxson’s devoted art students. You know you’ve engaged kids when they say, “Dang, I can’t believe the period is over.” Melissa hears this daily.
In this episode, hear Melissa's solution to her frustrations with the uniform 50-minute modules. Listen to her recipe to detonate space/time limitations.

68-BattleVant and SturteVingo...Two Zero Tech Ways to Engage Kids Aug 16, 2017

Show notes

A great way to engage students is to just have some fun with content. Accomplish this by mimicking two iconic American board games...Battleship and Bingo. Certainly, most of your kids have played, or at least are familiar with both. I reworked both games for my classroom. Of course, I renamed them Battlevant and Sturtevingo. I encourage you to create your own labels for your version of these activities.
Any time there’s material you’d like to review, Sturtevingo and Battlevant are wonderful engaging options that can be employed frequently. Battlevant is a team game. I’ll demonstrate it as a two team contest, but it could be used with multiple teams. In Sturtevingo, every man and woman is on their own.

67-Context is Key to Engagement...let ReadWriteThink Help Aug 09, 2017

Show notes

I teach history. Even as a boy, I was a history nerd. Recently, I was enjoying the company of friends at a party. My buddies all have college degrees and are successful in their chosen professions. A historical topic surfaced. I decided to conduct a little wine-inspired experiment. I just listened to them pontificate about a subject I knew a lot about. This is generally not my disposition when vino veritas is factored in. What took place was fascinating. While my friends had a working understanding of the topic, their background chronology was out of whack which, of course, did a serious number on their understanding.
If intelligent adults struggle with context on what would seem common historical knowledge, it would be foolhardy to assume that k-12 students, aside from the budding history nerds, would have a clue about the order of events. Contextual ignorance does not just apply to events, but also processes. Students in math, science, and language arts must understand many processes like the quadratic equation, the scientific method, and MLA citation. Chronological awareness with such concepts breeds confidence, which is crucial to engagement. Let’s inspire some of that awareness with a cool virtual timeline builder.

66-Hacking Engagement Again...THE SEQUEL Aug 02, 2017

Show notes

When I wrote Hacking Engagement, I was amazed that fifty hacks flowed out of my fingertips and compressed the keys of my laptop. Fifty seemed like a marathon, however, those hacks systematically materialized. When I typed the last period of the last sentence, I thought, Wow. that was a lot of hacks. I need a break. But here I am again...back with 50 more engagement hacks.
Hacking Engagement Again is just like its predecessor Hacking Engagement: Both are short, containing a little over 30,000 words apiece. Both are comprised of fifty hacks that are each about 600 words in length. Neither is linear. Instead, they’re like cookbooks; you scan the table of contents and find what you need to make tomorrow’s lesson delicious.

65-Matthew Porricelli Preaches the Gospel of Student-Led Learning and his 4th Grade Disciples Back him 1000% Jul 26, 2017

Show notes

Matthew Porricelli is a 4th grade teacher at the Mamaroneck Avenue School just outside of Manhattan. In this marvelous episode, we learn about Mr. P's classroom from expert witnesses...his students. These kids are a joy to listen to and the things they describe should be standard operating procedure in every classroom regardless of the level. Mr. P's class sounds like a dream, but what really moved me, was the way these young folks responded to their teacher. It's apparent that there's a bottomless mutual affection. This episode is golden for it's outstanding suggestions on pedagogy, but there's something more...something more profound and important. Matt's students are crazy about him! As you listen to these wonderful voices, keep asking yourself, How can I evolve such a climate in my room?

64-The Learning Scientists have a Vaccine for Test Anxiety Jul 18, 2017

Show notes

The Learning Scientist are researchers determined to help teachers build academic confidence in their students. They do this by offering proven strategies to help kids achieve. Here is the team:Remarkably, they provide all of this free free advice via a comprehensive and powerful resource, which is their website.
In this episode, I’ll discuss with Dr. Smith and Dr. Kupper-Tetzel:
How the Learning Scientists came to be
How to utilize their tremendous website
2 of their 6 strategies
Let the Learning Scientists help you help your kids build academic confidence.

63-Collaborating with Students is an Essential 21st-Century Skill...let Ann Coates Help you do it Jul 12, 2017

Show notes

If one were to make a list of essential educator skills for the 21st-Century, certainly...collaborating with students would be near the top. This episode features a collaboration expert. Ann Coates is a veteran high school teacher in Hanover, Massachusetts. Ann is all about giving timely and meaningful feedback to kids. She states that instant feedback is, where the actions is!
Utilize some of Ann's outstanding suggestions and observe your relationships with students evolve as your collaboration with them blossoms. As our education system navigates to a more student-led learning template, student-teacher collaboration will no longer be a cool thing that a few teachers in the building have mastered. It will be an essential skill that ALL educators simply must embrace.

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