Ready to Blend

Copyright: © Ready to Blend 2019. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following: We welcome you to download and play the podcast and share with others for personal use; pl

Latest Episodes:

21. How We Will #MindTheGap Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

It might take a village to raise a child, but with school closures from coronavirus, parents/caregivers shoulder 99 percent of the work. It's on them for meals, schooling, recreation, church, and socializing—often while trying to work, deal with sickness, or solve for unemployment.

Given these challenges, this show focuses on how to support parents. Until we're through with the virus, children's well-being is dependent almost exclusively on the strength of their immediate family units.

You'll hear from three people who represent solutions for how we will #MindTheGap, meaning the space between where millions of children find themselves today and the entrance to the online-learning, distance education train. Children face five gaps, represented by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Speaking to #gap1—the Physiological Gap—Ruth Iaela-Pukahi tells us what it's like to walk to the local elementary school to pick up breakfast and lunch for the seven children, including two foster children, she is parenting as a single mother.

Speaking to #gap3—the Social Belonging Gap—Matt Clayton shares how his guides at Slope School connect one-one-one with their students three times a week using Zoom videoconferencing. They've also organized squads of four students who check in on each other through a structured process of peer support.

Speaking to #gap5—the Self-actualization Gap—Thomas Collette shares how his company Agilix has organized a coalition of content companies to deliver a catalog of online courses for free until June 2020 so that students can work toward their goals while schools are closed. The courses load easily onto all major learning management systems.

What other solutions have you found to #MindTheGap? Share them on Twitter and tag them with #gap1, #gap2, #gap3, etc.

Then visit www.readytoblend.com/mindthegap to see what others have shared.

To support Ruth Iaela-Pukahi, consider purchasing your next Amare wellness and mental health supplements from her beautiful collection at www.amareglobal.com/11150.

Explore Matt Clayton's Slope School at www.slope.school. It's part of the Acton Academy network: www.actonacademy.org

To partake in Thomas Collette's offer for free online courses, go to https://agilix.com/freecontent/

20. As Schools Cancel, Mind the Gap Mar 22, 2020

Show notes

Schools throughout the world are closing because of COVID-19. Millions of schools are rushing to post their lessons and assignments online.

But there's a better way to go about it. Abraham Maslow's famous "Hierarchy of Needs" points to the way.

Maslow said that people are motivated to meet their physiological needs (food, shelter, exercise, shelter) first, before they can attend to higher needs. Then they want safety (personal, emotional, financial). Then comes belonging (family, friends, connection). Only after these basic and psychological needs are met can people concern themselves with achievement and goal setting.

Schools, are you putting school lunch delivery to children in need before online learning?

Teachers, are you placing social connection and belonging before online achievement?

This podcast kicks off the #MindTheGap campaign. Schools are rushing to build the online learning train. But there's too big a gap for most kids between where they're standing and the entrance to the train. They're going to fall. How can we #MindTheGap? Let's start as the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy and then move up.

Find solutions at https://www.readytoblend.com/MindTheGap

Tweet ideas with hashtag #MindTheGap as well as the Maslow level you're solving for: #gap1 is for solutions to Physiological gaps, #gap2 is for solutions to Safety gaps, #gap3 is for solutions to Social Belonging gaps, #gap4 is for solutions to Esteem gaps, and #gap5 is for solutions to Self-actualization gaps.

The great news is that there are pockets of innovation where some amazing solutions are springing up. Let's make more!

19. Hurricanes and Other Hurdles with Guest Roy Moore Mar 03, 2020

Show notes

Great leaders help their organizations adjust. That's true for big events that require big adjustments, as well as for lesser events that still benefit from flexibility.

Episode 19 features Roy Moore, principal of Notthingham Elementary in Texas. He adapted with ninja-like agility to succor his community in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. And his staff are learning to do the same thing in their learning design.

Principal Moore goes into detail about Pathway Time, a 40-minute block set aside a few times per week for learners to get individual support based on their immediate academic needs.

This Tuesday, we'll post a beautiful diagram to help you replicate the Pathway Time idea. Look for it at https://www.readytoblend.com/tuesdays or in your inbox if you sign up for Tuesday Share deliveries at http://eepurl.com/geaExT.

One secret to getting Pathway Time right is nurturing mindsets. Not only do learners need to develop a mindset of "I set my own goals," but staff need mindsets like "I view ALL of the students in this school as MY students" and "I am powerful to overcome unexpected challenges."

As mindsets develop, the community is ready for the next step: setting goals and developing a routine of frequent one-on-one check-ins with mentors.

During Pathway Time itself, all hands are on deck to meet with students, provide coaching and support, and ensure positive, productive work spaces for individual progress.

After that, learners reflect on their results and set new goals and plans for their next Pathway Time opportunity.

Don't miss the diagram: http://eepurl.com/geaExT and thanks again to Principal Moore for his innovative leadership!

18. Data-Driven Learning with Michael Norton Feb 20, 2020

Show notes

You may have heard of Data-Driven Instruction (DDI). But what is Data-Driven Learning?

Data-Driven Learning will replace DDI, I predict. Why? Because today's youth need to respond entrepreneurially to the abundance of data that surrounds them. To thrive in the Information Age, they must learn to cut through the noise, discern what data matters, and respond accurately.

Data-Driven Learning is like teaching a teenager how to read the gauges on the car dashboard herself, without the adult saying one word from the shotgun seat. And that’s what parents want. We want our teens to learn how to drive that car and read the dials independently.

In this show, Michael Norton, manager of blended learning and academics at KIPP Texas, explains why Data-Driven Learning is the "handshake" to Data-Driven Instruction at his schools. He views both strategies as important.

This Tuesday we're publishing a free “Progress Power Tracker.” You can use it with your students to help them look at their data for the week, graph their results, and then analyze their results.

The tool will help you equip your learners to read and respond to their OWN data. You can use it at the elementary, middle, or high school level. You’ll find the Progress Power Tracker next Tuesday on the Tuesday Share page:

https://www.readytoblend.com/tuesdays

or in your inbox if you subscribe to Tuesday Share deliveries:

http://eepurl.com/geaExT

17. How Clayton Christensen Improved My Life Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

On Saturday I attended the funeral in Cambridge, Massachusetts of Clayton M. Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School who died on January 23, 2020 at the age of 67.

Clayton Christensen is regarded as the father of innovation theory. His academic work shaped the principles of business strategy. I'm one of countless people Clay's work impacted.

Clayton Christensen’s theories, and his life itself, shaped my life profoundly and for the better.

Ahead for you on this podcast:

* Working with Clayton Christensen on the Boston temple project

* Trying to tell Clay's famous milkshake story to explain the Jobs to Be Done Theory

* How adults face something akin to the innovator's dilemma in navigating personal resource allocation decisions

* The value of the theory of language dancing with infants and children

* Engineering the culture of an organization, including in one's personal life

This upcoming Tuesday as part of the Tuesday Share service, I’ll publish printable Clayton Christensen quotes for you to keep handy, if they are helpful to you. You’ll find them at https://www.readytoblend.com/tuesdays, or in your inbox if you subscribe to Tuesday Share deliveries here: http://eepurl.com/geaExT

Professor Christensen, thank you for giving me the call to adventure and for being a wise mentor. You gave me the tools to use, you modeled how to stand on a stage and use them, and you helped me create a life that aligns more closely to the metrics that matter most.

16. Flexible Learning Environments, part 1 with Michael Norton Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

Our guest today is Michael Norton, manager of blended learning and academics at KIPP Texas, a network of 55 charter schools in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. Michael helped these classrooms transform into flexible learning environments where students have multiple options for how to make progress and teachers have several new ways of reaching and engaging each learner.

The initial goal for KIPP Texas was for students to be ready for Algebra I by 8th grade. But the success of the project has led to its expansion to other core subjects and beyond the near-term goal of Algebra I. KIPP Texas has found that the new model is helping its students develop skills that will help them through life. The saying before was “KIPP to college;” now it’s "KIPP through college."

For a free resource on how KIPP Texas structures flexible learning environments, download the Tuesday Share that accompanies this episode 16. It will be available next Tuesday at https://www.readytoblend.com/tuesdays

15. Moving Beyond "Tech Integration," with guest Lisa Adams Jan 08, 2020

Show notes

Caution: If your school has embarked on “tech integration,” that’s a red flag. Often that phrase is code for cramming devices on top of the traditional instructional model. Multiple studies show that approach to be a waste of effort.

In this podcast episode, Heather talks to Lisa Adams, assistant superintendent at Temple Independent School District in Texas. Lisa says that for years, Temple ISD was great at giving each student access to a device and giving teachers Google Classroom training. But results were only marginally better, and the devices likely had nothing to do with the improvements.

It wasn’t until 2015 that student performance started to climb. That was the year Lisa’s district switched from “tech integration” to a deep transformation of the fundamental learning design. Leaders and teachers worked together to envision four pillars of a new student experience. They visited exemplars to see model schools in action. They defined a “Learning Progression” for teachers, which articulated what the pillars of the student experience looked like in classrooms that were just getting started with the new design, in classrooms that were advancing, and in those that were going deep.

The results have been dramatic, but Lisa cautions that the effort takes patience on the district’s part. Veteran teachers can feel uncomfortable as they are asked to evolve. But today, 90 percent of Temple’s teachers say they would not return to traditional instruction.

For a free resource on how to use Learning Progressions to help your schools move beyond tech integration, download the Tuesday Share that accompanies this episode 15. It will be available next week at https://www.readytoblend.com/tuesdays

14. Districts Can Support Principals, with guest Micha Villarreal Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Bringing about a major shift in teaching and learning might seem impossible in a large, urban school district. Processes tend to hold firm. But Ysleta Independent School District in southern Texas is bucking that pattern.

Now in its fifth year of implementing a system-wide blended learning project, Ysleta ISD has transformed 10 campuses.

Part of Ysleta's success stems from bold school principals, such as David Medina, the guest of our previous podcast (episode 13). But there's a second essential piece: support from the school district.

In this episode, Heather Clayton Staker talks with Micha Villarreal, who served as David's district counterpart to support his efforts as he changed his school.

Micha shares the view that "in education, we've not been doing what's right for kids for many, many years. Kids are all different. To grow our kids and allow them to be successful as adults, we have to change the work that we do."

Micha explains how her district runs discovery sessions to help campus teams get unstuck as they innovate. Next week, Ready to Blend will post a resource to help you run your own discovery session with your team. You can find it, as well as all the other Tuesday Share resources that accompany each Ready to Blend podcast, at https://www.readytoblend.com/tuesdays.

13. Finding Time to Transform Your School, with guest David Medina Nov 06, 2019

Show notes

If you walk into a Pasodale Elementary School classroom, you’ll see students scattered everywhere, each working on an independent or group objective. To someone unfamiliar with the model, it might look chaotic. But each student can explain what she’s working on and why.

A growing number of teachers and principals want to make this shift. But how can they build it? How do they find the time? It takes considerable time to convert a traditional, teacher-led unit plan to a series of student-driven stations, tutorials, on-demand resources, projects, and assessments.

Teachers are willing to do the work, but they simply need time.

Our guest today is David Medina. For nine years, David has been the principal of Pasodale Elementary School in the Ysleta Independent School District located in El Paso, Texas, less than a mile from the border of Juarez, Mexico. Roughly 98 percent of his students are Hispanic, and 50 percent are English language learners.

For years his school was mostly teacher centered, meaning that teachers led. He thought that blended learning meant giving children access to technology.

“Little did I know that it really has zero to do with technology and more to do with having students be active learners,” David says. He realized four years ago that technology was not the answer; the answer was to shift from teacher-led to student-centered learning.

In today’s interview, Heather Clayton Staker talks to David about how he freed up teachers’ time to allow them to build the new model. Of all the things he tried, David found that canceling after-school tutoring was the most successful. Instituting “Blended Rounds” every 90 days and weekly 90-minute planning meetings were crucial enablers as well.

It takes time to build a student-centered model. But then, once in place, the new model gives back time because students are less dependent on their teachers. In other words, giving teachers time to build is an investment that more than breaks even.

For a one-page visual about this podcast, go to www.readytoblend.com/blog. It will be available on 11/12/2019 as part of the regularly scheduled Tuesday Share program.

Thanks Principal Medina for your stirring words!

If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review. We'd be much obliged.

12. You Can Get Good Grades Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

Do you know how to get good grades? Did you know that it's possible to get good grades even if you don't feel smart in some of your classes?

This podcast episode is talking to students—to high school, middle school and even elementary school students who might be worried about how to get good grades. We'll talk about four basic strategies that will set you up for success, and then five power behaviors that will help you take your grades to the next level.

One of the challenges that might be affecting you is the invention of "data dashboards" that give your parents a website where they can constantly see your grades. Help them understand that they can reduce the anxiety and tension, and increase the support, by setting a climate of unconditional positive regard when talking to you about your grades. From there, invite them to use the four basic strategies and five power behaviors to ask you Socratic questions, such as:

Which of the four basics is the biggest challenge for you? Which do you find the easiest? Why?
What could you do to turn the basics into habits?
Which of the five power behaviors would help you most in each class or subject? Why?
What can I do to support you better?

Those honest and open conversations, in a climate of unconditional positive regard, will help you vent anxious emotions and convert them into successful action steps for improving your grades. It really is possible to become a great student! And it's not too late.

School leaders, while students, parents, and teachers are working to improve grades, you can lead the way toward a better system overall by replacing the traditional grading system with one in which each student truly masters the content, even if they do so at varying paces. The old system is premised on sorting students into As, Bs, and Cs. A newer, better system would focus on each student reaching A-level mastery and then designing each lever in the system to support that ideal.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected