James Sturtevant Hacking Engagement

Last summer, I got the writing bug again. There have simply been so many ideas that have emerged during my tenure as an Education instructor. In this episode, I introduce my brand new book Even More Hacking Engagement.

This episode is about Constructivist Learning. Here’s a definition from the University of Buffalo: Constructivism is the theory that says learners construct knowledge rather than just passively take in information. As people experience the world and reflect upon those experiences, they build their own representations and incorporate new information into their pre-existing knowledge (schemas). I grew up in the pretty rolling eastern part of Ohio. We had beautiful woods behind my house. As a...

Summer vacation is getting long in the tooth. A number of years ago, I would’ve been staring down the calendar because football practice starts next week in Ohio. It’s sad to see summer wane, but it is what we do for a living. And, even though it’s hard to go back, as soon as you step in front of those students—it just feels right. Today, I’m going to give you a magnificent idea for the first day of school. I’m teaching a brand new class this fall. It’s EDUC 313 Curriculum and Design. I’m...

Liz Jorgensen is an all star high school English teacher from Wisconsin. Her brand new book Hacking Student Learning Habits just hit Amazon’s virtual shelves. I’m confident that you’ll be inspired to check out this book after listening to this interview. Liz articulates how she utilizes empathy to inspire learning. We also talk a lot about assessment—hence the title of this podcast episode. What I particularly love about Liz is that she’s not self-promotional. She supplies oodles of...

It’s sad to hear reports of so many educators becoming discouraged. Some are considering leaving the profession. If that’s you, or you have a friend or colleague who's struggling, you selected the right podcast. In the last episode I interviewed Jim Mahoney and we addressed this theme of the teacher exodus. I feel so passionately about this topic that I decided to dedicate an entire episode to it and I have the perfect guest. Michale Brilla made a move from classroom instruction to...

It’s heartbreaking to hear about all of the talented educators who are strongly considering cashing in their chips and exiting the classroom. This is not a good thing. Their students need them and quitting may not be the right move for discouraged educators. I can say this with confidence because I vamoosed from education after my 7th year. I was fortunate to be able to hightail it back into the classroom after just a 6 month hiatus. If you quit now, you may never return even if you want...

It’s been a while since I published an episode. There’s a reason for that. I’ve been busy developing a new podcast. The Retired Teacher Coach Podcast debuted in the last week of 2021. It’s based on my coaching practice. My elevator pitch for my coaching goes as follows: I help retired educators make awesome health and lifestyle choices. While my niche is retired educators, I work with clients that are not educators and clients who are not retired. Each episode of my new show follows a...

One of my passions since the semi-return to normal instruction in hopefully the receding wake of COVID, is to retain successful aspects of virtual instruction and then to include them in-person instruction. I’ve heard a lot of students and instructors say, “I never want to be on another Zoom call again.” Well, that’s not realistic. There were aspects of virtual instruction that facilitated learning. We need to keep those. In this episode, four powerful virtual tactics will be explored....

Imagine a high school girl from Texas deciding to venture to Denmark as an exchange student. Talk about a culture and a climate shock. I’m describing the young Jennifer Burke-Hansen. What’s interesting about Jennifer is that she became enchanted with this tiny nation of 6 million on the scenic Jutland Peninsula. So much so that she’s resided there for the last three decades and taught high school for the bulk of her stay. Jennifer embodies the growth mindset. She continually pushes herself...

I’m going to describe a student. I’ll bet you can picture one similar. This kid seems unenthused by many of the prompts and activities that are issued or done in class. It isn’t that they are incapable, in fact just the opposite. They master directives quickly and effortlessly. Unfortunately, they complete their efforts without much enthusiasm. The student feels stuck in the endless wave of mundane requirements that overpopulate the typical k12 experience. They are disillusioned with the one...

I think that every educator has heard the following, “I didn’t do well on this assessment because I have test anxiety.” The fact that every teacher has heard this should be a red flag. Certainly, a bit of test anxiety is healthy—I mean you have to be motivated enough to study. The problem is when test anxiety results in diminished performance. Not only is this stressful and demoralizing, but it also creates inaccurate results. We need to do assessment better. Assessment should be less like...

I went to grade school in a small town. Our school was right on Main Street in the town center. A few of my most vivid memories were the brief class excursions into town. On various days, we visited the post office, the dairy, the glass blower, and the bakery. I had no aspirations to be a postman, a dairy farmer, a glass blower, or baker. Regardless, I loved these field trips. It got us out of the stale classroom. It unveiled to us how products that we regularly consumed were produced and...

The bubblefication of the United States is much written about and much talked about. We tend to live around, interact with, watch media outlets populated, and are entertained by...people who think like we do and probably look like we do. That’s too bad, because while bubbles can feel safe, they are also limiting. The scary part of our bubbles is that they are reflected in our schools. Many American students learn in monochromatic settings. Their peers largely look like they do and probably...

This seems like a totally incongruent title. How in the world can you use assessment to forge strong relationships with students? And yet in this episode. My guest and I will attempt to answer this question. The key is student revision based on teacher feedback. Two tech tools that are instrumental in this process are the Google extension Mote and an app called Voxer. Both will be featured in this episode. Educators need to stop conducting assessment as an event and transform it into more...

The attack on the capitol should be a wakeup call for educators. We have a moral obligation to help students evaluate online sources. Perhaps through our efforts, kids will develop a healthy skepticism about all sources. Unfortunately, many contemporary adults have trained their young to reserve their skepticism only for those sources that emanate from the other side of the political divide. Contemporary media literacy should encourage a healthy skepticism toward all sources.

I’ve always been fascinated as to how calamities, such as war, lead to innovations that benefit humankind long after the conflict abates. WWII, for example, sponsored all of the following: Antibiotics Radar Jet Aircraft Computers Satellites The old adage Necessity is the mother of invention could be applied to each of these quantum technological leaps. In each case, one side in the conflict was attempting to develop advantages that would lay waste to their enemy. The unintended...

The best thing about social media is that it keeps you connected with significant people. It’s kept me connected to many former students. I’m going to talk to one today. Ty DeLong was a student in my Economics class almost 2 decades ago. Ty lives in Nashville. He’s a software engineer. He’s a devoted husband and father. I’m really proud of him. A few years back, I ran into Ty’s parents at a local store. My wife and I caught up on the doings of Ty and his siblings, but at one point in the...

Last week was exhilarating. My wife and I had become determined to install a subway tile backsplash in our kitchen. I thought to myself, There’s no way I’m going to pay someone to do that. I’ll learn how and do it. Of course, I went to the greatest educator in the world–YouTube. I watched a number of how-to videos, gathered my courage, and then installed that backsplash. It was a profitable and empowering exercise. I love my new backsplash and the experience gives me confidence to take on...

Covid has forced educators to take portions of their instruction, or all of their instruction, online. It’s quite an adjustment for all concerned. But imagine, and perhaps you’ve faced this, that a significant portion of your student’s home technology setup is inadequate, or non-existent. What do you? In this episode, we’ll ask Jalen Wells this question. Jalen teaches history at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Maryland. Many of his students have such technological obstacles. Covid...

The first time I was a participant in a Zoom call, I was so impressed. It felt so futuristic. I thought highly of it and was excited to do another. Covid however, like with many things we treasure, wiped out this euphoria. Zoom calls sprouted up everywhere. I grew to dread the dreaded Zoom call invitation. Here are some reasons why: They’re too many participants. They’re not engaging. They’re too long. Most are time and place bound. In this episode, I’ll offer a remedy to each of these...