#PodcastPD Introduction
As people are always looking for meaningful professional learning that are accessible in ways that meet the needs of each learner, I wanted to provide an opportunity for #Podcast PD.
Simply explained, #PodcastPD is an opportunity where you can listen to each podcast on your own time, whether it is while you are being active, driving, relaxing, or doing whatever, but there are also resources for discussion when people come together.
Please feel free to use any of the podcasts below for your own context. I have shared a quick overview of the episode, links to the podcast, and some discussion questions.
Season 1 Episode 1: How do You See Risk-Taking?
Overview of Episode:
We often talk about “risk-taking” in education, but what does it mean? In this episode, George will try to remove the “fear” out of taking risks and shift the thinking on how we look at taking risks as an opportunity to move to something better than what we have. There is also a reminder that there are risks associated with the things we “don’t” do.
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Questions for Conversation:
- How can we move from a comfortable average in pursuit of something better?
- What are some risks that you can take today to do what is better for your learners?
- What are some traditional practices that are still relevant today? How does this help your learners today?
Season 1 Episode 2: 4 Ways to Not Let Others Dim Your Light
Overview of Episode:
No matter how good you are at your job, somebody hates you. Often, the reasons come out of insecurity but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. When others are trying to dim your light, how do you deal with it? In this episode, George Couros will share some ideas on how we can effectively move forward while others are trying to slow you down.
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Questions for Conversation:
- How do you continue doing what is best for your learners even when others try to dim your light?
- Coming from a place of curiosity can help others understand that you are focused on what is best for each learner. What questions can you ask to understand someone else’s perspective?
- How do you know when it is time to move on and ignore?
Season 1 Episode 3: “I hate doing school, but I love learning.”
Overview of Episode:
In this episode, George Couros dives into an awesome student post about “school vs learning.” Do we create an experience where learning is the norm in our schools, or do students simply learn how to “play the game” to get success in education? Do we encourage students to have students outside of school to become more well-rounded, or are we laser-focused on academics as the most important path to success? George Couros discusses all of this in the episode of the podcast.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What are some of the major differences between school and learning?
- What are some ways that we can bring more opportunities for creativity to our learners?
- How can we make learning more personal?
- How can we connect learning to each learner’s passions and interests?
Season 1 Episode 4: Developing the Leaders of Today
Overview of Episode:
“We are developing the leaders of tomorrow!” This statement has great intentions, but it also makes the assumption that students can’t make a significant impact in our world today.
What are some of the mindsets and actions that we can take within education to ensure that we develop our students as leaders today so that they can make an impact on the world that we live in right now? In this podcast, George Couros will dive deeper into the ideas of how we need to empower our students to lead for today so that they can make a bigger impact tomorrow.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What are some ways that you are positively influencing others?
- What are the strengths of the learners you serve?
- How can we help others become better at their weaknesses?
- What are some areas where you can create meaningful leadership opportunities for your colleagues or your students? How will this help you “step back”?
Season 1 Episode 5: Some Misconceptions About Innovation in Education
Overview of Episode:
I love this Sanée Bell Quote from her book “Be Excellent on Purpose” –
“Students should have rich, relevant, and authentic experiences at school, across the board. If every educator in every school pursued excellence instead of allowing excuses about what students can and cannot do, we would meet the needs of all students. Our goal has to be to create schools where excellence is the standard.”
I thought about this quote when I was reading an article about how “innovation in education was overrated” I guess my question is, how do you look at innovation in education? Is it about creating new and better opportunities for learning in our schools for our learners and ourselves, or is it about doing cool things? In this episode, George Couros will dive deep into the quote and how we look at innovation in meeting the needs of each and every one of our students.
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Questions for Conversation:
- How do you see innovation? Reflect on what it means to you and the work you do.
- Share a time when a traditional practice was exactly what you or your learners needed. Share a time when a more innovative practice was exactly what you or your learners needed.
- What are some transformational uses of technology?
Season 1 Episode 6: You Are Always the Solution
Overview of Episode:
In this episode, George Couros will discuss the hardest keynote he has ever had to do and what he did at that moment.
There will always be issues and things that will be tough to overcome. Sometimes, it is out of our hands, and SOMETIMES, it can be directly related to what we do. In this episode, George Couros will share how he recalibrated his thinking and how it started opening doors for him and how we have to take ownership of our pathway because ultimately, we are the ones steering the direction.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What are some obstacles that you are facing?
- What shifts in thinking would create opportunities or solutions for those obstacles?
- What are some opportunities that you would like to create within this situation? What is needed to create those opportunities?
Season 1 Episode 7: What We Do With What We Know
Overview of Episode:
In this episode, George Couros will discuss the “Characteristics of the Innovator’s Mindset” and why it is important to not only learn but to create something with our learning. This episode was based on a video that George Couros created for an online conference and we just wanted to share it in this space.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What are some ways that you are creating a culture of innovation?
- How can we make sure that the 8 characteristics The Innovator’s Mindset are not seen or applied in isolation, and are instead intertwined?
- What are some meaningful learning opportunities where your students felt empowered? How was this different from what you have seen when students are “compliant” instead of empowered?
Season 1 Episode 8: Who Am I to Lead Change?
Overview of Episode:
When we think of “change,” do we think of this as what someone else will lead for us, or something we will lead ourselves? It does not matter your position in education, you can make a significant impact on your peers as well as your peers. We all have “trajectory” changing moments; what was yours and how are you going to use that fuel to inspire others? In this episode, George Couros will share one of those moments and why it had such an impact on him.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What are the strengths of those around you? How do you empower others by connecting those strengths to their daily tasks?
- What are some things that you value about others? What are some ways that you can let them know what you value about them?
- Reflect on a moment a “trajectory changing moment.” How did this impact you and your future? How did this impact your learners?
Season 1 Episode 9: 10 Easy Ways To Create an Amazing Classroom Culture
Overview of Episode:
Simple things can make a significant difference in our classroom environments, yet we should be intentional about them. Every year we should strive to make it the best year students have, and if we all did this, education would only progressively get better for our students.
In this episode of the podcast, George Couros will discuss why relationships are at the core of teaching and learning and provide 10 simple ideas on how we can be intentional about creating them every single day.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What are some ways you can let your learners know they are welcome and appreciated?
- What are some of those seemingly simple things that make a huge impact on others?
- How do you make sure that you “know your kids”?
- What is something from this list of “10 Ways to Create an Amazing Classroom Culture” that you want to try today?
Season 1 Episode 10: Elevating the Person Across the Hallway
Overview of Episode:
“People will bring flowers to your funeral but won’t bring you soup when you’re sick.”
Do we wait until it is too late to share an authentic compliment with those we work with most closely? In this episode, George Couros will discuss why it is essential that we do not wait until it is too late to make a difference with those we see every day.
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Questions for Conversation:
- How do you “positively and authentically” acknowledge the contributions of others?
- One of the ideas in this episode is about appreciating life and appreciating others. What are some things that you appreciate about others? How do you show this?
- The challenge in this episode is about being the best part of a person’s day. How were you the best of someone’s day today?
Season 1 Episode 11: 5 Questions You Should Ask Your Staff or Students
Overview of Episode:
Although our curriculum is often static, that doesn’t mean our teaching has to be. But, do we teach based on what we know, or what our students are passionate about? How can we find the balance between the two?
In this episode, George Couros discusses 5 questions you can ask your students, staff, or yourself, to bring out the best in every learner.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What is your big question?
- What does success look like to you?
- How can a shift be made from deciding what problems and questions your learners have to solve to allowing them to recognize and observe the changes and problems they want to solve?
Season 1 Episode 12: 5 Questions You Should Ask Your Leader
Overview of Episode:
You might be ready to lead, but are people ready to follow? “Leadership” is not something that is only reserved for the few, but can be something we all do to move people forward in a positive direction.
In this podcast, George Couros discusses some questions on leadership to think about in the context of your own work, and a few examples of how that has been done in other spaces.
I would love to hear your thoughts and you can connect with me on Instagram or Twitter at @gcouros.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What will your “fingerprints” be on this school when you leave?
- What are some ways that you can build on what was done before you and still have influence to help people move forward?
- How do you build leadership in your school?
- What are some areas of teaching and learning that you can lead in your school?
- What are you hoping that teaching and learning look like in your school and how do you communicate that vision?
Season 1 Episode 13: 10 Core Values for Education
Overview of Episode:
In September of 2018, I wrote the post “10 Core Values for Education” based on the “Core Values” of the online shoe company, Zappos.
In this podcast, George Couros will share something he did that was more focused on following the rules rather than doing what was right for my students, and how creating and discussing our “core values” as a school or district can put us in the position to do what is right by the standards of our “policies,” but more importantly, what is right by the students and staff we serve.
I would love to hear your thoughts so please share with me to Instagram or Twitter at @gcouros or to the #InnovatorsMindset podcast.
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Questions for Conversation:
- How do you take care of yourself so that you can better serve and support others?
- What are some ways that you find joy in your work?
- Reflect on the 10 core ideas shared in this episode. What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? What ideas do you find powerful?
Season 1 Episode 14: 4 Ideas to Consider for Online Learning
Overview of Episode:
Not only have educators been inundated with information on COVID-19, but they have had to retool, refocus, and rethink completely how they are going to connect with and teach their students. A lot is going on in our world right now, and my first instinct is that we need to slow down and focus on what is most important at this moment.
That being said, I wanted to provide some ideas on what really matters in learning and the core of education. We have to consider two things:
One is that you can’t just move “face-to-face” learning to online spaces.
The second consideration is that although our “teaching” may not look the same, the principles and focus on what is essential, should stay consistent.
In this podcast, I hope to share some ideas and thoughts on each “core” principle and why it matters more than ever.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What are some ways our learners are sharing their voices in ways they never could before?
- Take a moment and reflect on your classroom or your school. What do you see and what does it represent?
- How do we help our learners lead with questions instead of being focused on giving us the answers they think we want to hear?
Season 1 Episode 15: What matters most and how I am getting through each day
Overview of Episode:
Right now, my days are tough and like everyone, I am having my struggles. What am I focusing on to get through each day? Relationships, finding the good in each situation, and how I am growing as a learner.
What is helping you most? I would love to hear your thoughts.
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Questions for Conversation:
- In this podcast, I share an idea from Patrick Larkin where he shares the idea of keeping a gratitude journal. What would go in your journal?
- What is a routine that you can keep so that you lift others up?
- What is your #dailyawwwwww for today?
Season 1 Episode 16: Always Err on the Side of Positive
Overview of Episode:
When we ensure that we always err on the side of positive, we can help make someone’s day better, or possibly save them. I have been blessed to have people like Mary Jane Burke in my life who have taught me the value of doing something kind and how it can make even the worst situations better.
In this episode of the podcast, George Couros shares about the moment he learned his dad passed away and the small acts of kindness that helped him get home, why it matters, and how it has shaped his thinking to always err on the side of the positive.
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Questions for Conversation:
- Reflect on a time that a small gift or gesture made a world of a difference.
- Reflect on a challenging time and consider what others did to support you.
Season 1 Episode 17: 5 Hopes for When Schools Reopen
Overview of Episode:
There are a lot of things that educators are going to have to think about when they return, and to be honest, a lot of things that are out of their control. But what are the things that we can do and focus on to make school a better place for all learners?
In this episode, George Couros discusses 5 things we need to re-emphasize when schools return and why they matter.
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Questions for Conversation:
- What would a stronger focus on mental and physical health look like for your learners?
- What are some ways that you are “growing through” this?
- I share this quote from Innovate Inside the Box, “In a world that is becoming more digital, being human is more important than ever.” How are we using technology in this time to bring out the best in one another?