Season 4, Episode 13 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Guest Dwight Carter

Season 4, Episode 13 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Guest Dwight Carter

by | May 10, 2023 | #FocusED, Action, Communication, Core Values, Culture, Daily Habits, Decision-Making, Education, Energy, Engagement, Excellence, Focus, Fulfillment, Goal Setting, Leadership, Learning to Lead, Listening, Mental Mapping, Motivation, Motivation & Retention, Organizational Leadership, Passion, Planning and Preparation, Positivity, Principal Leadership, Principals, Professional Dialogue, Relationships, Resilience, Results, Service Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Teamwork

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Learning to “Be Great” with Dwight Carter 

This is Season 4, Episode 13 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Dwight Carter. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Dwight Carter tells us about being great as a school leader, his five principles of leadership…and so much more.

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Dwight Carter Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Dwight Carter is a nationally recognized school leader from Central OH and has been an educator for 27 years. He is currently the Director of Student Support Systems for the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools District. 

Here are just a few of his awards and accolades:

 

  • He was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Educator Hall of Fame. 

 

  • He was named a National Association of Secondary School Principals Digital Principal of the Year

 

  • He was an Academy of Arts and Science Education High School Principal of the Year

 

  • He was the 2015 Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators Principal of the Year

 

  • And he was a 2021 Columbus Afrocentric Early College Sankofa Emerging Leader Award winner. 

 

He is the co-author of three books: What’s In Your Space? Five Steps to Better School and Classroom Design (Corwin, 2015), Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How to Survive Hyper-change (Corwin 2017), and the second edition of Leading Schools in Disruptive Times (Corwin, 2021).

 

His newest book is Be Great: Five Principles to Improve School Culture from the Inside Out. 

 

FocusED Show Notes with Dwight Carter

Dwight starts with a simple definition of culture: the accepted behaviors within the organization.

Dwight runs us through the five competencies of school culture. 

  1. Be Grateful 
  2. Be Relational 
  3. Be Enthusiastic 
  4. Be Authentic 
  5. Be teachable 

Joe asks about simple steps that adults can take. Dwight responds with the first principle about gratitude.  

Dwight talks about “what we can control” and brings up the topic of hyper-change. We have total control over our attitudes and actions. 

Don’t miss what Dwight says about the difference between being a “doormat” and a “doorway.”

Dwight reminds us of a Todd Whitaker quote: “When the principal sneezes, everyone catches a cold.” 

What Dwight talks about in terms of “teachable” reminded us of our work in an effort to create learning cultures. 

Don’t miss what he says about the difference between “being judgemental” and “evaluating others.”

Dwight is calling for a shift from teaching to learning–moving from a focus on what teachers are doing to a focus on what students are doing. 

Another shift that Dwight wants to see has to do with assessment and grading. We couldn’t agree more. 

Dwight mentions the book, Because of a Teacher, Volumes One and Two. 

Dwight highlights the work of his superintendent, Kim Miller, and the book that she has her team reading, The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni.

Dwight wants more to be written about our fear of equity. He tells us that equity is not a zero-sum game. Everyone stands to gain.  

He reminds us of CAT–cope, adjust, and transform. 

Dwight Carter Quotes from FocusED

Be specific when showing gratitude. ~ Dwight Carter

The only two things we can control are our attitude and actions, which requires high levels of self-awareness and self-control. ~ Dwight Carter 

There’s a difference between reacting and responding. ~ Dwight Carter 

To be teachable means the willingness to learn. ~ Dwight Carter 

As an assistant principal, one of your most important jobs is to make your principal’s job easier. The best way to do that is to do your job well. ~ Dwight Carter

You can’t be out-happy, happy. It’s important to be happy in your role. ~ Dwight Carter 

We live in a gray world. There’s nuance to everything. ~ Dwight Carter 

Related School Leadership Content from TheSchoolHouse302

Douglas Reeves Joins Joe and T.J. on the Leading Better & Growing Faster Podcast

Steven Covey Joins Joe and T.J. for a Conversation about Trust

Passionate Leadership

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com, where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email. 

 FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.

Season 4, Episode 12 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Guest Douglas Reeves

Season 4, Episode 12 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Guest Douglas Reeves

by | Apr 17, 2023 | #FocusED, Action, Communication, Core Values, Culture, Daily Habits, Decision-Making, Education, Energy, Engagement, Excellence, Focus, Fulfillment, Goal Setting, Leadership, Learning to Lead, Listening, Mental Mapping, Motivation, Motivation & Retention, Organizational Leadership, Passion, Planning and Preparation, Positivity, Principal Leadership, Principals, Professional Dialogue, Relationships, Resilience, Results, Service Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Teamwork

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Leading Fearlessly with Dr. Douglas Reeves 

This is Season 4, Episode 12 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Dr. Douglas Reeves. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Dr. Reeves says about leading in fear and how to avoid it, changing old practices (like grading)…and so much more.

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Douglas Reeves Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Dr. Reeves is the author of more than 40 books and more than 100 articles on leadership and education. He has twice been named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors Series and was named the Brock International Laureate for his contributions to education. 

His career of work in professional learning led to the Contribution to the Field Award from the National Staff Development Council, now Learning Forward. Doug has worked in 50 states and more than 40 countries. His volunteer activities include FinishTheDissertation.org, providing free and non-commercial support for doctoral students, and The SNAFU Review, publishing the essays, poetry, stories, and artwork of disabled veterans. 

Doug lives in Boston. He Tweets @DouglasReeves, blogs at CreativeLeadership.net, and can be reached at 1.781.710.9633.

FocusED Show Notes with Dr. Douglas Reeves

We started with the concept of fear. Why so much fear in schools? Dr. Reeves makes it simple: if the only people talking are the ones who are volunteering or in charge, then we have a fear-filled environment. 

Joe highlights what Dr. Reeves says in the book about special education. Doug riffs on the fact that special education practices are just good teaching practices. 

One focus of the podcast was all about the need to take risks and not get things right the first time. 

T.J. asked Doug to talk about candor in schools and its importance of it. 

Joe mentions Atul Gawande’s video about feedback. Dr. Reeves follows up with the words of Howard Gardner and Richard Elmore and their sentiment about thinning–I used to think, and I don’t think anymore. 

You don’t want to miss what Doug says about “promises-made and promises-kept.” 

He talked about credibility and the strategies we can use to build our own credibility. 

What he says about decision-making and options is powerful. 

Doug mentioned Daniel Kahneman’s “sunk cost fallacy.” 

We asked Doug what would improve the student experience in every school, and he talked about grading and the use of the average. 

He calls for more non-fiction writing in all subjects. 

Doug mentions a book he read last week that he calls “the single best book on student discipline.” Changeable by Stuart Ablon

Joe asked about remembering facts and applying what you read, and Dr. Reeves promotes Zotero as a personal assistant of sorts.  

Doug gives some suggestions about how to use ChatGPT for secondary schools. The one we liked the best was to require ChatGPT as a first draft and then improve it through the revision process. 

Don’t miss what Dr. Reeves says about making a local impact with his work and measuring that.

Doug has a call to action for daily support for new teachers and the need for all of us to share as much as we can with each other about the difference that we all make as educators. 

Douglas Reeves Quotes from FocusED

When kids are afraid, they can’t learn. When adults are afraid, they can’t learn. ~ Dr. Douglas Reeves 

One of the biggest misunderstandings is that we build self-esteem with blanket affirmations. Not true. We need candor instead. ~ Dr. Douglas Reeves 

We have to quit doing what we’ve always done and expecting different results. ~ Dr. Douglas Reeves  

Related School Leadership Content from TheSchoolHouse302

Douglas Reeves Joins Joe and T.J. on the Leading Better & Growing Faster Podcast

Steven Covey Joins Joe and T.J. for a Conversation about Trust

Passionate Leadership

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email. 

 

FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.

Season 4, Episode 11 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Laurie Barron

Season 4, Episode 11 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Laurie Barron

by | Mar 28, 2023 | #FocusED, Action, Communication, Core Values, Culture, Daily Habits, Decision-Making, Education, Energy, Engagement, Excellence, Focus, Fulfillment, Goal Setting, Leadership, Learning to Lead, Listening, Mental Mapping, Motivation, Motivation & Retention, Organizational Leadership, Passion, Planning and Preparation, Positivity, Principal Leadership, Principals, Professional Dialogue, Relationships, Resilience, Results, Service Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Teamwork

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Strengthening School & District Communities with Laurie Barron

This is Season 4, Episode 11 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Laurie Barron. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Laurie says about strengthening school and district communities as a teacher and leader…and so much more.

 

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Laurie Barron Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Dr. Laurie Barron is in her twenty-seventh year in education, serving as a high school English teacher, a middle school assistant principal, and nine years as a middle school principal.  

Since 2013, she has served as the superintendent of the Evergreen School District in Kalispell, Montana. Barron holds a bachelors in English Education from the University of Georgia, a master’s in Supervision and Administration from the University of West Georgia, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Sarasota.  

The following are just some of her accolades:

  • National Superintendent Certification through AASA
  • National Board Certified Teacher
  • Teacher of the Year
  • STAR Teacher
  • Georgia Middle School Principal of the Year
  • National Middle School Principal of the Year 
  • School Administrators of Montana G.V. Erickson Award
  • Empowered Superintendent of the Year by the Montana Educational Technologists Association
  • Montana Superintendent of the Year

She has co-authored 3 books: 

Dr. Barron is a national speaker, consultant, and leadership coach, and she says she’s living the dream in northwest Montana with her husband Daniel, where together they enjoy spending time with family watching Georgia Bulldogs football, snow skiing, camping, rafting, hiking, and watching their daughter Emma play college soccer.

FocusED Show Notes with Laurie Barron

Laurie started out the conversation with the fact that the concept of instructional leadership may have confused us during NCLB into forgetting about the whole child. Her book brings that back to the center of the conversation with a sense of belonging. 

Joe asks Laurie to get granular about strategies for helping students understand and feel that they matter in school. Her response: Trusting relationships are the biggest key.

Laurie breaks down a timeline for engagement: 

  • Every classroom door, every morning. 
  • Every classroom was visited every week. 
  • Feedback to every teacher every month.
  • Twice a year check-ins with every direct report. 

Dr. Barron talked about earning the credibility to give teachers ideas that they’ll use. Part of it comes from visibility; the other part comes from our ability to have tough conversations.

Laurie talked about the level of accountability that comes from having crucial conversations. Timing is everything. 

Laurie talked about the myth that holding high standards will push people out. She says that we might need to “love harder” and “explain more.” 

The best advice that Laurie has for leaders is to develop a network. Wisdom from her mentor: Keep one foot in your job and one foot in your profession. 

Laurie recommends What Great Teachers Do Differently by Todd Whitaker 

Joe asks about books outside of education. Laurie mentions Mindset by Carol Dwek and Daniel’s Pink’s Drive. Must read!

Laurie Barron Quotes from FocusED

It’s really hard to engage and participate if you feel like you don’t matter. ~ Laurie Barron 

Honesty is kind. We need to give very clear feedback to teachers. ~ Laurie Barron 

How we work with people and our honesty with them are critical. ~ Laurie Barron

More School Culture Resources from TheSchoolHouse302

3 Ideas About Innovative School Culture

5 Ways to Show More Support to Create the School Culture that Teachers and Students Need

Retention for a Change

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email. 

 

FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.

Season 4, Episode 10 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Lorea Martinez

Season 4, Episode 10 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Lorea Martinez

by | Mar 27, 2023 | #FocusED, Action, Communication, Core Values, Culture, Daily Habits, Decision-Making, Education, Energy, Engagement, Excellence, Focus, Fulfillment, Goal Setting, Leadership, Learning to Lead, Listening, Mental Mapping, Motivation, Motivation & Retention, Organizational Leadership, Passion, Planning and Preparation, Positivity, Principal Leadership, Principals, Professional Dialogue, Relationships, Resilience, Results, Service Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Teamwork

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Social and Emotional Learning and Leading with Lorea Martinez

This is Season 4, Episode 10 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Lorea Martinez. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware, and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Lorea Martinez has to say about SEL in schools, including what leaders can do to support staff…and so much more.

 

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Lorea Martinez Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Dr. Lorea Martínez Pérez is the award-winning founder of HEART in Mind Consulting, a company dedicated to helping schools and organizations integrate Social Emotional Learning in their practices, products, and learning communities. She has worked with schools, districts, and organizations to guide SEL implementation efforts, including training teachers and leadership teams, and provided guidance to educational technology and media companies to help them integrate SEL into their products.

An educator who has worked with children and adults internationally, Dr. Martínez is a faculty member at Columbia University Teachers College, educating aspiring principals in Emotional Intelligence. She has conducted extensive research in the SEL field with a focus on SEL implementation, principals’ Emotional Intelligence, teacher preparation, and school climate. She frequently blogs about how to incorporate SEL in teaching practices, leadership, and parenting.

She received her Doctor of Philosophy, magna cum laude, in Quality and Innovation in Education from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. In 2014, she was awarded the American Education Research Association Graduate Student Award for Excellence in SEL Research from the SEL Special Interest Group.

Dr. Martínez started her career as a special education teacher and administrator. A native of Costa Brava in Spain, she currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.

Buy her book, Teaching with the HEART in Mind: A Complete Educator’s Guide to Social Emotional Learning.

FocusED Show Notes with Lorea Martinez

Don’t miss what Lorea says about teaching SEL: “We wouldn’t let reading teachers teach the skills of reading without knowing how to read well themselves.” 

 Lorea talks about the need to practice SEL in front of students. They don’t just learn because we teach them the skills. They learn because we show them. 

 This conversation doesn’t gloss over the incredible needs in schools today, both socially and academically. 

 Lorea talked about the system changes that need to be made for SEL to work. 

 Dr. Martinez talks about the fact that we’re teaching teachers how to teach students, but we’re ignoring the fact that we also need to help teachers to help themselves. 

 Don’t miss what she says about her HEART acronym. 

 We discuss the need for teachers and leaders to process their emotions so that they don’t come up against a wall when they’ve swallowed them for too long. 

 The E in HEART is “elect your responses,” which is about our behavioral patterns and making better choices than what we do on autopilot. 

 Lorea provides listeners with specific strategies to use. Don’t miss what she says about taking the weather report with popsicle sticks. 

 We discuss the need for leaders to have real conversations about how people feel. 

 We love the fact that she highlights the need for leaders to celebrate and praise the staff. We have to continue to find positive moments and bright spots. 

 Joe follows up to underscore the importance of praise, using our specific praise model, and the way we need to be very intentional about celebrations and individual accomplishments. 

 Lorea tells us about everyone’s tendencies to look at their low scores versus celebrating the strengths we have. 

 Dr. Martinez brings up Six Seconds as a place to go for materials and assessments for leaders who want to improve their emotional intelligence. 

 Lorea mentions two books: Cultivating Kindness: An Educator’s Guide (research about kindness in kids) and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You (a business book). 

 Joe brings up CASEL and the notion that all of this isn’t new…it just may be new to you! 

 Lorea wishes that someone would study more about adult SEL, specifically about organizational leadership and core values. How are the systems and routines we build embedded with emotional intelligence? 

 We invited Lorea to talk about the course that she created for teachers. Don’t miss what she says about how to use it.

Lorea Martinez Quotes from FocusED

We cannot teach what we don’t practice; the students are always watching. ~ Lorea Martinez 

Educators are great at having empathy for students, but they need to get better at having self-empathy. ~ Lorea Martinez

More Social and Emotional Resources from TheSchoolHouse302

Season 3, Episode 4 of FocusED with Lorea Martinez

Leading Better & Growing Faster w/ Joe & TJ: Thoughts about Supporting SEL in Schools

Our Interview with SEL Expert Thomas Hoerr

Season 3, Episode 2 of FocusED with Jeffrey Benson

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Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email. 

 

FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.

Season 4, Episode 9 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Lainie Rowell

Season 4, Episode 9 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Lainie Rowell

by | Feb 24, 2023 | #FocusED, Action, Communication, Core Values, Culture, Daily Habits, Decision-Making, Education, Energy, Engagement, Excellence, Focus, Fulfillment, Goal Setting, Leadership, Learning to Lead, Listening, Mental Mapping, Motivation, Motivation & Retention, Organizational Leadership, Passion, Planning and Preparation, Positivity, Principal Leadership, Principals, Professional Dialogue, Relationships, Resilience, Results, Service Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Teamwork

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Evolving with Gratitude with Lainie Rowell  

This is Season 4, Episode 9 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Lainie Rowell. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Lainie says about evolving with gratitude as a school leader, increasing baseline happiness, ways to practice gratitude…and so much more.

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Lainie Rowell Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Lainie Rowell is an educator and international consultant who specializes in working with other educators to find innovative and sustainable ways to transform teaching and learning. Her areas of focus include community building, learner-driven design, online/blended learning, and professional learning.

During her 25 years in education, Lainie has taught elementary, secondary, and higher education. She also served in a district-level leadership position supporting 22,000 students and 1,200 teachers at 33 schools.

As a consultant, Lainie’s client list ranges from Fortune 100 companies like Apple and Google to school districts and independent schools. Lainie is a TEDx Speaker with more than 15 years of experience presenting at regional, national, and international conferences, including Learning Forward, the Digital Learning Annual Conference (DLAC), Building Learning Communities (BLC), and the Leadership 3.0 Symposium.

Her work has been highlighted in many publications, including Edutopia, OC Family Magazine, ASCD K-12 Leadership SmartBrief, Getting Smart, and PBS NewsHour.

Since 2014, Lainie has been a consultant for the Orange County Department of Education’s Institute for Leadership Development, facilitating professional learning for administrators.

Learn more about Lainie at LainieRowell.com and see highlights of her work at Linktr.ee/LainieRowell. You can also subscribe to her newsletter at LainieRowell.com/subscribe.

FocusED Show Notes with Lainie Rowell 

Lainie talked about her first book launching right at the start of COVID and what she began to feel as a leader as she recognized the immense weight of the crisis. Everyone needs gratitude. 

Lainie talked about the science that backs the practice of gratitude. When we work on our ability to feel gratitude, we release “happiness chemicals” into our brains and bodies. 

Don’t miss what she says about increasing your baseline happiness. 

Joe brings up Todd Rose and equifinality. Don’t miss Lainie’s response to this. 

Her “how to” is inspiring because there are so many ways that people can practice gratitude. 

Listen to what she says about her career: I changed lanes without a turn signal.

Because of our work with feedback, we really connected to what she says about praise. We need to ensure that our ratios of praise to correction are balanced. 

Gratitude works best when it’s natural. 

With 20 examples from 18 contributors in the book, school leaders are bound to find the first, second, and third steps to creating a culture of gratitude. 

Lainie calls out Dwight Carter and Joshua Stamper for their examples from the book as well as the need to be authentic with our gratitude. 

If Lainie could improve anything in schools, she would work on the praise-to-correction ratio. 

Lainie talked about CASEL’s three signature practices. 

Laurie Santos, James Clear, Robert Emmons, and Katie Milkman are four people who Lainie follows outside of education. 

Big reveal at the end: Lainie’s next book! 

Lainie Rowell Quotes from FocusED

The best way to change someone else’s behavior is to change our behavior first. ~ Lainie Rowell 

Next time you’re working with someone who you want to change, consider what you’ve noticed that they do well first. ~ Lainie Rowell 

 

Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by The School House 302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email. 

 

FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.

 

Season 4, Episode 8 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Elizabeth Jorgensen

Season 4, Episode 8 of the FocusED School Leadership Podcast with Elizabeth Jorgensen

by | Feb 13, 2023 | #FocusED, Action, Communication, Core Values, Culture, Daily Habits, Decision-Making, Education, Energy, Engagement, Excellence, Focus, Fulfillment, Goal Setting, Leadership, Learning to Lead, Listening, Mental Mapping, Motivation, Motivation & Retention, Organizational Leadership, Passion, Planning and Preparation, Positivity, Principal Leadership, Principals, Professional Dialogue, Relationships, Resilience, Results, Service Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Teamwork

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Hacking Student Learning Habits with Elizabeth Jorgensen  

This is Season 4, Episode 8 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Elizabeth Jorgensen. It was originally recorded live for a studio audience in Delaware, provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Liz says about student learning habits, process-based assessments, writing for an audience, making connections outside of the classroom…and so much more.

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Elizabeth Jorgensen Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Elizabeth Jorgensen has been published in many popular journals, including the English Journal, Edutopia, Teachers & Writers Magazine, Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture (Harvard University), Brevity, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Writers Who Care, Ohio Journal of English Language Arts, Wisconsin English Journal, Skinny Poetry Journal, and Gyroscope Review, and more. 

Her book on process-based assessment, Hacking Student Learning Habits, was published by Times 10 Publications in 2022, and her most recent book was released in October 2022, Gwen Jorgensen: USA’s First Olympic Gold Medal Triathlete, which was written to help young people follow a dream and to focus on the process

She has presented for the National Council of Teachers of English, National Council for Social Studies, Wisconsin State Reading Association, Wisconsin Writers Association, East Asian Studies Center at Indiana University, The Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, and The Illinois Reading Council, among others.  

She is an award-winning writer and teacher and sought-after speaker. 

Just to name some of her accolades: 

She was named one of 20 of America’s Most Inspiring Educators with an award called The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator. 

She has been the Arrowhead Union High School Teacher of the Year, the Graduate of the Last Decade from Carroll University, the Lucille S. Pooley Award winner for Successful Techniques in Teaching Composition in the Schools of Wisconsin, the Jarvis E. Bush winner from the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English, and a recipient of the PBS Innovative Educator Award.

You can learn more on her website: lizjorgensen.weebly.com.

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FocusED Show Notes with Elizabeth Jorgensen  

Mark Barnes found her on Facebook and through her articles he felt like she had a book, which was the inception of Hacking Student Learning Habits. 

Don’t miss what Elizabeth says about authentic purpose, and writing for an audience. 

We need to find a purpose for the assignments outside of the grade. 

Elizabeth uses examples for authentic assessments from across the content areas. It’s all about the process and real-world ways that we connect students’ assignments to actual problems outside of the school. 

The audience has a lot to do with how authentic we can make the students’ work—who will see their work outside of the teacher and the grading system? 

It was really cool to hear Elizabeth talk about Sijo, a Korean form of poetry. The way she connected her love of learning poetry to her students’ interests is amazing. Check out her book about it, Sijo: Korea’s Poetry Form. 

Listen to Elizabeth talk about inspiring young people to set goals, including her story about there not being enough books about athletes for girls. 

You can’t miss what she says about the limitation of rubrics for process-based assessments. 

Elizabeth: One thing that administrators can do to support teaching, learning, and risk-taking is to connect like-minded teachers in the school around a particular topic. 

As always with our guests, Elizabeth mentions Twitter as a go-to place for learning. She also mentions using a thought partner, for her, it’s her mother, who is a former teacher. 

One focus that shines through in the podcast is the notion of relationships and making connections with people outside of the classroom, including parents and the local community. 

Joe highlights some of the things that Elizabeth is explaining on the show: risk-taking, making connections, asking questions, being vulnerable, etc. 

Listen to what she says about the present, and staying in the present…to show…and do our best. 

Elizabeth ends the conversation with advice to administrators to say “yes” whenever possible. Allow teachers to take risks whenever possible. 

 

Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email. 

 

FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.