The Art of Teaching

Melanie Macmillan and Danielle Porter: The Public Education Foundation, lessons from Harvard and the power of public education.

I have another very special episode for you today. 

Melanie Macmillan and Danielle Porter are both public school principals who were worthy recipients of a scholarship from The Public Education Foundation. The Public Education Foundation’s Harvard Club of Australia Education Scholarship enables three principals of Australian government primary or secondary schools to undertake a short professional program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The Public Education Foundation is an incredible not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing life-changing scholarships to leaders in public education and enhancing the value and reputation of public schools.

Melanie happens to be my boss and has impacted my career more than she will ever know. 

I hope that you enjoy this conversation with Melanie and Danielle. 

Here is the case study on Everest that we mentioned: https://hbr.org/2001/10/the-leadership-lessons-of-mount-everest

Stephanie McConnell: Assuming best intent, reimagining leadership and how to create a village with low floors, wide walls and high ceilings.

Today, I have the pleasure of sharing the second part of a conversation with the amazing Stephanie McConnell, the founding  Principal of Lindfield Learning Village. She is the founder of Lindfield Learning Village. In this second part of our conversation, we deeply explored curriculum mapping, professional learning and leadership development. 

We talked about why we should always assume best intent, why we must reimagine leadership and how to create a village with low floors, wide walls and high ceilings. 

I am in awe of her kindness, generosity and openness. 

I hope you get as much out of this discussion as I did.

Here is the first conversation that I had with her: 

Stephanie McConnell: Lindfield Learning Village, changing educational landscapes and why we must question everything. 

Dr Simon Breakespear: The Pruning Principle, energy flows, and how to make your highest contribution.

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a recent conversation with Dr Simon Breakespear. Simon is a passionate educator and has always been so generous with his time. His work Teaching Sprints which is a professional development process that supports overloaded educators to enhance their expertise, has been transformative to me and so many others. In this conversation we talked about some of his recent research into the ‘pruning principle’ and how we can implement systems and processes to make time for what matters most. 

I hope you enjoy this conversation with the incredible Dr Simon Breakespear.

 

Dr Paul Kidson: Delusions of grandeur, understanding the human condition and caring for ourselves so that we can care for those entrusted to us.

Today, I have the great pleasure of sharing a recent conversation with the amazing Dr Paul Kidson.  Paul Kidson is the NSW Branch President of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) He is also a Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership at the Australian Catholic University. His teaching and research explores how school leaders work within and critically transform their professional lives. In this fascinating conversation, we talked about Delusions of grandeur, understanding the human condition and caring for ourselves so that we can care for those entrusted to us.

 

Matt Pitman: Middle Leadership, creating a culture of continuous improvement and building connected school communities

This next conversation is with Matt Pitman. Matt is a Middle School Manager and a doctoral student researching connections across school communities. This was a fascinating conversation in which we talked about leadership, knowing when to quit and how to build meaningful, authentic school communities.

Moments with Professor Jo Boaler: Her favourite mathematics lesson.

Today’s snippet comes from a recent interview that I did with the incredible  Professor Jo Boaler from Stanford University. We covered a lot of ground in our discussion, including parenting, pioneering in a male-dominated discipline, developing mathematical mindsets and how to embrace failure. The link to the full episode is below. In this brief conversation, we discussed one of the best maths lessons she has ever seen. It’s a brilliant idea. Enjoy.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/professor-jo-boaler-developing-mindsets-embracing-failure/id1552506400?i=1000630363973

Mitchell Hemphill: Finding your purpose, learning to listen and developing a cohesive school community.

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Mitchell Hemphill - the proud principal of EE Oliver Elementary in Canada. One of the goals of this podcast is to share the stories and lessons from unsung educational heroes across the globe - Mitchell is one of those unsung heroes. He was a wonderful guest and openly shared the privilege and challenges of building a strong school community. In this discussion, we discussed finding your purpose, learning to listen and developing a cohesive school community. It was a privilege to talk with Mitchell.

Gary Stager, Ph.D: The transformative power of jazz, unpacking the art of teaching and life-changing lessons from Seymour Papert.

In addition to being a popular keynote speaker at some of the world’s most prestigious education conferences, Gary Stager is a journalist, teacher educator, consultant, professor, software developer, publisher, and school administrator. An elementary teacher by training, he has taught students from preschool through doctoral studies. In 1990, Dr. Stager led professional development in the world’s first laptop schools and played a significant role in the early days of online education. Gary is the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute for educators.

 

Professor Jo Boaler: Developing mindsets, embracing failure and mathematics as a way of ’seeing’ the world in front of us.

Today, I have a very special episode for you. Professor Jo Boaler. Her work has been published in the New York Times, TIME magazine, The Telegraph, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal and many other news outlets. She is currently co-leading YouCubed and was named one of the eight educators “changing the face of education” by the BBC. We covered a lot of ground in our discussion, including parenting, pioneering in a male-dominated discipline, developing mathematical mindsets and how to embrace failure. I was honoured to have a conversation, and I hope it was as transformative for you as it was for me.

Links to her resources can be found below:

Stanford Profile: https://joboaler.people.stanford.edu/

YouCubed: https://www.youcubed.org/

YouCubed Professional Development: https://www.youcubed.org/professional-development-at-stanford/

Teaching Videos: https://www.youcubed.org/resource/teaching-videos/

 

 

 

 

Diana Pastora Carson: Lessons from Joaquin, presuming competence and how to advocate for all students.

Up next is a recent conversation with the wonderful Diana Pastora Carson. I get to talk to some amazing individuals, but this discussion was quite special. Diana is a podcaster, TED speaker, educator, sister, and disability advocate. Her story of her amazing brother Joaquin and his bravery will bring you to tears.

This conversation was one that profoundly impacted me and changed me.

Beyond Disability Awareness: An Educator's Guide: https://www.dianapastoracarson.com/general-9

Beyond Awareness Course: https://www.gobeyondawareness.com/course