Assessment has many negative emotions attached to it due to the history of the word, yet it has so much potential to cultivate the equitable learning communities we all dream of. Adelee Penner has experienced the school system in a wide range of roles, from teacher to leader, public to private, and system-wide to independent. In the episode, we discuss … Read More
The Learning Diamond
Though we are learning more about the importance of our relationships in schools and workplaces, which are the relationships that actually drive learning? In this solo episode, host Natalie Vardabasso explains how our relationships with a mentor, a champion, a coach, and ourselves create the optimal learning diamond. Show Notes: Defining the pinnacle of the learning diamond and guide for … Read More
Elevating Sex Ed in the Curricular Hierarchy (w Alex Noel)
We all have memories of Sex Ed that are filled with embarrassment and shame. How might we change our collective experience of this topic? What structural barriers create this problem? How might we reimagine Sex Ed as relationship education? Alex Noel worked for many years as a sexual health educator before stepping into his own classroom as a high school … Read More
What is the Literacy of our Lives? (w Brent Saccucci)
The 21st century demands an updated definition of literacy and an expansion of our understanding of what constitutes a “text.” For instance, how might we read and write our relationships? Our institutions? Our own thoughts? Brent Saccucci (he/they) is currently a senior school teacher at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School and PhD candidate in Literacy—focusing on social, emotional and critical literacies—at the University … Read More
Pointless Assessment Practices (w Sarah Zerwin)
For too long, the purpose of assessment has been to collect points for a gradebook. As a high school English teacher, Sarah Zerwin decided to uphold a better purpose for assessment: learning. On the episode, Sarah shares the many “point-less” assessment practices that teachers can use to shift their classroom from a culture of compliance, to a culture of authentic … Read More