Send us a textIn today’s episode, I bring Morris Ervin Jr back on my show for a second time. In our first episode together, Morris shared his inspiring story —a journey of self-discovery, passion, and overcoming many obstacles in his life to be able to do the amazing work he now does. Morris is a talented speaker, mentor, healer, and deeply committed educator. If you didn’t get a chance to listen to my first episode with Morris, I highly encourage you to have a listen as it will help to better frame up our discussion today. You can find a link to the first episode in the show notes of today’s podcast. I asked Morris to come back on the show to share his knowledge and insight related to Non-Violent Communication. Non-Violent Communication is a unique and powerful process for inspiring compassionate connection and action. It provides a framework and set of skills to address a wide range of concerns, from the most intimate relationships to global political conflicts. The purpose of NVC is to help all involved to sharpen their awareness of language so that they can express what really matters to them and also hear what really matters to others. It involves empathic communication whereby we can attune ourselves to both our own and other people’s real needs.Morris has years of experience training in Non-Violent Communication and regularly applies it in his own life…. both personally and professionally. I asked Morris to share his experiences using non-violent communication to give us a glimpse into how it works and ways that it can be applied in our lives in difficult situations. Evidence shows that ‘being judgmental’ is the root cause of the majority of conflicts that occur in life. We’ve all been in a place where we have not only judged others but have been judged by others. NVC is about removing ‘judgement’ and genuinely tapping into our own authentic needs and the needs of others, especially when deep conflict occurs. The founder of NVC Marshall Rosenberg stated many years ago that NVC is really the LANGUAGE of LIFE and that the framework can make such a huge difference to peacefully resolving conflicts and issues that arise between people. About Morris: Morris H Ervin, Jr. is an educator, entertainer, motivational speaker, and Youth Development Professional committed to helping the youth, families, communities, and institutions “turn fear into strength, and pain into passion.” Morris is the founder of Mansa Consulting and he has provided assemblies, workshops, mentoring programs, and leadership camps/retreats to 1,000s of students in over a dozen school districts across the country. Morris believes that the ultimate measure of a man is seen through the eyes of his family. He has a beautiful wife, two teenage children, and two dogs. His ultimate, inspiration, motivation, and drive are fueled by his family’s love and unconditional support.Connect With Morris: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morris.ervin.1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealmansa/?hl=en Special thanks to Bronx based band Conversing with Oceans and Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/Previous Episode with Morris: https://www.buzzsprout.com/881980/4546919-the-power-of-authenticity-with-morris-ervin-jr

Send us a textToday’s episode is a special one as I had the opportunity to reconnect with an old teammate and friend from university. My guest, Warren Christie and I played football together at the University of Windsor in Canada many years ago.  Warren has a very unique story and is a great example of somebody willing to leap into the unknown to pursue a dream. You will learn all about his story in today’s episode. Warren has been a film actor for nearly 2 decades and has earned roles in several TV series over the years including October Road and The Village. He recently starred alongside Candace Cameron Bure in the movie ‘If I Only Had Christmas’ which was just released this past week in Canada and on Thanksgiving Day weekend in the US. As well, he has been in several other movies over the years. What I appreciate about this conversation with Warren is his willingness to speak honestly and openly about his journey and what he has come to learn about himself through the process of trying to improve and get better every day at developing his craft as a film actor. With the uncertainty of his profession and the fact that he will no doubt fail over and over again, Warren has displayed not only deep resilience but also tremendous gratitude for being able to do the work he does.  In this episode we dive into the weeds of what it means to be in the spotlight and what it takes to step up and perform at your best in high stakes environments. As well, Warren shares how he best prepares for his roles and the tools he must develop within himself to be able to bounce back from failure and to be in the present moment, as much as possible, when filming. It was so good to sit down and reconnect with Warren. Lots of great memories from our days together playing football, but more importantly, a great conversation about life, learning, passion, and resilience. About WarrenWarren Christie was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but spent most of his childhood in London, Ontario.  He left London for Windsor after being recruited to play college football.  It was during these years that Christie developed his love for performing and decided to pursue it as a career.  This decision led him to Vancouver, where his rugged good looks and keen acting ability quickly landed him desirable leading roles.In 2005, Christie landed a lead role on the series “October Road,” playing a cocky construction company owner.  Last year, Christie had the chance to stretch his performing abilities when he was cast as the star of the musical feature film “The Magical Flute Diaries,” based on one of Mozart’s operas.  Christie recently wrapped filming on ABC’s pilot “Prince of Motor City,” a gothic family drama in which he stars along side Aiden Quinn and Piper Perabo.Christie’s ability to embody diverse characters is evident in the variety of roles he takes on and masters.  He played opposite Heather Graham in the romantic comedy “Gray Matters,” and then switched gears with his next project, the psychological thriller “Beneath,” produced by the group that did “Napoleon Dynamite” in conjunction with MTV Films/Paramount Classics. Christie has also lent his talents to numerous television shows, including “Supernatural,” “The L Word,” “Battlestar Galactica” and the ABC series “The Days.”  Christie’s future plan is to pursue character-driven roles in Canadian and American film.Connect With WarrenTwitter: https://twitter.com/HWarrenChristieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewarrenchristie/?hl=enSpecial thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music. https://www.conversi

Send us a textIn this episode, Jorge Rodriguez, Aaron Beighle, Greg Dryer and myself dive deeply into a discussion about the role of feedback on professional growth and learning in the field of physical education. Using the Harvard Business Review article The Feedback Fallacy as a starting point for our discussion, we all share what resonated the most with us in regards to the article. This led nicely into a deeper discussion about the impact that feedback can have on teacher practice, the obstacles and barriers that stand in the way of giving and receiving quality feedback, and ultimately the role that Twitter can play in promoting professional growth and learning in our profession. Although we point out the very positive impact that Twitter can have on learning and growth, we also discuss how it can get in the way of professional growth as some educators can use it to only seek praise rather than seek the critical feedback needed to grow and learn. In sharing our thoughts about feedback, we don't claim to have the right answers but are more interested in opening about dialogue about these important themes in our profession. Connect With The TeamGreg Dryer: Twitter- https://twitter.com/Greg_Dryer & https://twitter.com/miMoveAppAaron Beighle: Twitter- https://twitter.com/AaronBeighleJorge Rodriguez: Twitter- https://twitter.com/PhysedNowAndy Vasily: Twitter- https://twitter.com/andyvasilySpecial thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn today’s episode, my good friend and colleague, Jorge Rodriguez, and I sit down to have a conversation about the role of feedback in regards to professional growth and how feedback can be used in a positive way to consistently reflect on our teacher practice in order to continually grow and learn. Not only do we share our own curiosities and wonderings around feedback, but also what we have come to learn about our own teacher and leadership practice through critical feedback from others. As both Jorge and I use Twitter as a platform to engage in dialogue about professional growth, we also dive deeply into a discussion about some concerns we have about the way Twitter is sometimes used by teachers in our field of physical education. We hope that any educator listening to this episode can critically reflect on how they use Twitter to not only share their own work and resources, but also the main purpose of why they are posting what they are posting. Jorge and I talk about big difference between seeking praise and seeking critical feedback. There is indeed a place for both, but what is most important to Jorge and I is that dialogue around professional growth, learning, and reflection can be done using Twitter, but it takes a clear and intentional focus and a willingness to be open to the views and perspectives of others. We hope that any educator listening to this can share their own thoughts on the themes and topics we discuss in order to keep the dialogue going. We are not claiming to be experts or that are views are right, instead we aim to keep dialogue open in regards to the role of feedback as it relates to professional growth and learning. Connect With Jorge: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhysedNowGlobal Physed Voxcast: https://www.globalphysed.net/Connect with Andy: Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyvasily

Send us a textIn this episode, Dr. Stephen Rollnick and I have a discussion about Motivational Interviewing which is a counseling approach he co-developed with Dr. William R. Miller. Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. Our conversation digs deeply into the roles of empathy and compassion with a specific focus on the skill of empathic listening.We also discuss the reasons why he developed Motivational interviewing based on his experiences as a clinical psychologist many years ago. He has taken his Motivational Interviewing to elite sports and now works with many top coaches and athletes helping them to unlock the internal resources within themselves to thrive and flourish in their sport. It was an honor to interview Stephen and I hope you find value in this discussion.About Stephen:Stephen Rollnick provides consultancy, mentorship and training on the subjects of motivation, change, teamwork and Motivational Interviewing. He an Honorary Distinguished Professor in the School of Medicine in Cardiff University, Wales, UK with a research record focused on good practice in efforts to promote change and behaviour change among patients, clients and the practitioners who serve them.Stephen is also a clinical psychologist with many years of experience in service provision and in the training of practitioners. This work, much of it on motivational interviewing (MI), has taken him into diverse cultures and settings. He has now retired to focus on training, writing and consultancy, in the fields of healthcare and sport.Stephen is a co-founder of Motivational Interviewing.  His work has included support to programmes for pregnant teens, children with HIV-AIDS in Africa and medication adherence in different areas.  He is a co-founder of PATA (Paediatric Aids Treatment for Africa) and the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), an international network for trainers.  He is the co-author of Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change(Miller and Rollnick, 1991; 2001 & 2012), Health Behaviour Change: A Guide for Practitioners (Rollnick, Mason & Butler, 1999) and Motivational Interviewing in Health Care (Rollnick, Miller & Butler, 2008), Motivational Interviewing in Schools (2016) and is completing a book on motivational interviewing for sports coaches.Individual consultation on a case by case base is available on request in a wide range of settings including education, sport and healthcare.Connect with Stephen:Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenrollnickWebsite: https://www.stephenrollnick.com/Special thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this episode, I feel very lucky to have had an in-depth discussion with Dr. Tony Chan, the current president of KAUST. Tony has had great achievements in leadership and academics, but remains a genuinely down-to-earth person who is very curious about the world and its people. In our discussion, we dive deeply into early days in Tony’s academic life, his trajectory into leadership, and his core belief that having a broad world view is essential, regardless of one’s chosen field of study or career. In this episode, Tony describes what he has learned from years of experience as a leader and what he hopes his legacy will be. It was a genuine honor to speak to Tony.Tony's BioDr. Tony F. Chan is the third president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He joined KAUST as president on September 1, 2018, after nearly a decade as president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Dr. Chan's professional field is computational mathematics, with interests including image processing and computer vision, physical circuit design and computational brain mapping. He has been one of the most cited mathematicians in the world and published over 200 refereed papers.Connect with KAUST and to learn more about Dr. Tony ChanWebsite: https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/study/faculty/tony-chanhttps://www.cse.ust.hk/admin/people/faculty/profile/tfchanSpecial thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this episode, Dr. Justen O'Connor and I dive deeply into a discussion about autonomy, differentiation, assessment and curriculum and some key ideas that teachers might consider when planning for the most meaningful learning experiences possible in physical education.  Justen's research work utilises systems thinking, social ecology and strengths-based approaches to explore curriculum and pedagogy associated with health, physical education, sport and lifetime physical activity. In our discussion, Justen shares his insight into the importance of physical educators differentiating learning experiences to meet the diverse needs of their students in PE and having an educative purpose behind all of the activities done in the the lessons and units taught. I always enjoy my chats with Justen and am happy to have been able to capture this one on my podcast. If you know a physical educator who might benefit from listening to this episode, please share. ThanksJusten's Bio: Justen has research experience that utilises systems thinking, social ecology and strengths-based approaches to explore curriculum and pedoagogy associated with health, physical education, sport and lifetime physical activity. He also has an interest in social justice within education and sports as well as informal forms of participation in movement. Justen’s research focuses on transforming existing community sport towards more inclusive practice and progressing alternative informal forms of participation in both community and education settings. His two significant research questions ask: 1) How can we reimagine policy and practice within community sport and physical education, so they open to a wider range of informal participation types, with global implications for health and inclusion? 2) How might we challenge sporting and physical education contexts to better recognise and reflect our diverse society?Connect With Justen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/justenoconnor Blog: http://healthphysicaleducation.blogspot.com/Special thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this episode, Greg Dryer and I have an in-depth discussion about relevance, autonomy, meaning and purpose in physical education. Greg is the Director of the Centre for Physical Education, Sport and Activity at Kingston University in the UK and has  devoted himself  to better understanding the role of physical activity and sport in young people's lives. He is the developer of the MiMove app which is currently being used by being used by over 130 schools across 20 countries to celebrate and support over 60,000 students' physical activity journeys. In our discussion today, Greg and I also dive deeply into  the role that data can play to help inform teacher practice and how the data can be used in multiple different ways to provide more information about the impact that physical activity and sport can have in a young person's life. Hope you find value in this chat. Thanks for listening.About GregGreg founded and is the Director of the Centre for Physical Education, Sport and Activity at Kingston University (CPESA) and Co-Founder of miMove. miMove is the world’s first app designed specifically for schools to help young people develop a physical activity habit.  He is a highly experienced physical educator and critical thinker who has been lucky enough to work with pre-schoolers through to post-grads. He led PE departments in 3 London Schools, before moving into HE. His work disrupts exclusive practices in PE /Sport and re-imagine them by applying the best of what we know to create more equitable and fulfilling experiences that will allow our profession to deliver more effectively on our universal goal; more young people finding a place for physical activity in their lives. He draws inspiration from a range of disciplines from psychology, critical theory, pedagogy and economics.  Connect with GregTwitter: https://twitter.com/Greg_DryerFor miMove visit http://mimoveapp.comEmail: greg@mimoveapp.com and g.dryer@sgul.kingston.ac.uk To read about the work that Greg and his team do at CPESA go to https://centreforphysicaleducationsportandactivity.wordpress.com/ where you can find a number of blogs and their Beyond the Square podcast as well as recordings of their weekly Friday conversations - Let’s Chat Phys Ed. Let’s Chat Phys Ed are open to anyone who wants to join the call. Simply subscribe to the CPESa newsletter to receive the weekly update and Zoom link. Special thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/ 

Send us a textIn this episode, I feel very grateful to have had a conversation with Dr. Richard Ryan, the co-developer of the Self-Determination Theory. Dr. Ryan's work has been instrumental in the field of human motivation over the last 4 decades. He has won 3 lifetime achievement awards in the profession and has dedicated himself to better understanding the conditions necessary for all humans to flourish. His team's work has been accessed and applied by many researchers/writers around the world, including Daniel Pink, best-selling author of-Drive: The Surprising Truth of What Motivates Us. It was a genuine honor to speak with Dr. Ryan in this episode and to share his amazing work.Dr. Ryan's Bio: Richard M. Ryan is an influential University of Rochester Professor Emeritus of Psychology. He is a clinical psychologist and co-developer of Self-Determination Theory, an internationally recognized leading theory of human motivation. He lectures frequently in the United States and aboard on the factors that promote motivation and healthy psychological and behavioral functioning (applied to such areas as work and organizations, education, health, sport and exercise, video games and virtual environments). Ryan is among the most cited researchers in psychology and social sciences today and the author of over 400 papers and books in the areas of human motivation and well-being, including his best-selling book, Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development and wellness (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Reflective of Ryan's influence internationally and across disciplines, he has been recognized as one of the eminent psychologists of the modern era[1],[2] and listed among the Top 20 most influential industrial-organizational psychologists[3]. He has also been honored with three lifetime achievement awards for his work on motivation, personal meaning, and self and identity.Connect with Richard: Website: https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/selfdeterminationtheory/Twitter: https://twitter.com/centerforSDTInstagram: https://www.linkedin.com/company/selfdeterminationtheory/Special thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/

Send us a textIn this episode, Miranda Rose and myself have an in-depth discussion about how her organization, The American School of Warsaw, prepared itself for a return to face-to-face teaching and learning during these times of uncertainty due to COVID-19. Miranda speaks, in detail, about her school's journey in opening up and the health protocols that are in place to ensure that all staff and students are kept as safe as possible during this unpredictable time. Miranda also shares the successes that took place during distance learning at her school and how all faculty had a hand in creating positive solutions to help move the organization forward in such stressful times. Miranda is a wonderful educator who is deeply committed to the profession. A special thanks to Miranda for being on the podcast and for sharing her insight with us all.  Miranda's BioMiranda is on an international journey, by choice, having lived in Thailand, UAE, Ghana, India, and now Poland and travelled to many incredible destinations in between. She continues to call Canada her home, but is presently the PYP Coordinator at the American School of Warsaw in Poland. She enjoys moonlighting as an IB PYP Consultant, Workshop Leader and Evaluation and Verification Team Leader. She paused her EdD studies at University of Western Ontario to focus on her family but will get back to that in due course. Inquiry-based learning is her passion. With that, She is proud to be a lifelong learner looking to work and play with others who value learning both personally and professionally. Connect With Miranda:Twitter: https://twitter.com/mlrose14Email: mrose@aswarsaw.orgSpecial thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/