Teachers on Fire

Andi McNair is a keynote speaker and trainer specializing in edtech, genius hour, and innovation in education. She is also the co-founder of #makeithappenEDU and the author of Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry. In this conversation, Andi describes the low moment in her classroom that changed it all for her - when she realized her learners were completely disengaged and she knew she needed to reimagine her practice. Thanks to some inspiring education leaders, she began a journey of passion-based learning and has never looked back. Andi also tells us why it’s a great time to be an educator and shares some great recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, and more. Check out Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2uR037B Follow Andi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mcnairan3 and on the web at http://www.andimcnair.com/. Visit TeachersOnFire.net for more info!

Joy Kirr is a 7th Grade ELA teacher in Elk Grove, Illinois. She writes at http://geniushour.blogspot.com/ and in 2017 published Shift This!: How to Implement Gradual Changes for MASSIVE Impact in Your Classroom. In this conversation, Joy takes us to a moment when a parent criticized her publicly with “Genius Hour is crazy - and all the parents think so!” She shares what she learned from that experience and how it has changed her communication going forward. Joy describes the main message of her book, Shift This, which puts the focus on student-directed learning opportunities. She also points us toward a Twitter account to follow, an edtech tool that she is enjoying, and more. Check out Shift This! on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2O4rsL8 Follow Joy online: TW: https://twitter.com/JoyKirr IG: https://www.instagram.com/joykirr1/ Web: http://geniushour.blogspot.com/ FOLLOW Teachers on Fire on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeachersOnFire VISIT https://teachersonfire.net/ for more info!

Sarah Johnson is an author, speaker, and consultant in the areas of instructional leadership and personal-professional balance. With experience as an English teacher and principal, she likes to laugh, sing, and makes a habit of running every day. She is a co-author of Balance Like a Pirate: Going Beyond Work-Life Balance to Ignite Passion and Thrive as an Educator. Her mission? Helping Educators Thrive at Work, Home, and Life. In this conversation, Sarah describes the main message and heart of her book, which describes her experience and the lessons she’s learned from living out of balance as a school principal. She talks about the personal passions and practices that support her self-care and growth today, and offers some great recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, and more. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahSaJohnson & @BalanceLAP, on Instagram @SarahSaJohnson, and on Voxer @sarahsajohnson.

Bryon Carpenter is a high school teacher at the Abbotsford Virtual School in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. As a trained scientist, passionate creator, and lifelong learner, Bryon serves in the spaces of library, math, science, and ADST (Applied Design and Skills Technologies). Bryon’s passion? Seeing teachers utilize new technologies to advance student learning and help them represent their learning in new and creative ways. Outside of education, Bryon is passionate about fishing and woodworking, and he credits daily journaling as a key to his personal and professional success. Bryon also points us toward a Twitter account to follow, a podcast to check out, a title to add to our book lists, and much more. Follow Bryon on Twitter @BryonCar, on Instagram @Bryon.Carpenter, and visit his blog at http://bryoncarpenter.com/. VISIT TeachersOnFire.net for more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links.

Jeff Bradbury has been recognized as an ASCD Emerging Leader, Google Certified Teacher and Trainer, and digital innovator. The founder of TeacherCast.net, Jeff has spoken at TEDx and other conferences, provides training and consulting for educators across the United States, and currently produces ten regular educational podcasts. Simply put, there aren’t many people in the world producing more resources for educators than Jeff. In this episode, Jeff talks podcasting, ISTE, funding models for content creators, the Twitter algorithm, how to build a PLN, learning management systems, personal branding, and more. When it comes to creating education content, Jeff advises, make it from a place of personal passion and you'll never get bored. Follow Jeff on Twitter @TeacherCast, visit TeacherCast.net to access all of Jeff’s podcasts and instructional resources, and subscribe to Jeff’s Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/TeacherCast.

Jeff Gargas is the COO/Co-founder of Progressive Mastery Learning and The Teach Better Team. Jeff works with teachers across the United States to help them improve their practice and “reach the unreachable student.” An entrepreneur at heart, Jeff shares about the challenges of hitting walls in the music industry and the educational training space. He shares how he redefined his mission, finding strength in gratitude and the knowledge that as long as he was doing the right thing for learners, the rest would follow. Today, Jeff loves nothing better than to see teachers learn, grow, and take risks to improve their practice. In our conversation, he points to an app that reliably corrects his mindset, recommends some great Twitter accounts to follow, and more. Follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffGargas & @TheGridMethod, and check out the great resources he offers teachers at TeachBetter.com, TeachBetterAcademy.com, and www.facebook.com/thegridmethod. For more info, visit TeachersOnFire.net.

Nicholas Amaral is the district staff development coordinator at the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District in Bergen County, NJ. Nick’s passion is education technology: helping teachers help students create and innovate in their classrooms. In our conversation, Nick shares about a point early in his teaching career when he faced deep discouragement and a lack of motivation. Rather than turn in the towel, he doubled down, reinvented his practice, and engaged his learners like never before. Today, Nick gets excited about blended, personalized, and mastery learning, and he describes the personal habit that energizes him outside of education. Don’t miss his recommendations in books, Twitter, edtech tools, and more! Follow Nick on Twitter @NAmaralEDU and check out his blog over at https://edtechforay.wordpress.com/. VISIT the Teachers on Fire Podcast official site for more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links: TeachersOnFire.net.

Soney Day is a 2nd grade teacher at Coy Miller Elementary School in Frisco, TX. As a teacher, mom, tech integrator, proud Texan, and Seesaw ambassador, Soney enjoys advocating for young learners and strives to have an innovator’s mindset. In our conversation, Soney shares about an emotionally draining challenge she faced in just her second year of teaching. Although it was nightmarish at the time, she calls it a learning experience today and mentors new teachers using some of the knowledge gained from that ordeal. Soney tells us why she’s such a big booster of social-emotional wellness for learners, and encourages teachers to pay more attention to education policy decisions and governance. She also offers some great recommendations for Twitter accounts to follow, books to read, and more. Follow Soney on Twitter @DaysMrs. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net.

Jordan Potrzeba is a 4th grade teacher at Walter Caldwell Elementary School in Auburndale, FL. Imagine being told by your principal in your first year of teaching that you were different and didn’t belong. After experiencing just that, Jordan moved from Nebraska to Florida, where he found a school community that welcomes his energy, ideas, and unique personality. In our conversation, Jordan shares about his passion to see teachers grow, share, be vulnerable, and take risks. He also describes how travel and music enrich his life, and offers some great recommendations around books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, a great YouTube channel to subscribe to, and more. Follow Jordan Potrzeba on Twitter and Instagram @JordanPotrzeba, and check out his reflections on education at https://bloggingjungle.blogspot.com/. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net.

Tonya Gilchrist is a language teacher and literacy coach at Tokyo International School in Tokyo, Japan. An experienced speaker and presenter, Tonya advocates for learner agency, the inquiry mindset, and joyful leaders. Tonya knew she wanted to become a teacher since she was in third grade, but the daunting pressure and prescriptive directions to teach to standardized tests threatened to make her quit the profession altogether. It was after Googling “What else can I do with a teaching degree?” that she discovered the incredible opportunities in overseas education, and the rest is history. Today, you can hear the passion in Tonya’s voice as she talks about the influences of growth mindset, inquiry-based learning, translanguaging, and the importance of self-care. Follow Tonya Gilchrist @Mrs_Gilchrist, check out life at the Tokyo International School @TISLearns, and read Tonya’s latest thoughts on literacy and education at TonyaGilchrist.com.