Teachers on Fire

Bobby McCutcheon is the principal of Randall Elementary School in Independence, MO. He’s a husband, father, #GeniusHour advocate, travel junkie, Royals fan, and occasional political expert. After teaching for several years at the middle and high school levels, Bobby was offered the position of elementary principal and has never looked back. He points to a decision to transform his diet and fitness three years as a turning point in what has become an exciting journey of growth. Today, Bobby is passionate about building a positive culture at Randall and promoting creativity in his students through Genius Hour. You won’t want to miss his remarkable story about a struggling student who dove deep into learning about K-9 police dogs. His learning took him to places he’d never imagined, and he was able to share that journey with the entire school community. Follow Bobby McCutcheon @Fight4Mizzou and see what’s happening at Randall Elementary @RandallBears.

Dan Ryder is the co-author of Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom and is currently the Education Director of the Success & Innovation Center at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, ME. In our conversation, Dan shares about what ignites his passion for education today: seeing the philosophical focus shift from the acquisition of information to problem-solving, creativity, and design thinking. He challenges teachers to go beyond learning activities that build things just for the sake of building things (ie. “dumpster projects”), and reflects on a personal habit that creates learning and growth in every area of his life. Dan also describes the main message of his book and gives us some awesome recommendations for accounts to follow on Twitter, channels to subscribe to on YouTube, and more. Follow Dan Ryder and catch more of his inspiration on these platforms: TW: @WickedDecent IG: @WickedDecent Websites: DanRyder207.com and IntentiontheBook.online

Christopher J. Nesi teaches 9th grade history at New Brunswick High School in New Jersey and is a Professor of Communications at Rutgers University. He also hosts the House of EdTech and Podcast PD podcasts and operates the Education Podcast Network. In our conversation, Chris shares his passion to see educators and learners of all ages take up the endeavour of creative work: “You don't have to share it with the world ... but just create,” he says. He also shares a personal habit that contributes to his success, and gives us some awesome recommendations for accounts to follow on Twitter, the best maker channels to subscribe to on YouTube, books to read, and more. Find more of Chris’s content on these platforms: TW: @MrNesi, @HouseofEdTech, @PodcastPD, @EduPodNet Websites: ChrisNesi.com, HouseofEdTech.com, PodcastPD.com, edupodcastnetwork For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit https://teachersonfire.net/.

Danielle Peters is an elementary teacher at Westerman Elementary School in Surrey, BC, Canada. Recently completing her Master’s in Ed. Tech., Danielle is passionate about helping kids learn, create, and innovate using technology. In our conversation, Danielle talks about how team teaching allows her to better meet the social-emotional needs of her learners and learn from her colleague’s perspectives each day. She describes how her third graders are using green screens and stop motion to make stories come alive, and explains how she combines her loves of book reading and photography to produce beautiful book reviews. Finally, Danielle gives us some great recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, a YouTube channel to subscribe to, and more. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps, links, and contact information, please visit TeachersOnFire.net. Song Track Credits Intro: Relax (by Simon More) Outtro: Starley – Call on Me Remix (by DJ Zhorik)

Diana Williams is an elementary teacher at Bayridge Elementary School in Surrey, BC, Canada. She is also a speaker, a consultant for her district, a student of PBL, award winner, and constant innovator. In our conversation, Diana speaks candidly about the challenges teachers face during labor disruptions and shares some frank advice for up and coming teachers. She talks about some of the initiatives that really excite her about education today, describes an important personal habit that contributes to her success, and offers some awesome recommendations for books to read, Twitter personalities to follow, YouTube channels to subscribe to, and more. Follow Diana on Twitter @TeacherDiana1 and on her blog at teacherdiana.com. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net Song Track Credits Intro: Relax (by Simon More) Outtro: Starley – Call on Me Remix (by DJ Zhorik)

In this episode of the Teachers on Fire podcast, we speak with Brooke Moore. Brooke is the District Principal of Inquiry and Innovation in Delta, BC, Canada. She is also an instructor at Vancouver Island University and the editor-in-chief of UBC’s Transformative Educational Leadership Journal, located at http://teljournal.educ.ubc.ca/. In our conversation, Brooke describes the experience of working through stiff parent resistance while introducing progressive strategies around assessment in a West Vancouver high school. She shares about some exciting cross-curricular learning initiatives she's involved with and lists some of her biggest passions outside of education: parenting, writing, and storytelling. Brooke also gives us some great recommendations regarding books to read, a Twitter account to follow, and much more. Follow Brooke on Twitter @BMooreintheloop and her blog at http://teljournal.educ.ubc.ca/. Visit TeachersOnFire.net for more info on this episode!

In this episode of the Teachers on Fire podcast we speak with Lindsey Danhoff. Lindsey is a first grade teacher (soon to be third grade) at Evening Street Elementary School in Worthington, Ohio. Lindsey shares about the challenges and rewards of working to change school practices, and speaks to what really ignites her passion for education: a growing emphasis on creativity and innovation. She also tells us how Harvard’s Project Zero is changing her entire mindset, and describes a 5-minute personal habit that never fails to inspire. Finally, she offers some great recommendations for a book to read, a Twitter account to follow, a Youtube account to subscribe to, and more. Follow Lindsey on Twitter @LindseyDanhoff and at her blog at https://lindseydanhoff.wordpress.com/. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net Song Track Credits Intro: Relax (by Simon More) Outtro: Starley – Call on Me Remix (by DJ Zhorik)

In this episode of the Teachers on Fire podcast we speak with Gallit Zvi. Gallit is currently a principal intern in Surrey, BC, Canada, and a co-author of The Genius Hour Guidebook. Gallit describes how she overcame the challenges of transitioning into a new grade level earlier in her teaching career. She talks about the things that really ignite her passion in education today, including the magic of Genius Hour and how it supports the shift toward inquiry-based learning. Gallit also shares about an area of interest outside of education and gives us some great recommendations for Twitter personalities to follow, a book to read, a funny YouTube channel to subscribe to, and more. Follow Gallit on Twitter @Gallit_Z and check out her blog at GallitZvi.com. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net. Song Track Credits Intro: Relax (by Simon More) Outtro: Starley – Call on Me Remix (by DJ Zhorik)

In this episode of the Teachers on Fire podcast we speak with Lynn Thomas. Lynn is the department head of English and Library and Digital Lead Learner at Dunnville Secondary School in Dunnville, Ontario, Canada. In this conversation, Lynn shares candidly about a year of serious family health challenges, crediting the support of administrators that helped her work through this difficult time. She speaks with passion about the power of new technologies to facilitate collaborative learning across great distances, and describes how Project Kakuma is improving education in Kenya. Lynn also offers some solid recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, and more. Follow Lynn on Twitter @ThomLynn101 and check out her blog at https://wordsgrow.wordpress.com/. For more show notes on this episode, including timestamps and links, please visit TeachersOnFire.net. Song Track Credits Intro: Relax (by Simon More) Outtro: Starley – Call on Me Remix (by DJ Zhorik)

In this episode of the Teachers on Fire podcast we speak with Caterina Rylance. Caterina is a middle school languages teacher and ESL coordinator at St. Theresa Catholic Middle School in Sherwood Park, AB, Canada. Still in her second year of teaching, Caterina talks about how her writing at survivingteaching.org became a healthy outlet for her to reflect on the mix of frustrations and victories that come with becoming an educator. A Ukrainian folk dancer on the side, Caterina shares about the joy she finds in learning new languages and bringing the rich diversity of other cultures into her classroom. She also describes a personal habit that contributes to her success and gives us some great recommendations for books to read, Twitter accounts to follow, an edtech tool to use in the classroom, and more. Follow Caterina on Twitter @CaterinaRylance, on Instagram @Miss.Rylance, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SurvivingTeaching, and on her blog at survivingteaching.org.