Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to connect Second Language Acquisition theories with practical classroom applications. The special agents assigned to help you with this task are Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins, authors of "Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom".

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Some SLA theories that refuse to die

2️⃣ Their favorite activities to use

3️⃣ The importance of both content and purpose

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s language teaching blog.

If you liked this episode you might want to check out:

• Ep. 18: Agent Rebecca Blouwolff (Teaching Language Authentically)
• Ep. 27: Agent Laurent Porosoff (Meaningful Curriculum)
• Ep. 72: Agent Julia Spiegelman (Challenging Language Textbooks)

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to debate which three characteristics are the ingredients for a great teacher. The special agents assigned to help you with this task are Nick Zaveri, Christopher Tudisco, Jack Scanlan, William Mealey & Aviva Levin.

Prior to Edupodlooza 2022, teachers on Twitter responded to the question of what top three traits they though made a great teacher, which led to some interesting and contradicting responses! Thus, this episode involves the five participants (me, Nick from the popular news communication podcast “Can We Please Talk?”, Tudisco and Mealey from the humorous interview podcast “Unprofessional Development”, and Jack from the satirical podcast “EduChaos”) reacting to that thread, with some in-depth discussions about cultural awareness, humor, content knowledge, vulnerability, boundaries, and the concept of love for students.

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog about teaching world languages.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to improve your teaching practice by being part of a Professional Learning Community, or PLC.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Chad Dumas.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ What is, and is not, a PLC?

2️⃣ How to start a PLC for the first time

3️⃣ How to improve an existing PLC with a focus on community

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about Chad and the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to use various planning and instructional strategies to support your neurodiverse students. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Drew Thompson, of Organized Minds.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣  Drew’s personal experiences as a neurodiverse learner and the supports he wished he had received

2️⃣  Scope creep, the dark side of graphic organizers, inductive versus deductive thinking, the value of chunking assignments, and making social interpretations clear

3️⃣  Why sometimes giving students a “wiggle and a snack”, no matter what age, can make a huge difference!

Click here for links mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s new language-learning blog.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate Project Based Learning into your teaching to support, among many amazing things, the Social-Emotional Development of your students. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Mike Kaechele.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Responding to school and community needs, such as reacting to an ICE raid, or helping farmers choose their next potato crops

2️⃣ Giving students agency and hope for the future, such as a Chemistry, English, US History project looking at poverty in America or returning the rapids to Grand Rapids

3️⃣ Making it work by providing structure, connecting to standards, learning from mistakes, adapting year-to-year, and having the students ask rather than the adults

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to welcome students with limited or interrupted formal education (aka. SLIFE) into your classroom. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Orly Klapholz, co-founder of “Inlier Learning” from Hollywood, Florida.

According to the UN, by the end of 2021 as many as half a million people will likely flee Afghanistan. After time spent in refugee camps, many families will resettle in North America and Europe, and I think it’s worth asking ourselves an important question:  would our schools, and would we, as teachers or administrators, be ready to provide Afghan students, or any other population with limited or interrupted schooling, with the best education possible?

In our conversation Orly and I discuss:

1️⃣ Defining SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) and the need for more data

2️⃣ SLIFE social, emotional, cultural, linguistic, and academic needs as well as the systematic issues that lead to a high drop-out rate

3️⃣ Providing age-appropriate appropriate and trauma informed resources

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider becoming an educational podcaster🧑🏽‍🏫💬. The special agents🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️  assigned to help you with this task are co-hosts Mealey and Tudisco of the Unprofessional Development Podcast.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Their origin story and how podcasting has enriched their teaching

2️⃣ Their division of labor and co-hosting dynamic

3️⃣ Their only rule: don’t get fired

… as well as Tudisco and Mealey going on many hilarious tangents

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to become more culturally competent🌏 by exploring research📙 on the varied educational📝 attitudes and experiences of Asian-American immigrants🔑. The special agent🕵🏽‍♂️assigned to help you with this task is Dr. Pawan Dhingra of Amherst College.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ What Pawan has learned through his research of how some Asian immigrant parents and their children view American school systems

2️⃣ How teachers can navigate relationships with parents when educational attitudes aren’t in sync (and how they may be more aligned than we realize)

3️⃣ Becoming a more culturally competent teacher and communicator

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙 Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is instill a love❤️ of books📚 in even the most reluctant😩reader. The special agent🕵🏻‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is middle school teacher Kari Pitstick of Illinois.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Strategies to help students develop a love of reading

2️⃣ Helping students find appropriate books (content and reading level)

3️⃣ Why she’ll never give up silent reading time

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to work with colleagues👩🏼‍🏫🧑🏽‍🏫  from different subject areas👩🏾‍🔬👨🏼‍🎨 to create interdisciplinary units 🔢📝🔬  for students. The special agent🕵️‍♂️  assigned to help you with this task is Steve Capone of Utah.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣  How Steve and his team create, plan, implement, teach, and then assess cross-curricular units

2️⃣  The importance of maintaining relationships when collaborating in a multi-disciplinary team

3️⃣  The ways that freeing himself from traditional educational structures have improved his practice

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to celebrate🎉 math🔢 in front of your students as a joyful😃, relevant🗺, and inclusive❤️ subject. The special agent🕵🏻‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is Shelby Strong of New Orleans, Louisiana.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ How “I’m not a math person” is rooted in historical inequities and self-protection

2️⃣ Why the narrative we’ve accepted about math being objective and based in rote memorization is completely false

3️⃣ The joy of disrupting how math is taught and perceived in schools

You can find the original Twitter thread here. Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Please consider rating or reviewing Lesson: Impossible on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or your preferred podcast platform.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to support neurodiverse learners👦🏽👩🏾‍🦱👱🏼‍♀️ by better understanding how their brains work 🧠. The special agent🕵️‍♂️ assigned to help you with this task is Michael Weingarth of Connecticut.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Why we need to assume all learners have undiagnosed learning differences and how our brains work when processing new information

2️⃣ The systematic issues that create a fundamentally flawed educational infrastructure for neurodiverse learners

3️⃣ What we need to be doing to help students succeed on the micro and macro level

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Please consider rating or reviewing Lesson: Impossible on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or your preferred podcast platform.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to personalize your professional development to the unique needs of your teaching practice. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Agent Darcy Bakkegard.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Teachers taking agency over their own professional development

2️⃣ Using the design process as a model for innovating your practice

3️⃣ Removing the barriers and hypocrisy of traditional PD

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

🎙 Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate virtual reality👾 into your classroom👨🏻‍🏫🧑🏽‍🏫 to enhance student learning🎓. The special agent🕵️‍♂️ assigned to help you with this task is Craig Frehlich of the Canadian International School in Singapore.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Why VR is a great choice for enriching the curriculum, and current programs that Craig recommends for classroom use

2️⃣ Staying CRISP: VR applications should connect to a concept and to real life, they should be integrative, linked to standards, and carefully planned

3️⃣ How to set up VR in the classroom for a safe, meaningful experience (and some future ethical concerns)

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to programs and books mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Please consider rating or reviewing Lesson: Impossible on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or your preferred podcast platform.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to help primary students👧🏻👦🏾🧒🏼 find success in a difficult time🦠 through engaging lessons💻 and responding to their needs🚑.  The special agent🕵🏻‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is Adrienne Barber of Milpitas, California☀️.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ Strategies for teaching young learners, incorporating physical activity while online, and some helpful apps

2️⃣ Creating strong connections with families and taking inspiration from her students

3️⃣ The exhaustion of putting on a Zoom ‘one-woman show’ and some silver linings to online learning

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

🎙Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to create observant👀 critical thinkers🧠and creative film-makers🎥 through a film studies🎬 program.  The special agent🕵️‍♂️ assigned to help you with this task is Shane Lawrence of Edmonton, Alberta.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ How students grow as critical viewers and thinkers over five years of film studies

2️⃣ Choosing the right films to show (and some horror stories of what happens when you don’t!)

3️⃣ Equipping (literally and figuratively) students to make their own films

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to films mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Often, the relationship between teachers and school leaders is framed as adversarial. However, your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to build strong🦾 relationships between administrators🧑🏾‍💻👨‍💻 and teachers👩🏼‍🏫🧑🏽‍🏫through empathy🧘🏽‍♂️, transparency🧊 and vulnerability👀.  The special agent🕵🏽‍♀️ assigned to help you with this task is high school teacher Lorraine Connell.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ Why mistakes need to be celebrated

2️⃣ The value of empathy, transparency, and vulnerability

3️⃣ Understanding expectations and modeling self-care

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to resources mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to lead through a global pandemic by adapting your routines, supporting your staff, and focusing on self-care.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Charles Williams, Principal of Plato Learning Academy in Chicago and host of the Counter Narrative Podcast.

In our conversation, Charles discusses:

1️⃣ Parent perspectives on the pandemic and how Covid has changed how he does his job

2️⃣ Extending grace to students, teachers, and himself during this time

3️⃣ His S.M.A.R.T. approach to leadership

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to create powerful and sustainable professional development for your colleagues. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Joyce Matthews.

In our conversation, Joyce discusses:

1️⃣ The differences between andragogy (teaching adults) and pedagogy (teaching children)

2️⃣ Why good professional development needs to be self-sustaining

3️⃣ How facilitation allows learners to find their own pathways to their professional development goals by focusing on skills and feedback

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Video Journalism Pro, an online mentoring program that allows students to develop, produce and distribute their own stories.  The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Clement Townsend, founder of Broadcasting Career Mentor.

In our conversation, Clement discusses:

1️⃣ Building a media program, and school brand, with technology students already have access to

2️⃣ The impact of having an expert with professional experience share his perspective and strategies

3️⃣ Learning important skills: speaking, writing, creativity, media literacy, research

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to face unexpected challenges with a positive mindset, transparency, and humor. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Merlyna Valentine of Louisiana.

In our conversation, Merlyna discusses:

1️⃣ Leading by building relationships, being transparent, exuding positive energy, and using humor

2️⃣ Being willing to talk about the elephant in the room, whether it is trauma, illness, physical limitations, or teacher burn-out

3️⃣ “Dancing back in” to new opportunities and never looking back!

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to use Trust-Based Observations to create relationships with teachers, celebrate their strengths, and encourage innovation. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is author and administrator Craig Randall.

In our conversation, Craig discusses:

1️⃣ How current evaluation models aren’t working and the evolution of the trust-based model to what it is today

2️⃣ Creating authentic, teacher-centered observations that build trust and celebrate strengths

3️⃣ Encouraging risk-taking, collaboration, empathy and a growth-mindset through observation and reflection

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to cultivate relationships, collegial collaboration, and a positive school culture in your role as school administrator.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Anthony Tyrkala, principal of ACES in Adventura, Florida

In our conversation, Anthony discusses:

1️⃣ How he defines his job as an administrator, building relationships with students and staff, the move from teaching to school leadership

2️⃣ Trying to stay positive, creating open communication and collaboration, dealing with behavioral issues

3️⃣ How the Army has shaped his perspective, advice for those considering a career change to administration, honoring a life-work balance

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to resources mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your mini-lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Gimkit, a game show for the classroom. The resource specialists assigned to help you with this task are Josh Feinsilber and Jeff Osborn.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣  The origins of Gimkit: Josh’s high school project!

2️⃣  The ways Gimkit Live differentiates itself from Kahoot or Quizlet 

3️⃣  How cooperative modes, less time stress, and repetition make for impactful learning

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to engage and motivate your students through improv.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is French and Social Studies teacher, as well as podcast mission coordinator, Aviva Levin.

This interview was originally recorded for The Compassionate Educators Show. This week Marie, host of Compassionate Educators, is doing something similar, as she’s airing Aviva’s interview of her as one of her own episodes.

In this episode, Marie and Aviva discuss:

1️⃣ Aviva’s journey to finding improv and creating a place for it in her French and Social Studies classes

2️⃣ How improv allows students to engage with the subject matter, self-differentiate, be their own representative resources, and practice a growth mindset

3️⃣ Being willing to hand over control to students’ imaginations

Click here for more details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to build, repair, and restore school relationships through restorative justice.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Laura Fittz, English teacher, Peace Team facilitator and PhD student from Nashville, Tennessee.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ Moving away from punitive practices and towards healing relationships between students, students and staff, and staff with each other

2️⃣ Letting students take the lead and getting families involved in the restorative process

3️⃣ Operating restoratively within an unrestorative system and starting the personal journey towards restorative practices

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to studies and resources mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to use comprehensible input when teaching languages, specifically the TPRS method.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Adriana Ramirez of British Columbia.

In this episode Adriana:

1️⃣ defines Comprehensible Input (CI) and explains how students are still learning grammar, just doing so intuitively

2️⃣ responds to a ton of misconceptions and critiques of CI and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling)

3️⃣ discusses students taking ownership of the stories, adapting for teaching during Covid-19, and finding inspiration in other teachers through social media

Click here for more details about our conversation, links to people mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore the perspective of an educator who researched and taught in rural schools.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Casey Jakubowski, of Watervliet, New York.

Click here for details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to examine the factors contributing to, and find strategies that teachers, administrators and districts can use to prevent, teacher attrition.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Jaime Bonato of Sacramento, California.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ The main factors that are leading to teachers leaving the profession (it’s not the money!)

2️⃣ How the traditional school system is set up so that the beginning years of teaching are often the most difficult

3️⃣ Strategies that districts, teacher prep programs, administrators, mentors, and colleagues can use to reduce the attrition rate

Click here for details about our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Classcraft, an app that fosters social emotional development and personalized learning through gaming principles. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Shawn Young, co-founder and CEO. 

Click here for a description of our conversation, links to the studies mentioned in the introduction, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to find ways to incorporate gamification and game-based learning into your teaching practice.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Batsheva Frankel of the Overthrowing Education podcast.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ The differences between ‘game-based learning’ and ‘gamification’ and examples of each

2️⃣ How game-based-learning and gamification can open students’ creativity and increase engagement and enthusiasm for a subject

3️⃣ Making changes to education when we see room for improvement and the value of Twitter and podcasts to see what’s possible

❗Then Batsheva gets a taste of her own medicine when she plays her podcast’s signature 5-minute game show… as a contestant!

Click here for a detailed description of our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: iCivics, a collection of online games and lesson plans to help students engage with American civics. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Carrie Ray-Hill, Senior Director of Digital Learning.

In this episode we discuss:

1️⃣ How iCivics defines civics, its civic education mission and maintaining political neutrality

2️⃣ Helping teachers prepare for the 2020 election with games, lessons, info-graphics, webquests,  and a Facebook group

3️⃣ The future of iCivics, including adapting materials to distance learning

Click here for a more detailed description of our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about Lesson: Impossible.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider the perspective of an educator who has experience with hybrid and at-home school models.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Dr. Scott Mauk, principal of Edmonds Heights K-12.

In this episode we discuss:

• What teachers should keep in mind about a hybrid model
• Some positives that families are reporting about pandemic learning and how to preserve them in a return to ‘normal’
• Working collaboratively and empathetically with parents

You can follow Scott on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebok or contact him through his website.

You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or explore other impossible lessons at www.lessonimpossible.com  

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to empower students through civics education, specifically programs like the Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship.  The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Amber Coleman-Mortley of Washington, D.C.

NOTE: Applications to become an Equity in Civics Youth Fellow are due on September 20 for the 2020-21 cohort

Click here for a detailed description of our conversation, links mentioned in the episode, and more information about the podcast.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore the possibilities of standards-based assessment to further student learning. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Tyler Rablin, of Washington State.

In our conversation we discuss:

1️⃣ His journey towards proficiency-based assessment, learning progressions, & grade conferencing

2️⃣ How to make the transition, & what to do with students who are already proficient

3️⃣ The bonus of no grading to 3am, fewer retakes, & allowing students to explore passions

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: FamilyBookForm, a digital template for students to collect stories from their family or larger community. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Carey Furze of Sydney, Australia.

Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: the Social Studies Network, a community of over 11,000 teachers who are sharing their lessons and supporting each other. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Agent Gabriel Valdez, from Fort Worth, Texas.

Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to make your (virtual or in-person) classroom a safe space for students as you embrace the principles of trauma-informed teaching. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Emily Santiago from the Center for Cognitive Diversity.

Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to engage and empower your students by going ‘gradeless’. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is sixth grade English and Social Studies teacher, Katelynn Giordano of Illinois.

Click here for links to resources mentioned and more information about this episode.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to reflect on all the wisdom shared in Lesson: Impossible’s second season. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is your host, and mission coordinator, Aviva Levin.

A transcript for this episode can be found here.

As many school years come to an end, so does Lesson: Impossible’s second season. I will be taking a break in July, and will be back in August with some episodes I’m really excited about, such as home-schooling partnerships, gradeless assessment, and trauma-informed teaching.

However, for our last episodes I wanted to reflect on some of the wisdom my special agents/guests have shared, and pull a quote from each interview that really impacted me, and hopefully you as well. This is Part II of a two-part set of bonus episodes.

Some updates for the summer from the guests of Part II:

• Agent Lauren Porosoff:  Lauren’s book, “Teach Meaningful: Tools to Design the Curriculum at Your Core”, was delayed because of the pandemic and instead was released on June 30. Also, she’s now part of a team called Re-Set School which is helping school communities tell the stories of their struggles and achievements, and bear witness to one another’s losses and gains, as a way of reaffirming the values that make them a community.
• Agent Shannon Anderson: Both of her growth mindset books are releasing in August: “Mindset Power: A Kid’s Guide to Growing Better Every Day” and “Y is for Yet: A Growth Mindset Alphabet”
• Agent Marie Kueny: Marie is doing a ‘summer enrichment’ series on her podcast ‘The Compassionate Educators Show’. I was honored to be the first guest in this series, talking about how to engage and motivate your students, regardless of academic or language abilities, in an incredibly fun way, through improv!

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to reflect on all the wisdom shared in Lesson: Impossible’s second season. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is your host, and mission coordinator, Aviva Levin.

As many school years come to an end, so does Lesson: Impossible’s second season. I will be taking a break in July, and will be back in August with some episodes I’m really excited about, such as home-schooling partnerships, gradeless assessment, and trauma-informed teaching.

However, for our last episodes I wanted to reflect on some of the wisdom my special agents/guests have shared, and pull a quote from each interview that really impacted me, and hopefully you as well. This is Part I of a two-part series of bonus episodes.

Some updates for the summer from the guests of Part I:

• Agent LaTezeon Humphrey Balentine: Her book, Fur Friends Forever, came out April 24th. She’s also currently gathering pantry items for 50 elders at her grandma’s church, which you can help with here.
• Agent Rita Wirtz: Rita is continuing her advocacy. Her latest blog post is “Challenging Times, Extraordinary Opportunities!”
• Agent Rebecca Blouwolff: Rebecca is leading some PD this summer: MaFLA Collaborative Classroom on target language use Week of July 13 (members only, register here), ACTFL Summer Learning Series on authentic resources with Leslie Grahn Week of July 6 (register here), and a live "spark talk" and a session at National Foreign Language Center's virtual summit July 21-23 (free, sign up here)
• Agent Kate Ames: Kate was featured on an Australasian series on online teaching. So if you want some more tips from her, check it out here.

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: #clearthelist, a global movement to help teachers buy supplies for their classrooms. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Courtney Jones, from Denver, Colorado.

In this episode we discuss:

• The origin of the #clearthelist and #supportateacher movement and now the Clear The List Foundation
• Why the movement is open to all teachers, regardless of their student population
• How ClearTheList also involves empowering teachers to advocate for funding for resources and raising awareness of the financial burden that teachers take on
• Piloting school stores for community members to donate to their locals schools
• How much teachers actually spend, and questioning the status quo
• How teachers can join the ClearTheList movement
• How any listeners can help ClearTheList by donating

Links:

• The Clear The List Foundation website
• ClearTheList School Stores and Wish Lists
• ClearTheList how-to guides and videos
• ClearTheList’s Twitter

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Hands-On Entrepreneurship for Kids, which provides guidance for students who want to turn their big ideas into businesses. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Patricia Clahar, from Greenwich, Connecticut.

In this episode Patricia and I discuss:

• Patricia’s path to starting Hands-On Entrepreneurship for Kids
• The benefits of students engaging in the process of starting a business, from practical skills, to SEL skills, to adding more dimensions to the teacher-student relationship
• One of her favorite recent projects: Books in Color*
• The various ways that students, teachers, and schools can work with Patricia
• How young entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks
• The various ways young people raise money to fund their businesses, including the Idea Tank for Kids competition
• How to get in contact with Patricia: her website, Instagram, Facebook

*If you’re interested in getting involved in this book club, please contact Patricia

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore how to increase engagement, lessen anxiety, and create real-world connections by teaching math through a Conceptual Based Instructional Model. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is JoAnna Castellano of New Brunswick, New Jersey.

A transcript is available for this episode.

In this episode we discuss:

• JoAnna’s path to teaching
• Her pedagogical perspective: student agency, productive struggle, teacher as facilitator, providing real-world context
• An example question using the Pythagorean theorem with Benjamin Watson’s tackle saving touchdown
• How to differentiate in the conceptual model
• Walking through a lesson from idea to assessment: ratio and proportions using Mayan ruins
• Her biggest success: lessening math anxiety; her biggest struggle: getting teachers to buy in initially
• How she has transferred this model online for distance learning
• Who to check out for math teaching inspiration
• JoAnna’s ideal curriculum: expanding on her work with NBPS’ Summer Bridge Program
• The value of movement and interaction (ex. Sara Vanderwerf’s ‘stand and talks’)

Links to check out:

• Article co-written by JoAnna: “Agency and voice: a push for greater equity and what it looks like in math”
• Dan Meyer (Twitter: @ddmeyer)
• Jo Boaler (Twitter: @joboaler)
• Graham Fletcher (Twitter: @gfletchy)
• Robert Kaplinsky (Twitter: @robertkaplinsky)
• Sara Vanderwerf (Twitter: @saravdwerf)
• Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburg
• Activities for students with math anxiety (no answer is incorrect if can be justified/explained): Which One Doesn’t Belong? 

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to be compassionate to yourself as you develop strategies for mental wellness. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is counselor, coach and podcaster Marie Kueny of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

A transcript is available for this episode

In this episode we discuss letting go of the perfectionist mindset, how we can Teach and Go Home, the Helper’s Risk Trifecta, the counselor’s role in supporting teachers, how to set up your teaching career for mental wellness, and having an identity outside the role of teacher.

Links:

• Marie’s Website
• Marie’s Facebook
• Marie’s Podcast

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Educalme, a school-based mindfulness app available in English and French. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Kailey Lefko, teacher and co-founder.

Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate computational thinking into all content areas. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Jorge Valenzuela, of Lifelong Learning Defined, in Virginia.

In this episode we discuss:

• Jorge’s path to becoming a teacher
• Four elements of computational thinking: decomposition, abstraction, pattern recognition, algorithm design
• Work shopping how I could apply computational thinking to French
• Jorge’s perspective on including STEM into all subjects
• His favorite unit or lesson
• How Jorge’s personal pedagogical philosophy has evolved over time
• Why he thinks PBL is the best PD teachers can do
• Jorge’s success in improving his writing and his advice on how to do the same: write about something you’re good at, find a mentor, put in the time
• His struggle with emotional intelligence
• How STEM is becoming more inclusive for students
• Jorge’s hatred of buzzwords
• His ideal school system

Find out more about Jorge:

• Jorge's bio
• Jorge's Blog
• Jorge’s Twitter
• Jorge’s Instagram
• Jorge’s Facebook

Resources mentioned:

• Jorge’s book Rev Up Robotics (You can read the chapter on Computational Thinking for free)
• International Society for Technology Education
• PBL Works
• Park Based Learning with James Fester
• Jorge’s inspiration: Andrew Miller
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradbury and Jean Greaves
• Christine Primomo on the gender divide in STEM
• The Every Student Succeeds Act

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: GooseChase, an app for creating scavenger hunts. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Rebecca Yaffa, Director of Customer Experience, from Toronto, Canada.

This is the third installment in the ‘Meet the Resources’ series, where I feature the educational equivalent of Gecko Gloves, Smart Contacts, or Flute Guns: technology that has been created to make your impossible lessons actually possible! A reminder that Lesson: Impossible receives no compensation for featuring resources, just the satisfaction of knowing that somewhere a student might be more engaged in their learning or a teacher might be able to leave work a little bit earlier.

In this episode, Aviva and Rebecca touch on a variety of topics including:

• Who uses GooseChase EDU? (Hint: It's not just teachers!)
• How GooseChase EDU makes scavenger hunts easy and automated for educators
• How organizers can get started by using missions from the The Game Library.
• How educators utilized GooseChase for Virtual Learning during the social isolation period.
• GooseChase EDU availability for school and district-wide plans.
• How GooseChase handles personal data created on the platform.
• How Rebecca got involved with GooseChase and working as part of a fully-remote team.
• How K-12 teachers can take advantage of complimentary upgrades to Educator Plus until September 1st.

Links:

• GooseChase’s website
• GooseChase’s blog
• GooseChase’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to help students enjoy writing as they discover how to improve their written work. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Shannon Anderson of Rensselaer, Indiana.

A transcript is available for this episode.

I’ve really enjoyed the last few weeks of episodes that were looking at some resources and grappling with some big philosophical questions about teaching: what is my teacher identity? How can I infuse meaning into my curriculum? Is there a way to prevent teacher burnout? However, today’s episode has us focusing again on something very concrete, but incredibly important: how can I teach writing? As I, and you, my wonderful listeners, will soon discover, it’s easily done at any grade, if you have the right mindset and strategies. Fortunately Shannon Anderson was willing to share some of her writing wisdom when we spoke at the end of April over zencastr.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why training students to become good writers is like training for a marathon.
• An example lesson for introducing narrative writing
• The biggest mistakes teachers make when teaching writing
• Four tips she gives students to become better writers
• Publishing student work and Budsies

 Links:

• Shannon’s Twitter
• Shannon’s Facebook
• Shannon’s YouTube
• Shannon’s LinkedIn
• Shannon’s Pintrest
• Shannon’s Instagram
• Shannon’s Website

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to put students’ own values at the center of their learning in order to make school meaningful beyond academic skills. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Lauren Porosoff of Scarsdale, New York.

 A transcript is available for this episode.

In this episode we discuss:

• Parents advocating for meaningfulness
• The three kinds of relevance: personal, practical, cultural
• Her favorite meaningful units: A Midsummer Night’s Dream & spoken word poetry
• Addressing three criticisms of making curriculum meaningful: kids need to learn that not everything is about them, there’s no time to get to know students, and young people don’t know what is meaningful to them yet
• What to do if a teacher wants to change their curriculum
• Feeling lonely or disempowered while innovating
• ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Her decision to no longer teach Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian
• How to get in touch with Lauren

Links:

• Lauren’s Twitter, Facebook and Website
• Book: Two-for-One Teaching: Connecting Instruction to Student Values
• Book: Empower Your Students: Tools to Inspire a Meaningful School Experience
• Article: “A Midsummer Night’s Gender Diversity”
• Article: “Why I’ll Never Teach This Powerful Book Again”
• For more about ACT: The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

If you want to find out more about what innovative educators are doing around the world, check out www.lessonimpossible.com. And if you like the podcast, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing or forwarding it to a colleague. You can also follow Lesson: Impossible on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.