Leadership Videos

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

In the YouTube video titled "4 must-ask questions to spark a love for learning in your school ," Tom Murray, Director of Innovation at Future Ready Schools, emphasizes the significance of fostering a genuine passion for learning among students. 

Tom advocates for an educational approach that prioritizes personalized and authentic learning experiences over rote memorization and repetition. He stresses the importance of grounding learning in real-world contexts and allowing students to explore their interests and skills.

Throughout the video, Tom showcases various innovative practices in education, including the development of vocational training programs, partnerships with local businesses, and the integration of cutting-edge technologies like ChatGPT to enhance learning experiences.

Tom underscores the critical role of school leaders in creating meaningful learning experiences by acknowledging the challenges educators face and empowering them to drive change from within. 

Additionally, he highlights the importance of empathy and understanding diverse perspectives in leadership, emphasizing the value of listening and considering differing viewpoints to foster inclusive and productive learning environments.

Overall, the video advocates for a departure from rigid and standardized educational models, promoting instead a shift towards personalized and relevant learning experiences that ignite students' lifelong passion for learning.

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

In this video from Toddle, Gavin McCormack recounts his personal journey from becoming a Montessori teacher to establishing an online school for thousands of students worldwide called Upschool. 

The Montessori approach emphasizes learner agency, freedom, and independence, allowing students to lead their lessons and teachers to act as guides. 

Gavin highlights the importance of student choice and engagement, using examples of students focusing on projects like planting a forest or reading. 

The prepared environment in Montessori education is significant, as classrooms are designed to foster tactile learning and encourage responsibility and empathy towards peers. 

Montessori education focuses on the Creative Process and child's agency, allowing students to explore their interests and make mistakes in a supportive environment. 

Listen to a remarkable example of a Montessori school in Delhi, India, where students took a project to plant a forest from the classroom to reality, demonstrating the Montessori approach's objective of not only teaching academically but also encouraging children to make a positive impact on the world. 

Additional Resource

Check out the Upschool website where you will find resources and courses for teachers and students are available online, free of charge.

The mission of Upschool is a deep desire to empower students to find their voice, refine and develop their message and teach them how to collaborate with each other so that they can create the change they want to see in the world.

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

As leaders, we often feel tension around assessment. How do we balance meeting external metrics and requirements while staying aligned to our schools’ values and beliefs about how students learn best? In this podcast, Trevor Mackenzie shares stories and strategies for keeping students and learning at the center of our assessment practices. The podcast focuses on your role as a leader to model and cultivate a culture of assessment.

** Related resources connected to the podcast

** Trevor's book she mentioned in the podcast: Inquiry Mindset Assessment Edition: Scaffolding a Partnership for Equity and Agency in Learning

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

In this episode, you will hear from Jon Bergmann, one of the founding fathers of Flipped Learning, who shares his expertise and insights on the best practices for school leaders looking to implement flipped learning in their schools. Jon provides an overview of the origins of flipped learning, its benefits for teachers and students, and some of his new experiments in the classroom. His approach makes flipping the classroom feel intuitive and doable, with practical answers to questions around differentiation and accessing higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Jon’s inspiring conversation will leave you excited and eager to try the Flipped model.

** Related resources connected to the podcast

** A list of Jonathans books

What You'll Learn:

• • Learn the origin of the flipped model of teaching and some big ‘ahas’ for making it work in schools

  • Get inspired to flip your faculty meetings with how-to’s and stories of other leaders’ success

  • Find out what you need to get the flip started in your school (hint: it’s not cameras and green screens)

  • Hear about Jon’s newest experiments with teaching and the “holy grail” for differentiation

Before, after, or during your listen, here are some questions to get you thinking:

• • What is worth doing in meetings with your team, and how might you make more time for it by flipping?

  • What does differentiation really look like in your school? Is it working?

  • How might you build the human capital in your school?

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

Kimberly Mitchell is passionate about helping students and teachers become the protagonists of their school experience. She believes in creating spaces where teachers and students feel capable, supported, challenged, and full of wonder and inspiration. Kimberly is focused on inquiry-based instructional practices and project-based learning. 

Kimberly is now obsessed with bringing philosophy into the classroom and schools, as well as using inquiry and philosophical thinking with high school students as they transition to post-secondary. She believes that philosophical questioning and ethical thinking are essential for understanding the future and the rapid changes taking place in our world. 

By taking more perspectives, slowing down, and expanding conversations, we can make more informed decisions and avoid reactionary responses. Kimberly recommends using case studies and conversational structures like Liberating Structures to open up more thoughtful dialogues in schools.

** Related resources connected to the podcast

**Kimberly's book she mentioned in the podcast: Experience Inquiry

Key Ideas

• Passion for helping students and teachers become the protagonists of their school experience

• Creating spaces where teachers and students feel capable, supported, challenged, and full of wonder and inspiration

• Focus on inquiry-based instructional practices and project-based learning

• Interest in bringing philosophy into the classroom and into schools

• Use of philosophical thinking and inquiry with high school students as they transition to post-secondary

• Importance of elevating ethical questions in discussions

• Need for breathing spaces for people to sit with change and gain understanding before solving or fixing

• Need to slow down and take more perspectives before reacting

• Use of case studies and conversational structures to encourage thoughtful dialogue and expand understanding

• Importance of setting norms for discussions and creating a culture of listening and respect.

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

Heidi Hayes Jacobs is an expert in curriculum design and has worked on various aspects of it throughout her career, including interdisciplinary work, vertical articulation, mapping, modernization, digital media, global lyricists, and learning environments. 

Curriculum mapping is the process of designing and making choices about the pathway of learning for students over time. It involves making choices about essential elements, content, proficiencies, evidence of learning, and assessments. 

Mapping is not just a noun but also a verb that involves a review process and continual updates. The projected curriculum is what is anticipated or desired to happen, while the operational curriculum is what actually happens in the classroom. 

Curriculum design has evolved from a coverage model to an uncoverage or discovery model. The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is an example of a curriculum that is inquiry-based and allows for teacher and student latitude while maintaining common values across schools worldwide.

** Related resources connected to the podcast

**Heidi's book she mentioned in the podcast: Streamlining the Curriculum

Key Ideas

• Curriculum should not stand still and should be revisited and updated.

• Curriculum is the projected pathway and the choices deal with elements such as content, proficiencies, skills, strategies, and assessments.

• Curriculum mapping is a review process that needs to be continually updated.

• Mapping is a verb and is about using the maps, not just having them.

• There was a lack of good information and weak articulation in curriculum design before mapping became popular.

• Curriculum design has shifted from a coverage model to an uncoverage or discovery model.

• The International Baccalaureate (IB) program has a unique view of curriculum that is inquiry-based and allows for latitude in thinking and teaching.

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

Douglas Reeves is a researcher and writer who has worked in high poverty schools for several decades. He is known for his work on the 1990-90 studies, which focused on schools with 90% poverty, 90% minority students, and 90% meeting or exceeding academic standards. Reeves has updated this research over the years and has been joined by other researchers. 

His research has found that successful schools with identical demographics to unsuccessful schools did more non-fiction writing, which helped with reading comprehension, mathematics, science, and social studies. Collaborative scoring is also necessary to ensure that teachers agree on what proficient student work looks like.

Successful schools have a laser-like focus on achievement and agree on the fundamental principles of accuracy and fairness in evaluating student work. Reeves emphasizes that writing is a key to reading comprehension and that it helps students engage in intellectual reasoning from an early age. 

Authentic writing environments, such as family histories and neighborhood newspapers, help students connect with one another. Reeves believes that measuring student achievement accurately and fairly is crucial and that standards are fair and accurate measures of assessment. He emphasizes that it is not about getting it right the first time but about meeting a standard of proficiency.

** Related resources connected to the podcast

Key Ideas

• Douglas Reeves' work focuses on high poverty schools, where he has been researching for several decades.

• Reeves' research is supported by other researchers, and he acknowledges their contributions.

• Successful schools with 90% poverty, high numbers of minority students, and the same resources as unsuccessful schools did more non-fiction writing, which helped with reading comprehension, mathematics, science, and social studies.

• Collaborative scoring is necessary to ensure that teachers agree on what proficient student work looks like.

• Successful schools have a laser-like focus on achievement and agree on the fundamental principles of accuracy and fairness in evaluating student work.

• Writing is a key to reading comprehension and helps students engage in intellectual reasoning from an early age.

• Authentic writing environments, such as family histories and neighborhood newspapers, help students connect with one another.

• Measuring student achievement accurately and fairly is crucial.

• Standards are fair and accurate measures of assessment.

• Meeting a standard of proficiency is more important than getting it right the first time.

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

In this conversation, the importance of child-centered learning and empowering teachers is emphasized. Allocating time for children's interests and choices is crucial in helping them find their path in life. 

The education system should create space for autonomy and meaningful decision-making, going beyond superficial gestures. 

Recognizing that children have valuable insights about themselves and their purpose in the world can shape the design of lessons and educational environments. 

Montessori education is discussed, highlighting the standardized environments and scripted lessons that focus on the child's agency, curiosity, and self-correction. 

The conversation also explores the idea of teacher leadership and entrepreneurship, with an emphasis on creating conditions that allow teachers to apply their independent ideas and educational philosophies. Cultural factors and standardization in education are identified as roadblocks to innovation. 

The book "Reinventing Organizations" is mentioned as an influential work that challenges traditional ideas about organizational design.

** Related resources connected to the podcast

** Matt's book he mentioned in the podcast: Reinventing Organizations

Key Ideas

• Time allocation for children's interests and choices is crucial for their personal growth.

• Autonomy and meaningful decision-making should be incorporated in education.

• Children possess valuable insights about themselves and their purpose.

• Education should be child-centered, starting from an early stage.

• Teachers should be empowered to apply their ideas and philosophies.

• Cultural factors and standardization hinder educational innovation.

• Montessori education emphasizes standardized environments and scripted lessons.

• Children's agency, curiosity, and self-correction should be prioritized.

• Collaboration among teachers, students, and families is essential.

This episode is from Toddle's "School Leadership Project"

Listen to this incredible conversation about Jo Boaler's groundbreaking research on what truly makes a difference in math education. Learn about how we can all become leaders in transforming math classrooms into places where all students can thrive. Jo also gives you an exclusive sneak peek into the research she's conducting for her exciting new book.

Discover how to unleash the potential in every student, because math is for everyone.

** Related resources connected to the podcast

** Jo's book she mentioned in the podcast: Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching (Mindset Mathematics)

What You'll Learn

• The importance of struggle and vulnerability for growth. Jo grounds her thinking in the newest research in neuroplasticity and our brains, which show that all learners (and leaders) have limitless capacity!

• How math is currently assessed and some promising alternatives aree discussed. Hint* collaboration plays a pivotal role. Dive into Jo's newest research on mental models, expertise, and the importance of metacognition.