The Teacher Collaborative Podcast

In Episode 1, Takeru Nagayoshi, a high school English and Research teacher in New Bedford and the 2020 MA Teacher of the Year, talks with Teacher Collaborative Founder and Executive Director Maria Fenwick about defining teacher leadership, being a state-recognized educator, and applying advice from spin class to teaching. Stay tuned until the end when TK asks Maria how the Teacher Collaborative supports teacher leadership, and how she transitioned from being a teacher to launching a non-profit.

Learn more about the Teacher Collaborative at theteachercollaborative.org. Or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @TheTeacherCoLab. 

This season, we're tackling what it means to be a teacher leader. How do educators recognize, cultivate, and share their expertise? Find out on May 4. 

Listen to educator mentors and hosts of “Real Talk, Real Time” Chandra Joseph-Lacet and Gorgette Green-Hodnett discuss what teachers are feeling and needing through the pandemic, along with special education teacher & mentor coordinator Alison Sheedy and second grade teacher Julia Haidar.

Teachers need to be supported now more than ever. Learn what that means to this diverse group of guests: What are they looking for? How are they supporting themselves and their colleagues? In the final episode of Season 3, we hope you can listen and reflect: What do you need? And how can you make sure you get it?

Chandra Joseph-Lacet is a New Teacher Developer with Boston Public Schools, and the CEO of CJ Education Consulting. You can find her on Instagram.

Gorgette Green-Hodnett is an Instructional Resource Teacher at General Smallwood Middle School in Maryland. You can find her on Instagram.

Alison Sheedy is a special education teacher and Mentor Program/Onboarding Coordinator for Atlantis Charter School in Fall River. 

Julia Haidar is a second-grade special education teacher at Atlantis Charter School. 

You can learn more about the Teacher Collaborative at theteachercollaborative.org and on social media @TheTeacherCoLab. 

Schools are unique because they engage so many different stakeholders and are often integral parts of the communities that they inhabit. In this episode, we talk to education organizers from Teach Western MA and the Cambridge Equity Collaborative about what it is like to really make a school an inclusive, culturally responsive space.

@TeachWesternMA on Twitter and Instagram

@CambridgeEquityCollaborative on Instagram

Irene Hill is a student in Cambridge, a member of the Cambridge Youth Council, and the Youth Coordinator for the Equity Collaborative. 

Emie Michaud Weinstock is the Equity Collaborative's Healing, Wellness, and Thriving Coordinator, and a core organizer of the Cambridge Families of Color Coalition (CFCC). You can find her on Twitter @Emie_MW. 

Matt Dunkel is an instructional coach at Vassal Lane Upper School, and the Equity Collaborative's Process Coordinator. He's on Twitter @MattDunkel.

Alicia Thomas is the Manager of Teacher Development for the Teach Western Mass Residency Program. 

You can find more about the Teacher Collaborative at theteachercollaborative.org and @TheTeacherCoLab on social media. 

In this bonus episode, Teacher Collaborative team members read educators’ submissions about what’s going well so far in the 2020-21 school year. 

What’s going well for you? What are you proud of? Our team would love to know and celebrate along with you. Tell us about it or shout out a colleague by submitting this quick form.

Our episode title may be a tongue twister, but the work of developing project-based learning doesn’t have to be. Listen now to tap into how project-based learning is fueled by a teacher’s passion, a community’s fervor, and, well, a few other key nuts and bolts (we can’t give it all away!). 

Supported by the Shah Family Foundation, Passion to Teach is a fellowship for Boston Public Schools teachers.

Want to learn more about our guests’ projects and other examples of project-based learning? Follow us on social media @theteachercolab!

Luisa Sparrow teaches special education at the Perry School in South Boston.  She first got involved with Community Based Instruction (CBI) through the BTU Inquiry Project, and has continued to develop CBI opportunities for her students through the Passion to Teach fellowship. Luisa worked in Texas, Costa Rica, Delaware, and Philadelphia prior to moving to Boston, and she has road tripped in every state except Alaska. Find her on LinkedIn and follow her on Instagram @luisiana1803.

Jason Wise teaches Theater Arts at the Haley Pilot School in Roslindale, where he creates original performance pieces and productions that allow students to explore the intersection of history and social justice through an artistic lens. A 16-year BPS veteran, he has also worked extensively with Facing History and Ourselves, Discovering Justice, and the Judge David S. Nelson Fellowship. 

Marvin Vilma is a facilitator with the Teacher Collaborative, primarily supporting teachers in the Passion To Teach program. Marvin was a classroom teacher at an independent school and continues to teach part-time at Milton Academy’s Saturday Course program where he pilots new curriculum on leadership and entrepreneurship. You can find him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. 

What does anti-racist teaching really look like? In Episode 2, teachers Masha Stine, of Lawrence Public Schools, and Stacey DeCotis, of Hanover Public Schools, share their personal anti-racist teaching journeys, lessons learned, and approaches to anti-racist pedagogy.

Are you on your own anti-racist journey? Check out Masha and Stacey’s activities and other teacher-created materials in the Art of Anti-Racisting Teaching Co-Lab.

Masha is a high school math teacher in Lawrence Public Schools. She has worked with groups such as Boston Public Schools Office of Equity, Boston Educators for Equity and DIY Coaching Boston to increase awareness and knowledge of implicit bias, anti-racist teaching, and culturally responsive teaching. Connect on LinkedIn to continue the conversation or follow her on Instagram @mashaklostine to follow her model ship building!

Stacey is a 5th grade ELA teacher in a middle school on the South Shore. She believes that “reading is an act of empathy” and all kids should see themselves in books. She is an avid reader of KidLit and believes inclusive literature can start anti-racist conversations in the classroom. Find her on Twitter @readinginthemg, on Instagram @readinginthemiddlegrades, and at www.readinginthemiddlegrades.com.

Questioning practices matters in every classroom and every subject area. In the first episode of Season 3, Rob Powers, Social Studies Coordinator for Plymouth Public Schools, and Jon Bassett, teacher and creator of The Four Question Method, discuss how the right questions can drive student engagement and increase inquiry in the classroom.

Connect with Rob Powers on Twitter @Rob_Powers and with Jon Bassett on 4QMTeaching.net!

Jon Bassett is a world history teacher at the Match Charter Public High School in Boston, and the co-creator of the Four Question Method for teaching history. He has been teaching for 30 years, and has taught all high school grades in both urban and suburban schools. Learn more about Jon and his work at 4QMTeaching.net and on Twitter @4qmTeaching.

Rob Powers is the K-12 Social Studies Coordinator for Plymouth Public Schools and has over a decade of classroom experience as a high school social studies teacher. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and is slowly chipping away at his doctorate at the University of Virginia, where he studies how social studies teachers develop their ability to deliver inquiry-based learning experiences. He's on Twitter @Rob_Powers.

Be on the lookout for Season Three of the Teacher Collaborative Podcast, coming December 8th. The Collaborative's Teacher-in-Residence, Randyl Wilkerson, will be in conversation with educators all over Massachusetts who are reinvigorating their profession amidst challenging times.

Learn more at theteachercollaborative.org.

Follow the Teacher Collaborative on Twitter and Instagram.

From Boston to Pittsfield, educators are returning to school after an unprecedented spring and summer. Hear what they're thinking as they begin teaching remotely, physically, or in hybrid. 

We're hard at work on Season Three of the Teacher Collaborative Podcast, coming out at the end of this semester. If you want to learn more about the show, or hear more from these amazing teachers, head to theteachercollaborative.org, or follow us on social media @TheTeacherCoLab. 

Remember, Massachusetts educators are #BetterTogetherinMA!