In Episode 2 of What About This?, Melissa talks about her fourth and fifth-grade drama club's upcoming performance and a recent Thanksgiving play. Andrea recounts her experiences at the MassCUE Fall Conference at Gillette Stadium, highlighting keynote speakers and the positive feedback. They also discuss Andrea's role at MassCUE, including organizing events and an internship program. Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The progra...

Leah Crawford is an experienced educator and independent education consultant. She emphasizes the importance of engaging teaching methods, such as using dialogic exchange and mentor texts to enhance student comprehension and creativity. Leah also highlights the significance of teaching concepts over skills and the value of using literature to foster a rich understanding of storytelling and writing techniques. https://leahcrawford.com https://searchingforexcellence.co.uk Bob Cox’s site -...

Holly Britton, a handwriting instruction specialist, discusses the importance of early transcription skills in education. She highlights the decline in handwriting proficiency, especially during COVID-19, and the need for explicit instruction starting from kindergarten. Holly founded Squiggle Squad, designed to teach handwriting through a fun, research-based approach. Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personali...

Melissa Milner hosts the "Teacher as Podcast," now in its seventh season, with episodes released every other week. The podcast is sponsored by the Career Mentorship Program at Major Choice. AJ Cullen, a licensed independent clinical social worker and certified Animal Assisted Intervention specialist, discusses his podcast "Rising Voices" with co-host Danielle Terrell, which aims to connect young professionals with careers in autism and human services. AJ also shares his journey with Autism Ba...

Melissa talks with Mel Emerick about the music books that she has published and continues to publish. In her classroom, as well as in her books, she uses humor to engage students and teach all things related to music. Major Choice is a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and career exploration, aiming to help students find fulfilling careers. Educators and professionals are encouraged to become...

Melissa Milner and Andrea Calvin discuss their new podcast collaboration, highlighting their shared energy and brainstorming sessions. They share personal interests, such as Melissa's love for concerts and Andrea's passion for baking. Andrea mentions upcoming events, including the MassCUE Fall Conference at Gillette Stadium. Melissa talks about her after school drama club and podcasting with students. Their next episode will be in December. Major Choice is a career mentorship program for stud...

Melissa Milner hosts Ed Goyette, co-founder of Major Choice, a career mentorship program for students with and without disabilities. Major Choice is a sponsor of The Teacher As…Podcast. Ed shares the program's inception during the pandemic and its expansion to a national level. The program emphasizes personalized mentorship, self-exploration, and career exploration, aiming to help students find fulfilling careers. Educators and professionals are encouraged to become mentors or volunteers. Maj...

Melissa discusses the inspiration that came from a Metallica Master Class titled "Being a Band." Milner emphasizes the importance of collaboration, using Metallica's jam session rules: focus, listening, ego check, recording ideas, embracing mistakes, and being kind to beginners. She also references Metallica's keys to building a resilient team: not neglecting individuals, keeping cool, empathizing, being real, embracing strengths, checking egos, building up bandmates, and remembering common g...

Brad and Tricia, co-founders of Major Choice, discuss their mission to help young people, especially those on the autism spectrum, figure out their post-school paths. They highlighted their program which includes self-exploration, career exploration, and outreach. They emphasized the importance of live mentoring and skill-building.

Melissa chats with Caroline Starr Rose, a middle grade and picture book author, discusses her journey from teaching to writing. She shares her experience of writing "May B," a historical fiction verse novel, which took 12 years to publish. Rose emphasized the importance of persistence and the impact of positive teacher encouragement.

Melissa Milner talks with Erika Bare and Tiffany Burns who have collaborated on a book titled "Connecting Through Conversation: A Playbook for Talking with Students." Erica, a superintendent, and Tiffany, a university administrator, share their extensive experience in education and their mission to help students feel cared for and connected. They discuss practical strategies for building relationships, such as listening well, treating students with dignity, and fostering trust.

In this episode, Melissa shares the process of planning for her afterschool drama club. She talks about one main resource that she is pulling from, dramanotebook.com created by Janea Dahl.

Melissa talks to Dr. Aditya Nagrath, founder of Elephant Learning, who discusses his company's program, which has helped over 175,000 students learn a year's worth of math in three months with 30 minutes of weekly use. He emphasized the importance of teaching math as a language and gamification to reduce math anxiety.

Melissa discusses her experience with the WIDA course on developing language for learning in mathematics, which aligns well with her district's Illustrative Mathematics (IM) curriculum. She highlights the importance of math discourse and the role of teachers as guides rather than leaders.

This was the first of three episodes about podcasting with students that was originally published in July, 2021. I am teaching a workshop on this topic at the Reynolds TLC Center in Dedham, MA in May so it seemed like a good time to revisit it.

Lana Montero, a K-8 math coach with 12 years of experience, discusses her transition from the classroom to coaching, emphasizing the importance of feedback and collaboration. Lana emphasizes the role of coaching as a supportive, collaborative effort to help teachers improve.

Melissa chats with Janea Dahl, the creator of Drama Notebook, a resource for drama teachers with over 1,500 lesson plans, royalty-free scripts, and tutorial videos. Janea founded Drama Notebook to provide high-quality, flexible resources for drama teachers, who often work in isolation. The site aims to make drama accessible and affordable for educators. Janea emphasizes the importance of creativity, cooperation, and confidence-building in drama education.

Melissa chats with Cori Myka. Cori runs Calm Within Adult Swim, a swim school focused on helping adults overcome water fears. Corey emphasizes the 80% mental, 20% physical approach to learning to swim, using a program called Foundations of Change. She shares her journey from teaching kids to focusing on adults, driven by the need to address the emotional aspects of swimming. Cori discusses the importance of mindfulness, creating a sense of safety, and understanding the brain's responses. ...