Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud

How do coaches assist teachers in reframing stress from something to be managed to a catalyst for growth and improvement? How can understanding the roles of commitment, control, and challenge build teachers' hardiness? Highly experienced coaches, Lana Cecil and Angela Buckingham, share the application of Stein's and Bartone's work in Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals to the work of instructional leaders and coaches. Contact Angela: angela.buckingham@esc13.txed.net Contact Lana: lana.cecil@esc13.txed.net Find the Coaching Strategies and Coaching Questions for Hardiness here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  

What happens when a school system makes four promises as their mission: joy, connection, growth, and success and consider joy as the lead to the others happening? "If we want people to be present, engaged, and thriving, joy can't be an afterthought. It must be a priority." (George Philhower, Superintendent Eastern Hancock Schools in Indiana) Hear about their summer Joy Jam conference for educators. Visit the Eastern Hancock Schools website here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

“Coachability is not just teachability. It's not just a willingness to learn. It's a willingness to unlearn and change. Coachability is a moral capacity that allows a person to accept feedback, acknowledge faults, limitations, and deficiencies, and to act on that new information.” (Timothy Clark) As instructional coaches and school leaders, we can play a big role in shaping culture of coachability. We do it through the way we listen, the questions we ask, and the tone we set when offering feedback.  Find Timothy Clark's article, "Are You Coachable?" here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  

Barbara Smith, the editor of Urgent Care for Schools: Situating Responsibility as an Engaging Way for Students to Transform School Cultures, explores providing meaningful, memorable, and fulfilling learning experiences by situating responsibilities with learners. From her experiences in public, independent, charter, and international schools, Barbara explores expanding the student identity to include that of becoming service providers, injustice responders, action researchers, designers, apprentices and teachers. Visit the ZPD website and connect with Barbara here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

How can coaches' use of radical listening generate teachers' reflection and increase a sense of teachers' empowerment? Examine some of the obstacles to and strategies for radical listening from the work of Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener and Christian Van Nieuwerburgh authors of Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection. As coaches, when we resist the urge to jump in with comparisons, advice, or quick fixes—and instead, lean into radical listening—we communicate trust, respect, and belief in the teacher's capacity. Listen to the Podcast, "Mastering Coaching and Leadership | Robert Biswas-Diener | Craig Dowden, PhD" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  

From her career as a teacher and school leader in public, independent, and international schools and having opened three new schools, Barbara Smith proposes the importance of situating responsibility with students and teachers.  She describes why change is urgent and needs to be transformative. Just as teachers need to be facilitators of student responsibility to create their learning, school leaders need to be facilitators of teachers' responsibility. Time and space for teacher collaboration and learning is a key. Connect with Barbara & visit the ZPD website here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

What skills do coaches practice to communicate being fully present in coaching conversations? How do those conversations support a growth-oriented environment where teachers feel valued, heard, and empowered to take ownership of their professional learning? Consider your use of questions and paraphrases in coaching. Find "The Leader's Guide to Coaching in Schools: Creating Conditions for Effective Learning, by John Campbell and Christian Van Nieuwerburgh here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Rory Courlander, IFC Certified Coach, high school administrator, and experience learning and teaching coach, explores building a coaching culture from no coaching to an embedded collaborative coaching culture. He and Steve discuss coaching skills and coachability. Find Rory's Coaching Culture Continuum and connect with him on LinkedIn here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

How do instructional coaches and instruction leaders support teachers in maximizing students' high performance? How should we be preparing teachers to identify possible indicators of high talent and to create opportunities for talent and giftedness to flourish? Steve Arnold, the Head of Gifted and Talented at GEMS Education explores these questions and identifies the importance of adaptive teaching verses siloed differentiation. What should teachers know about the neuroscience of learning? Email Steve: steve.arnold@gemseducation.com Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Listening is a crucial skill for students to develop for school and life success, yet we rarely purposefully approach a plan for students to learn the skills. Christine Miles, the creator of The Listening Path highlights the why and how for teachers to provide students the tools and practice to develop their listening capabilities. Consider the impact of a listing culture on classroom dynamics and student engagement. Visit The Listening Path website here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Time spent in PLCs should produce increased student learning. Listen in on thoughts from several experienced school leaders who have interacted with Steve and shared indicators that suggest  your PLCs are on the right track or might need modifications to increase their impact on student learning. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

How can a focus on teacher agency, strategic planning, and professional growth transform a school into a thriving ecosystem where leaders, teachers, parents, and students create dynamic, inclusive, and purpose-driven learning communities? School leader and the author of The Co-Constructed School, Ann Lautrette, shares her experiences, research, and case studies that demonstrate the processes and rewards of building a community of empowered collaborators. [podbean resource="episode=x7r3a-17fb31b" type="audio-rectangle" height="200" skin="1" btn-skin="104" auto="0" share="1" fonts="Helvetica" download="1" rtl="0"] Listen to the previous podcast "Guiding Teachers to Build Co-constructed Classrooms" here. Connect with Ann and find her books and blogs here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

What role do teachers play in generating opportunities for the key elements of high performance: deliberate practice, motivation/inspiration, and master coaching?  Steve Arnold, the Head of Gifted and Talented at GEMS Education illustrates teachers' roles. He identifies the impact of the "required curriculum" and teachers' options like the use of disruptive questions. Contact Steve Arnold: steve.arnold@gemseducation.com Visit the GEMS Education website here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

"I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that's how you grow. When there's that moment of ‘Wow, I'm not really sure I can do this,' and you push through those moments, that's when you have a breakthrough.” (Marissa Mayer) How do administrators, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders foster such a mindset? Research on psychological safety underscores the importance of creating an environment where individuals feel secure enough to take risks, make mistakes, and reflect without fear of judgment or blame. In education, this principle is vital for fostering teacher growth and innovation. Instructional coaches can play a pivotal role in establishing this safety by encouraging teachers to experiment with new practices and reframing missteps as valuable learning opportunities. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

For young children, curiosity and questions abound. Adults are often interested in learning connected to their lives, jobs, and hobbies. Somehow though in between those times the joy of learning may be lost as curiosity is replaced with isolation. Dr. Jennifer Gallagher, superintendent of Long Beach School District, NY, explores how to focus on nurturing more joy in learning in our schools. What is the necessary core knowledge for students and how quickly is it changing? How do we bring relevance to required curricula? What should we be exploring and creating as post-secondary options? Email Jennifer: jgallagher@lbeach.org Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

The author of "Purposeful Educator Connections," Marcela Andrés, explores strategies to deepen relationships with students, stay connected to your educator purpose, and improve classroom culture. She provides 5 Key Principles that empower teachers to build trust, inspire learning, and transform classroom environments. Find Marcela's book, "Purposeful Educator Connection" here. Visit the designEDegagement website here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Christine Miles, the author of, "What's it Costing You to Not Listen," shares insights on how as coaches and school leaders we need to move beyond active listening. Listening to understand is critical in building relationships and trust with those we coach. Christine identifies how our listening and questions assist a coachee in telling their story which increases our understanding. Connect with Christine and visit her website here. Find Christine's book, "What Is It Costing You Not to Listen: The Power of Understanding to Connect, Influence, Solve & Sell" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

"Managers who coach their employees report that they grow personally by becoming more vulnerable, self-aware, and empathetic. They learn to trust their employees, solicit feedback to improve their management, and in doing so improve job satisfaction and joy in their work." Dr. Nina Morel, Executive Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at Lipscomb University explores how leaders grow from coaching. She illustrates the necessary mindset and skills for effective coaching. Visit & Connect with Dr. Morel on her website.   Read "Six principles of Leadership Coaching" (Center for Creative Leadership) here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  

"The field of education has more research than ever before, yet teachers do not have the time to filter through that research to determine which strategies have the greatest impact,” - Sherry St. Claire. That thought initiated St. Claire's work featured in Intentional Instructional Moves: Strategic Steps to Accelerate Student Learning. She sifted through the research to uncover the most impactful classroom strategies and broke them into intentional steps so teachers can move efficiently from theory to practice. She and Steve explore three of many areas addressed in the book: classroom management, differentiation, and assessment. Visit Sherry's website here.   Email Sherry: Sherry@reflecttolearn.com Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  

Deciding if or when to make a suggestion to a teacher during coaching conferences is a question that as coaches we continually ponder. I consider it a question to be answered during the coaching conference. The key is TIMING. Is the teacher ready (interested in) considering a suggestion. How can a coach read timing and increase the likelihood of the right timing? Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Josh Ecker and Erin Cummings, from the Ed Tech and Learning Design Team at Chester County Intermediate Unit in Pennsylvania, explore AI's current and future potential for the personalization of students pathways to success. They explore ways that school leaders and instructional coaches support teachers' AI learning through PD, modeling, and policy.  Student AI Literacy is all discussed. Visit Chester County's AI Support site here. Email Josh Ecker: joshe@cciu.org Email Erin Cummings: erinc@cciu.org Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Marcela Andres, the CEO of designEDegagement and author of a post titled, "Moving Beyond Compliance: Building Relationships in Education," joined the podcast to share her experiences and recommendations for building connections with students. "Educators need to see students as individuals with unique backgrounds, dreams, and potential- despite challenges they may be facing. When we know students that way they can amaze us by starting to take charge of their own education.” Marcela explores her work generating relationships within the school, with parents, and among the greater school community. Visit the designEDegagement website here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Sherry St. Clair, the author of Intentional Instructional Moves: Strategic Steps to Accelerate Student Learning, shares her work identifying the research behind instructional strategies with the potential to elevate student learning and save teachers time. Sherry breaks the strategies into intentional steps so teachers can move efficiently from theory to practice. Instructional coaches and school leaders will find her work helpful in supporting the educators that you coach. Visit Sherry's website here.   Email Sherry: Sherry@reflecttolearn.com Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

In what ways can AI be a teacher's assistant? How do you keep a "human touch" in the AI assessment process? How can AI empower students as they request assessment feedback? Josh Ecker and Erin Cummings from the Ed Tech and Learning Design Team at Chester County Intermediate Unit in Pennsylvania examine these and additional questions with Steve. Visit Chester County's AI Support site here. Email Josh Ecker: joshe@cciu.org Email Erin Cummings: erinc@cciu.org Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Both principals and teacher leaders lead from the middle, feeling pressure and demands from a system level and a classroom and community level. Dr. Katie Pekel, the director of Educational Leadership at the University of Minnesota, joins Steve to explore instructional leadership. They examine the need for administrators to guide the evaluation, supervision, mentoring and coaching of teachers. The role of instructional coaches and their work with school leaders is discussed. Read the article, Rochester Public Schools Aims to Remake Principals From Managers Into ‘Head Teachers' here.                    Email Dr. Katie Pekel: kpekel@umn.edu Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

How do teachers shift the focus from passive learning to active exploration, challenging students to think critically, solve complex problems, and apply their knowledge in authentic contexts. Experienced educator and CEO of WhyMaker, Liz Gallo, explores promoting deeper understanding by immersing students in meaningful tasks that mirror the challenges they'll face outside the classroom, ultimately leading to stronger academic outcomes and skill development. Project based and career ready strategies are explored. Visit the WhyMaker website here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

The author of Deconstructing Depth of Knowledge: A Method and Model for Deeper Teaching and Learning, Erik Francis, joins Steve to examine what teaching and learning for depth of knowledge (DOK) looks like. Francis describes ways to support staff with ways to use DOK for differentiating based on the demands of standards and building upon the strengths and successes of students. Visit the Maverik Education site here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Liz Gallo, the CEO of WhyMaker, joins the podcast to explore the planning, delivery, and follow up of effective professional learning. Often, the knowing doing gap is caused by insufficient support for teachers as they experience the learning dip during the implementation of new instructional practices. Visit the WhyMaker website here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Dr. Maggie Broderick who serves as a faculty lead for Social Emotional Learning at National University converses with Steve around the need to develop schools where staff and students build emotional well-being and develop interpersonal skills. What teacher dispositions are crucial? What roles do instructional coaches and leaders play in creating learning environments that are equitable, inclusive and emphasize student social-emotional well-being? Email Dr. Maggie Broderick: mbroderick@ncu.edu Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

"Phrasing and posing a good question can be just as complex and difficult as the process of answering. It involves critical, creative, and reflective thinking from both students and educators."(Erik Francis) As the author of Inquiring Minds Want to Learn: Posing GoodQuestions to Promote StudentInquiry, Francis explores strategies for how questions can set the stage for student engagement and learning. He shares the power of the questioning stems, "How do you_________? How can you _________? And How could you__________?" Visit the Maverik Education site here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Whether you are exploring the value (return on investment) of instructional coaching from the school board, central office, school principal or teacher perspective, an increase in student success must be central . Steve shares insights from his experiences with each of these perspectives with Kim Coffino on the @coachbetter podcast. Listen to the entire CoachBetter podcast here.     Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

While teaching in a team has always had benefits, today it is a requirement. The complexity of desired outcomes we are looking to produce can no longer be accomplished with the skills and resources of an individual. Almost all other industries and professions have recognized how employees and customers are best served by teams while schools have continued placing individual teachers in classrooms with sole responsibility for student success. Consider why instructional coaches and school leaders should be working to build and support teaching teams. Watch "Teaching in Teams (What Schools Could Be)" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

What do students need their teacher to know and be able to do to address social and emotional learning? Dr. Maggie Broderick, the faculty lead for Social Emotional Learning at National University explores this question and others with Steve. She explores the issue that “where a teacher lives and works”, impacts the approach to social emotional teaching. What's possible in a school that doesn't have SEL curriculum or resources? Email Dr. Maggie Broderick: mbroderick@ncu.edu Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!    

Two authors of Learning by Doing (Fourth Edition), Mike Mattos and Anthony Muhammad, discuss the powerful impact of PLCs. They define a PLC as an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. The discussion explores shifts in the fundamental purpose of PLCs, the use of assessment, responses when students don't learn, teachers' work, focus, school culture, and professional development. It offers an insightful dialogue. Contact Anthony: newfrontier21@comcast.net Contact Mike: mikemattos@me.com Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

While teams naturally build cohesion and effectiveness over time, it is possible to accelerate the team-building process. Research suggests that deliberate interventions, such as setting clear goals, establishing trust, and providing structured opportunities for collaboration, can help teams move through the stages  of team process faster and reach the “performing” stage more quickly. Consider intentional strategies that focus on establishing trust, clarity, and alignment early on, to speed up the development of high-functioning teams.   Watch Patrick Lencioni's video here.   Find Mitchel Resnick's "Projects, Peers, Passion, Play" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  

Listen in on a conversation as a school leader shares his experiences working with colleagues to continually increase teacher learning for student learning though professional growth plans. The process continually developed from year to year as insights were gained, and hypotheses were formed and implemented. Follow up with James Penstone on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Understanding the desired outcome of a meeting is key to teachers knowing the participatory behaviors that are most productive. Everything being called a PLC interferes with participants being able to focus on the educator learning in true PLCs that leads to increased student success. In professional learning communities, purposeful teacher learning around how to increase student achievement is the focus. Teachers are collaboratively asking, "What do the students need us to learn?" Listen to the podcast on PLCs with Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey here.  Find Chris Jensen's guest blog, "Teaming and Workflow" here.   Read the Finland Study, "PLC Characteristics" here.  Read Zachary Herrmann's article, "Cooperate or Collaborate" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Classrooms with less monologue and more dialogue are key to increasing student thinking and student learning. Peter Liljedahl recommends teachers using a strategy that publicly, randomly groups students. The students visually seeing the groups form is an important element.  When having these random groups work at easy erase vertical boards, engagement and thinking increases. Students seeing each other's work and the teacher seeing and hearing student thinking around the room all add opportunities for increased engagement in problem solving. Mindshift: How to Get Kids Thinking Instead of Mimicking in Math Class Find Laura Wheeler's blog here and read her article here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Steve Ventura, co-author of "Achievement Teams: How a Better Approach to PLCs Can Improve Student Outcomes and Teacher Efficacy," identifies Achievement Teams as a structured, collaborative model that helps educators improve teaching practices and student outcomes through data-driven decision-making.  Collective Teacher Efficacy supports that working together can have a greater impact on student achievement than working individually. The role of instructional coaches and principals in support of Achievement Teams is also explored. Visit Steve's website here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

If teachers in PLCs are to function as teams, taking shared responsibility for student success, vulnerability is critical. A teacher needs to place his students' work and his instructional practices on display for colleagues to share in structuring a plan to increase student success.  Teaching needs to be a public act for the trust of teams to be developed. Peer coaching among PLC members can provide the opportunity for vulnerability and trust building to occur. Read "Can You have Trust Without Being Vulnerable?" here. Read "The Connection Between Vulnerability and Trust in Teams" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Teaming and sharing workflow allow teachers to leverage each other's strengths, reduce redundancy, and build a supportive community, all of which contribute to lower stress levels. Teaming can increase a sense autonomy by providing teachers with a collaborative environment that supports shared decision-making, allows for flexibility in implementation, and fosters professional growth. Find Dr. Chris Jensen's book, "Triage Your School: A Physician's Guide to Preventing Burnout" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Whether you are an instructional coach, administrator, or teacher leader planning and supporting the growth of colleagues or designing your own personal improvement plan consider how to maintain momentum and push through the learning dips with implementation intentions, connections to beliefs and values, and a network of colleagues who provide reminders Visit John Cambell's website & find his book, "3 Ways to Help Sustain Commitment Towards Goals" here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

How do instructional coaches address the mentoring concerns and needs of new teachers? Joellen Killion, senior advisor to LearningForward and international consultant to educational leaders addressing professional learning for student success, joins Steve to explore the mentoring elements of instructional coaching. They examine how instructional coaches and administrators can plan for novice teachers' transitions from learning the “ways of the school through mentoring” to seeking “personal growth for increased student success” through coaching. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Teacher messages are foundational to building strong, positive relationships with students. These relationships are critical for creating an environment where students feel supported, motivated, and capable of achieving success. When students trust and feel connected to their teachers, they are more likely to engage deeply in their learning, take academic risks, and ultimately achieve success. Read Moments of Genuine Connection (MGCs) – DSJR Student Motivation Guide from Dave Stuart here.  Watch Dave's video, "What are Moments of Genuine Connection?" here.  Read Daniel Yeager's "Wise Critiques Help Students Succeed" here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Dr. Kim Richardson describes that change is inevitable and manageable. As coaches and school leaders we need to be competent in guiding ourselves and others during change. Kim describes the need for emotional intelligence and resilient leadership. Knowing people are unpredictable requires coaches to observe and communicate. Change is a process not an event. Contact Kim https://drkimleadership.com/ Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

The term "web of causality" refers to a conceptual framework used to understand the interconnected and complex relationships among various factors that contribute to a particular outcome. The term "web" emphasizes that causes tend not to be linear or singular but are instead interwoven. How do coaches encourage multi-valent thinking that acknowledges the complexity of situations, considering multiple perspectives and factors rather than bivalent thinking that simplifies issues into two opposing categories, which can be efficient but may miss important nuances? Read "3 Ways to More 'Aha Moments in Coaching" here. Check out The Cabrera Lab Podcast with Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera from Cornell University here.  

"While teachers use interventions to allow students to catch up with their learning results and use differentiation to make sure that learning tasks are appropriate, when it comes to behavior we often default to consistency as a panacea." -(Dave Whitaker) Consistency is built when students sense the teacher's usual, expected teacher behavior. Flexibility emerges when the teacher changes from that approach in response to a situation or individual student's needs. Explore verbal structures teachers can use across a continuum of giving, sharing, or keeping the decision-making voice in a classroom. Read "Consistency – or maybe a bit of flexible consistency?" by Dave Whitaker here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  

St. Cloud School Superintendent, Laurie Putnam and director of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment, Donna Roper, share their experience hosting an AI Summit that included about 200 local and national educators, business leaders, community partners and state legislators. They considered how we should respond to make our education systems relevant to the workforce and future needs and how a cross-section of stakeholders together can improve education policy. Read the article on the Summit here.  Connect with Laurie and Donna here.   Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Former classroom teacher, school administrator, and district-level leader, Angie Freese, works with educators as a facilitator, coach, practitioner, and mentor. She empowers educators' efforts to interrupt antiquated and ineffective practices that only work for some to generate sustainable growth and performance for all. Angie is the founder of the Meant for More Collaborative, an organizational network committed to rejuvenating school systems by igniting creativity, inspiring hope, and investing in the power of human connection. Being a "meant for more leader" requires being grounded in the ideas of authenticity, bravery, and dignity. Find Angie's book, "Meant for More" here.  Email Angie: angie@meantformorementum.com   Find Angie on LinkedIn.  Find Angie on Instagram.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

As the start of a new school year approaches, it's a great time for teachers to consider how their approach to classroom management not only impacts their classroom environment for content learning but also what students learn from being part of that classroom management plan. Questions to consider as you reflect on your classroom plan are included. "Every move we make in classroom management is a lesson. Kids are watching us and they're learning.” -Dr. Carla Shalaby Watch Dr. Shalaby's Presentation here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Zak Cohen, a highly experienced school leader with a strong belief in "leading by example," shares his process for collecting feedback from teachers regarding his leadership competency and supportiveness.  He turns that feedback into a hypothesis for improvement and requests feedback on his hypothesis. In this process Zak models the curiosity and vulnerability that teachers need as they look to grow from student feedback. Read Zak's article, "Leading By Example as a School Leader" here. Visit Zak's website here.  Find Zak on Twitter & LinkedIn.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!