Transforming lesson plans into learning experiences — I am not the only one who thinks about disrupting public education. A simple Google search on “remote learning” or “education and pandemic” brings you millions of hits. Tons of educational software companies gained new customers by providing free COVID-19 trials for educators who taught remotely. After lockdowns, websites, blogs…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — Who knows if school will ever return to what it looked like pre-pandemic. Over the past two years, teachers have taught in impossible conditions and under dangerous amounts of stress. No wonder so many educators are finally saying, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! and leaving public education. Much is still uncertain and…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — If you’ve been following my blogging journey, then you know that when I’m in the classroom, I spend a lot of time thinking about and creating learning experiences for my students instead of delivering the expected canned curriculum. As a innovation coach, I work with teachers helping them understand why…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — I taught fifth-graders for 12 years before I left the classroom to become an instructional Technology and Learning Coach (TLC). The decision to leave was a difficult one. I decided to take all that I had learned about equity, culturally responsive pedagogy, creativity, and innovation and use to coach teachers…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — I first went to the South by Southwest Education Conference (SXSWEDU) in March 2018. It changed my life. Before arriving in Austin, TX, I had been to a few other education conferences. In fact, since leaving the classroom and becoming an instructional innovation coach, I jumped on the conference bandwagon…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — I got off to a late literary start as a teenager. I spent most of my childhood swimming in toxic masculinity and it prevented me from developing a love for reading and writing literature. Men were scientists or athletes, not writers. So it may sound surprising that during the 2008–2009…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — I’ve never been much of a DIY-type of person. I’m really good at locating a mechanic, plumber, or electrician. I make the call instead of trying to figure out how to do it myself. I wasn’t raised to think in terms of DIY. My father made a point of not…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — Ihave a horrible sense of direction. I’ve lived in Colorado my entire life, and I still use Google Maps to get to the grocery store. In fact, it took me four years of living in Boulder before I was able to get around town without GPS. With Google Maps, I…

My journey transforming lesson plans into learning experiences. — Educators do not enter the teaching profession to stifle kids’ creativity. I have never heard a teacher say, “I just want my students to be bored.” However, as I explained in my last blog post, the status quo bias and implicit bias both contribute to teachers being stuck in a…