On this special guest episode, Matt Clarke interviews Randie Sykes about how they integrate mindfulness into their classrooms and schools. Matt Clarke is the department head of English Language Learning at Fraser Heights Secondary in Surrey, British Columbia. Throughout his diverse experience as a classroom educator he has worked to integrate mindfulness in meaningful ways that support students’ social and emotional development. He is currently pursuing his Masters of Education at the Univer...

This week, I spoke with Adra Young, founder of Ardannyl. Adra is an educator, speaker and author focusing on building connections through creativity. She has over 24 years of educational experience and is passionate about creating space for students. We speak about her experiences and strategies for building connections with students and strategies for implementing in the classroom. You can find out more about Adra's work at @Ardannyl on Twitter.

This week, I spoke with Ellen Mahoney, CEO and founder of The Circulus Institute. Ellen is passionate about fostering educator's social and emotional learning so they can support themselves and their students. We talk about the gaps in education for teachers and implications in the classroom. You can find out more about Ellen's work and The Circulus Institute at @CirculusInst on twitter.

This week, I speak with Brenda Dunn (aka Art in Jest) about the skills developed through art and being a community-engaged artist. Brenda discusses the importance of relationships and social awareness in art and valuing yourself and those around you! Brenda Dunn's bio: "I make things. I also make things happen." Brenda Dunn has been getting in trouble for crayoning on the walls for as long as she can remember. She eventually went to art school at the University of Guelph and drew on whatever...

This week, I discuss some of the common challenges that we face with remote teaching and learning. I delve into the challenges of fostering trust, communication, setting boundaries, and engaging in a lot of reflection, perspective-taking and empathy.

This week, I speak with my teaching team about how we integrated social and emotional learning into our online graduate courses. We speak about how we created a class climate of openness, respect, and value for everyone's experiences and views through modelling, engagement, and empathy. Amanda Krause is a PhD Student in Clinical Psychology and was the teaching assistant for the Social and Emotional Learning Special Topics Course. Sarah Bethune is a MA Student in Counselling Psychology...

This week, I speak with Julie Dick, Sales Enablement Specialist. Julie has a background in psychology and educational counselling and has moved into a career in sales and training. We discuss this shift in industries and the skills she engages with daily to build relationships with her team and clients.

This week I speak with Carolyn Hebert, a dancer, teacher, and PhD Candidate, about the social and emotional skills that are fostered through dance education. Carolyn Hebert is a PhD Candidate and sometimes a part-time professor in the faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada. Her doctoral research inquires about the experiences of professional tap dancers in improvisation and is funded through a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctora...

This week, I speak with Sarah White, a Ph.D. Candidate and Science Communicator. Sarah is a Cognitive scientist (UCLA) and learning scientist by training (Northwestern University) with a focus on secondary math teachers' knowledge in evaluating online resources; internships in edtech, user research, and scicomm. We chat about the goal setting skills, communication, and relationship skills portrayed in children's movies, how we can help children develop these skills through movies and the ski...

I speak with Marie-Hélène Brunet, an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, about the social & emotional competencies needed for online teaching and learning in higher education. Marie-Hélène provides a thoughtful reflection on her experience as an online educator and what she feels will be important for teaching and learning online as more courses & programs are shifted online. The SECs in Distance Leadership Series was created for the SECs in D...