This week on Season 4, Episode 13 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we're building on the foundation we set last week on rethinking classroom 'management' to be less about control and more about creating the conditions that bring out the best in students so there's less you feel like you have to "control." Today we dive into an element of the E part of T.E.A.C.H-- engaging & empowering classroom management and share 5 of our favorite strategies we're taking into this back-to-school season.  Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

This week on Season 4, Episode 12 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, share our first piece of the roadmap!Last week, we unveiled our T.E.A.C.H. Framework-- a handy acronym to remember the pillars that make up our EDVOLUTIONARY roadmap.Today we dive into an element of the H-- human-centered environmental design. We look at 5 steps you can implement to fundamentally transform your classroom so relationships and student autonomy can thrive and many typical behavior challenges won't have a reason to exist. Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

In Season 4, Episode 11 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we're shifting gears!We've been talking about making a dang roadmap since we got started back in 2021. A roadmap that would take research from the last 30-40 years on how students learn and develop and make it actionable for teachers in the classroom. Tools and strategies to teach based on how humans evolved to learn so that we all don't have to feel like we're pushing a boulder uphill both ways in the snow each day.This roadmap came out of our own frustrations that educational pedagogy and practice hadn't caught up with the research. We've distilled this roadmap into 5 pillars we call The T.E.A.C.H. Framework.  And we're releasing a FREE HUB of resources to go along with it!T- Teacher toolbox and community of supportE- Engaging and empowering classroom managementA- Active learning structuresC- Cohesive classroom communityH- Human-centered environmental designLearn more about each pillar in our episode this week!  After this episode all other episodes will be small actionable bites of the T.E.A.C.H. Framework. Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

This week on Season 4, Episode 10 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments are better for TEACHERS too.The way we are doing school right now is just not at all sustainable for teachers. Nor is it respectful to their creativity or humanity. And many have lost their joy and passion for the profession and are leaving in droves. It's not them. It's not the kids. It's a poorly designed learning structure getting ready to break down under immense top-down pressure.If we have the guts to change how we structure our learning environments, we can create the optimal conditions for teachers and students to experience joy and success in their work.Listen this week to hear how.Books, articles, resources, etc mentioned in this episode:Join our newsletter to never miss an episode!That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY Episode 2: What do WE mean by play-based learning?ASCD Podcast--School Is Out: Decompress, Reflect, Consider What Matters Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

This week on Season 4, Episode 9 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments by default lend themselves to equity (all students get what they need to be successful) and inclusion.Differentiation is a well-known word in the education space, but it is very difficult to pull off within our standard one-size-fits-all curriculum and pacing...and not to mention... is exhausting for teachers to figure out how to differentiate one learning goal for everyone.But play-based learning provides another way that is way easier for teachers and more empowering and affirming for students.Check out this week's episode to find out more!Books, articles, resources, etc mentioned in this episode:Join our newsletter to never miss an episode! Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

This week on Season 4, Episode 8 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about how play-based learning environments can help us support students in our classroom with trauma and mental health issues. We often can't know what's going on in all of our students lives, and so creating a trauma-informed classroom environment is best practice to meet the needs of all students.School can also be a place of trauma, as well as exacerbate mental health challenges in students and teachers alike. Just treating the symptoms will never be as effective as looking at the roots of these issues and how we can prevent some of them in the first place.Books, articles, resources, etc mentioned in this episode:Join our newsletter to never miss an episode!Cult of Pedagogy: Unpacking Trauma-Informed teachingFree to Learn by Peter GrayThe Self-Driven Child by Ned Johnson and Dr. William Stixrud Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

This week on Season 4 episode 7 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we talk about two buzzwords in the education space related to the quest to increase achievement and motivation: Student engagement and deeper learning.Everyone wants it to happen. And...if you are a teacher... you know how tough this challenge is.  Finding points to engagement or ways to bring learning to life ALL DAY LONG feels like you already want to go home and crawl under the covers just thinking about it.  But not to worry friends.  Play-based learning offers us a reprieve that does not require teachers be the primary source of fuel in student's learning tanks.  Resources for this episode:Join our weekly newsletter!Cult of Pedagogy: What is the Secret Sauce for Deeper Learning?  Other links: About usEDVOLUTIONARY WebsiteFollow us on INSTAGRAM Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

This week on Season 4, episode 6 of That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY, we begin a mini-series on how play-based learning can help us start to alleviate many of the challenges we face in education today.   And to kick it off, we're starting with a big one: white supremacy culture.   If you haven't listened to last week's episode about the impact of the social environment on human behavior, you'll want to start there.  Because not only is it interesting... but this episode builds on top of it. Often, our lens on 'how the world works' is just "culture masquerading as nature," as anthropologist James Suzman says.   If we truly want our institutions to work for all the humans they are meant to serve, we need to better understand the culture driving our social environments that we take for granted as how the world works.  Only then can we fully see the barriers to our vision and make impactful shifts. Other links:About usEDVOLUTIONARY WebsiteFollow us on INSTAGRAM Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

The development of character is a big topic we talk about in education, especially in light of all the behavior challenges that seem to be increasing in schools.   This week on That's SO EDVOLUTIONARY we unpack the role of the environment on human behavior.  And we are joined by some big experts: Simon Sinek and Alfie Kohn.  Okay joined is a "loose" term.  We play some clips of their brilliance to better understand some invisible forces that impact how humans behave and why kids might be struggling so much right now regardless of their "character".  And we have good news: there are some things we can do about it if we are willing to face the part we need to play. Resources, speakers, etc mentioned in this episode:Simon Sinek excerptsAlife Kohn excerptsOther links:About usEDVOLUTIONARY WebsiteFollow us on INSTAGRAMJoin our weekly newsletter to never miss an episode!  https://www.edvolutionary.com/join  Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)

In this episode we finally spill the beans about how we've leveraged play to create environments that foster independent learning, allow teachers to meet the wide range of needs in a classroom, while also providing a structure to make teaching more sustainable (we'll talk more on the last point in a future episode).  We are so excited to finally share these nuggets after many years of flops, iterations, and perseverance. Full show notes here. Resources/subjects mentioned in this episode: Join our newsletter to stay on top of when our free mini-course on implementing this structure becomes available!  About Montessori (start at 4:34... about 5 minutes)Expeditionary Learning websiteOther links:About usEDVOLUTIONARY WebsiteFollow us on INSTAGRAM Sign up for a FREE T.E.A.C.H. Hub account where you can access all the resources we share each week! Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tik Tok Visit our TPT Store Visit our website If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and leave a review! It helps other people find us. :)