3ps In A Pod

One year ago, the Arizona Department of Education and Northern Arizona University came together to announce the creation of the Arizona Teacher Residency. Housed within the Arizona K12 Center, the Arizona Teacher Residency now has its first cohort of residents working in the classrooms of supervising teachers in Osborn, Roosevelt, and Tempe Elementary school districts. Today, you’ll hear from one resident and supervising teacher pair about their experience with the program so far. 3Ps in a Pod host Kathy Wiebke welcomes Arizona Teacher Residency Director Dr. Victoria Theisen-Homer to the podcast to talk about the creation and envision of this new program. Hector Campos, one of the members of the first Arizona Teacher Residency cohort, shares about what excited him about this program and how delighted he was to find out that his supervising teacher would be Edgar Ochoa, the middle school social studies teacher who inspired him to become a middle school social studies teacher. Campos now works with Ochoa in his

Just three days after being named the 2023 Arizona Teacher of the Year, chemistry teacher Ty White joined us for a conversation about what brought him into teaching, how he approaches his practice, and about receiving this exciting honor.  3Ps in a Pod host Josh Meibos welcomes Ty White to the podcast, who talks through the evening he was named the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2023 Arizona Teacher of the Year and shares about the significance of having two of his elementary school teachers join him at the Teacher of the Year celebration. White also shares about some of the larger projects he has coordinated with students, including a partnership with SARSEF, an electric go-cart project, and an aerospace project with Biosphere 2. He also shares about what he is thinking about focusing on in his next year as Arizona Teacher of the Year, including STEM literacy and accessibility for all.  Here are links to some of the STEM organizations White mentioned: SARSEF at sarsef.org InSimEducation at insimeducation.

Arizona has been in a teacher shortage for years, and today we explore this issue with Dr. Richard Ingersoll, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and expert on the K-12 teaching force, about what he sees as the foundational issues of this shortage and what steps may help us move forward. Ingersoll is recognized for his research in teacher turnover and workplace trends and the impact of beginning teacher induction and mentoring. In this episode, he shares with hosts Kathleen and Kathy about what he sees leading to the teacher shortage seen in Arizona and across the country. He reflects on what changes to the profession could reverse this shortage. Ingersoll especially focuses on the impact of induction and mentoring and the need to professionalize teaching as a career. Ingersoll will be sharing Arizona-based data and reflections at the 1st Annual Arizona Induction Symposium: The True Cost of Teacher Turnover on October 28.  Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Today, we’re focusing in on special area teachers and classes by welcoming an art teacher, music teacher, and physical education teacher to the podcast to discuss the importance of these special areas and what they’d like other educators to know. Hosts Josh and Donnie welcome to the podcast Kyle Bragg, an elementary physical education in Scottsdale Unified School District, Rusty Carle-Ogren, a middle school band in Sahuarita Unified District, and Jen Pulbratek, a high school ceramics teacher in Peoria Unified School District. Bragg, Carle-Ogren, and Pulbratek share about the unique opportunities their classes offer students. They talk about what they would like other teachers to know about their classes and why they so enjoy teaching special-area subjects. They also discuss the standards their classes address and how what they teach fits into the Whole Child Approach to Education. Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Be inspired by the five teacher leaders on today’s episode of 3Ps in a Pod. The five semifinalists from the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2023 Teacher of the Year consideration join us to share about their teaching journeys, the affirmation they’ve received through this recognition, and what they hope to do with their platform. The 2023 Teacher of the Year semifinalists are Jaime Camero, who teaches at Douglas Elementary in Flowing Wells Unified School District; Zel Fowler, who teaches at Emerson Elementary in Phoenix Elementary School District; Erin Henderson, who teaches at North High School in Phoenix Union High School District; Christina Musselman, who teaches at Starline Elementary in Lake Havasu Unified School District, and Robyn Yewell, who teaches at Winifred Harelson Elementary in Amphitheater Public Schools. These five outstanding Arizona teachers share about the unique vision they bring to their practice and how the Teacher of the Year process has helped them feel affirmed and celebrated for the

How do we turn behavior into a teachable moment? That’s a primary question that Dominique Smith, Doug Fisher, and Nancy Frey address in The Restorative Practices Playbook. In this episode of 3Ps in a Pod, Dr. Dominique Smith joins hosts Paula and Kathy to talk about restorative practices and how he went from being a naysayer to an advocate for this work. Dr. Dominique Smith shares about how his own experiences as a student and as a teacher influenced his journey with restorative practice and why this approach to behavior is so important at all levels. He explains how the teacher’s relationship with a student is the most powerful impact on that student’s behavior and learning. Creating that relationship is difficult but important. He also notes that restorative practices work is not about getting rid of discipline or consequences but about teaching about behavior through the consequences. Smith also uses concerns about students’ cell phone use to illustrate how relationships and restorative practice can change

What is drawing Arizona’s future teachers to education, and what are these aspiring teachers’ hopes and fears about teaching here? That’s what we’re talking about today with two Northern Arizona University education students and one of their education professors. Hosts Josh and Juliana welcome NAU College of Education students Alexa Negrete and Ainsley Brubaker and Associate Clinical Professor of Educational Studies Michelle Novelli to the podcast to talk about their excitement about the world of education. Negrete and Brubaker share why they have chosen to join the education profession and also why Novelli has chosen to work specifically with aspiring teachers.  Negrete and Brubaker reflect on what they see themselves bringing to their teaching as individuals and also what their generation of teachers bring to the classroom and their advice to today’s high school students considering becoming teachers. Negrete, Brubaker, and Novelli also discuss the Arizona Teachers Academy that provides pre-service teachers

As educators, we strive to build a safe and supportive environment for all our students as well as our colleagues. In this extended episode, you’ll hear from a few Arizona educators who identify as gay or lesbian and a former teacher whose son came out as gay during his middle school years as we together discuss the LGBTQ+ experience within the world of education. Host Donnie welcomes Maria and Mike to the podcast to share about the bright moments and the challenges they’ve experienced because of their identities and the impact of that on their teaching and education work, while Stephanie shares about her son’s experience. Mike and Donnie also share about some of the challenges of being men in a female-majority workplace.  Donnie and today’s guests talk about the need for training and professional development related to caring and supporting for LGBTQ+ students and staff. Here are some resources connected to today’s episode: Learning for Justice’s Gender and Sexual Identity Resources The Safe Zone Project G

If you miss having a four-legged friend with you at school every day, you may love this episode. Today, we’re exploring the Pawsitive Peers Foundation school therapy dog program in Mesa Public Schools, which allows staff to adopt local shelter dogs and train them to be certified therapy dogs.  Mesa Public Schools boasts one of the largest in-school dog therapy programs in the country, and hosts Daniela and Kathleen talk with dog lover and 2022 Arizona Teacher of the Year Nancy Parra-Quinlan about the program and the impact of therapy dogs on students and staff. Parra-Quinlan explains the details of the Pawsitive Peers Foundation program and shares about her experiences training her dogs “Bear” and “Olaf” to become in-school therapy school. She also speaks to how she and the dogs navigate students’ possible fears or anxieties about dogs and to the benefits that the dogs provide for students and, in turn, that the students provide for the dogs. Learn more about the Pawsitive Peers Foundation at pawsitivepeers

In recognition of National Day of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools on September 30, we are discussing the history of American Indian boarding schools and the continued legacy of this part of our history. Hosts Daniela and Donnie welcome Marcus Monenerkit from the Heard Museum to the podcast to speak about the history of American Indian boarding schools and the Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories exhibit at the Heard Museum.  Monenerkit shares about what students and families experienced, including a bit of his own family’s experiences and about the American Indian boarding schools now present on Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix. He speaks to the trauma and challenges students and their families faced and how that continues to affect American Indian individuals and families today. He also details some of the policy and mindsets that led to the creation of American Indian boarding schools, how they changed over time, and what current-day American Indian boarding schoo

You know how important it is to build strong relationships with students, and it’s just as important for mentors to build that trust and rapport with teachers. Today, hosts Kathleen and Paula talk with Treva Jenkins from Maricopa Unified School District about how to build those strong relationships with new teachers to best support their growth and confidence in the classroom. Jenkins, a beginning teacher mentor who also teaches a class of students, shares how she prioritizes relationship-building and listening in her first year of mentoring a teacher. She notes how important it was for her to find a veteran mentor to support her work as a mentor and encourages other mentors to do the same. Jenkins also explains how she prioritized continuing to teach a class that can double as a clinic for beginning teachers to visit and watch Jenkins teach and interact with students. She emphasizes how active listening is often the most powerful thing a mentor can provide a new teacher. Consider enhancing your mentoring and

You may not know a “kickflip” from an “ollie,” but today’s episode of 3Ps in a Pod may make you want to grab a board and start exploring how the skills you can learn skateboarding can apply to other parts of life. Extracurricular activities can be a crucial part of both students’ and teachers’ school experience, and today we’re going to be looking at how one particular program, Skate After School, has shaped students’ and staff’s experience in Balsz Elementary School District and beyond. Hosts Kathleen and Josh welcome Sean Hannafin, principal of Crockett Elementary, and Ryan Lay, professional skateboarder and co-founder of Skate After School, to the podcast to talk about the nonprofit program and how it can enhance students’ educational experience. Lay shares how Skate After School started in Balsz Elementary School District and then grew into the Creighton and Roosevelt school districts. He explains how the program uses the acronym G.R.I.P., inspired by the textured tape on the top of a skateboard, to teach

The 22-23 school year has kicked off, so we’re back with another great season of 3Ps in a Pod! Today, we’re talking about how to develop those strong, caring relationships in your classroom with three fantastic Arizona teachers and providing you with ideas for how to start this school year off strong with a safe and successful classroom. Hosts Kathy Wiebke, NBCT, and Paula Watkins, NBCT, welcome Aminah Abdelhaq, NBCT, of Mesa Public Schools, Gabby Chai, NBCT, of Tucson Unified School District, and Sara Wyffels, NBCT, of Chandler Unified School District to the podcast. They discuss the importance of not only teacher-student relationships but student-to-student relationships and teacher-to-parent relationships and share how they intentionally build those at the start of the school year and throughout the year. They also share how they see relationship building fitting with classroom management and how they create equitable learning spaces that promote student agency. Sara and Aminah also share how they approach

When you hear about using data in your teaching practice, you may think about test scores, but Shane Safir and Dr. Jamila Dugan are expanding our idea about data and how we can use it to support our students and our teaching. Safir and Dugan are the co-authors of Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation and will be speaking at this summer’s Teacher Leadership Institute. In this episode of 3Ps in a Pod, they talk with co-hosts Paula, Marlys, and Kathleen about what street-level data is and how it is different than “satellite data” or “map data.” Safir explains how people can collect street data through deep listening and how that deep listening can bring systemic change to schools and districts. Dugan explores how that deep listening and street data can bring voice to the marginalized and the vulnerability required to get to that transformative level. Safir and Dugan also reflect on how difficult teaching has been the past few years and share encouragement for those

Welcome a new school principal and a new co-host of 3Ps in a Pod to today’s episode! New co-host Paula joins Marlys to talk with first-year principal Biju Padmanabhan about his transition from the classroom to leading a school community and what he’s learned through the past year. Padmanabhan is the principal of Gililland Middle School in Tempe Elementary School District and has worked to uplift the others around him through his leadership style. He shares with Paula and Marlys about what it means to center shared leadership and how he approaches leadership from a learner’s mindset. He also talks about the experience in his very first days of teaching that caused him to consider becoming a school leader. Padmanabhan reflects on the power of human relationships and community to strengthen a school and the great things going on at Gililland Middle School that “satellite data” doesn’t always show. Interested in what stepping into teacher leadership may look like for you? Join the Arizona K12 Center at the 17th A

Tony Vincent is a familiar face at Arizona K12 Center’s technology events and will again be “the cruise director” at this summer’s Camp Plug and Play.  In this episode, Vincent shares the history of Camp Plug and Play and gives an overview of the returning strands “campers” can explore in depth this summer – Get Google Certified, Making HyperDocs, and Making Media – and introduces this year’s two new strands, Gamify Learning and New and Notable Tech Destinations. He also talks about what to do when something goes wrong with technology, even when you’re a “tech person” and how to use Wordle-like activities, like Flippity, in the classroom. Learn more about Camp Plug and Play 17.0: The Creative Technology Camp for Teachers at azk12.org/CPP. Spots are limited, so register soon! Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.

Trevor MacKenzie is back on 3Ps on a Pod to talk with hosts Kathleen and Marlys about inquiry-based learning and what that truly looks like in the classroom. MacKenzie is a teacher, author, and speaker focused on the power of inquiry in learning. He will also be leading this summer’s 2nd Annual ATA Beginning Teacher Institute. MacKenzie talks with Kathleen and Marlys about what inquiry-based learning is and how it looks different than classes that aren’t inquiry-based. He speaks to the values that are a part of inquiry, including building a culture of relationships based in “psychological safety and vulnerability and openness.” He also shares how inquiry is like the trunk of a tree with branches that include project-based learning, problem-based learning, and some other frameworks and describes the sketchnote ‘The Tree of Inquiry,’ which demonstrates those relationships. While some teachers may be intimidated to move into  inquiry-based learning, MacKenzie explains that they may be thinking of ‘free inquiry,”

Inspired by Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s book The Power of Moments, Dr. Mike Flynn has focused his work on how to create meaningful experiences for learners. In this episode of 3Ps in a Pod, he talks with hosts Donnie and Danielle about his exploration into making memorable moments in the math class and how he’ll help others explore that this summer through the Arizona K12 Center. Flynn is the Director of Mathematics Leadership Programs at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and will be leading the Arizona K12 Center’s Arizona GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) Summer Math Institute on powerful moments in math class. It’s essential for students to feel seen and celebrated in their learning but that grew harder in some ways during the pandemic, Flynn explains. He speaks to why those and other moments of recognition are so important to student learning and why we need to infuse more of those moments into our teaching now. Flynn also talks about “missed moments” and the n

Note: This episode of 3Ps in a Pod was recorded before the February 21, 2022, vote by the Arizona Senate on the Aggregate Expenditure Limit. As education policy is continually in flux, especially during the legislative session, check out the resources listed below or a local news source to be the most up-to-date on education legislation and policy. More than 230 bills related to K-12 education were introduced into the Arizona Legislature this session and, as of early February, 88 were still active, according to Chris Kotterman, Director of Governmental Relations for the Arizona School Boards Association.  In today’s episode, hosts Donnie and Marlys talk with Kotterman about Arizona legislation and news. They begin their conversation with Kotterman explaining the Aggregate Expenditure Limit and the impact the spending limit would have on many K-12 schools across the state. Kotterman then reviews a few education-related bills that are receiving a lot of attention: HB 2112, a bill that speaks to what can and c

For more than 20 years, Julie Kasper, NBCT, has been teaching and supporting refugee students and families. In today’s episode, she talks with hosts Marlys and Donnie about the role Arizona schools and teachers can take in supporting refugee and other displaced students in our communities. Kasper is now a Refugee Educator Academy Program Manager for Childhood Education International but started as a classroom teacher. She shares about her own experiences as a teacher working with refugee students and what she has learned along the way. Kasper also talks about the number and variety of refugee and displaced people coming to the U.S. and to Arizona in particular before sharing best practices and reminders for teachers with refugee students. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Afghan Association of Arizona Refugee Educator Academy at Childhood Education International, a part of The Center for Learning in Practice Facing History and Ourselves Learning for Justice resources Learn more about the Arizon