Small Moments Build Big Futures: Inclusive STEM, Coding, and Hands-On Learning with Kai’s Education - TEC100

Small Moments Build Big Futures: Inclusive STEM, Coding, and Hands-On Learning with Kai’s Education - TEC100

What happens when coding stops being a separate technology activity and becomes a tool for learning math, literacy, science, collaboration, and problem-solving? In this episode of the TechEd Clubhouse Podcast, I’m joined by Ronel Schodt and Bruce Jackson from Kai’s Education in Auckland, New Zealand. We explore how hands-on robotics, screen-free coding, Python, virtual environments, and inclusive design can create more accessible entry points into computer science and STEM learning. Bruce and Ronel share the story behind KaiBot, including how a classroom experience with a blind student changed the direction of their work. Their coding cards now provide tactile, audio-supported pathways that allow students—including blind and low-vision learners—to engage with sequencing, algorithms, debugging, and text-based coding. We also discuss why students should experience concepts before receiving vocabulary, how robotics can shift a child’s identity from “I’m bad at math” to “I can solve this,” and why the most important bug to fix may be the belief that a student is not capable. * Moving from screen-free coding cards to Blockly and Python * Designing STEM tools through Universal Design for Learning * Using robotics across math, literacy, geography, and science * Creating authentic collaboration through project-based learning * Why productive struggle matters more than quickly giving students answers * Helping students develop confidence through genuine wins * Making coding more accessible to girls and historically excluded learners * Using failure, iteration, and debugging as essential learning experiences * Balancing physical, digital, augmented, and virtual learning * What meaningful student engagement actually looks like Before teaching another lesson, identify one student who has already decided they are “not good” at the subject. Give that student a challenge they can genuinely solve—not a compliment or an easier worksheet, but a real opportunity to experience success. Confidence often grows before competence becomes visible. “The biggest bug fix isn’t in the robot. It’s in the belief system.” “Small moments create big futures.” Students rarely wake up wanting to learn algebra. They want to build, play, explore, and solve something that matters. Learn more about KaiBot, KaiLab, the Dragon of Disengagement, and Kai’s Education at kaiseducation.com [kaiseducation.com]. Contact the team: Bruce: bruce@kaiseducation.com [ ⁠bruce@kaiseducation.com] General inquiries: hello@kaiseducation.com [hello@kaiseducation.com⁠] Mention the TechEd Clubhouse Podcast when contacting the Kai’s Education team to receive the listener offer discussed during the episode. Follow the podcast for more conversations about hands-on learning, project-based instruction, STEM education, creativity, and practical changes teachers can use immediately. Tools support the work. Humans lead it.

Clarity Before Capacity with Casey Watts - TEC99

In this episode of The TechEd Clubhouse, I sit down with Casey Watts, educator, leadership coach, speaker, author, and creator of the Clarity Cycle Framework, to talk about something schools need right now: clarity. Teachers are not short on effort. Administrators are not short on initiatives. Students are not short on expectations. But too often, everyone is working hard while still operating from different pages. Casey breaks down why clarity is not just about giving better directions. It is about creating shared understanding, simplifying what feels complex, and helping people see what success actually looks like before asking them to move forward. We talk about leadership, classroom communication, AI, teacher overwhelm, student motivation, formative assessment, and why “clear is kind” only works when people can actually see and experience what “done” looks like. This conversation is for teachers, administrators, instructional coaches, and anyone trying to lead learning without adding more noise to an already crowded system. IN THIS EPISODE: I talk with Casey about: - Why clarity precedes capacity - The difference between motivation problems and clarity problems - How leaders can avoid initiative overload - Why buy-in may matter less than commitment - How teachers can use clarity to increase student ownership - Why overexplaining does not always create understanding - How AI is exposing communication gaps in schools - Why formative assessment is really about uncovering misconceptions - How leaders can simplify complexity into two or three clear moves - What educators can try tomorrow — and what they can reflect on over the summer KEY TAKEAWAYS: * Clarity is not the same as explanation. * More words do not automatically create more understanding. Sometimes the strongest leadership move is simplifying the message. * People do not commit to what they cannot see.Whether you are leading teachers or students, people need to know the goal, the role they play, and what success looks like. * AI is not the real issue.The deeper issue is whether schools have clarity around values, expectations, integrity, and how tools should actually support learning. * Formative assessment should reveal thinking, not just answers. * If all we know is whether students got it right or wrong, we are missing the misconceptions that should shape instruction. Strong leaders ask better clarity questions. Casey offers simple questions that can change the conversation: “In what ways have I been unclear?”and“What are we actually focused on here?” STANDOUT MOMENT: Casey shares the story that shaped her clarity work: a group of teachers who showed up to a curriculum meeting with no real understanding of why they were there or what they were expected to do. That moment became a powerful example of how easily leaders can assume communication has happened when clarity has not. We also dig into the classroom side of the same issue. Students often hear directions, expectations, and assignments, but still do not understand the purpose behind the work. Casey pushes us to think about how we can make learning visible, relevant, and connected to a bigger picture. PRACTICAL TUESDAY MOVE: Try this tomorrow in a lesson, faculty meeting, PLC, or end-of-year conversation: Ask: “In what ways have I been unclear?” Then listen. That one question shifts ownership, surfaces confusion, and gives you real information about what needs to be clarified before people move forward. GUEST INFORMATION: Casey Watts is an educator, leadership coach, speaker, writer, and creator of the Clarity Cycle Framework. Her work focuses on helping educators and leaders get not only on the same team, but on the same page. Her book, The Craft of Clarity, [https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Clarity-Commitment-Sustainable-Alignment-ebook/dp/B0DS93RV3C?ref_=ast_author_mpb] explores the leadership habits that help schools clarify goals, communicate expectations, and improve follow-through. You can connect with Casey on LinkedIn at CatchUp With Case [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catchupwithcasey/]y visit her website at catchingupwithcasey.com [https://www.catchingupwithcasey.com/].

Stop Drowning Teachers in Data: Making School Data Useful Again - TEC98

In this episode of The Tech Ed Clubhouse, I sit down with Jessica and Janelle from Symplifyed to talk about something every educator knows too well: data. Not the kind of data that gets buried in binders, spreadsheets, board reports, or compliance meetings — but the kind of simple, daily, human-centered data that actually helps teachers make better decisions for students. Jessica and Janelle share how their work with Symplifyed grew out of real classroom frustration: teachers being asked to collect data, analyze data, report data, and act on data — often with tools and systems that make the work more complicated instead of more useful. We talk about how data does not have to mean another test, another spreadsheet, or another meeting. Sometimes data is a quick note on a napkin. Sometimes it is an exit ticket sorted into three piles. Sometimes it is tracking whether one small support strategy is actually helping one student succeed. At the heart of this conversation is a simple but powerful idea: Teachers have always collected data. We just haven’t always called it that. We discuss: * Why schools often overcomplicate data * The difference between compliance data and classroom-useful data * How teachers can track one small strategy and see whether it works * Why “tiny data” can be more useful than large-scale reports * How data can support students with IEPs, ADHD, autism, behavior needs, and academic gaps * Why AI should grow teacher judgment, not replace it * How micro-skills can help teachers better understand what students actually need * Why teacher-created data matters more than disconnected reports from last year * How schools can build a healthier data culture * What gives Jessica and Janelle hope in education right now Data should not be something done to teachers. It should be something teachers can use to answer one practical question: Is what I’m doing helping this student? When data becomes simple, specific, and connected to real classroom decisions, it stops being a compliance task and becomes a tool for better teaching. Pick one student. Pick one support strategy. Try it consistently for four days. Track it simply: Did I use the strategy? Did it help? That’s it. No massive spreadsheet. No complicated dashboard. Just one strategy, one student, one pattern worth noticing. “Teachers have been collecting data forever. They just maybe haven’t been calling it data.” “Try one thing and see if it works.” “We’re using AI to grow the teacher, not replace the teacher.” “Little things that we do, if we do them consistently, can make a huge impact on students.” Learn more at symplifyed.com You can also connect with Jessica and Janelle directly through their website. As you listen, think about this: Where is data helping teachers make better decisions — and where is it just creating more work?

Stop Teaching? Jason Kennedy on Designing Learning That Actually Works - TEC97

What if the biggest problem in education right now… isn’t student motivation? What if it’s assignment design? In this episode of the Tech Ed Clubhouse Podcast, I sit down with curriculum director, author, and learning designer Jason Kennedy to unpack the difference between teaching and designing learning. We dig into: * compliance vs real engagement * why “doing the work” doesn’t always mean learning * how AI can help teachers create better learning experiences * why some students thrive in art, STEM, shop, and music classes * how success criteria and feedback change everything * what teachers can do tomorrow without completely overhauling their classroom Jason also shares practical ways teachers can redesign tasks so students do more of the thinking, decision-making, and learning themselves. This conversation connects directly to recent episodes around assignment design, independence, and why AI didn’t break education—it exposed weaknesses that were already there. 🎯 Key Takeaways * Engagement is not entertainment * Compliance can hide a lack of learning * Tasks should be designed, not just assigned * Feedback matters more than grades * AI can reduce teacher workload while increasing personalization * Students need ownership, choice, and opportunities to think * The best examples of learning often already exist inside your building 🧠 Big Ideas from the Episode * “If the teacher is doing most of the talking, questioning, and work… there may be a lot of teaching happening, but not a lot of learning.” * “Tasks must be designed for engagement and evidence of learning.” * “We don’t need to throw everything out. We need to design better.” 🔗 Connect with Jason Kennedy 🌐 Website: Let’s Quit Teaching [https://www.letsquitteaching.com] 🎧 Listen & Connect🎙️ The Tech Ed Clubhouse Podcast 🌐 CoachThomasTech Website [https://coachthomastech.com] ▶️ Tech Ed Clubhouse on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@teched_clubhouse_podcast/podcasts] If this episode challenged your thinking, share it with another educator who’s trying to move beyond compliance and toward real learning.

What If There Was No Red Tape? Rebuilding Education with the Thinkering Collective - TEC96

What happens when educators stop waiting for permission… and start building the kind of learning students actually deserve? In this episode of The Tech Ed Clubhouse Podcast, I sit down with Garrett Wilhelm and Evin Schwartz from the Thinkering Collective to talk about humanizing education, supporting innovators inside schools, and creating learning experiences that students remember for life. The conversation dives into why so many educators feel stuck, how traditional systems suppress innovation, and why project-based, community-connected learning matters more now than ever. From outdoor learning labs and bird sanctuaries to statewide innovation fellowships and AI literacy, this episode explores what happens when teachers are trusted to create again. If you've ever felt like schools are missing the point… this conversation is for you. 🎯 Key Takeaways * Why the most innovative educators are often isolated inside schools * How the Thinkering Collective is building a nationwide network of teacher innovators * The real reason students remember projects—but forget worksheets * Why “soft skills” are actually essential human skills * How community partnerships can transform learning experiences * The importance of giving educators agency, mentorship, and follow-through * Why AI is accelerating the need for more human-centered learning * How project-based learning naturally integrates math, literacy, science, communication, and career readiness * What “no red tape” education could actually look like 🧠 Big Ideas from the Episode “The project becomes the curriculum.” “Students don’t remember worksheets. They remember what they built.” “Human is the currency.” “We’re not anti-AI. We’re pro-human.” “The innovators in schools are often treated like outsiders.” 🔗 Connect with the Thinkering Collective 🌐 Thinkering Collective Website [https://www.thinkeringcollective.org/] 📰 Thinkering Media Substack [https://thinkeringmedia.substack.com/] Learn more about their fellowships, educator networks, statewide initiatives, and community-driven innovation projects. 🎧 About The Tech Ed Clubhouse Podcast The Tech Ed Clubhouse Podcast explores STEM, project-based learning, AI, creativity, play, and practical ways to make learning more human. Hosted by veteran educator and consultant Dan Thomas, each episode focuses on ideas educators can actually use—without the hype. 📌 Share This Episode If this episode sparked an idea for your classroom, school, or district: ✅ Share it with another educator ✅ Post it on social media ✅ Start a conversation in your building ✅ Ask: What would we create if there was no red tape?