Megan O'Brien

Students Helped Hire The Principal? Yes They Did! A Conversation with Laura Steinbrink

When you live in a small town and wear a lot of hats, having a creative vision is so important. Not only that, but being a connected educator helps spur innovation within the district. Laura Steinbrink is my guest on this podcast. We discuss the unique way her school selected a principal and the need for a strong network when you work in a small school district. Even if you work in an urban, or suburban district, there is a lot to learn here.

Tapping Into Creativity with Manuel Herrera

Manuel Herrera is the Director of Innovation for the Affton School District in St. Louis. An avid doodler and creative force in the education field, Manuel shares his secrets in this wide ranging interview. We discuss inspirations for creativity and how we all can be creative and intentional in our work. Listen on the Anchor app and you can listen to a couple of Manuel's musical inspirations for his creative work. This interview was recorded shortly after his keynote at IS2Dale and now being released shortly before he goes to MassCue. So much to learn in an hour.

Relationships and STEM w/ Alex Schenck

Alex Schenck is entering his fifth year of teaching Math, Computer Science, GIS, and AP Courses at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis. Our conversation focuses on the struggles of taking on too much as a new teacher and how relationships with students and mentors makes a world of difference. Our discussion then turns to STEM and why the Humanities are so important to being a well rounded student. Finally, Alex talks about a recent passion project with students that involved Arduinos. Amazing engagement and fun for all the students. While he may love Red Lobster and Tower Grove Park, he loves teaching his students even more.

Megan O'Brien

Megan is entering her 3rd year of teaching and talks to us about the lessons learned in the early years of her career. From leading a journalism club in her first year of teaching, to leading student council this year, Megan shares her experiences with us. We talk about the importance of self care, as well as the need to connect kids with community partners. Find Megan on Twitter @msobrien14

Patrice Bain and "Powerful Teaching"

Patrice Bain joins for for a conversation on her book, "Powerful Teaching: Unleash The Science of Learning." Our conversation focuses on ways in which we can help our students retain content through simple practices. Patrice will be leading a workshop on these practices on Saturday, August 3, at the CIC@CET Building 20 N. Sarah in St. Louis from 1:30 to 3pm. Tickets can be found at www.connectedlearningstl.org. Patrice can be found on Twitter @patricebain1 as well as www.patricebain.com Her resources are also available at www.powerfulteaching.com