The Cutting Ed Podcast

Eric Sanders says he started thinking about innovative education during a Creating Innovators book study. He says he was amazed at the incredible work students were doing; sometimes because of school, but often times in spite of school. Sanders says that’s when he began thinking about how he could create authentic learning experiences in his classroom. An early experience trying Google’s Genius Hour ended in failure. Sanders says his students didn’t have enough time to work on passion projects, but he says he learned from failure that students need opportunities to fail and to not be afraid of it. He finds school is all about passing and succeeding and that learning from failure is not often an option.That experience led Sanders to start an innovations class at Grand Forks Red River. Students work on concepts of things they can do for North Dakota by identifying a problem, brainstorming solutions, proposing and carrying out projects and finally reflecting upon the outcomes.He’s also uses project-based learning in his junior English classes where students have done things like create a human rights museum centered around novels like Huck Finn.Sanders has also asked his students how they could positively impact the public perception of Red River. That’s resulted in vetted projects, one which raised $6,000 for cancer research. Another developed a culture fair to bring a diverse student body together. Sanders says Governor Burgum’s Innovation Summit was a game changer. He says he began to think about how much of school curriculum is test prep. He says he he believes a culture shift in school and at home. Instead of asking about grades, Sanders thinks we need to focus on skills like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication.Finally, he says Ted Dintersmith’s film Most Likely to Succeed completely changed his views on education. Ultimately, he says it all boils down to “seeing students do amazing things, things that they didn't think they could ever accomplish, then giving them the audience that their work deserves.” Resources:https://www.ndplaylist.orghttps://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedhttps://sandersspeaks.wordpress.com/ Cancer Walk video from project-based learning: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-HEEn8mFE48RHREWVhyNjJUdzQ/view?usp=sharing Sexual assault video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn1GIFmflW4Twitter:@EricSanders3@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@ndunited

Rugby High School History teacher Kevin Leier believes education is the fastest way to impact someone’s life. He says it may seem cliche, but he believes in the saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”Leir’s philosophy, which administrators at Rugby fully support, is to “give me flexibility and let me run with it.”That philosophy has helped enable Leier to create two dynamic project-based, student-centered programs. The first was built around Governor Doug Burgum’s Main Street Initiative. Students in his North Dakota Studies Class learned much more than the history of downtown Rugby during the project culminating in a community forum at the end of the school year attended by Lt. Governor Brent Sanford.In this episode, we’ll hear from Leier about how he developed the projects and we’ll also hear from two of his students about the experiences and how they’ve had lasting impacts on their education and their lives.Resources:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2jNN4kNxtYTwitter:@kevleier12@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@ndunited

Rugby High School History teacher Kevin Leier believes education is the fastest way to impact someone’s life. He says it may seem cliche, but he believes in the saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”Leir’s philosophy, which administrators at Rugby fully support, is to “give me flexibility and let me run with it.”That philosophy has helped enable Leier to create two dynamic project-based, student-centered programs. The first was built around Governor Doug Burgum’s Main Street Initiative. Students in his North Dakota Studies Class learned much more than the history of downtown Rugby during the project culminating in a community forum at the end of the school year attended by Lt. Governor Brent Sanford.In this episode, we’ll hear from Leier about how he developed the projects and we’ll also hear from two of his students about the experiences and how they’ve had lasting impacts on their education and their lives.Resources:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2jNN4kNxtYTwitter:@kevleier12@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@ndunited

Darcy Bakkegard worked as a high school English and Theatre teacher for ten years before taking a position in 2017 with Prairie Public Education Services. She’s now a professional development coach for the PBS Teacher Community Program.Molly Olson spent 22 years teaching English Language Arts to 7th-12th graders and currently works as the Operations Director for the Missouri River Educational Cooperative.In this episode, Darcy and Molly are talking about professional development for teachers with a focus on EdCamp North Dakota, which takes place April 7th at sites in Mandan and Mayville.Darcy describes the event as an “unconference” where teachers set the agenda when they arrive and talk about issues important to them while at the same time collaborating, problem solving and forming new relationships to better engage students in the classroom.EdCamp is a collaboration between EduTech, Prairie Public, ND Center for Distance Ed, Missouri River Ed Coop, Mayville State and Mandan Red Trail Elementary.The event takes place April 7th.Resources:http://www.edcampnd.k12.nd.ushttp://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedhttps://www.facebook.com/mrecnd/https://www.facebook.com/prairiepubliceducationservices/?ref=br_rs@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@ndunited

Darcy Bakkegard worked as a high school English and Theatre teacher for ten years before taking a position in 2017 with Prairie Public Education Services. She’s now a professional development coach for the PBS Teacher Community Program.Molly Olson spent 22 years teaching English Language Arts to 7th-12th graders and currently works as the Operations Director for the Missouri River Educational Cooperative.In this episode, Darcy and Molly are talking about professional development for teachers with a focus on EdCamp North Dakota, which takes place April 7th at sites in Mandan and Mayville.Darcy describes the event as an “unconference” where teachers set the agenda when they arrive and talk about issues important to them while at the same time collaborating, problem solving and forming new relationships to better engage students in the classroom.EdCamp is a collaboration between EduTech, Prairie Public, ND Center for Distance Ed, Missouri River Ed Coop, Mayville State and Mandan Red Trail Elementary.The event takes place April 7th.Resources:http://www.edcampnd.k12.nd.ushttp://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedhttps://www.facebook.com/mrecnd/https://www.facebook.com/prairiepubliceducationservices/?ref=br_rs@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@ndunited

Jennifer Walcott Goldstein spent her entire career in public education as a teacher, teacher coach and administrator in several different networks of schools mostly in the south. Jen grew up in a small town in Arkansas and says she saw a significant amount of opportunities that were given to certain groups of students and some that weren't given to others. She says recognizing and seeing some of those disparities play out over time in the education system really inspired her to want to be a part of it and to learn how she could support educators and leaders in their work as they continue to strive to make school a place that every student belongs. In other words, she works to help each student find their full potential.School Retool is a four day fellowship that takes place over the course of three to four months including four in-person workshops. In between those workshops, work is done to identify strategies to develop hacks to try out in particular schools.“School Retool is a professional development fellowship that helps school leaders like you redesign your school culture using small, scrappy experiments called “hacks.” Hacks may start small, but they're built on research-based practices that lead to Deeper Learning, and can create the kind of big change you aspire to—namely, preparing your students for life in the real world.”--School Retool websitehttp://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedhttp://schoolretool.org/http://shadowastudent.org/Twitter:@schoolretool@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@ndunited

Jennifer Walcott Goldstein spent her entire career in public education as a teacher, teacher coach and administrator in several different networks of schools mostly in the south. Jen grew up in a small town in Arkansas and says she saw a significant amount of opportunities that were given to certain groups of students and some that weren't given to others. She says recognizing and seeing some of those disparities play out over time in the education system really inspired her to want to be a part of it and to learn how she could support educators and leaders in their work as they continue to strive to make school a place that every student belongs. In other words, she works to help each student find their full potential.School Retool is a four day fellowship that takes place over the course of three to four months including four in-person workshops. In between those workshops, work is done to identify strategies to develop hacks to try out in particular schools.“School Retool is a professional development fellowship that helps school leaders like you redesign your school culture using small, scrappy experiments called “hacks.” Hacks may start small, but they're built on research-based practices that lead to Deeper Learning, and can create the kind of big change you aspire to—namely, preparing your students for life in the real world.”--School Retool websitehttp://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedhttp://schoolretool.org/http://shadowastudent.org/Twitter:@schoolretool@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@ndunited

Dr. Bruce Maylath joined the NDSU English Department in 2007. He says NDSU was intrigued by his background in linguistics and International Technical Communication.Dr. Maylath is the co-founder of the Trans-Atlantic & Pacific Project (TAPP), which has linked students in writing and translation courses across four continents since the 1999-2000 academic year. He continues to serve as the TAPP network’s coordinator. In this episode, we’ll learn more about TAPP and how the program, without funding, has helped to link NDSU students to the world and the world to NDSU.Students use critical thinking skills and collaboration to refine texts. The learning is experiential, as Maylath says new sets of problems arise with each translation.Maylath says there are currently 24 universities involved across 17 countries and four continents.Ultimately, TAPP prepares students for work in a competitive global market while connecting students by utilizing simple technology like email, Skype or WhatsApp.Resources:http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedhttps://www.ndsu.edu/english/trans_atlantic_and_pacific_project/http://www.kzoo.edu/belight/article/k-alum-loves-babel-languages/https://www.ndsu.edu/english/faculty/bruce_maylath/Twitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler @tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd

Dr. Bruce Maylath joined the NDSU English Department in 2007. He says NDSU was intrigued by his background in linguistics and International Technical Communication.Dr. Maylath is the co-founder of the Trans-Atlantic & Pacific Project (TAPP), which has linked students in writing and translation courses across four continents since the 1999-2000 academic year. He continues to serve as the TAPP network’s coordinator. In this episode, we’ll learn more about TAPP and how the program, without funding, has helped to link NDSU students to the world and the world to NDSU.Students use critical thinking skills and collaboration to refine texts. The learning is experiential, as Maylath says new sets of problems arise with each translation.Maylath says there are currently 24 universities involved across 17 countries and four continents.Ultimately, TAPP prepares students for work in a competitive global market while connecting students by utilizing simple technology like email, Skype or WhatsApp.Resources:http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedhttps://www.ndsu.edu/english/trans_atlantic_and_pacific_project/http://www.kzoo.edu/belight/article/k-alum-loves-babel-languages/https://www.ndsu.edu/english/faculty/bruce_maylath/Twitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler @tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd

This week’s podcast looks at an intensive, hands-on professional development course offered for all teachers across North Dakota.We’ll hear from Ann Ellefson of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI), who oversees the program, and Damian Kennedy, a fifth and sixth grade teacher from Kidder County-Steele Elementary, who’s taken part in the training.The NMSI website says, “Our Summer Institutes are designed for teachers of math, science, and English. The Teacher Training Program is hands-on, teacher-to-teacher training. Endorsed NMSI Trainers provide in-depth training across a span of four days using success driven materials, the latest classroom technologies, laboratory experiments, and online resources. Created by master classroom teachers, the Teacher Training materials and resources can be used immediately in the classroom to add rigor to the existing curriculum.”Register by April 11th to participate. It’s on a first come, first serve basis. The entire $725 registration fee is waived due to a donation from ExxonMobil and graduate credits are available for those that complete the four days of training. Use the promo code “704006” to waive the registration.The 2018 training takes place at Fargo North High School. June 11th through the 14th. Register here: https://www.nd.gov/dpi/SchoolStaff/AS/NMSI/Resources:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qKUQnJexBk. Here is a NMSI video that describes the program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vJqP3Bm-H0http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedTwitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd

This week’s podcast looks at an intensive, hands-on professional development course offered for all teachers across North Dakota.We’ll hear from Ann Ellefson of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI), who oversees the program, and Damian Kennedy, a fifth and sixth grade teacher from Kidder County-Steele Elementary, who’s taken part in the training.The NMSI website says, “Our Summer Institutes are designed for teachers of math, science, and English. The Teacher Training Program is hands-on, teacher-to-teacher training. Endorsed NMSI Trainers provide in-depth training across a span of four days using success driven materials, the latest classroom technologies, laboratory experiments, and online resources. Created by master classroom teachers, the Teacher Training materials and resources can be used immediately in the classroom to add rigor to the existing curriculum.”Register by April 11th to participate. It’s on a first come, first serve basis. The entire $725 registration fee is waived due to a donation from ExxonMobil and graduate credits are available for those that complete the four days of training. Use the promo code “704006” to waive the registration.The 2018 training takes place at Fargo North High School. June 11th through the 14th. Register here: https://www.nd.gov/dpi/SchoolStaff/AS/NMSI/Resources:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qKUQnJexBk. Here is a NMSI video that describes the program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vJqP3Bm-H0http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedTwitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd

Dr. Nick Klemisch has been superintendent at Garrison Public Schools for 2 ½ years. Nick says he became disgusted with complacency after spending several years teaching and wanted to have more say in what happens in schools. Klemisch says his focus at Garrison has been on expanding career options for students by creating more emphasis on career and technical colleges.However, while attending Governor Burgum’s Innovation Summit in the summer of 2017, he heard Ted Dintersmith speak. That led to a conversation with his team and ultimately a public viewing of Most Likely to Succeed. He said that led to more conversations, setting up an innovation committee at the school and a book study of The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros.Klemisch says it all added up to a greater focus on trying to do things to meet today’s students needs through flex mod scheduling.This podcast look at how a small, rural school is looking at significant change to better serve its students by utilizing resources in state (site visits, innovative committee, community discussions) and acting upon an invitation from the film Most Likely to Succeed to consider a new way to teach and learn in a small school in a rural North Dakota community. http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedTwitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler @tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd

Dr. Nick Klemisch has been superintendent at Garrison Public Schools for 2 ½ years. Nick says he became disgusted with complacency after spending several years teaching and wanted to have more say in what happens in schools. Klemisch says his focus at Garrison has been on expanding career options for students by creating more emphasis on career and technical colleges.However, while attending Governor Burgum’s Innovation Summit in the summer of 2017, he heard Ted Dintersmith speak. That led to a conversation with his team and ultimately a public viewing of Most Likely to Succeed. He said that led to more conversations, setting up an innovation committee at the school and a book study of The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros.Klemisch says it all added up to a greater focus on trying to do things to meet today’s students needs through flex mod scheduling.This podcast look at how a small, rural school is looking at significant change to better serve its students by utilizing resources in state (site visits, innovative committee, community discussions) and acting upon an invitation from the film Most Likely to Succeed to consider a new way to teach and learn in a small school in a rural North Dakota community. http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedTwitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@kirstenbaesler @tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd

Zak Allen is a project manager for the National Energy Center of Excellence at Bismarck State College. The NECE offers 12 different energy degree programs plus non-credit programs for industry training and apprenticeships.The NECE’s roots date back to the 1970’s when they recognized a need for specialized training due to the growing energy sector in the state. The Power Plant Technology program began in 1976 and through the years has expanded to include 11 other programs including Nuclear Power Technology. It’s often said energy development and innovation go hand in hand, and it’s the way BSC has integrated these programs that makes them cutting edge. In this podcast, Allen will describe how the NECE has applied the use of remote technology to education allowing students personalized learning opportunities from wherever they are no matter the time of day. He’ll also explain how collaboration, project based learning, self-advocacy, communication and other innovative skills and ideas are put to work in the program.http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedBSC Online Labs: https://www.bscnecelabs.net/onlinepres/Twitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@bscedu

Zak Allen is a project manager for the National Energy Center of Excellence at Bismarck State College. The NECE offers 12 different energy degree programs plus non-credit programs for industry training and apprenticeships.The NECE’s roots date back to the 1970’s when they recognized a need for specialized training due to the growing energy sector in the state. The Power Plant Technology program began in 1976 and through the years has expanded to include 11 other programs including Nuclear Power Technology. It’s often said energy development and innovation go hand in hand, and it’s the way BSC has integrated these programs that makes them cutting edge. In this podcast, Allen will describe how the NECE has applied the use of remote technology to education allowing students personalized learning opportunities from wherever they are no matter the time of day. He’ll also explain how collaboration, project based learning, self-advocacy, communication and other innovative skills and ideas are put to work in the program.http://www.ndplaylist.orghttp://www.ndunited.org/thecuttingedBSC Online Labs: https://www.bscnecelabs.net/onlinepres/Twitter:@thecuttinged@NDDPI@tdintersmith@bistom@PrairiePublicEd@bscedu