On this episode of the podcast I interview Peter Harrington, co-founder of Simventure. Peter brings his unique and insightful perspective to education and all things learning from his time both as a student and a successful entrepreneur and entrepreneurship teacher in the higher education space. We learn how he went from failing his A-levels to hoping to be a primary school teacher, and how one teacher’s experiential and relational approach changed his life and became the basis of his work. All that and a snake in a box—coming up!

Resource Links:

Simventure - Peter’s Company

A blog post by Peter with a bit more about Ramano Zavaroni
York St. John University
Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath
Dr. Francis Frei TED - How to Build (and rebuild) Trust
Glean Note-taking Software

Today on the show we bring you an interview with Neil Cooperman, a math teacher from New Jersey with over 50 years of experience. Neil is one of the most experienced teachers I’ve ever spoken to, but it is clear from our conversation that his passion for education hasn’t dimmed, and the wisdom he has gained over his many years of classroom service holds value for us all.

Listen as he shares stories of his career’s brightest moments, his AC/DC method of ensuring that classrooms foster critical thinking through inquiry and discovery, and his simple but ingenious popcorn strategy for gauging and managing student response and discussion during lessons—and much more! Here’s episode 13, with Neil Cooperman.

Connect with Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-cooperman-79974817/

Resources mentioned on this episode -

• Grant Wiggins - Understanding by Design
• Desmos math learning software

Today I bring you a conversation that I recorded with Ashley Sawyer back in February. Ashley is a 3rd grade teacher at Saigon South International School* in Vietnam, and I just had a blast talking with her. We talk about some of the effects of Covid learning loss, the joys of a multicultural classroom, how to set proper priorities and boundaries as a teacher, facilitating “togetherness” in our learning environment, and more! You won’t want to miss it! Here’s episode 12, with Ashley Sawyer.

*Ashley was employed at SSIS at the time of recording, but has since moved to a new teaching position.

Ashley's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-sawyer-129206252/

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Flipgrid: https://info.flip.com/en-us.html
• Marco Polo: https://www.marcopolo.me/

Today I am excited to bring you my conversation with Kathryn Braisted. Kathryn is a teacher and learning experience designer currently located in Brooklyn. We discuss the emotional work of being a teacher, a kindergartener’s wise cicada metaphor, methods of tangible student agency, the importance of learning from our colleagues (and how to do it well), and much more.

Today on the 10th episode of the Best teacher podcast, I speak with Kimberly Phinney, a national award-winning AP English teacher and English department head in Tampa, Florida with some amazing stories to tell.

From battling an auto-immune disease to grieving the loss of her first student, we cover so much ground in this interview but there is a common thread woven through it all—and that is the culture of care, of putting people over paper, prioritizing the individuals that enter our classrooms, and the privilege we have to participate in this life alongside them.

About Kimberly:

Kimberly Phinney is a national award-winning AP English instructor and professional photographer. She’s been published in Ruminate, Ekstasis, Wild Roof, The Dewdrop, Amethyst Review, Calla Press, and The Write Launch, among many more. She has her M.Ed. in English and studied at Goddard’s MFA program in Creative Writing. She is a poetry editor with Agape Review. After almost dying from severe illness in 2021, she’s earning her doctorate in counseling to help the marginalized and suffering. Visit her literary community at www.TheWayBack2Ourselves.com and on Instagram @thewayback2ourselves.

Contact Kimberly:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-phinney-educator/

Email: thewayback2ourselves@gmail.com

Today on the show I speak with Shveta Kapur—a teacher and teacher trainer in India with over 17 years of experience. It is obvious from this conversation just how important Shveta’s individual students are to her, and we talk a lot about how to lead with empathy, patience, and encouragement in the classroom. Unfortunately, there is a bit of audio distortion in this episode due to network issues on our call, but we’ve worked hard to minimize this and we hope you give this awesome conversation a listen regardless!

Resources mentioned:

Flipgrid (now Flip): https://info.flip.com

Connect with Shveta:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shveta-kapur-24645a77/

Today on the show I speak with Jen Van Belle - an international teacher extraordinaire that who has taught in a number of cross-cultural contexts around the world and is now located in Silicon Valley. We get to hear her awesome journey in international classrooms, glean ideas from her well-organized learning station approach, and get one of the best tips for achieving good work life balance as a teacher that I’ve ever heard. You’re going to love it!

Resources mentioned:

Classroomscreen.com for timers, visual and audio cues, and notes all in one place

Connect with Jen:

On Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-van-belle-5128bb1b4/

Email: jennifer.vanbelle@gmail.com

Jeff is an American secondary teacher with a wide range of US and international experiences who is now teaching in Jerusalem. He brings a unique perspective to his time in the classroom that led to a great discussion!

Jeff Levy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefflevy126/