Resources

Teaching to Meet the Moment

A practitioner-focused conversation and podcast series open to all.

Season 1 concludes March 2 @ 4:00 PM PST.

Each episode features co-hosts Professor Michael Hines and Nicole Lusiani Elliott as well as practicing teachers or a doctoral student to facilitate the conversation. We hope you join us!

The work of educators has never been harder. Over the past year, the global pandemic has shaken the very core of public education. In addition, we continue to see the deeply entrenched legacies of structural and systematic racism as well as massive inequality in our schools as we strive to prepare students who see the connections between movements for racial, economic, health, and environmental justice, and who are prepared to lead in each.  

In this new webinar series and podcast from the Center to Support Excellence in Teaching at Stanford University, we set out to understand how education is changing from the bottom up in this moment, by talking to a range of stakeholders, from teachers and teacher educators to experts from the academy, to innovators and activists on the front lines of change. In each episode, we’ll tackle a theme, talk to a guest or two, and provide takeaways and resources to spark continuing conversation and inform action. At a time when educators are feeling isolated and many school communities are fragmented, we see this as a chance to build not just a community of practice, but a community of care.

Our first season asks how we adapt to the current moment, not simply to make it through, but to reimagine what education looks like, build community, and continue to advance our values even under circumstances that are far from ideal.

Together with you, we will: 

  • Highlight just and liberating experiences for education,
  • Connect research and practice in service of meaningful learning,
  • Create community among educators, 
  • And, share practical takeaways for the classroom.

Episode 8 | Normal Was Never Good Enough: What's Next for K-12 Schooling? | March 2 @ 4 PM PST

Featuring our guest:

Dr. Janet Carlson: Faculty director of CSET, Janet Carlson began her career in education as a science teacher in rural and small towns. As she moved into developing curriculum, professional learning, and research, she focused specifically on equity in the science classroom. This started with work related to gender equity and then evolved into who teachers thought could learn science, what counted as learning science, and what it meant to be a “good” science teacher. Gradually this focus broadened further to students who were being disserved in science education and, more generally, in the K-12 system. Today her work in CSET is centered on naming and disrupting entrenched systems of oppression in K-12 education especially as played out in classroom instruction.

Additional Readings and Resources:

Episode 7 | Leveraging Student Assets | February 23 @ 4 PM PST

Featuring our guests:

Dr. Christopher J. Cormier: A former special education teacher and currently a post-doctoral scholar in the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. Through his research he examines the social and cultural contexts of minoritized learners and teachers in special education. Dr. Cormier is the current President Elect for the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL) of the Council for Exceptional Children and he also serves as chair for the Research and Professional Issues Committee. A recent article published in the January 2021 issue of Kappa Delta Pi Record, is fitting for the participants of this podcast as he along with three other colleagues addressed ways in which Black teachers support Black students in three countries which has implications for how teachers can support the socioemotional and mental health needs of all students. The article can be accessed here and is being offered by the journal for free as a PDF download for the month of February 2021.
 
Christina Johnson: Christina teaches 10th grade Chemistry in a full inclusion setting at Santee Education Complex in Los Angeles, where she also sponsors the Black Student Union. Christina is a member of Educators for Excellence where she assists in the writing of policy recommendations for LAUSD around hybrid teacher roles, Restorative Justice, and instructional curriculum and currently serves a teacher leader for Teach Plus 2020-2021 Cohort. She is a Teach for America Alumni and maintained her service at her placement site to become the 2020-2021 Special Education Department Chair. Christina became a teacher to ensure that all students were being given access to an equitable education through a rigorous curriculum, culturally relevant teaching, and social emotional learning. She graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a BA in English, received her Masters in Teaching from the University of Southern California, and obtained her second Masters from Loyola Marymount University in Urban Education, Policy and Administration.
 
Tim Leistikow: Tim has been teaching International Baccalaureate Language and Literature and Theory of Knowledge at Fridley High School (right outside of Minneapolis, MN) since 2005. In addition to teaching, he has served as an instructional coach, both observing and coaching teachers, as well as creating professional development. He is passionate about infusing CLR strategies into his classroom and into professional development to make sure that all students' (and adult learners') cultural behaviors are validated and affirmed. Tim's continued journey to responsiveness deepens his commitment to empowering all learners, by creating a classroom that values all voices, especially those that need outrageous love in order to be heard.  
 

Additional Readings and Resources:

 
 

Episode 6 | Equitable Grading Practices

Featuring our guests:

Jaime Flesher, English Teacher at Highline High School
Chelsea Hinderlie, English Teacher at Highline High School
Ward Stern, English Teacher at Tennyson High School

Additional readings and resources:

Episode 5 | Intentional Use of Sync Vs. Async Time

Featuring our guests:

Christine Bywater is a Professional Development Associate at CSET, both in the areas of history education and educational technology. Her primary work focuses on supporting teachers in developing digital pedagogies that foster learning environments for students to develop deeper understanding, creatively engage in joyful learning experiences, and construct their own meaning to extend their learning beyond the classroom. She is also the co-instructor of the Computational Thinking course at Stanford's Graduate School of Education. Prior to joining CSET, Christine was a high school social studies teacher in Brooklyn and worked for Apple in supporting youth & teacher professional development programs. T: @XtineBywater

Chris Dier teaches high school social studies in New Orleans, LA. He is the 2020 Louisiana Teacher of the Year and the author of "The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre: Blood in the Cane Fields," published by The History Press. T: @chrisdier

Arturo Lázaro Jr. is the 2020 Big Apple Award recipient and is in his 10th year teaching (8 months of those years remotely!), Arturo has taught math in The Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and in China.

Jen Price is an educator with 14 years' experience in classroom instruction, curriculum development, and staff training. She holds a Masters in Leadership in Teaching and plans to move into school leadership. Jen is also the published author/illustrator of a children's book called Mask Up! A Covid Crusader Story. T: @oh_hey_jen | IG: thejenprice

Additional readings and resources:

Project Zero Thinking Routines: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines
Read more about Sandra Velásquez’s and Christine Bywater’s course: https://teachingresources.stanford.edu/interviews/christine-bywater-and-sandra-velasquez/ that includes screenshots of some of our materials.

Episode 4 | Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

Featuring our guests:

Felicia Homberger, Secondary ELA teacher with 25 years of experience and a lead coach and consultant for the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning
Mike Metz, PhD, Assistant Professor of English Education in the Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum at the University of Missouri
Madison Payton, EdD Candidate, New York University | Educator, school leader, advocate, and researcher | Founder and host of the podcast Race Through Education
Daniel Russell, PhD Candidate, University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education |  Coordinator of Research and Development at the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learnin
 
 

Additional readings and resources:

Episode 3 | Culturally Sustaining Content

Featuring our guests:

Lauren Beal, a student-driven, enthusiastic, and dedicated Social Science teacher who is committed to inquiry-based learning that connects the past to the present.
Andrew Haaheim, an educator, musician, and theater performer in the Twin Cities. A native of Minnesota, Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts in Life Science Secondary Education and a minor in Music at Gustavus Adolphus College. He has been teaching college-level secondary life science at Fridley High School for the last 10 years. @andrew_haaheim
Vielka Hoy, a 20 year veteran of the classroom as well as CEO and Founder of Bridge to College, a data analytics company that matches students to colleges that are a financial, social, and academic fit. @VielkaCecilia @FindCollegeFit
Lydia McClanahan, a 20 year veteran teacher as well as lead instructional coach at the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning. She also curates Responsive Reads, a newsletter, that illuminates diverse authors and culturally authentic texts. Pinterest and IG @responsivereads
 
 

Episode 2 | Community is Possible | January 19

Featuring our guests:

Lisa Kelly, a 10 year public school teacher in Oakland and Berkeley 
Dr. Micia Mosely, Founder and Director of the Black Teacher Project 
Sandra Velásquez, Innovative Learning & Technology Integration Coordinator for the STEAM Center at the San Mateo County Office of Education.
 
 

Additonal reading and resources:

The Black Teacher Project: https://www.blackteacherproject.org/