• Make the Move to Competency-Based Assessment with Danielle Paloposki

    Make the Move to Competency-Based Assessment with Danielle Paloposki
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    • How do traditional grading systems quietly undermine deep learning?
    • How can teachers shift assessment paradigms without burning out?
    • What steps can administrative teams take to genuinely support their staff?

    About Danielle Paloposki

    Danielle is an educator and former school administrator with extensive experience as a classroom teacher and middle level leader, specializing in standards aligned, competency based assessment.

    A contributing author to the British Columbia K–12 Reporting Policy, she has led system wide shifts from traditional grading to competency focused approaches grounded in feedback, professional judgment, and evidence of learning over time.

    Danielle now partners with the Canadian Assessment Centre to support schools in building coherent, humane, and sustainable assessment systems that cultivate transferable skills and self regulated learners.

    You can connect with Danielle

    Timestamps from This Episode

    • 0:00:00 – How traditional assessment undermines learning
    • 4:15 – Why Danielle founded the Competency Code Collective
    • 9:52 – How to support teachers in assessment transitions
    • 16:10 – Are learning targets just for administrators?
    • 18:59 – From evaluator to learning coach
    • 23:39 – Ensuring our assessment language is consistent
    • 31:08 – How to use AI to design better assessment
    • 35:49 – Assessment resources from Danielle

    Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse – retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library.

  • Money and Financial Literacy for Students and Educators: Debra Kierstead

    Money and Financial Literacy for Students and Educators: Debra Kierstead
    • Which foundational money concepts do our students struggle with the most?
    • Why do states and districts continue to downplay the importance of financial literacy in our curricular standards?
    • What is one practical way for teachers to build financial literacy in their classrooms on Monday morning?

    Welcome back to the Teachers on Fire Podcast, airing live on YouTube most Saturday mornings at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern. My name is Tim Cavey, and my mission here is to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professional practice.

    About this guest, Debra Kierstead

    Deb is an elementary teacher and financial literacy coach who helps educators bring real-world money skills into the classroom. Her hands-on approach makes budgeting, saving, and spending feel simple and fun – for students and teachers alike.

    Connect with Debra

    Take advantage of Deb’s free starter class: www.liveskillsmoney.com/free-starter-class (not sponsored)

    Timestamps from This Episode

    • 0:00:00 – Deb Kierstead is an elementary educator in Ontario, Canada
    • 1:24 – A foundational money concept that students struggle with
    • 2:28 – Collaboration between teachers and parents
    • 3:50 – Speaking negatively about money
    • 5:27 – Budgets as a path to freedom
    • 7:28 – 3 questions to answer before spending or purchasing
    • 10:04 – Good debt versus bad debt for 8-year-olds
    • 11:43 – How educators can model financial competence
    • 14:04 – How Deb’s teaching background has shaped her work
    • 15:44 – Why states and districts downplay financial literacy
    • 19:19 – A first step to take in your classroom on Monday
    • 21:51 – How and where to connect with Deb online

    Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse – retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library.

  • Bringing the Florida Everglades to Your Literacy Classroom: Jennifer Diaz

    Bringing the Florida Everglades to Your Literacy Classroom: Jennifer Diaz
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    • How can we build literacy skills and environmental stewardship at the same time?
    • What is the Everglades Foundation Literacy Program, and what resources do they offer classroom teachers?
    • What is Everglades Ecoquest, and how can educators use this web-based platform to bring interactive, gamified learning to their students?

    About This Guest: Jennifer Diaz

    Jennifer is the Vice President of Education at The Everglades Foundation, where she has dedicated the past 12 years to building and leading Florida’s only comprehensive, statewide Everglades environmental education program. Since joining the Foundation in 2014, she has guided the growth of the Everglades Literacy Program into a national model for place-based environmental learning, now adopted by 31 school districts and reaching more than 300,000 students and families annually.

    Connect with the Everglades Foundation

    • On X @EvergFoundation,
    • On Instagram @evergladesfoundation,
    • On Facebook and LinkedIn, and
    • At their website, evergladesfoundation.org.

    Timestamps from This Episode

    • 0:00:00 – Welcome to Jennifer Diaz, VP of Education at the Everglades Foundation
    • 0:16 – The mission and vision of the Everglades Foundation
    • 1:07 – Everglades Foundation literacy resources are free to anyone
    • 2:02 – Building environmental stewardship through literacy skills
    • 4:13 – The Teacher Toolkit 41 lesson plans are curriculum-aligned
    • 6:03 – Resources for Spanish and Haitian Creole learners
    • 7:41 – What is Everglades Ecoquest and what does it offer students?
    • 10:35 – Hands-on learning experiences related to the Everglades
    • 12:59 – The Champion Schools program builds environmental leadership
    • 15:54 – A first step to take to build environmental literacy
    • 17:11 – How to connect with the Everglades Foundation

    Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse – retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library.

  • Differentiation for High-Ability Learners with Alicia Schroeder-Schock

    Differentiation for High-Ability Learners with Alicia Schroeder-Schock
    • How can teachers challenge their gifted learners without burning out?
    • How we spot high-ability learners who might be masking their abilities in the classroom?
    • How can we make sure our choice boards don’t just become busywork?

    About This Guest

    Today’s Teacher on Fire is Dr. Alicia Schroeder-Schock (pronounced Shrader-Shook). Alicia is an educator, consultant, and founder of Elementary Elevated, where she helps teachers design engaging, rigorous learning experiences for advanced elementary learners.

    With an Ed.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership and a master’s in Educational Psychology, Alicia presents nationally on gifted curriculum and  differentiation and serves on the board of the North Dakota Association for Gifted Children.

    Connect with Alicia

    Timestamps from This Episode

    • 1:31 – What are high-ability learners?
    • 2:16 – How can we spot them?
    • 3:44 – What does elevating standards look like?
    • 5:53 – How AI can help to elevate standards
    • 6:53 – How to design choice boards
    • 8:36 – From objectives to outcomes
    • 10:51 – What is curriculum compacting?
    • 14:57 – Elevating the student writing process
    • 19:13 – How to differentiate for high-ability learners
    • 20:41 – Social and emotional challenges
    • 25:05 – What’s keeping you on fire?
    • 28:58 – How and where to connect with Dr. Alicia Schroeder-Schock online

    Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse – retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library.

  • Executive Functions in K-3 with Mitch Weathers and Sarah Oberle

    Executive Functions in K-3 with Mitch Weathers and Sarah Oberle
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    • What are executive functions, and why do they matter?
    • What are the differences between core and higher order executive functions?
    • How can we tweak the physical and acoustic environment of our classrooms to support all learners?

    My guests in this episode are Sarah Oberle and Mitch Weathers, authors of Executive Functions for Every K-3 Classroom: Promoting Self-Regulation for a Strong Start.

    Mitch Weathers is an educator, author, and nationally and internationally recognized expert on executive functioning in the classroom, known for translating brain science into practical strategies that work in real schools. His work centers on strengthening students’ skills in organization, task initiation, self-regulation, and follow-through through intentional systems that support learning without increasing teachers’ workloads. Through his writing, speaking, and consulting, he challenges educators to reconsider why students struggle and equips them with a shared language and concrete tools to unlock student potential.

    Sarah Oberle is an educator, writer, and professional learning designer with 18 years of experience as a primary classroom teacher. Her work centers on helping educators understand how learning happens and how that understanding shapes daily instructional decisions.

    Timestamps from This Episode

    • 0:00:00 – Mitch Weathers and Sarah Oberle are veteran educators and authors
    • 2:37 – What are executive functions?
    • 4:29 – Why executive functions matter in primary grades
    • 6:59 – Designing tier one environments that support all learners
    • 10:10 – Confusing behaviors with executive functions
    • 14:13 – Core vs higher order executive functions
    • 16:45 – How to reduce cognitive load and improve working memory
    • 20:51 – Two ways to reduce cognitive load in the primary classroom
    • 25:22 – How to tweak the physical and acoustic learning environments
    • 31:15 – Why starting the whole class together makes a difference
    • 36:07 – How Sarah uses voice recorders in her first grade classroom
    • 38:45 – A first step to take for the overwhelmed educator
    • 45:38 – How and where to connect with Mitch and Sarah online

    Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse – retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library.