Lesson: Impossible - An Exploration of Educational Innovation Aviva Levin

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to connect Second Language Acquisition theories with practical classroom applications. The special agents assigned to help you with this task are Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins, authors of "Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom".
 
In our conversation we discuss:
1️⃣ Some SLA theories that refuse to die
2️⃣ Their favorite activities to use
3️⃣ The importance of both content and purpose
 
Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s language teaching blog.
 
If you liked this episode you might want to check out:
Ep. 18: Agent Rebecca Blouwolff (Teaching Language Authentically)
Ep. 27: Agent Laurent Porosoff (Meaningful Curriculum)
Ep. 72: Agent Julia Spiegelman (Challenging Language Textbooks)

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to debate which three characteristics are the ingredients for a great teacher. The special agents assigned to help you with this task are Nick Zaveri, Christopher Tudisco, Jack Scanlan, William Mealey & Aviva Levin.
Prior to Edupodlooza 2022, teachers on Twitter responded to the question of what top three traits they though made a great teacher, which led to some interesting and contradicting responses! Thus, this episode involves the five participants (me, Nick from the popular news communication podcast “Can We Please Talk?”, Tudisco and Mealey from the humorous interview podcast “Unprofessional Development”, and Jack from the satirical podcast “EduChaos”) reacting to that thread, with some in-depth discussions about cultural awareness, humor, content knowledge, vulnerability, boundaries, and the concept of love for students.
Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog about teaching world languages.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to personalize your professional development to the unique needs of your teaching practice. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Agent Darcy Bakkegard.
 
In our conversation we discuss:
1️⃣ Teachers taking agency over their own professional development
2️⃣ Using the design process as a model for innovating your practice
3️⃣ Removing the barriers and hypocrisy of traditional PD
 
Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.
 

Your mini-lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Gimkit, a game show for the classroom. The resource specialists assigned to help you with this task are Josh Feinsilber and Jeff Osborn.
 
In our conversation we discuss:
1️⃣  The origins of Gimkit: Josh’s high school project!
2️⃣  The ways Gimkit Live differentiates itself from Kahoot or Quizlet 
3️⃣  How cooperative modes, less time stress, and repetition make for impactful learning
 
Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to explore the possibilities of standards-based assessment to further student learning. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Tyler Rablin, of Washington State.
 
In our conversation we discuss:
1️⃣ His journey towards proficiency-based assessment, learning progressions, & grade conferencing
2️⃣ How to make the transition, & what to do with students who are already proficient
3️⃣ The bonus of no grading to 3am, fewer retakes, & allowing students to explore passions
 
Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog.

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to consider a new resource: Educalme, a school-based mindfulness app available in English and French. The resource specialist assigned to help you with this task is Kailey Lefko, teacher and co-founder.
 
Click here for links and resources mentioned in the episode or more information about the podcast. Click here for Lesson: Impossible’s blog for modern languages/ELL teachers.
Lesson: Impossible is proud to be one of the many amazing School Rubric podcasts.