Episode 149: Guiding Education with Sheena O'Connell

With summer finally here in the northern hemisphere, Kelly and Sean meet with John Mikton from the Principals Training Center to talk about professional development resources for teachers during these long summer days. From technical resources to pedagogical research to classroom layout ideas, we'll talk about some of the things we're excited to learn this summer. Special Guest: John Mikton.

21 Juni 20211h 16min

Continuing our Education IDE series, Kelly and Sean meet with Brigit Murtaugh and Sana Ajani from the VS Code team for education. We'll talk about everything from remote teaching to accelerating the setup of a learning environment with VS Code and development containers. You may have used Visual Studio Code for your own projects or tinkered around with the vast number of settings and extensions. But have you thought about how to use it as a teaching tool? Thankfully, Brigit and Sana are here to talk us through all of the resources and new features being added to VS code for education. Special Guests: Brigit Murtaugh and Sana Ajani.

8 Juni 202142min

Continuing our Education IDE series, Kelly and Sean talk with Valentina Kiryushkina, a developer on the PyCharm Edu team to learn all about how JetBrains supports teaching and learning Python. With everything from online courses to creating classroom assignments, we're sure you'll find something to like about PyCharm Edu. Features Free for teachers and learners Online open courses available Create your own courses and assignments Marketplace coming soon Full features of PyCharm, but decluttered for learning Where to Download JetBrains Website (https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm-edu/) EduTools (https://www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/pycharm-educational.html) Special Offer JetBrains has offered a free month of JetBrains Academy, a project-based learning platform integrated with JetBrains IDEs, if you register at the platform through the following link: Special Offer (https://www.jetbrains.com/academy/?var=landing&coupon=teachingpython&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=refferal&utm_campaign=jbacademy_coupons&utm_content=teaching_python_podcast) Special Guest: Valentina Kiryushkina.

26 Maj 202159min

This week, Kelly & Sean chat with Barbara Oakley, author of the upcoming books Uncommon Sense Teaching and Learn Like a Pro. Together, we talk about everything from learning Russian to the ways that the brain processes information and how teachers can best help students learn. Barbara Oakley is a professor of engineering, former Russian translater on Soviet fishing trawlers, Antarctic researcher (where she met her husband), author, MOOC creator, and so much more. Kelly and Sean talk to her about the ways that our brain learns and retains knowledge, and how we can use that mechanism to learn how to learn better. Special Guest: Barbara Oakley.

18 Maj 20211h 4min

Kelly and Sean kick off part 1 of their Education IDE series with Nick Tollervey and the Mu Editor, a Python editor for beginners with modes for "pure Python," MicroPython, CircuitPython, PyGame, Flask web apps, and more. About the Education IDE Series The Teaching Python podcast is launching a monthly episode series dedicated to the different IDEs and editors available to teachers. Our goal is to give educators a more detailed view of each editor and the specific features that they can leverage for teaching effectively. In contrast with a developer-focused series, our goal is to focus on how each editor can enhance student learning. Proof that we met Nick at PyCon US 2019 Nick & Sean https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/c/c8ea6bdf-0c80-46e7-a00a-639d7dc2be91/QNVNT7OH.JPG Special Guest: Nick Tollervey.

11 Maj 202156min

In this episode, Sean and Kelly, share a brainstorming activity on designing projects with Python libraries. We have a special guest Mike Driscoll, author of several books and the blog "The Mouse vs The Python". In this episode we will use the Python Library Pillow to brainstorm some creative ways that Pillow can and has been used to teach students about Python Libraries. Coming up with project ideas that are creative, engaging, and allow students the flexibility to explore is one of the most important activities that Sean and Kelly do daily. We love introducing many different aspects of Python and push the boundaries with our students. We often discuss and brainstorm ideas on how we can incorporate libraries that are new to us in the curriculum. Although we have used Pillow very briefly, with the help of expert Mike Driscoll, Sean and I will explore project ideas for using Pillow from 6th grade to developer. Special Guest: Mike Driscoll.

4 Maj 202146min

In this episode, Sean and Kelly discuss their top 5 favorite Python libraries, and how they use these libraries in the classroom to reinforce student learning. From the standard library to teaching how to use pip, learn more about our favorite libraries to share with our students. Our lists: Sean Datetime random Matplotlib bullet Kelly Pillow Math Turtle getpass Regex

14 Apr 202130min

That's right: we're digging deep into assessments using rubrics. We know what you're thinking, rubrics are BORING and teacher-y. But rubrics are POWERFUL for learning and you can use them outside of the classroom too! According to ASCD “The word rubric comes from the Latin word for red. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary lists the first meaning of rubric as "an authoritative rule" and the fourth meaning as "a guide listing specific criteria for grading or scoring academic papers, projects, or tests." How did the name for a color come to mean a rule or guide? At least as far back as the Middle Ages, the rules for the conduct of liturgical services—as opposed to the actual spoken words of the liturgy—were often printed in red, so the rules were "the red things" on the page. Benefits of a Rubric “Rubrics are important because they clarify for students the qualities their work should have. This point is often expressed in terms of students understanding the learning target and criteria for success. For this reason, rubrics help teachers teach, they help coordinate instruction and assessment, and they help students learn. “Rubrics are useful tool to help students and teachers: * work towards a shared goal, * Giving students a rubric before they begin working ensures that students and teachers are working towards a shared goal. * facilitate constructive feedback, * assess students’ learning on multiple elements of a project. * Student can analyze their own work * provide consistency in evaluating To allow extension of learning and “WOW” factors: Single Point rubrics-- meets expectations but allows (forces) extensions “Single Point Rubric” in 2000 during a conference presentation by someone named Mary Dietz. Attending that conference was a researcher named Jarene Fluckiger, who published a study on its effectiveness in 2010. (The reference to Dietz is in Fluckiger’s paper, but no one named Dietz has published anything on the topic.) From one of our favorite rubrics at Northeastern University. Percentage for criteria with a built in a 2% “AMAZING” category. That’s reserved for solutions that absolutely blow us away. Doing exactly what’s asked of you does not earn a perfect grade; doing an incredible job with your solution earns a perfect grade. In each assignment, we’ll specify exactly what makes for an amazing solution

31 Mars 202152min