Show Notes

• Cultivating Changemakers

• De'Shawn's TEDx talk, "The Power of Joyful Trouble"

• Dr. Bettina Love

• The Warm Demander

• De'Shawn's children's books:

  • CiCi's Money Seeds: Growing Big Dreams One Little Seed at a Time
  • CiCi Waters Her Jar: Cultivating Big Dreams, One Coin at a Time
  • CiCi's Classroom Budget: When Learning is Joyful, Changemakers Grow

Learning Experiences for the Upcoming Week

• Join the Modern Classrooms Project on June 23rd for the Leadership Collaborative Summit 2026 — a free, virtual event for K-12 school and district leaders. This year's theme is "Personalized by Design," and it's built around a core belief: every student learns differently, and the best learning communities are built to act on that. You'll hear from principals, district leaders, and coaches from across the country who are making instruction more human through mastery-based, student-centered approaches — and getting real results. Every session is led by practitioners and designed to give you strategies you can act on this fall. Register here

• Help us spread the Modern Classrooms Model! Refer a Friend, Earn SWAG! Know a colleague or school leader who would love our summer learning opportunities? Fill out this form, and MCP will take it from there! MCP will reach out to them with information on the model and their exclusive discount code. 

Contact us, follow us online, and learn more:

• Email us questions and feedback at: podcast@modernclassrooms.org
• Listen to this podcast on Youtube
• Modern Classrooms: @modernclassproj on Twitter and facebook.com/modernclassproj
• Kareem: @kareemfarah23 on Twitter
• Toni Rose: @classroomflex on Twitter and Instagram
• The Modern Classroom Project
• Modern Classrooms Online Course
  • Take our free online course, or sign up for our mentorship program to receive personalized guidance from a Modern Classrooms mentor as you implement your own modern classroom!

The Modern Classrooms Podcast is edited by Zach Diamond: @zpdiamond on Twitter and Learning to Teach

Special Guest: De'Shawn Washington.

Show Notes

• Examples of Eileen's visual rubrics:

  • Spider Web Lab Report
  • Four-Level Rubric

• EDrenaline RUsh

  • The Personal Record Rubric
  • The Spider Graph rubric, based on Dungeons and Dragons
  • See also - Lucas Blair's "Dungeons and Dragons Character Sheets Go To Grad School"

• Eileen's article on Edutopia: "Representing Student Proficiency and Progress With Visual Rubrics"

• Mastery Transcript Consortium

• Connect with Eileen by email at eileen.ng@modernclassrooms.org or on the Edutopia Facebook page

Learning Experiences for the Upcoming Week

• Want to start building your own Modern Classroom and work one-on-one with an expert educator? If you’re an educator in Chicago, St. Louis, Alabama, or any of the districts we’re partnered with, you can sign up now for the Virtual Mentorship Program! The next session runs from October 20 to January 19, and the whole program is virtual and self-paced. See if there’s an opportunity in your area by going to [modernclassrooms.org/apply-now](modernclassrooms.org/apply-now)

• Ready to reimagine your classroom? Join Kami, ScreenPal, and MCP as we dive into The Shift to Student-Led by Catlin Tucker and Katie Novak, focusing on shifting from information transfer to student-driven discovery for our first Book Club Session 1 out of 4 on October, 16, 7pm ET. Explore Workflow Shift 1: strategies to empower students as active learners and leave with fresh ideas to transform your teaching. Let’s chat, collaborate, and spark change—one page at a time! Register here

• Cassie Fontaine and Zuzka Blasi are presenting at MassCUE on October 15-16 in Boston, MA. MCP will be exhibiting at NCTM Annual Meeting & Exposition on October 15-18 in Atlanta, GA. If you’re attending, make sure to check them out and say hi!

Contact us, follow us online, and learn more:

• Email us questions and feedback at: podcast@modernclassrooms.org
• Listen to this podcast on Youtube
• Modern Classrooms: @modernclassproj on Twitter and facebook.com/modernclassproj
• Kareem: @kareemfarah23 on Twitter
• Toni Rose: @classroomflex on Twitter and Instagram
• The Modern Classroom Project
• Modern Classrooms Online Course
  • Take our free online course, or sign up for our mentorship program to receive personalized guidance from a Modern Classrooms mentor as you implement your own modern classroom!

The Modern Classrooms Podcast is edited by Zach Diamond: @zpdiamond on Twitter and Learning to Teach

Special Guest: Eileen Ng.

Read a summary of this episode on the Modern Classrooms Project blog.

Show Notes

• TGFU Model of PE teaching

• Jake's Padlet "Advocacy and Education Beyond the Classroom Walls"

• MAHPERD (Massachusetts Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Inc.)

• Insta~lesson, by Rob Barnett

• Connect with Jake using his Padlet (linked above), on Bluesky, or at his website Next Level Physical Education

Learning Experiences for the Upcoming Week

• Want to connect with other educators of color who are creating a more student-centered learning environment? Join our monthly Shades of Excellence meetup on Monday, March 24, 7pm ET. Register here. 

• Join educators Monte Woodard, Alison Stone, and Suma Paidi for a live webinar where they'll share their expertise in transforming your science classroom into a dynamic, personalized learning environment on Tuesday, March 25 at 7pm ET. Register here

• We have four educators presenting at Personalized Competency-Based Learning (PCBL) Summit in Layton, UT on March 26, 2025. Dr. Cindi Dunford and Stephanie Quilan are presenting on Creating a Culture of Competency in the Middle School Math Classroom and Cammie Moore and Elizabeth van Patten are presenting on Modernizing Instruction in CTE with MCP. If you’re attending, make sure to stop by and say hi! 

• Alison Stone is presenting at NSTA 2025 in Philadelphia, PA from March 26-29 on Using a self-aced, mastery-based, blended model in the high school science classroom. If you’re attending, make sure to stop by and say hi!

Contact us, follow us online, and learn more:

• Email us questions and feedback at: podcast@modernclassrooms.org
• Listen to this podcast on Youtube
• Modern Classrooms: @modernclassproj on Twitter and facebook.com/modernclassproj
• Kareem: @kareemfarah23 on Twitter
• Toni Rose: @classroomflex on Twitter and Instagram
• The Modern Classroom Project
• Modern Classrooms Online Course
  • Take our free online course, or sign up for our mentorship program to receive personalized guidance from a Modern Classrooms mentor as you implement your own modern classroom!

The Modern Classrooms Podcast is edited by Zach Diamond: @zpdiamond on Twitter and Learning to Teach

Special Guest: Jake Bersin.

Read a summary of this episode on the Modern Classrooms Project blog.

Show Notes

• More info on MCP Webinars and Scholarships, as well as our special invite-only session!

• More info on MCP PLCs

• Connect with Andrea and Whitnei:

  • Email Andrea at akowalski@aceroschools.org
  • Email Whitnei at wmoore@aceroschools.org

Contact us, follow us online, and learn more:

• Email us questions and feedback at: podcast@modernclassrooms.org
• Send us an audio note and we'll include it on a future episode!
• Modern Classrooms: @modernclassproj on Twitter and facebook.com/modernclassproj (remember you can tweet us questions by using the hashtag #askMCP)
• Kareem: @kareemfarah23 on Twitter
• Toni Rose: @classroomflex on Twitter and Instagram
• The Modern Classroom Project
• Modern Classrooms Online Course
  • Take our free online course, or sign up for our mentorship program to receive personalized guidance from a Modern Classrooms mentor as you implement your own modern classroom!

The Modern Classrooms Podcast is edited by Zach Diamond: @zpdiamond on Twitter and Learning to Teach