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Steve Martinez encourages educators to think differently.
60 Plays26 days ago
Website: https://www.underhatpod.com/
Hosted by Starr Sackstein & Crystal Frommert
Music by AudioCoffee: https://www.audiocoffee.net/
Contact us: Starr@masteryportfolio.com crystal@masteryportfolio.com
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Transcript
Introduction to Learner Centered Spaces Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Learner Centered Spaces podcast, where we empower and inspire ownership of learning, sponsored by Mastery Portfolio, hosted by Star Saxton and Crystal
Inspiration for Educators
00:00:11
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Frommer. In each episode, we bring you an authentic conversation with educators, both in and out of the classroom, that will hopefully encourage you to try something new.
00:00:20
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This podcast is created for educators who want to learn more about how to make the shift toward learner-centered spaces for their students, schools, and districts or education at large.
Teach Better Podcast Network
00:00:31
Speaker
The learner-centered spaces podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Get ready to be inspired as we dive right into the conversation with today's guest.
Guest Introduction: Steve Martinez
00:00:42
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We are so excited to have Steve Martinez on the show today. He is a coordinator of pre-service and community liaison and former teaching and learning coordinator at CAMI.
00:00:54
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Named Q's Emerging Teacher of the Year, Steve is driven by one purpose, to think differently in a space that often does the same.
Steve's Return to Public Education
00:01:03
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When he's not leading and innovating, he's reading, learning, and pushing education forward.
00:01:08
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We are so excited to dive into his journey and his vision for change. Welcome, Steve. Thanks for having me. Super excited to chat. So, Steve, can you tell us a little bit about a defining moment in your education journey or what you've been working on recently that matters to you?
Role at County Office and Educational Innovation
00:01:26
Speaker
Yeah, so I would think, i'd I'd say like a big defining moment was, you know, working at CAMI, being in front of a lot of teachers, leaders, instructional coaches, and really just having a void, um having some emptiness in the sense of not having direct impact on students and not having direct impact in classrooms, um which eventually led me to re-enter ah public education.
Redefining Literacy and Future Skills
00:01:56
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um Now, myself now being in the county office and working at a teacher's college that resides under that county office, um that that whole, i don't know, probably four or five month journey of just moving back into a space that I feel needs innovation, needs heart, needs passion, needs
00:02:17
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And just again, just missing and, you know, wanting that type of impact. ah For me, that was a big defining moment as I was in that ed tech space and really wanting to go back into that public education space.
Innovating Beyond Technology in Education
00:02:32
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So i I love that answer as somebody who has now straddled the line for a little bit between like outside the classroom, inside the classroom, working with teachers. um The pre-service space is really interesting to me, and I'd like to dig a little bit more into that. um You're an innovator. So what kind of innovations do you think are important to start doing with pre-service teachers so they come prepared for what education looks like now versus what it looked like maybe at the beginning of your career.
00:03:05
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Yeah. Yeah. I remember that big shift of, there was, there was that moment where we're like, oh, literacy doesn't just exist in the ELA classroom. Right.
00:03:20
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And we had had that shift and we kind of saw that again with digital citizenship to where, oh, no, every teacher should at least play a role and have some sort of responsibility with that. What we're seeing now is maybe more of a tall order in the sense of technology generally, a i generally, and what how do we redefine literacy?
00:03:51
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I think for me, that's the big thing as I've entered this new role and working with candidates and working with our pre-service teachers is that it's not just your content area.
Challenges for New Teachers and System Navigation
00:04:03
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It's not just your love of kids, but it's really building the skills that are going to be necessary in a world that's really changing so rapidly that we don't know what careers are going to be like in 20, 30 years. We kind of have a an idea, but it's we're all we're very blind to that, right? If you think about where things are going and the speed as as it goes.
00:04:28
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ah And so for me, like the thinking that's outside of the box is really preparing our candidates to think differently outside of like, here's just a tool that we're implementing beyond, oh, this is how we check for understanding. This is how we assess what are the What are the mechanisms at play to build skills that are going to matter for the long haul?
Innovative Assessment and Metacognition
00:04:52
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Okay, so i I want to dig in even further here because I have so many questions. How do you prepare them when the systems themselves haven't changed enough?
00:05:05
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Yeah, i I do a lot of modeling, right? So a little bit of context about my role because it's I feel it's super flexible. like i get to So I'm the coordinator of my program, which is they have to get through my program before they can start interning.
00:05:21
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So at my college, I'm specifically in the department that is only looking after interns. So for that context. Yeah. But they go... So my my program is the entry point. Like, they have to take my courses. They have to go through my six-month... We build out six-month cohorts throughout you know throughout the year. And they...
00:05:43
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I'm leading all that. I'm coordinating all that. But then I get to teach some of the courses. um Right now I'm teaching R101, like setting the stage for learning, which takes, um it's just a wide range of topics, right? So I'm their first entry point. um And so we do spend some time talking about the system. um Star, I know, you know, like this will resonate with you, but like just the grading system alone.
00:06:07
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um it's a lot of modeling of how you do things differently, right? Like why does an assessment always have to be a test? ah Why does an assessment, you know, for years have, know,
00:06:21
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really placed every single learner in the exact same box as if they were the exact same people, right? So I lean into, you know, the project-based learning stuff. I model to them what it feels like to be a student in my classroom. And then...
00:06:39
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they go and try and reflect them like, what does that look like in your classroom? What does that look like with your future students?
Communication Strategies with Families
00:06:46
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And really have honest Socratic you know seminar type of conversations around what does this look like and how can we get around the system that for years has posed a big problem with equity, with autonomy, and also frankly, like just building necessary skills.
00:07:09
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I'm so glad you mentioned assessment. It was something that was on my mind as you were talking about that. And I know that we have so many options that we could use with formative and summative assessment for students. But what ideas do you have for pre-service teachers to bring into their their new classrooms when they start? And how can they work with existing programs that are in traditional schools? So let me rephrase that more. But it's when you go into a school, they usually have a prescribed, we give this quiz, we give this test, we give this standardized test, and so on and so forth.
00:07:43
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How could a new teacher come in and help reshape that to be more responsive to students? Yeah, yeah. i I think it's what you layer on top of it, right? So if let's say...
00:07:57
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that we are giving a common assessment. And let's say that it's, I don't know, like 10 multiple choice questions and then maybe like a written response, like kind of just that's that's what it is. Yeah. um I would have my students, you know, go ahead and do that, that we we're going to collect that data. But what I'm going to throw on top of that is perhaps an oral assessment that maybe that assignment lives inside of something like cami where we can have a voice comment and document and record and measure with maybe a single point rubric of what's the conversation i'm like oh so first of all why did you make the choices that you made um tell me verbally more or less like the nuances of what you wrote right um
00:08:47
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let's talk And then in the process, because the other thing that I would be assessing my high school students on is like within the oral assessment piece, it's not just about what it is and the standards while that's included and that's part of it. The other part of it is like, we ended up having like little mini podcasts of like teaching them how to give and receive feedback. So then I'm assessing them on the skill of feedback itself, right? So if you are layering on top ah innovation on top of archaic practices, while maybe it's not 100% sound, right, for for some, at the very least, it's getting students to think differently, to think deeper, and to really lean into that metacognition, regardless if it's a multiple choice quiz or if it's a full-on project.
00:09:39
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Thank you for that tip. And and you're really bringing in the metacognition of learning too, which I think is is really important for students to start really early ah to give them, to be able to assess themselves,
Mentoring and Understanding School Culture
00:09:51
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right? Cause it's a skill.
00:09:53
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My next question is, it's a little bit selfish because I wrote a book on parent communication. And part of my research is that pre-service teachers probably do not get as much experience communicating with families.
00:10:09
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about a ah learner's progress or wellbeing. Do you have any ideas on how we could help pre-service teachers practice or learn how to effectively communicate outside of the classroom walls?
00:10:24
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Yeah, for me, i think, and we we actually just got done talking about this ah last week ah in the in the course that I'm teaching right now, but like, I think it's really good to think about to start with the school site as a culture and really as as teachers. And I know this is more like admin brain, but I think it's good for teachers,
00:10:51
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not just pre-service, but all teachers to think about, well, where's the data on the family engagement, right? Is there any? Because if there's not any, that looks wildly different than if the family engagement is like, you know, somewhat active.
00:11:10
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If it's somewhat active, you know being really mindful of when you do reach out, you're reaching out for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
00:11:21
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um And that piece is so important because I want... it's And again, I bring the business side of it, right? like I want my customers, my clients, my my families...
00:11:35
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to feel like I'm a part of their journey, right? When you don't feel like you're a part of a journey, there's not going to be any buy-in. So reaching out and a newsletter, does a newsletter get open? Does it get clicked on? Does it get read?
00:11:49
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Probably not, but... um a phone call will, right? And checking in and, you know, having your own type of, whether it's a class dojo, whether it's a spreadsheet, whatever it is, like be sure to making touch points and tracking along the way um in a wide range of ways, right? And so you kind of have to I also think like up front at the beginning of the school year, getting pulse, getting a survey of what your parents want too.
Modeling and Mentorship in Teaching
00:12:22
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Like we talk about student choice. What about parent choice and parent autonomy in terms of how they want to be communicated with? don't know if that fully answers that question, but that's kind of where my brain went. Yeah. It sounds like you've read my book, I have to say.
00:12:38
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i have not but i'm I'm keen to read it now. yeah We're all the same page. That's wonderful. My next question for you is, you know, some of our listeners might be very experienced teachers who are mentoring a new teacher to the field or maybe have a pre-service teacher in their classroom for a student teaching assignment.
00:12:57
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What advice do you have for an experienced educator to successfully mentor someone new to their school? Yeah, I i think...
00:13:08
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There's a lot of modeling, right, um within, like, the instruction. But there's – and I'm out in California, so I can really only speak to to my own state. But one thing I've noticed is that we do a really good job of training our candidates to go from bell to bell, right?
00:13:31
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From the anticipatory set or that warm-up or that bell ringer to, okay, the bell's ringing. with that in mind With that in mind, what we don't do well is planning for the whole unit, that whole chapter, that whole semester.
00:13:48
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like ah And that's where the mentorship... that's what saves them. So like the more that we can lean into that, the more support that we can can provide. And also like, yes, we want to share resources with them, but then also model what a resource looks like and have them do their own creating. um Because what I don't want is I don't want them to just like carbon copy from their mentor, right? And so like modeling resources,
00:14:16
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what teaching looks like beyond just that one period and that one day. The other thing I add too is like modeling things that are that happen outside of their classroom. So from a cultural standpoint, we're teaching our candidates now the emotional intelligence to understand who to ask for help.
00:14:40
Speaker
Who to avoid? Because that's the reality too. um Where to get support, where to go when you need this, that, or the other. And then how do you have that temperature check or understand your own school culture, right? Your own district culture and what to turn up and what to turn down in terms of initiatives and messaging, professional development that they'll encounter. There's like all these nuanced things that I think a mentor can provide to an emerging teacher, to somebody that's entering the profession in ways that they can't get from a program.
00:15:18
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So I'm really glad that you talked about that.
Influences on Steve's Educational Approach
00:15:21
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Like, I remember seeing some of the mentor teacher, the mentor teacher and student teacher relationships in my school. And sometimes when you put young folks with the wrong people, it creates and it create creates a real situation. Like some some kids end up not wanting to teach at all because there was like a negative Nelly that they ended up getting put with. And the only reason that person accepted, um you know, having a collaborative teacher in their room was for the money or for whatever reasons. And seems callous to say things like that, but it's real, unfortunately.
00:15:58
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And so yeah i i think that we transmit so much more to those new folks than just like we model everything, not just what it looks like in the classroom, not just resources, but also our general attitudes about teaching and learning.
00:16:15
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And it's, I think more thought needs to go into who we place these folks with because the wrong experience could really turn a new person off, if that makes sense.
00:16:28
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Yeah, yeah. And sometimes, and it's it's along the same lines as like master scheduling for a principal at a school site, right? Like you want align your teacher's strengths with your students' needs.
00:16:43
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And when those two things don't meet, that's when you run into real problems. And sometimes the veterans, like the ones have been doing it for a long time, Sometimes that doesn't match the needs of a particular particular learner, in this case, a candidate, right? So, yeah, that's so true.
00:17:03
Speaker
Okay. So to shift gears here a little bit, who would you say you need to shout out in terms of the work you're doing or the work you've done before? Like who should be on our radars to help us and our listeners learn more about the work that you're doing or the future of education in your opinion? Who has influenced you?
00:17:24
Speaker
Hmm. Uh, there are a lot. Um, I, I think, um Let's see here. So I, there, it kind of so I was, i was into, ah various different things in the classroom. Like I was into project-based learning.
00:17:43
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Um, Ross Cooper is somebody that has done a lot of work in project-based learning. He was one of the first authors that I picked up, um, and really got me, you know, thinking differently.
00:18:00
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um I think another one is Stacey Roshan. So I was really into the flipped classroom. i my um My thesis in in grad school was on the flipped classroom model.
00:18:17
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ah But Stacey was the first one to really get so really get me to think about like the data and analytics of that model. Um, and, and so I definitely have to give her a big shout. Um, and I'm not saying this cause I'm on this show.
00:18:36
Speaker
Uh, but star you're, you're, I, I came across, um, some, you were, you're on, I think the cult of pedagogy. Like like if I'm, where that was kind of a way back. Um, but I came across that. I ended up coming across your book.
00:18:51
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um And you got me thinking differently about the assessment piece of all that, right? And what that looks like and the power of that verbal discourse within the assessment process. um So, yeah, and and there there there are there are obviously many more. um Just I love reading, that I love learning. ah But those are the three that I think earlier on in my career that really got me to think differently and and shift in a very, what I felt was a powerful way.
Steve's Podcast and Further Engagement
00:19:21
Speaker
Steve, that's so funny because that's where I learned about STAR2 was that Cult of Pedagogy episode. And I was hooked. I was like, okay, I want to read everything she's written. It's amazing. You guys are going make my ego a little too big today. But thank you for that.
00:19:36
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um And it's funny, Jen Gonzalez and I still talk about that because it was so, it was like her 12th interview on Colts of Pedagogy. So if you think about how many folks she's had on since then, it was like way, way, way, way back in the beginning.
00:19:53
Speaker
So long ago. But impactful for a long, long time, for sure. Just the idea, you know, I was a much younger teacher at the time and I didn't even imagine that you could de-emphasize grades or not give traditional grades in the classroom. And I think that episode really did change my thinking. So thank you.
00:20:14
Speaker
So wrapping up, Steve, we really appreciate you being on the show. So could our listeners find more of you online? Can they connect with you? Yeah, so I do have my own podcast ah as as well. um I am the host of Under the Hat podcast. um The website is underhatpod.com.
00:20:38
Speaker
um They could follow any of the social channels that are available there. um We're not on all of them, but ah the ones that we feel that are... um that people are, are, are engaged with. Right. Um, and, and so you can follow us there. Um, I believe in my email, is Steve at underhatpod.com. Like that's, that's where, uh, that's where you can find me in terms of email.
00:21:03
Speaker
Uh, if you search me up on LinkedIn, um, Instagram, ah the pod also has a TikTok. So if if that's something that you're keen to, um but yeah, happy to happy to connect, happy to answer any questions and and support in any way that I can.
00:21:24
Speaker
Well, thank you. I think our listeners are going to get a lot out of this conversation, whether they're brand new to the field or they've been in in it for a while. So thanks so much.
Conclusion and Resources
00:21:32
Speaker
Thanks, Steve. Yeah, thanks for having me. Thank you for learning with us today. We hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as we did.
00:21:38
Speaker
If you'd like any additional information from the show, check out the show notes. Learn more about Mastery Portfolio and how we support schools at masteryportfolio.com.
00:21:49
Speaker
Please sign up for our monthly newsletter for resources to support your learner-centered pedagogy. You can follow us on LinkedIn on our Mastery Portfolio page. We'd love for you to engage with us. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or know someone who would be an inspiring guest, please email us.
00:22:07
Speaker
Look for our contact information in the show notes. And we'd love your feedback. Please write a review on your favorite podcasting app.