In this Teacher As Film Editor minisode, Melissa talks about Walter Murch’s philosophy that film editing is the “discovery of a path.” Melissa shares the parallels to teaching and specifically to accommodating for diverse learners.

In the 100th episode of The Teacher As... Melissa chats with professor and poet Penelope Pelizzon. Penelope shared her genesis of becoming the successful poet that she is and her ideas about teaching poetry to all ages of students. They get into the weeds about rhyme and theme and Penelope talks about the process of writing a book of poetry like her latest creation.

This minisode focuses on Spike Lee's ideas about bringing out the best in his actors and the parallels to classroom teaching.

This minisode explains Melissa's inspiration for sharing these short episodes that drop every other week. Melissa begins by focusing on The Teacher As Filmmaker. Each minisode is focused on a different teaching metaphor. Listen to the minisodes and get teaching inspiration from some of the most talented filmmakers in the business!

Teachers differentiate for their students in the classroom. Shouldn't they do the same for their students when going on a field trip/school travel? In this episode, Luke Liddle, Managing Director for Independent Schools Cultural Alliance, explains how he allows for student agency in his work with international student travel.

Dr. Nicki Newton and Ann Elise Record are back! They each have their own lists of the best ways for students to practice problem solving and they collaborate to create one essential top ten list.

In this episode, Melissa chats with Eric Gibbs, President of Ouriginal, a plagiarism software for K-12 and higher education. Eric shares how teachers can use the software as part of the writing process to help students learn how to create original work.

In this episode, Melissa interviews educator Ashleigh Reade, assistant professor of theater at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Ashleigh teaches voice and speech for both the musical theater and contemporary theater programs, as well as the Actor's Toolkit for first-year students. She shares her focus on expressivity, intention, and context when helping anyone with vocals or speech. Teachers can learn a lot from Ashleigh about helping their students become more confident public speakers.

In this episode, I chat with Eva, a 15 year old high school sophomore who loves to write. Eva provides great insight for teachers about what students really hope for when learning how to be better writers. Eva shares what inspires her, as well as her writing process. She is able to publish her work, collaborate with other young authors, and get feedback with a site called Wattpad.

In this episode, I zoom in on research and the writing process with author and Washington Post writer, Geoff Edgers. Geoff stresses the importance of in depth research and plenty of time to write and revise.

In this third edition of the Top Ten episodes, Grant Hightower and Craig Murray collaborate to create one essential top ten list of movie quotes that are a metaphor for education. Grant and Craig are educational leaders and movie buffs.

In Episode 48, I chat with investigative journalist Dave Malkoff about his work for the Weather Channel and beyond. He gives teachers his recommendations for improving students' interviewing skills and how they should focus on telling a story. This is a great follow up to my recent Podcasting with Students series.

What equipment and technology do I need to podcast with students and how do I share our podcast with the most listeners? In this episode, I share some affordable, realistic answers to these questions and reflect on what worked for The Birch Meadow Way Podcast this past Spring 2021.

In this second episode in the Podcasting with Students series, I share ideas for improving your students' vocal performance. I share clips from The Birch Meadow Way Podcast which my fourth grade colleagues and I started with our students this past Spring 2021. Pace, Emphasis, Diction, Tone, and Volume are discussed.

In this episode, Melissa chats with Pamela Malkoff Hayes. Pamela is a licensed marriage/family therapist and a board certified art therapist. Pamela shares the thoughtful questions that she poses to her clients about their artwork and how teachers and school counselors can use art therapy techniques in their work with students.

In this episode of Adventures in Coteaching, Melissa and Tricia chat with their fourth grade teammates, Patti Beckman and Arielle Mucha. They look back at the past school year and talk about supporting each other, collaborating, and taking on a big project together.

In this episode, Melissa talks with friend and colleague Jan Rhein. Jan is a literacy coach/specialist who has the added perspective of having been a classroom teacher. Her lens on literacy can help all educators.

In this episode, Melissa returns to the podcast after losing her husband, Josh Milner. She talks to Dr. Paul Coleman about his book Finding Peace When Your Heart is in Pieces.

Danielle North, co news anchor for WPRI in Rhode Island chats with Melissa about the parallels of being a news anchor to being a teacher.

Personalized learning and creating an educational system that is more equitable.