PODCAST · education
Mr. G's Podcast
by Aly Gulamhusein
This is a podcast about my experiences as an educator. I'll share things I've done, things I want to do, and ideas that I have. Education is a collaborative profession, even though we're often tucked away in our classrooms. My blog and this podcast are my way of opening up a dialogue. I want to share my experiences as a teacher with the hope that other educators glean something personally meaningful from my reflections.
Episodes
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How Can We Integrate Technology to Transform Learning?
In education, we have had to adapt how we teach to incorporate more technology. While the pandemic expedited the process, it was inevitable. Things get interesting when we look at how technology is integrated into teaching and learning.
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Redefining the Problems We've Already Named
In this episode, I talk through some thoughts on how the education system needs to reevaluate its expectations of students and teachers.
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Season Three is Starting Soon!
I'm looking forward to starting up season three and I'm excited to have you join me. Look for the first episode on March 29, 2022.
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Maintaining a Balance while Teaching
As it was for many people, 2020 was a challenging year for me. The year put into focus many aspects of my life that I hadn’t previously paid much attention to. I was so used to the routine of my days that I neglected to consider the value of what was in my life until 2020 brought them into view.…
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2020 in Review - Unscripted
This week, I'm going unscripted. I've written down four questions that I'll ask myself and then answer. 2020 is a year that shan't soon be forgotten and I think that the most important thing we can do for ourselves is to learn from our experiences over this past year. Catch up with me on social...
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Teaching Should Work for You, Too
If there was ever a year that I questioned my decision to become a teacher, this is the one. Within the first two months of this school year, I was thinking about an exit plan. I’ve been dreaming about a life that doesn’t involve waking up in the morning and going to work with a bunch of…
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The Constant Chatter of Students
It seems to me that my students talk a lot. I don’t understand why. What have they got going on in their lives that is so interesting? How much can be happening in their lives that they need all of the time that they can get to discuss it? With all of the talking, when do they actually do…
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The Practice of Teaching
This episode will consider the practice of teaching. That is, teaching is something that someone needs to continually repeat and analyze in an effort to improve. Teaching is not something that you can just show up for, you have to have prepared yourself. Malcolm Gladwell talking about the 10 000...
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Who Are You?
This week, I want to explore our personalities as teachers. I think that we are different people when we're standing in front of a class. We're different people in different situations. But, when you're trying to help students figure out who they are, is it okay to be who you are as a teacher?...
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Cautious Creativity
This week, I want to explore some of my thoughts on being creative in your teaching practice. It's important to try new things and step out of your comfort zone, but how far should you go and are there limits on the things you should try? Who benefits from you being creative? Catch up with me on...
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Who's in Control of Students' Learning?
While driving to work the other morning, I started thinking about who is in control of a student's education. I figured it has to be either the students, teachers, or parents. When I posed the question to my class, they had something to say on the topic and their responses got me thinking. In the...
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Setting Your Objectives
A lot of teaching comes down to managing expectations - your own, your administration, your students', and the parents of your students. It's not about knowing what you're doing, but about being confident in your ability to do what you need to. The biggest struggle I'm facing right now is…
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Embrace Uncertainty
As we start the new school year with so many things still unresolved, we have to become the spirit of freedom for our students by embracing this uncertainty. We have to focus our energies on the process. We need to do our work diligently. Catch up with me on social media: Twitter Instagram…
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Students' Relationships
Our relationships with our students are the most powerful teaching tool that we have available to us. Like any tool, it's effectiveness is a result of how well we know how to use and maintain it. Beyond establishing a relationship with students, which is easy enough to do, you must continue to...
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Explore Technology in Your Teaching Practice
Using technology in your teaching practice is inevitable. In this episode, I share some thoughts on why we do and don't use technology in our classrooms. It's important that we explore technology with our teaching so that students can see its value. This week's question: When you're asking...
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Simplifying Teaching and Learning
In the first episode of season two, I'm proposing changes to how we approach scheduling for teaching and learning. Currently, the system is too complex and impedes our ability to make good decisions. What we need to do is strip things down to the simplest model possible and I think that means we...
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The Start of Season Two
The school year is almost here and that means there is going to be another season of this podcast. Today's questions: What is your definition of community within an educational context? Catch up with me on social media: Twitter Instagram YouTube Website
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Do Your Job Honestly
The best advice my dad ever gave me about my teaching career was to do my job honestly. It's important to teach what matters most to you because there isn't enough time to focus on anything else. The best thing you can do for yourself and your students is to be honest about who you are and what…
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Incomplete Ideas
Throughout this podcast run, I've written down ideas and I didn't get to some of them. Today, I want to present those unexplored ideas to you. These ideas aren't fleshed out but I still think they are worth sharing. Hopefully, these quick snippets will inspire something in you. Catch up with me…
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Professional Development
The introduction of a new math curriculum in Ontario has sparked an interesting debate. Professional development is something that I meant to talk about back in April and I'm finally getting around to it because it's an area that I need to improve in. Teaching should be mostly learning. Our...
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Your Impact as a Teacher
My students sent me a very heartwarming e-card today and it got me thinking about the impact that we have as teachers; we have more of an impact than we realize. For me, this is a lot of responsibility and one that I need to acknowledge and accept. How students see you and what you see in…
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The Last Week of School
This is the last week of school and it's not about learning. This week is about solidifying our relationships with our students. I'm having a hard time staying focussed so I can only imagine how students are feeling. The uncertainty that is coming with the end of this school year is only making...
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Seeing Students Again
The gifts I ordered for my students arrived this morning and I took the afternoon to deliver them. I saw a few of my students today and it was a trip. I'm curious to know what it's going to be like to see them in September. Today's question: During remote learning, are you getting dressed to go…
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Distractions
I've been working on building a marble run for over a week. I've been trying different materials and learning about how they work. In this process, I'm using a lot of the skills that I teach. It's important for us, as teachers, to pursue our own interests and take an interest in different things...
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What's in a Name?
Today I was thinking about the importance of names and what they mean to us and our students. Names carry meaning and they establish a presence. It's important to call our students by the names they choose for themselves and pronounce them correctly, too. Students, too, should be calling us by...
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Storytelling
I got tired of seeing students' avatars on the screen so I started creating imaginative stories about each other. It turned into an entire narrative that all of the students present enjoyed. I think that students should be given the opportunity to identify and explore their own stories. Students...
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Two Weeks Left
With only two weeks left in the school year, I think it's important that we turn our focus to the relationships that exist in the classroom: student-student and student-teacher. With engagement and motivation waning, it's important that we present students with interesting challenges to keep them...
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Colander vs. Fishing Net: Perspectives on Your Teaching Practice
Today, after finishing report cards, I started reflecting on my teaching practice for Big Idea Friday. The perspective that you take on your teaching practice will impact how you reflect on it. Coming at it with the lens of a colander – focusing on the holes – or a fishing net – focusing on the...
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Taking it Outside
I went outside to do some work today and it was great. I felt a lot more refreshed after being outside, and the work I was doing seemed easier. It was a nice change from the regular routine and something that I would like to make a habit. When we get back into the classroom, I'm definitely going…
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Running Out of Steam
I'm running out of steam. This isn't a normal June and it doesn't feel right. After ordering some gifts for my students, I started thinking about how the pleasure of giving it to them is taking a backseat to the administration involved with delivering them. I think I'm just settling into the...
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An Afternoon Without Email
I haven't checked my email since one o'clock this afternoon and it's been fantastic. I feel more relaxed and less rushed than I normally would in the evening. While I didn't get much done, it was good to just stare at a blank screen for a while. If you can, I would definitely suggest scheduling...
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Writing Report Cards
I sat down to start my report cards today. I didn't get very far. Writing report cards is always tricky but it feels even more so this year. It's been nearly four months since I last saw my students so I don't know how accurately I'll be able to report on student achievement this time around. To…
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Learning About Diversity
This is a conversation that I'm uncomfortable with because I don't know what my position within it is. I know that this is an important conversation to have and it's important for me to listen. I don't know how my students have been affected by the anti-Black movement and I don't know what their...
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The Fragmentation of Online Learning
Online learning is creating an ever-growing separation between the students themselves and the students and teachers. Without the classroom to provide a context for learning, I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to remain connected with our students. We – students and teachers – need to be...
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Showcasing Student Talent
I was asked to help a committee plan a virtual talent showcase. I agreed but it reminded me of when I was in a talent show. What we often don't realize is how much work goes on behind the scenes and how valuable this work is in helping provide students with an opportunity to present a different,...
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Starting June Slowly
Coming into this June, I feel more tired than I remember ever having been. I feel very confused, uncertain, and disconnected. I've been questioning my teaching practice and its effectiveness. I just don't feel ready, yet. Catch up with me on social media: Twitter Instagram YouTube Website
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Don't Tell Students That They're Smart
In today's episode, I share a bit of my story and how being labelled "smart" had an impact on my life. Being smart isn't a bad thing but it shouldn't be the primary aspect of one's identity. As teachers, we need to be careful about how we congratulate students on a job well done. Catch up with me...
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But, You Didn't Teach This!
I've been thinking about what it means when students say, "But, you didn't teach this." There are so many ways to interpret this simple statement, but it always means that the student doesn't know how to do what you've asked them to. What causes students to feel this way and what can be changed…
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Putting Students Together
After some conversations about student placement, I started thinking about how we have an impact on students' learning environments and the people they interact with. Grouping students together, or determining their cohort, should be done with the best of intentions and done truthfully. Today's...
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Diana Guerriero - Choice Boards
In today's episode, Diana Guerriero shares her experience with using choice boards to empower students. She shares a number of ideas for activities that can be easily implemented. She then shares how she collects student feedback to help her assess the effectiveness of the work students get to...
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Marking
Today I've been thinking about marking and what are some of the best ways for me to approach it. I've never liked marking, as such, even though I understand how valuable it is. There are a few things that I've done to help make it more manageable for myself, but there is room for improvement....
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Teaching is Not an Academic Exercise
Today, I try to make the case that teaching is not an academic exercise. It's too practical to be. In education, we are outcome-driven and that is reflected in how we engage and teach students. I don't know that we teach students things that are interesting, simply because they are interesting. I...
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Having Your Say
Today I've been thinking about how to increase opportunities for students to speak up, and about what we're missing when students don't say anything. I'm thinking about how the online environment is and isn't conducive to real conversations and how synchronous learning might help mitigate some of...
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Teaching the Students in Front of You
I took some time to reassess the teaching I've been doing, based on the feedback that I've received in the last week. I came to realize that I probably haven't been capitalizing on the assets that my students have. I also needed to give students the option of a greater structure, by providing…
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Melanie Madray - Hey! Teacher! Don't Leave Them Kids Behind!
We have a special, contributors episode today. Melanie Madray, a grade three teacher in Scarborough, shares her thoughts on teaching equitably during remote learning. She shares some of the things that she's doing with her class to address her students' needs. She also reflects on how she creates...
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Providing Students with Structure
For today's Big Idea Fridays, I'm talking about providing students with structure and helping them develop executive function skills. Students need these skills in order to be successful, but how do we teach them? Each student's needs are different, meaning that we have to be very intentional and...
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Connecting with Colleagues
Tonight I was thinking about connecting with colleagues and how I don't know about what's going on with them. I have maintained connections with my professional learning community but not with the people I work most closely with. I think it's important to reach out to them so that they know…
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Conducting Experiments Remotely on Video
Experiments are an effective way to teach, but doing experiments remotely is hard work. It takes a long time. It's annoying to have to do. I spent a good five hours today putting together a video of me rolling a marble down a tube. I suggest that you get students to do experiments at home but you...
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Asking Students What Meaningful Work Is
I had interesting conversations with my students today. I asked them three questions: What is meaningful work? How meaningful has the work that we've done so far been? Why am I asking these questions now? The conversations left me with the sense that I should scrap my entire program. I left the...
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Connecting with the Arts Through a Photography Project
My students are working on a photography unit that a parent has volunteered to teach. I think it's especially important that students connect with arts now so that they can express themselves through an emotive medium. Not only is this an interesting art unit, I think photography has become a...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This is a podcast about my experiences as an educator. I'll share things I've done, things I want to do, and ideas that I have. Education is a collaborative profession, even though we're often tucked away in our classrooms. My blog and this podcast are my way of opening up a dialogue. I want to share my experiences as a teacher with the hope that other educators glean something personally meaningful from my reflections.
HOSTED BY
Aly Gulamhusein
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mr. G's Podcast have?
Mr. G's Podcast currently has 76 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mr. G's Podcast about?
This is a podcast about my experiences as an educator. I'll share things I've done, things I want to do, and ideas that I have. Education is a collaborative profession, even though we're often tucked away in our classrooms. My blog and this podcast are my way of opening up a dialogue. I want to...
How often does Mr. G's Podcast release new episodes?
Mr. G's Podcast has 76 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Mr. G's Podcast?
You can listen to Mr. G's Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Mr. G's Podcast?
Mr. G's Podcast is created and hosted by Aly Gulamhusein.
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