Hallway Conversations

Nov 06 2024 133 ep. 24 mins 3

Hallway Conversations Podcast artwork

Welcome to “Hallway Conversations!" We are three friends who have been teaching for quite a while, but we still have lots of questions about education. This is our place for thinking out loud about topics we think are important for Christian educators to consider. We regularly have face-to-face hallway conversations, and this podcast is our way of inviting you in to our reflections on contemporary education. Our deep hope is that you would find these conversations an opportunity for your own reflection--that you would be challenged and encouraged in your work as an educator, and that you might even chuckle along as we think on our feet and stumble through trying to answer each others questions about what it means to take our faith seriously as we consider our work as educators. Feel free to drop us a line at [email protected]

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Episode 114: What Should We Do about AI in Education? (or, Matt has a lot of questions, and Abby and Dave have ideas)

Nov 06 2024 34 mins

We start off this episode sharing about the different things we’ve been doing lately, with different conferences where we’ve been presenting lately. (It was marvelous for Abby and Matt to meet up with many listeners at CEA!) Dave’s conference actually sparked the topic for this week’s conversation: so many of the sessions at his EdTech conference dealt with AI in Education.

Episode 113: Why Aren’t People Becoming Teachers? (or, why Dave thinks we have to elevate the profession!)

Oct 23 2024 25 mins

This week we start off with a rant about Christmas decorations already being out in the stores (it’s only the middle of October!) which turned into a just-for-fun check-in question about our favorite Halloween treats from our youth. The heart of our conversation today stemmed from an impromptu conversation Matt had with a campus visitor about the Education profession, and the pro

Episode 112: Connections (or..."We're Back, Baby!")

Oct 09 2024 28 mins

We’re (finally!) back in the studio (okay, Abby’s office with a creaky table) to record again. We’ve missed this so much! We start by catching up about some of the events of our summer, and the things we have upcoming–lots of opportunities for us to meet up with Christian educators in different places. We love connecting with colleagues across North America, and around the

Episode 111: What Have We Learned? (or, why Dave believes “the people are the work!”)

May 22 2024 18 mins

Our final episode for this season–a little time to reflect on Matt’s question, “What does it look like to end well?” We shared some of the joys and sorrows we feel at the end of a term, ideas for how to end well, and some of the things we deeply believe about the rhythms of the school year. We also took some time to look back over this year and name some of the things we ha

Episode 110: Healing for “Infectious Behaviors” in the Classroom: A Conversation with Al Bandstra

May 08 2024 43 mins

This week we are delighted to have a long-time listener and friend of the podcast joining us for a conversation: master educator, Al Bandstra. Al teaches 6th grade at Sioux Center Christian School, and has written substantially about effective classroom management. His forthcoming book is about what he calls “infectious behaviors,” and this conversation is all about what Christ

Episode 109: The Science of Reading: A Conversation with Dr. Gwen Marra

Apr 24 2024 37 mins

This week we are joined in the hallway by our friend and colleague, Gwen Marra. Dr. Marra teaches courses in Dordt’s undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program and Master of Education Program related to early childhood education and literacy. Her academic focus is especially on supporting all learners in developing essential skills for literacy. The hallway crew keeps hearing abou

Episode 108: Teaching for (and from?) Transformation: A Conversation with Darryl De Boer

Apr 10 2024 45 mins

This week we are privileged to host our friend, Darryl De Boer, as a special guest. Darryl is a longtime leader in Christian schools, and currently serves as Director of Learning at Surrey Christian School in Surrey, British Columbia. Darryl is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education where he serves as the Director of Teaching for Transformatio

Episode 107: Teacher Leadership (or, why Abby is an effective leader, even though she never wants to be a principal)

Mar 27 2024 28 mins

We start off today’s episode by checking in about our spring break shenanigans; we were all out traveling, and found it a wonderful time to recharge–a good reminder for us (and hopefully for you too!) that we need to take breaks, get a change of scenery, and recharge. The main topic for our discussion today came from Dave’s questions: “What is teacher leadership? And how do

Episode 106: Attracting and Retaining Great Teachers: A Conversation with Chad Dirkse

Mar 13 2024 50 mins

This week we are privileged to host our friend, Chad Dirkse, as a special guest. Chad is a longtime school leader in Christian schools, and currently serves as Head of School at Annapolis Area Christian School where he serves more than 870 students and 100 staff. Chad is an expert in management and has a wealth of wisdom to share about both recruiting and retaining really excellent

Episode 105: Empowering Learners (Recorded with a Live Audience at Sioux Falls Christian School!)

Feb 28 2024 54 mins

We took the show on the road recently as we had the opportunity to provide some professional development workshops with our friends at Sioux Falls Christian School, and while we were there, they invited us to record an episode with their whole PreK-12 faculty. We had a great time, as usual! (Our apologies for the slightly less-than-optimal audio quality that comes with recording in