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The Tom Schimmer Podcast is a show about learning, leadership, and life. Primarily, it’s a podcast that focuses on current topics in K-12 education. Each week, Tom Schimmer (a best-selling education author, keynote speaker, and consultant) will lean on his 30 years of experience to keep listeners informed and entertained on the prevailing stories dominating the conversations about teaching and learning. This podcast also focuses on educational leadership by exploring how leaders can truly engineer a culture of continued professional growth. Occasionally, this podcast will explore the pursuit of success and happiness as it relates to any walk of life. Through a mix of interviews, commentary, current news stories, questions from listeners, and other segments, listeners will be well-equipped to meet the needs of learners regardless of what role they serve.
Episodes

Monday Jan 18, 2021
Professional Judgment | Rick Wormeli | Atypical Assessments
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Monday Jan 18, 2021
In Don't @ Me (2:48) Tom asserts that now is the time for teachers to reclaim their professional judgment; however, to do so, he also asserts that teachers must be prepared for the responsibilities that come with it. Then, in the interview (15:14), Tom is joined by author, speaker, and consultant Rick Wormeli to discuss the events of January 6, as well as a number of different current (and future) educational topics. Finally, in Assessment Corner (1:15:23), Tom, part 1 of 2, details why "atypical assessment formats" must be embraced if teachers are going to remain relevant and culturally responsive.
- Follow Rick Wormeli on Twitter: @rickwormeli2
- Website: www.rickwormeli.com
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: tomschimmerpodcast
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Jan 11, 2021
Rehumanize Each Other | Tom Hierck | Grading: Verb or Noun?
Monday Jan 11, 2021
Monday Jan 11, 2021
In Don't @ Me (2:35), in the wake of the events in Washington, DC on January 6, Tom makes the case for why we need to rehumanize our human connections. Then, in the interview (15:42), Tom is joined by Canadian author, speaker, and consultant Tom Hierck to discuss student behavior and school culture. Finally, in Assessment Corner (1:01:39), Tom addresses a question about eliminating "grading" and why it's so important to be clear on whether we mean "grading the verb" or "grading the noun."
- Follow Tom Hierck on Twitter: @thierck
- Follow Tom Hierck on LinkedIn: Tom Hierck
- Website: www.tomhierck.com
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: tomschimmerpodcast
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Jan 04, 2021
Celebrating You! | 5 Leadership Lessons | Assessing Collaboration
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Monday Jan 04, 2021
In Don't @ Me (4:28), Tom celebrates educators and their incredible work over the first half of this school year. Then, in a solo segment (15:42), Tom highlights five leadership lessons he has learned through his personal experience as a school-based and district-level leader. Finally, in Assessment Corner (48:20), Tom addresses a question about assessing collaboration and whether there is any place for group scores or results.
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: tomschimmerpodcast
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Dec 14, 2020
Attitude of Gratitude | Erik Francis | Repacking Standards
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
In Don't @ Me (4:48), Tom explores the feeling of gratitude and how it can actually impact you and your brain; he also expresses his gratitude for you, the listening audience. In the Interview (15:19), Tom is joined by Erik Francis to discuss what makes for a good question and how to effectively use Depth of Knowledge (DOK) in planning. Finally, in Assessment Corner (1:25:00), Tom addresses the practice of repacking standards for cognitive rigor.
- Erik Francis on Twitter: @Maverikedu12
- Erik Francis Website: www.maverikeducation.com
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: tomschimmerpodcast
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Dec 07, 2020
Harm of Hyperbole | Cassandra Erkens | Year-End Standards
Monday Dec 07, 2020
Monday Dec 07, 2020
In Don't @ Me (4:09), Tom takes aim at the prevalence of hyperbole, especially on social media, and why it actually weakens one's argument. In the Interview (16:47), Tom is joined by his close friend and colleague Cassandra Erkens to discuss how Collaborative Common Assessments maximize the opportunity for student achievement and engineer authentic professional learning opportunities for teachers. Finally, in Assessment Corner (59:58), Tom addresses a question about how to assess year-end standards during the school year.
- Cassandra Erkens on Twitter: @cerkens
- All Things Assessment: www.allthingsassessment.info
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: tomschimmerpodcast
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Nov 30, 2020
Get it Wrong | Tara Barton | Memorization
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Monday Nov 30, 2020
In Don't @ Me (3:32), Tom makes the case for why educators need to push themselves with trying new strategies and practices, and why getting it wrong is a positive. In The Interview (13:29), Tom is joined by Tara Barton, Founder and Director of Serve Learn (Melbourne, Australia), to discuss what a robust Service Learning model looks like in schools and why it's essential for developing 21st-century skills in learners. In Assessment Corner (1:12:32), Tom addresses the role of memorization in a modern learning environment and highlights the difference between a task and an assessment.
- Tara Barton on Twitter: @tarambarton
- Serve Learn on Twitter: @servelearnco
- Serve Learn Website: www.servelearn.co
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: Schimmer Education
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Nov 23, 2020
Lead with Your Charisma | Bill Ferriter | Instructional Agility
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Monday Nov 23, 2020
In Don't @ Me (4:29) Tom asserts that leaders must find their charisma, develop their charisma, so they can lead with their charisma. Then, Tom is joined by Bill Ferriter (18:18), a middle school science teacher from North Carolina, to discuss teaching strategies for a remote or hybrid learning model. In Assessment Corner (1:31:22), Tom outlines a process for how teachers can plan with precision for instructional agility.
Notes from Bill Ferriter Interview:
- Digital Tools Guide
- Bill & daughter singing the Canadian National Anthem:
- Bill Ferriter on Twitter: @plugusin
- Bill Ferriter Website: www.williamferriter.com
- The Tempered Radical Blog
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: Schimmer Education
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Nov 16, 2020
Attention for Change | Katie Martin | Reassessment
Monday Nov 16, 2020
Monday Nov 16, 2020
In Don't @Me (4:58) Tom explores the single biggest challenge people face when they need to gain buy-in for a good idea. Then, Tom is joined by Katie Martin (16:54) to discuss her book "Learner-Centered Innovation" and what it means to empower students to explore and learn how to make an impact on the world. In the News (1:07:16) includes a reflection on all of the stories surrounding Covid-19. In Assessment Corner (1:10:59), Tom has some suggestions that can make implementing reassessment routines more efficient and effective. Finally, Tom has a question for listeners (1:24:07) about upcoming episodes.
- Katie Martin on Twitter: @KatieMartinEDU
- Katie Martin on Instagram: @katiemartinedu
- Website: www.katielmartin.com
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: Schimmer Education
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Nov 09, 2020
The Debate of Ideas | Katie White | Rubrics (2)
Monday Nov 09, 2020
Monday Nov 09, 2020
In Don't @ Me (3:48), Tom wonders aloud about what has happened to the debate of ideas and why all debate seems to get so personal so quickly. Then, Tom is joined by Canadian assessment author, speaker, and consultant Katie White (18:04) where they explore the soft and hard edges of assessment and why assessment is the key to everyday creativity. Finally, in Assessment Corner (1:15:15) Tom revisits last week's conversation about what the best type of rubric is and asserts that rubrics that describe (not prescribe) quality and are task-neutral are most favorable.
- Katie White on Twitter: @KatieWhite426
- Katie White on Instagram: @softedgedlearning
- Website: https://www.kwhiteconsulting.com/
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Instagram: Schimmer Education
- Facebook: Schimmer Education

Monday Nov 02, 2020
Alberta Curriculum | Josh Ogilvie (PHE) | Rubrics
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
- Email the Podcast: tomschimmerpod@gmail.com
- Follow the Podcast on Twitter: @TomSchimmerPod
- Follow Tom on Twitter: @TomSchimmer
- Facebook & Instagram: Schimmer Education