Maria Xenidou, host of the Impact Learning podcast, explores how great teachers expertly balance resources, guidance, coaching, and discovery to create opportunities for students to learn. Maria’s mom created a solid foundation for a lifetime of learning and Maria’s teachers served as leaders and mentors, influencing her thinking to this day. Maria created the Impact Learning Fund and supports that endeavor in a way that truly defines dedication and commitment.
Learning impacts life (4:20)
No space in pre-school (5:15)
Mom leading the reading and learning (5:30)
Learn, early on (6:30)
Obstacles serve as a catalyst for moving forward (6:45)
Different pathways to learning (7:40)
Self-directed learning (8:00)
Intentional learning (8:30)
Learning from others (9:00)
Learning from those who have experience (10:00)
Learning via interest and opportunity (12:15)
Create space and opportunity for learning (12:55)
What to teach directly and what to allow to unfold (14:20)
The most important conditions for learning (15:35)
Access to resources is vital (15:40)
Cultivating an environment that cultivates curiosity and exploration (16:40)
Independent learners and thinkers are problem solvers (17:15)
Learning by doing (17:30)
Put your learning into practice (18:40)
Focus on the most difficult parts (18:55)
Difficulty as an indicator of a potential learning moment (19:10)
Share as you learn, not only later (21:20)
“Teacher” means someone with more experience (22:25)
Sharing as teaching (23:25)
Maria’s elevator question (24:15)
Leveraging knowledge and skills to help others (24:30)
Helping others moves your own work forward (24:50)
Finding and solving problems as a key to learning (25:55)
Resources can become distracting (27:00)
Remove what you don’t need to learn, and learn only what you need (27:15)
What kind of work do you want to do? (27:55)
A teacher goes above and beyond (29:55)
Handwritten lessons and problems for Maria and her sister (31:00)
Figure out a way to get resources to people (32:20)
A teacher’s amazing insight, confidence, coaching, and mentoring (33:05)
Public schools, working class, low income family receiving great support (34:40)
The Impact Learning Fund (35:25)
Commitment – a year’s salary as a VP (35:55)
Fifty dollars or one hundred dollars can provide education for a child without access to resources (37:00)
Learning to reach out to “community” to make progress (38:00)
Connections help with decision making, especially in a world of abundance (38:50)
Content creation – podcast interviews and written resources (39:40)
Podcast cover art for Lead. Learn. Change. is a view from Brunnkogel (mountaintop) over the mountains of the Salzkammergut in Austria, courtesy of photographer Simon Berger, published on www.unsplash.com.
GUEST CONTACT INFORMATION FOR LISTENERS
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaxenidou/
Podcast - https://impactlearning.simplecast.com