Coffee On The Brain Podcast Interviews John Miller

John Miller, the founder of Agile Classrooms, recently joined Aaron Maurer on the “Coffee For The Brain” podcast to discuss the benefits of using Agile principles in education.

TOPICS WE EXPLORE

  1. Who is John Miller?
  2. What do we mean by “Agile” and “Scrum”? What are some ways to get this work to work when change is tough?
  3. See, feel, change
  4. Fail small
  5. Misconceptions about this work
  6. Collaboration and choice-making  are skills that needs to be taught
  7. How to let go of lower level needs of the teacher to be needed for deeper levels of thinking and connecting with students

TAKEAWAYS

One of the key takeaways from the podcast was the power of the word “permission” in creating a culture of learning and growth. By giving students permission to take risks, make mistakes, and explore new ideas, we can help them develop the confidence and independence they need to become self-directed learners.

But how do we make this work in the face of resistance to change? Miller suggests several strategies, including starting small, failing fast, and incrementally scaffolding self-direction and collaboration. 

We addressed misconceptions about growing student self-direction and collaboration. Collaboration and choice-making as skills that can be learned, scaffolded and practiced. He also emphasizes the importance of letting go of our need to be needed in order to create space for deeper levels of thinking and learning.

Thanks to Aaron Maurer for the great conversation. You can find Aaron on Twitter and you can buy his books on Lego Robotics in the classroom on Amazon.

SUMMARY

Overall, the “Coffee For The Brain” podcast with John and Aaron is a thought-provoking discussion on the potential of agile to transform education, empower students, and elevate teachers. Be sure to check out the episode at https://coffeeforthebrain.com/155/.

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