The Backwards Podcast
A.J. Juliani
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A.J. Juliani shares insights and stories on how to reverse-engineer any goal with a backward design approach. Drawing on years of experience using the backward design process for curriculum and learning development, he talks with experts and leaders who know a lot more than him about succeeding through backward planning in all kinds of areas (business, learning, sports, and life).
Available episodes
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Dec 18, 2022
#22 - John Warner: Teaching and Learning in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In this Backwards Podcast episode, A.J. Juliani sits down with author, professor, and speaker John Warner to discuss all things artificial intelligence (and how it impacts our current and future education system). John Warner is the author of "Why They Can't Write" and "The Writing Practices" where he discusses the need for a more creative and authentic approach to teaching writing. ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools have completely changed the landscape of writing for schools and work - this episode tackles those changes head-on.
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Dec 14, 2022
#21 - How to Combat Student Apathy (In Three Steps)
I've heard from educators all around the country that this is a bigger issue and something we need to talk about more. Are you seeing this? In this video, I dive into some of the reasons for student apathy, and a three-part solution that works to boost engagement.
Head on over to Ajjuliani.com to learn more.
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Sep 21, 2022
#20 - Jon Corippo: How Eduprotocols Will Change Your Teaching Forever
Jon Corippo is a co-author (along with Marlena Hebern) of The Eduprotocol Field Guide 1 & 2. In this episode, we talk about how you can change your teaching forever, and impact student learning with Eduprotocols.
EduProtocols are instructional lesson frames that are designed to engage students in learning through critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity.
EduProtocols can be used with any subject, any grade level, kindergarten through adult.
Listen to the episode and head over to https://www.eduprotocols.com/ for more information!
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Sep 12, 2022
#19 - 10 Ways to Transform the Traditional Classroom
In this episode, A.J. breaks down 10 different practical ways to transform from a sit-and-get, textbook type of classroom - to one that engages and challenges learners.
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Aug 18, 2022
#18 - How to Scaffold Student Ownership Throughout the School Year
Want to empower and engage your learners? If you are anything like me then you know this has two sides, in theory, it sounds great, but often in practice, it is a hot mess!
In this episode, I share some ways to scaffold student ownership and agency and give you a 9-month plan to get students to talk more, collaborate more, and create more.
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Jun 1, 2022
#17 - Catlin Tucker: How Blended Learning Can Transform Your School's Learning Experience
This school year has been exhausting! Teachers need a more flexible, sustainable, and rewarding way to approach this work. They should not be doing the lion’s share of the work in classrooms, yet that is what is happening in classrooms all over the country. If we are going to attract and retain high-quality teachers to this profession, we need to help them approach this work differently. Blended learning offers a viable path forward, shifting students into the role of active agents in the learning experience. Dr. Catlin Tucker breaks down how we can use Blended Learning to support meaningful change.
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May 24, 2022
#16 - Katie Novak: How To Remove Barriers To Learning For Everyone
UDL Now! Author Katie Novak dives deep into the best practices with Universal Design For Learning, and how we can start removing barriers for all learners (kids and adults).
If you've ever wanted to learn more about UDL, this episode is for you! And if you ever had a feeling that one size fits all learning doesn't work, here's how to fix it with real examples.
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Jan 30, 2022
#15: Cindy Grice, Nichole Caleris, John Metzner, Vanessa Shriver and Kerry Thomas: Project-Based Learning That Connects Across The Curriculum Every Single Week
When 5th-grade teachers Vanessa Shriver and Nichole Caleris realized their Ohio students were missing some of the most important pieces of Social Studies, (due to testing focusing on Math and ELA) they decided to try something different. With the help of their Principal and 5th grade team colleagues, they created Wondrous Wednesday. Every Wednesday their students would dive deep into Social Studies projects that would connect across the curriculum. Their deep dive into history led to some amazing products being developed and awesome experiences (even in the midst of the pandemic). Hear there story in this Backwards podcast episode!
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Dec 22, 2021
#14: From Cook to Chef: Building Adaptable Systems to Support Our People
Too often our systems are set up to be rigid and standard, when we know the world is adaptable and flexible. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit our schools, it was the people who were adaptable.
The system was not. The assessments were not. The policies were not. Most schools and organizations had nothing prepared to handle this virtual and hybrid situation, so like in other times in history, the burden fell on the teachers and educators to make things work.
How can we build systems that are adaptable enough to support flexible learning situations and our people? That's where this solo podcast dives in to reflect on our last two years.
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Oct 23, 2021
#13 - Melinda Wenner Moyer: The Research Behind Parenting, Connecting With Kids, and Homework
Melinda Wenner Moyer has been a science journalist for 15 years, covering new trends and controversies in science and medicine. She is also a contributing editor at Scientific American magazine and a faculty member in the Science, Health & Reporting Program at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Since having kids a decade ago, she's been answering parenting questions with science, too. She was Slate’s first parenting advice columnist, and regularly writes about parenting (and science) for The New York Times and The Washington Post. Her first book, How To Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes: Science-based Strategies for Better Parenting—From Tots to Teens, was published in July 2021.
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Oct 4, 2021
#12 - Trevor Ragan: 21st Century Skills Are Built Not Born (Growth Mindset Like A Jungle Tiger)
As the popularity of “Growth Mindset” has flourished over the past few years, we’ve seen many articles, books, and resources come out about how kids should be taught to have a growth mindset, over a fixed mindset.
Yet, a lot of the talk around this switch in mindset is focused on what you believe will happen, versus the actual results.
In my recent conversation with Trevor Ragan (founder of TrainUgly.com) we talk about all things “growth mindset” and the important distinction that happens when we see for ourselves that skills are built, not born.
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Sep 24, 2021
#11 - A.J. Juliani: Building From The Ground Up - A Story Of Adaptable People Solving Unique Problems
The Backwards Podcast is back, and in our first episode of Season 2, Host A.J. Juliani shares a story of adaptable people solving unique problems. If we want to build something better, we almost always have to start from the ground up!
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Apr 26, 2021
#10 - Heidi Hayes Jacobs: How Post-Pandemic Schools Can Create Remarkable Learning Environments
In this episode, we talk with best-selling author and curriculum expert Heidi Hayes Jacobs about her book Bold Moves For Schools and her work in education around the world.
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Apr 19, 2021
#9 - Julie Stern, Kayla Duncan, Trevor Aleo: Learning That Transfers
In this episode we talk with Learning That Transfers co-authors Julie Stern, Kayla Duncan and Trevor Aleo (we were missing their fourth co-author Krista Ferraro). How can we design curriculum for a changing world? That is the question that their new book sets out to solve, and our conversation is a wide-ranging dive into all things design, especially in our current situation where education has been impacted by the pandemic.
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Mar 22, 2021
#8 - Zaretta Hammond and Pooja Agarwal: The Science of Learning and the Brain
This week we are chatting with two amazing educators: Zaretta Hammond is the author of Culture Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. She's a former classroom English teacher, and she's been doing instructional design, school coaching, professional development for the past 18 years. She's been on the national education reform organizations, National Equity Project, the former Bay Area School Reform Collaborative, and she does work every single day around the idea of practice, specifically in culturally responsive teaching and instructional equity.
We'll also hear from cognitive scientist, Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D. She is the author of the book Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning and an Assistant Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, teaching psychological science to exceptional undergraduate musicians.
Pooja's research has been published in leading peer-reviewed psyc…
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Mar 22, 2021
#7 - Dion Lim: How to Backward Design an Ed Tech Startup
In this episode, we chat with NextLesson CEO and Founder Dion Lim. Dion has had tremendous success backward designing various areas of life. Now he has taken on education with his startup NextLesson and Grokspot. Listen as we talk about his upbringing, his business story, and how he is currently handling the challenge of parenting.
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Feb 22, 2021
#6 - Annie Jean-Baptiste and Catlin Tucker: Designing Blended Learning That Works For Everyone
In this episode of The Backwards Podcast, we talk with Building For Everyone author, Annie Jean-Baptiste, and Blended Learning in Action author, Catlin Tucker.
Annie Jean-Baptiste is the Head of Product Inclusion at Google and dives into ways we can design learning with equity and inclusion in mind. Catlin Tucker follows up with practical strategies to create relevant and meaningful blended learning experiences.
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Feb 14, 2021
#5 - James Clear: How To Actually Reach Your Goals By Focusing On Your Habits
In this episode, we talk with Atomic Habits author James Clear. This book has sold over 1 million copies and has helped change countless lives around the world. James breaks down how to actually reach your goals by backward planning your habits in ways that allow for growth and consistency.
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Feb 7, 2021
#4 - Esther Wojcicki: How to Raise Successful People
On this episode of The Backwards Podcast, we sit down to discuss education, parenting, and what it even means to be "successful" with Esther Wojcicki.
One of the reasons people go to Esther Wojcicki for parenting advice is because her three daughters are off-the-charts successful: Susan is the CEO of YouTube, Janet is a professor at UC San Francisco, and Anne is the CEO of 23andMe.
What’s more, Wojcicki has been a teacher for 36 years, helping build a world-famous media arts program at Palo Alto High School.
Her latest book, How to Raise Successful People, builds upon her life story as an educator and parent, and follows the success of her first book, Moonshots in Education.
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Jan 24, 2021
#3 - Kristen Swanson: How To Build Better Experiences By Planning Backwards
We chat with Kristen Swanson about the work she is doing at Slack as the Chief of Staff for Customer Experience, and how her years of developing curriculum, helping to start Edcamp, and teaching led her to use a backwards approach in all kinds of areas.
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Jan 18, 2021
#2 - Erica Buddington: A Backward Approach to Creating Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Doors in Curriculum
In this episode of The Backwards Podcast, Erica Buddington, The Langston League CEO, shares how they create mirrors by decolonizing curriculum.
You'll learn Erica's story as well as the work she has been doing in curriculum with schools and districts around the country.
Since 2016, Langston League has imagined and enacted culturally responsive instructional materials that have reached over one million students, families, and community stakeholders.
Langston League specializes in teaching people how to design and implement instructional material through professional development, curriculum and product design, facilitation and coaching. Since inception, we’ve served clients across multiple states and three countries, with clientele including Google Code Next, Achievement First Schools, HBO, Movers & Shakers, Netflix, Medgar Evers College, Up Academy, Because of Them We Can, and so many more.
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Jan 10, 2021
#1 - Jay McTighe: Everything You Need to Know About Backward Design and Curriculum Mapping 3.0
A.J. Juliani talks with Jay McTighe, co-author of Understanding By Design (with Grant Wiggins). Jay breaks down how backward design works, what this looks like in learning, and what he has learned in training thousands of people on the backward design process over the past three decades. Inside you'll also hear about curriculum mapping 3.0 and what that means for learning, training, and planning in the future.
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