Today we're sharing part three of the implementation series from Family Engagement Lab. Elisabeth O'Bryon of Family Engagement Lab and Rayna Flye of Illustrative Mathematics join us to discuss: When families say "this isn't how I learned math," what are they really reacting to? What teachers understand about today's math instruction that families never get to see Why the disconnect often starts with the day-one communication that goes home The difference between informing families about instruction and helping them participate in it What family math nights and bite-sized, curriculum-aligned communication actually change Who owns this work — teachers, school leaders, or curriculum providers? The risk a district takes when it adopts a strong curriculum but doesn't bring families along Listen to Implementation Series, Part 1: The Missing Instructional Layer: https://etss.bepodcast.network/episodes/implementation-series-part-1-the-missing-instructional-layer-with-vidya-sundaram-and-elisabeth-obryon Listen to Implementation Series, Part 2: Why Good Ideas Fail Quietly in Schools: https://etss.bepodcast.network/episodes/implementation-series-part-2-why-good-ideas-fail-quietly-in-schools-with-vidya-sundaram-and-elisabeth-obryon Learn more about Family Engagement Lab: https://www.familyengagementlab.org Learn more about Illustrative Mathematics: https://www.illustrativemathematics.org About the guests Elisabeth O'Bryon is co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Family Engagement Lab. Elisabeth was previously the Director of Research and Evaluation at GreatSchools where she worked to design and implement evaluation projects, with a particular focus on rapid-cycle research approaches. Before GreatSchools, Elisabeth was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence where she contributed to the development and evaluation of school-based social and emotional learning programming for children, teachers, and families. Elisabeth has a doctorate in psychology and experience providing school psychological services to preschool through high school-age students in both English and Spanish. Elisabeth recently co-authored 45 Strategies that Support Young Dual Language Learners, a resource that provides practical, developmentally appropriate strategies for supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds and creating inclusive early childhood classrooms that foster the success of young DLLs. Elisabeth is enjoying the many adventures of parenthood with her husband and sons. Rayna Flye, PhD, is Senior Specialist in Market and User Insights at Illustrative Mathematics, where she leads research with families, teachers, and district leaders to understand how high-quality math curriculum is experienced in classrooms and at home. A social scientist by training, Rayna specializes in research design, survey development, focus group facilitation, and qualitative and quantitative analysis, and her work on family focus groups informs how curriculum providers and schools communicate instructional change to the families they serve. About the host David Cicero is the host of Education Talk Radio on the Be Podcast Network. Listen to Education Talk Radio at https://edutalk.bepodcast.network Learn about more shows at https://bepodcastnetwork.com

“Demand avoidance”, poor generalization, prompt-dependence, and social skills challenges seem like isolated issues.  But often they’re not. Many times they’re tied to executive functioning challenges.  That’s why when I describe “executive dysfunction”, I cluster it into five broad areas: Attention, Learning Challenges, Behavioral Issues, Organization, and Social Skills Usually, this is the point that the lightbulb goes on for a lot of clinicians and educators in the room as they realize executive functioning is the common sticking point behind many of their students’ challenges. When I support clinicians in designing executive functioning intervention frameworks, I start with explaining the external signs.  Things like: ✅ Refusing to do even the simplest of tasks, and putting more effort into avoiding the work than it would take to actually do it ✅Behaviors that seem disproportionate to the situation, melt downs over things that barely phase their peers ✅ Always appearing to be several steps behind ✅ Not “reading the room” during functional tasks, and requiring tons of prompts ✅ Lack of awareness of how they’re coming across to others In episode 266 of De Facto Leaders, I do a deep dive into these five external signs that tie back to executive functioning challenges.  In this episode, I mention the Task Execution and Planning Protocol, which gives school clinicians an intervention strategy that takes students from “demand avoidance” and prompt dependence to independence during daily academic and functional tasks.  You can learn more about the Task Execution and Planning Protocol here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/taskexecution In this episode, I mentioned School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design scalable executive functioning interventions to ensure students get the scaffolding they need across the school day.  You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

Summary Glenn Whitman is a distinguished educator who has worked with schools around the world to support schools and teachers bringing evidence practices to their classrooms. In this episode Glenn talks about his own school’s journey to becoming an evidence-based teaching institution, his continued role in that journey, and how his school supports schools around the world who also want to become evidence-based through The Center for Transformative Teaching. Episode Links Website: Home - The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning Glenn's Email: gwhitman@saes.org

Summary Jake Harmer returns for his second annual check-in on A Decade Never to Be Forgotten. He reflects on welcoming a fourth child, growing Family History StoryBooks to 120 titles and more than 8,000 printed books, and asking what experiences he wants his own storybook to preserve. Jake and Jethro discuss using AI to research, write, and illustrate family-history books; discerning truth in an age of synthetic video; serving in a bishopric and helping young men pursue longer-term goals; using AI to complete plumbing and electrical work in a home addition; fatherhood; and what the next year may bring. Chapters 0:00 — Welcome & a Year of Reflection 1:30 — A New Baby and Family History StoryBooks 3:48 — What Belongs in a Life Story? 9:17 — Research, Writers, and AI-Assisted Books 12:26 — AI Image Generation and Consistent Characters 19:57 — Synthetic Media and Spiritual Discernment 22:20 — Making the Storybook Business Work 24:20 — Serving in the Bishopric and Learning Through Trials 34:03 — Sharing Faith Online 39:08 — Helping Young Men Pursue Long-Term Goals 45:37 — Using AI for a Home Addition 47:40 — Baptism and Spiritual Moments 49:35 — Being Present With Family 54:00 — What the Next Year May Bring 56:10 — AI as a Tool for Creativity Show Notes Journal your own decade at adecadenevertobeforgotten.com or adntbf.com Jake's Family History StoryBooks work turns family research into illustrated books for descendants. Topics include AI-assisted research and illustration, spiritual discernment, church service, long-term goals for youth, home improvement, and being present with family. Referenced in this episode: President Russell M. Nelson's teaching about the Holy Ghost, Job, Ether and the brother of Jared, the Stripling Warriors, and recent AI filmmaking. Added/created/modified by Codex on 2026.08.20 17:27 on ombee.

Matt sits down with Stewart Brown, from Code for Kids (c4k.io), to dig into why so many schools are unprepared to teach AI literacy and computer science—and what it actually takes to build a foundation that sticks. From debunking the myth that CS doesn't belong in every district to rethinking what "expert in the room" even means for teachers, this conversation goes way deeper than tech tools. It's about curiosity, vulnerability, and what gets lost when we let AI do too much of the thinking for us.  Timestamps:  2:43 | The real gap in K-8 schools: why computer science often doesn't exist as a real subject 15:12 | Stewart's no-BS way of explaining AI: "It's a machine brain." 18:07 | Matthew's viral hallucination analogy — what your breakfast 20 years ago has to do with AI 19:38 | Unpacking "future-ready education" — and why it's more than a buzzword 21:54 | The mindset shift every teacher needs before stepping into an AI-driven classroom 30:56 | A college classroom story that changed how Matthew thinks about teaching 35:09 | How Code for Kids actually started — an origin story with a wild twist 40:23 | What happens to classroom engagement when teachers admit they don't know everything 47:48 | Stewart gets curious: the big open questions driving his work 51:49 | The one thing about AI that fascinates (and unsettles) everyone in the field 57:28 | Where to find Stewart and Code for Kids