Egg drops, interview tips and classroom-tested STEM talk.
Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp, introduced on air as K-5 STEM teachers, talk shop in a friendly back-and-forth. Egg drops tested with water jugs and peanut butter sit alongside advice on interviewing for a STEM job, reflecting over the summer and finding Teacher Appreciation Week freebies.
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The Innovative Teacher Podcast is a teacher-to-teacher conversation between Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp, who are introduced on air as K-5 STEM teachers. The pitch is practical. Mostly the hosts talk about what happened when they tried something with students, and what they changed afterward. The egg drop shows how much mileage one activity can get. In one episode a host describes dropping an egg into a cut-open water jug and comparing a full jug with a half-full one. Peanut butter, it turned out, cushioned the fall on two of the drops, and slow-motion video made the difference visible. The hosts note that students could test both options to see whether it changes the design. The same activity appears in 'Ep. 48 Remote Learning Benefits', this time outdoors along with slime and a chemical rocket launch, where a host observes that students tend to do better when they can move around outside. That host also names the egg drop as a favorite on their own TPT store: simple, classic, with a personal twist. Career advice is a second thread. 'Ep. 45 [Replay] Interview Tips and Tricks to Land that STEM Job' is about becoming a STEM teacher and landing the position, and its advice is specific. Candidates should bring a lesson plan idea and know how they will support the rest of the building, through before- and after-school trainings, weekly emails, video tutorials or clubs. The hosts point out that the STEM teacher often doubles as the tech-management person, which they say describes their own roles, and they warn against becoming an island. Teachers' lives outside the lesson plan get airtime too. 'Ep. 46 Teacher on Summer Break-The Innovative Edition' is about using the summer to come back refreshed. It includes a host's account of a lesson from a first year of teaching STEM that went badly, was set aside, and later came back with small changes until students were engaged. The takeaway is that admitting a lesson fell short is hard for teachers who aim to do their very best, but it matters. 'Ep. 47 Teacher Appreciation Week 2021' is deliberately lighthearted: a run through restaurant deals teachers could claim with an ID, plus a reminder to check whether the local branch is taking part. In 'Ep. 43 #OneWord2021: From the Students Who Inspire Us [Office Hours Panel]', one host joins an office-hours panel on amplifying student voice, and one speaker talks about connecting with students through mind, body and spirit. The register barely changes from episode to episode. It is warm, encouraging and chatty, with the two hosts swapping favorites and asking each other what they would try. For a first listen, try 'Ep. 44 End of Year STEM Challenges'. That is the one where the hosts share favorite hands-on activities for keeping students engaged at the end of the year, water-jug egg drop included.
Made for: Suits a K-5 teacher, especially one running STEM, makerspace or technology classes, who wants activities to try soon and colleague-style advice about the job, from interviewing for a STEM role to reworking a lesson that missed.
What sets it apart: The ideas come as specifics from the hosts' own classrooms, like an egg cushioned with peanut butter or a new STEM hire's plan for training colleagues. The conversation also moves easily beyond lesson plans, into summers, appreciation-week freebies and student voice.
The Innovate Teacher Podcast is created for teachers to learn and grow together, and move their classrooms forward. Current K through 5 STEM teachers, Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp dive into various technology topics. They talk Makerspace, STEAM, and PBL, and other hands-on tasks to engage your students. Every Thursday, they bring you the best in technology in the classroom from interviewing people, to real examples from our own classroom. they fully believe that being an innovative teacher is what will separate you from the rest of the pack.
Peanut butter cushions an egg drop, and your next STEM lesson gets a plot twist.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded case for taking STEM outside, from egg drops and slime to a kindergarten cleanup.
The most useful idea in this episode is also the most physical: remote learning can push STEM teachers to think beyond the room. Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp make that case through concrete classroom scenes, moving from egg drops, slime, and chemical rockets to a…
Practical STEM interview guidance, grounded by a lesson-plan idea and an honest note about neglected resumes.
A STEM interview often comes down to whether a candidate can make the work legible to people outside the specialty, and this episode keeps that practical challenge in view.
An egg-drop challenge uses ordinary materials, student testing, and one wrong teacher prediction to energize end-of-year STEM.
End-of-year STEM gets a lively, practical frame in this conversation about an egg-drop challenge built from water jugs, water, peanut butter, and slow-motion video.
A student-centered panel on one-word school reflections, family, hope, and belonging.
Student voice gets a steady frame in this Office Hours panel, where students choose one word for their school year and educators linger over what those words hold.
A practical case for using student questions and teacher interests to push back against warm-weather burnout.
Teacher burnout is framed as a warm-weather classroom problem with a practical answer: put more invention back into the work. Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp tie renewed energy to lessons where students design, test, explore, and follow their own questions, whether that means…
Psychology teaching, one career story at a time.
Honest school talk with practical stakes.
Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp identify online tools such as Jamboard, Flipgrid, Seesaw, Pear Deck, and Google Classroom as remote-learning practices worth retaining in STEM classrooms.
For Teacher Appreciation Week 2021, K-5 STEM teachers Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp list teacher discounts and classroom giveaways.
The Innovative Teacher Podcast offers teachers four ways to use summer for rest, reflection, and preparation.
Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp use Ep.
Innovative Teacher Podcast Ep.
School Rubric's Office Hours panel on the Innovative Teacher Podcast uses four student videos and a final montage to frame 2021 with words like "home," "strength," "family," and "humorous." Tracy Browder hosts Spencer Sharp, Holly Lanner, and Melissa Campisi, who connect the clips to student voice, family support, and classroom belonging.
Innovative Teacher Podcast episode 42, "Using Innovation to Help with Teacher Burn-Out," centers on spring fatigue, state testing, and how Naomi Meredith and Spencer Sharp use STEM to stay motivated.
On Innovative Teacher Podcast Ep.
Hosts interview Kylie Barrett about using movement and a 3D geometric tool called Splat to enhance STEM learning.
This episode introduces the engineering design process and features an interview with a fellow STEM teacher about using it in the classroom.
Hosts interview a STEM teacher about integrating technology and hands-on projects in elementary classrooms.
Hosts discuss becoming a STEM teacher and share tips for landing a STEM position.