Ryan Steuer (00:00.108)
Welcome to the PBL simplified podcast for administrators brought to you by magnify learning your customized PBL partner from over a decade of experience with you in the trenches. are bringing you this top rated educational podcast designed for visionary school administrators seeking to transform their schools with project-based learning. Launch your vision, live your why and lead inspired. Here's your host Ryan Stoyer.
Welcome to PBL simplified for administrators podcast. I'm your host Ryan Stoyer and here we explore ways to empower educators to create thriving schools through project-based learning. And isn't that awesome? We do believe this that big. Like we are transforming schools using project-based learning. We're doing all over the country. It's totally possible. Hopefully you're one of those schools and you're tuning in to see how you can stay equipped and stay in the front lines. If you're just kind of wondering and
figuring out like, how does this PBL thing work? Do I want to bring my school in that direction? You're also in the right place, right? Cause we're just gonna talk about PBL right off the bat. And we've actually got two options that should still be open right now when this podcast comes out. And the way we've set up this format, we've got a leadership team conference. We've got two locations, one in Missouri, one in Kentucky. And you bring your leadership team. That's you, APs, coaches, lead teachers, and you all come and we help you figure out a three year plan.
So really, no matter where you're at, if you've got transition, if you have an established PBL school and you're in transition, you should come. If you're brand new, you should definitely come because you're gonna be surrounded by other teams that are going through some of the same things you are. And you wanna have a good clear plan that gives you confidence in what you're launching. If you're partway through the PBL implementation, like you're on the journey, I still recommend that you come. We've got some veteran PBL schools that are coming so that they can plan the next three years. How do you get your teams involved?
How do you share the wealth? How do you create grassroots movements? How do you train new, new hires in PBL? Right? So there's so many things you can plan out as a leadership team. It's two days. It'll be absolutely fantastic time. You'll leave with a great product. The other thing is the PMOC site license, PBL movement, online community site license. get, resources for your entire staff. So you get on demand courses, entry events, driving questions and products, all those things your staff are asking. They can take them whenever they want. You also get,
Ryan Steuer (02:25.435)
all of our resources, the full suite, 742 plus resources, everything from planning forms to group contracts to end products. You also get spots at some of our in-person teacher trainings. So if you've got some teachers that need to go through a PBL jumpstart, you can send them, right? You can send them to Indianapolis, Indiana, Columbus, Indiana, or they can go virtually. You get all of that with a site license. You can send any of your teachers. So those are two options that you can jump in.
and both of them are under 10 grand. So it'll fit your budget, right? So both of those are budget friendly options to get you moving in your PBL direction. So now let's talk about how do we help you love your job every day? Doesn't say every day is going to be perfect, but how can we get you to love your job? I've got 13 tips for loving your job because I want you to love your job the way that Cynthia Bruno loves her job.
She's a principal at a Title I elementary. And at the time that she took over, their state score was a D. And she started to get people rallied around PBL. She built a grassroots movement. She did not bring it herself. She was with a leadership team at the time. And I was speaking about PBL and it was actually virtual. They were tuning in virtually and kind of partway through in a break, said,
Do you guys think this is it? Like, is this what we want for our school? Do we want learners that are engaged and empowered? Do we want kids that were once completely apathetic to be involved in learning and to be lifelong learners so they can go be successful later on in life? And they all said yes as a team. And with that team momentum, she brought in a lot of training, right? She did the leadership conference. She did an onsite, so it was customized for her and her team.
But in just two years, they went from a D to an A from a D to an A just two years using project-based learning. Like that's such a big deal. Like how does that happen? Because they did it the right way. Like there's nothing we teach a skill and drill, right? Just to, to fake some, some results for a test. No way it's they were, the learners were planning, how to implement a new playground on their site. Like the learners got involved in that, can be partners got involved in that. The younger learners were figuring out like,
Ryan Steuer (04:49.839)
What's the best way to figure out like our fire drill and the path that they need to go? And all their learning became tied to these real world problems that were being solved. And the learners became engaged. The teachers became engaged. The community got engaged and behind this work. And that's when everything grew. Like the tide like raised all these boats, right? And she loves her job. She loves her job every day. Her job is not easy every day, right? Like you know that. Like principals.
deal with situations that most people in the world do not understand happen. Right, like you have a lot of things on your plate, but how can you enjoy, how can you love your job every day? Here's 13 different tips. Number one, the core of your leadership, like is gonna be connecting with your purpose. So if we ever meet and you've got my book, People Simplified, hey Ryan, can you sign this? I always put live your why, Ryan Stoyer, because everything starts with your why. Like why did you become an administrator specifically?
Why did you become an educator? Why did you become an administrator? Likely because you want to have impact on students, teachers, your community. You're probably an educator, a teacher in the classroom and you're like, I think I could have a broader impact if I moved up. Somewhere in there is your why. It might be a school experience that you had. might be that you're in a family of educators and you will understand the impact of education on society, right? Whatever that bigger why is, we need to connect.
that to your leadership. Like that's your core. There are stories within your core and your why that you need to share with your staff and with students. So they understand that. But every now and then, especially on those tough days, like you need to tap into, you know, what is your why? So that's number one. So number two, since this is a PBL podcast, like why are you bringing PBL to your school? That's the next section is like, what's your why for PBL? Because now you're going to say PBL is bringing meaningful student centered education.
to my classroom, to my learners, why is that important? Because that's also not the easiest path, right? Education, being an administrator, not the easiest path. PBL, also not the easiest path, but that's where the work's happening. That's where the transformation's happening. That's where you see full school transformation and learners being transformed. So what's your PBL why?
Ryan Steuer (07:08.965)
And that might be a student story, right? Like for me, it's Skyler. Like I saw Skyler go from completely disengaged from school and any of the outcomes, didn't care about any of them, except that he got to hang out with his buddies and skate. That was the biggest one is they all got together, right? So when I see him transformed to a lifelong learner and I see him living a life now where he's a freelance photographer, he's got 40,000 followers on Instagram, he's got sponsors like Nike, Coleman Camping Gear.
Red Bull, different energy drinks. He's got like for real sponsors living the life of his dreams. And he was a kid that grew up in generational poverty on the Southwest side of Indianapolis. It's like that transformation happened through PBL and it did not happen through traditional teaching. So for me, that's one that I hang on to. Like that's a story I tell it often because I want other people to engage, but it also helps me stay engaged. It helps me stay with a full cup so that I can continue to lead.
So what's your why as an educator, as an administrator, but also what's your why for PBL? All right. Those are both practical, by the way. You can write those down. You can make a video. You can just start telling people. Here's another one. Celebrate small wins. Again, looking for things that are super tangible that you can go do. Focus on daily victories. Like where did you see a student be successful? Where did you help a teacher be successful? Where did you see...
One of these PBL units in your school just like come to life. And there's a couple different ways to do this one. You can document it, right? Like maybe you, you know, take a video, put it on social media, but here's what I love. My favorite is that there's research that shows if you write down five bullet points of things you're grateful for at the end of your day, you're 25 % happier. 25%. That's, that's pretty solid. So if you're going to love your job, like being happier is probably a good way to do it. So just five bullet points. You don't have to write.
you know, some big poetic journal entry, five bullet points, what went well today? You're 25 % happier. Number four, this is a big picture one, but just know that you're making a difference. Acknowledge that you're making a difference in people's lives, teachers and learners and parents and grandparents, right? You know, you've got grandparents, they're trying to raise kids and it's really hard. And you have those conversations with patients in love.
Ryan Steuer (09:33.94)
Like you are making a difference. You're making a systemic change and you get to uplift an entire school system that in a lot of places is the heart of a community. That's such a big deal, my friend. Like I want you to know that your job is so much bigger than a state score and you need to see the bigger difference that you're making and know that that's part of what probably while you're doing this work. let's go ahead and name it. Number five, empowering teachers. And maybe this is a good time.
I'm gonna jump into my book, PBL Simplified. There's two chapters specifically for you, the building administrator, chapter 12 and 13. So chapter 12 is about PBL implementation. There's several different models that you can use, right? Whether it's full school, school within a school. So I go through that in chapter 12. But chapter 13, we talk specifically about leadership in a PBL environment. And teams are really important. This is where you can really start to empower your teachers.
says teams are a crucial early addition to the PBL process for principal to help spread the work and create buy-in for staff. And then I ask you if you haven't in the previous chapter in chapter 12, I go through Jeff Spencer's leadership team approach for PBL implementation. We walk through Jeff's entire implementation process. He actually writes this part in the book. I put this excerpt in here and he talks about how he created a leadership team at the very beginning. He got them trained. He got this grassroots movement.
created through this leadership team. And he walks you through the process. His elementary school is now a national PBL model school. They had the highest growth on their standardized test score in the entire state. So it's a big deal. He's somebody you should be following and you really want to listen to his story in full. He says, you will find teams involved throughout Jeff's story. Trying to bring about change process by yourself is a recipe for failure and not the good kind.
Right? We say failure is good, but if you're trying to do this on your own, you're not going to love your job. Right? You need to empower teachers in this process, not just to get the work out there, but so that you've got other people that are excited about it. Other people have the mindset, other people that are keeping this grassroots movement going. Number six, foster relationships. Right? Don't go with the full lonely leadership, right? Like there is loneliness and leadership. You need to have some leaders that understand you that you can connect with. You probably won't connect with them on a,
Ryan Steuer (11:58.248)
very regular basis, like it won't be like every week or every day because they're busy just like you are, but you should still be connecting. And in another way, foster those relationships of your staff, your students and your parents and community partners so that you have open communication, right? You want to prioritize that open communication and trust because it keeps the movement going, right? And thus you will love your job more, right? When you've got a team around you you've got people around that know you, like you and trust you, it's a big deal.
Number seven, create moments of joy. Create moments of joy. Don't just wait for them or hope that they happen. We need to create them. So celebrate milestones, recognize X efforts. wanna cultivate positivity in your school environment. And you say, okay, Ryan, I would like to do that. But maybe you're like me, like I'm not super good at that. Like this is one that I have a hard time with. I don't really celebrate those things. I'm like, let's grind, let's do the work because the work's important, right? Let's just make it happen.
And there's a book called The Power of Moments by the Heath brothers, The Power of Moments and super good for creating these very specific moments and very specific milestones. So one example they give is at John Deere when you first get hired on, it's not just fill out a bunch of paperwork. They make it an event, they make it a big thing and you go through these experiences and you feel a part of the team.
you feel a part of the John Deere team, right? Which is a big deal. They've got a big brand. Another simple example is in Las Vegas, there's a hotel and they've got this red phone and it's just out by the pool. It's in different places. And when you pick it up, you can order popsicles. That's right. You just, that's the only reason the phone exists is so that you can order popsicles. So you're out by the pool, you pick up the phone, hello, how many popsicles would you like? And they deliver popsicles to you. That hotel is not inherently awesome actually.
It looks like it's from the seventies or the eighties and but it's got this power of moments. There's this thing that happens, right? When you pick up the red phones, like what are the things that you can create? The, the, the moments, the milestones that you celebrate that create moments of joy and it's going to create moments of joy for you and for others, which again helps you love your job. What about personal fulfillment? How do you grow your number eight is continual growth. So engaging in professional development opportunities.
Ryan Steuer (14:22.61)
that keep you inspired, that connect you to great people. Whether it's a mastermind or a conference that you go to that you know just gets you fired up or maybe you've got a mentor you connect with, but when you're growing, you're often very fulfilled. So finding ways for you to grow. Number nine, connect with a network. Surround yourself with peers who uplift and challenge you and then join communities of administrators that are fired up about PBL.
So how do you get into a mastermind? We've got some masterminds of magnified learning, but the reason masterminds are interesting, you pay to get into them, but because you paid, you show up. Because you paid, you know that you're going to jump in every other week and you're going to get on the call with these other people that are just like you. They're innovators, they're doing the work, it's hard, they know it, they know it's important, so they do it. And if you just say, hey, let's meet every other Wednesday, it's...
How often does that go past a month or two? Not very often. So you say, well, something came up, so I gotta go. Something came up, you know. So if you can add some structure to this networking opportunity in some form, you'll find that you tend to connect more and those relationships can be important, deep relationships for you. Number 10, daily practices. So it could be the gratitude journal at the end of the day, those five bullet points that you put on there. It could be,
listing your goals at the very beginning. It could be affirmations. It could be a call that you make. Maybe you make one positive call every day. Or it could be a walkthrough that you do. Maybe you know that just sometime in February you need to go into the kindergarten classroom because it's cute and it's uplifting. But you've got these daily practices that you put into your day. It'll feel like a discipline at first, but when it becomes a habit,
It's just going be part of what you do. Right? Like I take a walk every morning with a weight vest and I, and I listen, I listen to the Bible and that is a daily practice for me that centers me. I know it's coming and it sets my day. When I don't do it, it feels a little bit off. So having some of those daily practices, whatever that means for you so that you're like, yep, I'm in my sweet spot. I'm in my zone. I'm making this happen. I love my job. That might be one of your affirmations is I love my job. Right?
Ryan Steuer (16:46.26)
All right, number 11, empowerment through delegation. So here I've got trust your team and empower them to take ownership, giving you space to focus on strategic leadership. So two things happen in this one when you empower through delegation. One, you're empowering your teachers, right? So they're getting better, you're mentoring them, you're giving them more responsibility. That's a big deal. You want to see your people grow. That's going to help you love your job. Two, they're also going to take some things off your plate so that you can think more strategically.
and do more of the leading than just the managing. Cause you don't want to just be putting out fires here and there and there. You want to be thinking strategically about where you're leading the school. So empowering through delegation is a really important one. Now delegation is not the easiest thing in the world. we always say, Hey leaders, go delegate. It's part of your job. You might need to take a course or take a book and write and walk through delegation, get a process. There are a lot of processes out there. Michael Hyatt's got one. Dave Ramsey has one that I appreciate both of those.
but finding a process that's clear that you have confidence in can really help you with delegation. So if it hasn't worked for you in the past, just know there are benefits and there are ways to do it well. Number 12, find joy in learning. And this might be just like going back to your roots a little bit, right? Cause when we go from classroom to administrator, you get a step away from the learners often, right? Well, you have to, right? So you have to by definition, you're going to be a step away.
But how do you get back into that? How do you go see, can you go read to a class? Can you go be an authentic audience? Can you give feedback? How can you get back into the mix to see the impact that you are having on those learners? You are impacting those learners and your community. So sometimes you need to go in there and see it and just get some of that joy back from the learning that's happening in your building. All right, the last one is inspiring examples, inspiring examples. Maybe you're reading,
a book that's got inspiring historical examples, maybe that's your jam. We'll share some on the podcast. Maybe we need your story on here. If you go to pblshare.com, pblshare.com, you can share your story, but finding people that are doing the work, like school visits are awesome professional development opportunities. If you've got a school and you're like, wow, it sounds like they're doing amazing things, like going to visit to find something, even if you're not there yet, especially if you're not there yet, go see what's possible. It's really inspiring.
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to see some of those examples and you find out they're just like you and they might be a step or two ahead and they probably have some really good advice. So those are 13 steps that you can take to help you love your job. Your job is super important. It's not easy. Like we get that. We're going to help in any way that we can. So stay engaged with us. Let us know what you need as an administrator to bring in PBL. And if you go to pblshare.com, there's a little drop down.
You can leave a win, can leave a question, whatever you do, it comes right into our inbox and we can answer it. So we want to make sure we can help you because what we've found is really great PBL movements that are grassroots are important. But if the administrative side, the leadership doesn't connect to that, it does not last. So we need you to be supported, filled with joy, know that your work's important, that you're important, and we need you in this work. All right, our next episode.
We're going have a leadership guest episode and we're actually be looking at data. So he's a data visualization expert. Like how can you take your data and make it look amazing? So you can share it with your stakeholders and share the awesome things that you're doing in your school. All right, go out and lead inspired. That's just what I needed to bring PBL to my school. If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing the show. only takes two minutes to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars and select write a review.
Then be sure to let us know what was most helpful about that episode. Your review helps the next inspired leader, just like you, find their why and lead inspired.
