#67 Building Sustainable Professional Development Across Cultures with Dr. Trevor Soponis

In this episode of Make It Mindful, Seth Fleischauer welcomes back to the podcast Dr. Trevor Soponis—educator, researcher, and founder of the Sustainable Learning Projects—to explore how to make professional development more impactful for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. Drawing on years of observation and coaching across continents, Trevor shares how he helps teachers in Taiwan increase student speaking opportunities while balancing progressive and traditional approaches. The conversation highlights what sustainable teacher support looks like in cross-cultural contexts and why teacher-driven strategies create lasting change.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How Trevor’s classroom observations in Taiwan reshaped assumptions about classroom management and student readiness to learn
• Why teachers often overestimate student talk time—and strategies to shift the balance toward more student speaking
• The cultural contrasts between U.S. progressive pedagogy and traditional Asian classroom norms
• Using structured professional development to surface teacher-driven strategies, including deeper explorations of “turn and talk”
• Practical tools like whiteboards, open-ended questions, and accountability systems that foster authentic language use
• The power of the PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle for teacher-led continuous improvement
• Lessons learned about providing hybrid and remote coaching support across time zones
• Why sustainable teacher coaching is a “hill to die on” for Trevor, and how it combats burnout and turnover

Guest Bio:
Dr. Trevor Soponis is an educator, researcher, and founder of the Sustainable Learning Projects. With a background spanning classroom teaching, university partnerships, and district-level leadership, Trevor now supports schools around the world with professional learning that is teacher-centered, sustainable, and transformative. He is a longtime collaborator with Banyan Global Learning, supporting teachers both in-person and remotely. Trevor is most active on LinkedIn.
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Host Bio:
Seth Fleischauer is the founder of Banyan Global Learning and an advocate for global, digital, and cultural competencies in education. Through live virtual programs and thought leadership, he helps students and educators explore the interconnectedness of people, cultures, and systems.

Episode Links:

• Sustainable Learning Projects
• Previous episode with Dr. Trevor Soponis (Episode 13 of Make It Mindful)

Host Links:
Seth Fleischauer’s Banyan Global Learning provides meaningful global learning experiences that prepare students across the globe for success in an interconnected world.