The Better Mindset Podcast

Engaging our students has become a real challenge in a post-COVID, media-filled world. We talk to Jo Mclntyre-Brown about her passion for Steam learning and sustainable enterprise programs. If you’re looking for a way to enrich your classrooms with authentic real-world problem-solving or want to help your teaching team get started with some simple design thinking challenges, here are some ideas to get you started. 

Show Notes: 

1. Ma...

How do we keep up with the developments of AI and all the new tools coming our way? Mark and Bex dive into the latest trends and also some concerns we all need to be across as leaders in schools, they explore how our wearable tech can keep us saner, fitter and better in general and they also share a small but meaningful update for the Flip tool that will help facilitate better conversations with your students.

Show Notes: ...

When was the last time you had a refresh of the tools, processes and culture of your school’s communication plan? There are so many ways we can be more efficient and build a better team culture. This week Mark and Bex give you a process and some practical tips to overhaul your internal communication practices. 

Show Notes:

Future Now Leadership Summit NZ 2023

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In this episode, we explore the differences between coaching and mentorship. While both are powerful tools for personal and professional growth, they have distinct approaches and outcomes. We dive into the characteristics of each, including the level of structure, guidance, and relationship-building involved. Our guest speakers share their experiences and insights on when coaching or mentorship may be more appropriate and how to be...

Schools are bombarded with an increasingly complex set of needs and responsibilities. As leaders, our response, far too often, is to overload our teams with another meeting. This week Mark and Bex unpack 5 ways to organize your meeting structure and content in ways that optimize efficiency while building a great culture at the same time. In the ‘Making Waves’ segment, Bex shares the challenges of our modern world that can lead to t...

It’s never been more important than ever for school leaders to take an active part in connecting their families and wider community together. Schools are often the main point of contact for people now and Mark and Bex unpack some practical ways we can bring people together. Mark also shares a digital tool he’s started using that can help leaders and teachers get some organisation out of the chaos of their professional and personal ...

Have you heard or read about Augmented Reality? If you have, are an educator and don’t really care, this is the episode for you! Paul Hamilton, UTB’s resident AR expert tells us why AR is becoming such an engaging and relevant tool for students and the impact it’s having in so many industries around the world. Bex also shares some practical tips for how she’s overcoming imposter syndrome and the team also share some ideas for how s...

STEAM Learning can be challenging for teachers when they’re over a single lesson, a week or even a term. How does a teacher continue an authentic, engaging and multi-award winning STEAM project for 5 years? We talk to Myles Webb, a teacher and DP in New Zealand who has some practical advice for schools wanting to make a meaningful impact on their students and community. Mark and Bex dig into ways we can approach teacher burnout wit...

Every leader, whether you are leading a school or your classroom, has faced those people on your team who cause disruption and lower the overall temperature. We can get trapped in a spiral of avoiding and judging them. Mark and Bex dive into some effective and practical steps for identifying and overcoming, even enhancing your team through the help of these kinds of people and mindset. Richard, one of the UTB trainers, also has his...

In todays fast actioned, whirlwind of modern life it’s so easy to focus solely on the day to day management of a school. On this episode, we have some insights from a school principal who worked with his leadership team, teachers and school community to not only successfully manage the challenges of the last three years but also create an environment of inspirational change. The team also discuss how your work love languages can ma...

Are you struggling with a lack of student engagement or want a new project to reinvigorate your classroom? On this week’s episode Mark and Bex chat with Conor McHoull from Microsoft NZ about the potential for ESports to act as a powerful engagement tool for your students.  

We also discuss about the importance of ‘your why’ and how, in many ways, it is more important that your school’s vision, and Adrian joins us to explore the lea...

There’s nothing more important for schools in this season than looking after the well-being of their teachers and students. Beth Reading, from ‘My Pilates Time,’ joins us in this episode to chat about her journey as a teacher to wellness. Rachel tells us about Nearpod, an online teaching tool that opens new worlds and opportunities for guided or independent learning, and Mark shares a new reading method he’s discovered that helps u...

How do you get your team on the same page, positioned with the right roles and responsibilities and enthusiatic about making things happen? This is what make a great galvaniser and we talk this week with Julia, one of the best at this on our team. We also explore what we can do to connect ourselves with the right people and form our own ‘tribe, ‘ and Paul shows us the teaching potential for Apple’s new ‘Freeform’ app that has been ...

This week we unpack just what ‘A Better Mindset’ is; why the title and how it can add value to us and the people we work and live with. Mark and Bex explore the way our world view, perspectives and approach to live can be hard-wired but also a learned behaviour. Kelly gives us some updates to some google tools you’re going to want to check out and the Making Waves segment explores the value of goal setting through a word or theme f...

ChatGPT is one of the biggest technology revelations we have seen in recent times, and we are all wondering how this will impact us. From students and school teachers to businesses and writers, everyone is finding a good use for ChatGPT.

 Our UTB team love new and exciting tech, and we are using ChatGPT in many different ways - and along with this, we have found specific questions that need to be answered for our educators. We’ve pu...

So many of us are thinking about the school year ahead and what we’d like to achieve across the school and in our classrooms. Mike Reading, our founding director and the goal-setting maestro has some great ideas and process tips for getting what you want to achieve to start out on the right footing. We also chat about the best way to start the year with some life-changing habits and James shares a statistics tool that we know you’l...