Teacher Fan Club

Dr. Christian van Nieuwerburgh is a Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), University of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is the Global Director for Growth Coaching International which offers coaching, courses and consultancy services to enhance the quality of conversations in educational communities worldwide. Christian is also an accredited executive coach and has written many articles and books on coaching and positive psychology, including From Surviving to Thriving: A Student’s Guide to Feeling and Doing Well at University. His work reflects a passion for wellbeing, and an optimism and trust in the inherent strengths already present in both individuals and school systems.
In this episode, Christian speaks with Dana and Elizabeth about the positive impact coaching can have in the school setting. He shares examples of how coaching can influence school cultures and outcomes, highlighting inspiring stories from the field. In particular, he focuses on how coaching supports both student and teacher wellbeing.
Find full show notes on Christian's episode page on our main website.
We'd love to connect and support you and the teachers in your life! Learn more about Teacher Fan Club at www.teacherfanclub.com.

Episode 1: Meet the creator of VoicEd Radio, Stephen Hurley. He shares what it was like to thank his most influential teacher, and how a special thank-you from a student has helped him as an educator. Show notes at www.teacherfanclub.com.

In this enlightening episode of the Teacher Fan Club we welcome Dr. Dacher Keltner, one of the world’s foremost emotion scientists and the founding Director of the Greater Good Science Center. Dr. Keltner is a distinguished psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley and has consulted for Google, Apple, and Pinterest on emotion and wellbeing. He was also the scientific advisor behind Pixar’s Inside Out. With an inspiring career that spans over 200 scientific publications and six books, including his lastest, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life, Dr. Keltner has revolutionized our understanding of emotions and their impact on wellbeing and social connection.
In this episode, we dive into Dr. Keltner's latest work on awe and explore the eight wonders of life and their transformative effects on our everyday lives, relationships, and even our educational approaches. Learn opportunities to trigger awe in your daily life and classroom, and reflect on your own transformative awe experiences.
Whether you're an educator looking to inspire your students, a parent seeking to cultivate awe in your child's life, or someone eager to embrace the beauty in every day, this conversation with renowned expert (and super teacher fan!) Dr. Dacher Keltner is bound to leave you awe-inspired and ready to explore the world with renewed wonder and appreciation.
**FYI - this episode has a sound distortion, off and on, until about 13:00. We did our best to fix it and minimize the distraction! Thanks in advance for your patience - and please know it doesn't last :).
Full show notes are available at: https://teacherfanclub.com/?p=106

Benjamin Oswald is both a teacher and a talented artist. Benjamin received his master’s in education from the University of Alberta and a master’s of fine arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. His beautiful sculptures and ceramic pieces have won both provincial and international awards; he was a recipient of the Robert Weghsteen Memorial Award in ceramics. In this conversation, Dana and Elizabeth talk with Benjamin about his teaching career path from Physics teacher to a Ceramics teacher and artist, all while developing more as a teacher and raising a family. We discuss the connection with the arts and our own wellbeing and some ideas on how to develop our own personal art practice. Benjamin shares a special thank you to the colleague that supported him in his inspiring journey.
Full show notes are available at www.teacherfanclub.com

Amy Shmyr and Elizabeth Fraser are both registered dietitians who work with Alberta Health Services. In their roles as public health dietitians, they both work in a variety of community settings including schools. In this conversation, Amy and Elizabeth share how parents can support their children in developing a positive and healthy relationship with food in partnership with schools. We cover why it’s important to approach food and bodies from a weight-neutral perspective, and how to handle some of those issues that can come up when feeding children and teaching them to become more independent in their food choices. As well, Amy and Elizabeth discuss how to approach and encourage physical activity. Finally, we talk about how to handle weight-based bullying and other body related comments that can happen in the school setting, and how body image concerns may present in young people. This episode is part of our series on weight-neutral wellbeing. Full show notes are available at www.teacherfanclub.com