Before You Head Out: Spring Strategies For a Great Summer and Smooth Fall

In this episode of InspirED: A PLTW Podcast, Marcus Painter, Director of Social Media and Community Engagement chats with Tory Spanier and Seth Ponder about teachers can best Sail into the summer! All teachers will have actionable takeaways from this episode!  Sail into summer with a little help from a couple of the best teachers we know!

Host:

Marcus Painter, Director of Social Media & Community Engagement at Project Lead The Way

Guests:

Tory Spanier, PLTW Master Teacher from Delano High School, in Delano Minnesota.

Seth Ponder, Computer Science and Engineering teacher at Riley High School, in South Bend, Indiana.

Recording Date:

May 7, 2026

Resources:

• Middle school teachers bring high-impact, meaningful explorations of biomedical engineering through the Design and Modeling unit from PLTW Gateway: https://www.pltw.org/blog/middle-school-stem-prosthetics
• Riley High School students and educators share the “why” behind their passion for project-based learning and PLTW: https://wsbt.com/news/local/stem-education-hands-on-project-problem-based-high-school-south-bend-riley-national-recognition-innovation-career
• How Tory Spanier took risks and build a network of support, exemplifying perseverance and curiosity to his students: https://youtu.be/svO1gDuBN6k?t=237 
• Explore an educator’s journey from PLTW student to Master Teacher: https://www.pltw.org/blog/from-pltw-student-to-master-teacher
• What’s different about instructor-led, collaborative professional learning? Hear about it from teachers who’ve attended: https://www.pltw.org/blog/pltw-teachers-find-real-world-lessons-and-year-long-advice-during-pltw-core-training
• When students don’t see the difference between learning for the future and learning to pass the test, here’s what happens: https://www.pltw.org/blog/connecting-the-classroom-to-your-community

Connect on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RileyEngineeringMagnet

Instagram: @rileyhighpltw