90: Taking Risks and Meeting Needs with Hillary Miller

Hillary Miller has been an educator for over 20 years. Hillary has worked in PK-12 education in most capacities as a teacher and administrator. With a strength-based focus, she has spent her career finding ways to meet the needs of individual and small groups of students, as well as building positive school cultures. 

Over the past few years, Hillary has supported school leaders as a consultant across the US to create more positive school cultures. This work focuses mostly on schools with alternative programs in marginalized communities.

In 2020, Hillary co-founded Solving Fun, a company focused on building creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration for kids ages 7-12 through puzzles, activities, and games. 

Hillary holds a BS in Applied Learning and Development from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Masters in Educational Administration from Texas State University. In addition to her consulting work, Solving Fun, and spending time with her family, she is currently pursuing a PhD in Education at Auburn University.

Join us for this insightful conversation about meeting students’ unmet needs, building strong school cultures and the importance of taking risks and making mistakes.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:

How Hillary’s educational journey has evolved and the work she is currently doing.Hillary’s work with game designer Marcy Tivol to create Solving Fun.How the puzzles, games, and activities from Solving Fun help to promote engagement and collaboration in classrooms.Figuring out the unmet needs of students in order to provide alternative forms of learning.Practical tips for better supporting students with their academic, social emotional, and sensory needs.How to build strong school cultures to support a shift in education.The importance of taking risks and making mistakes as an educator. Staying focused on goals as an educational community.

RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Connect with Hillary and Solving Fun on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.Send Hillary an email at [email protected] or [email protected]Check out www.solvingfun.com for puzzles, activities, and games focused on perseverance and creative problem solving.Check out UP Academy’s Project Literacy Curriculum at projectup.us. Get your copy of Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms Where Impact and Imagination MeetLearn more about Rebel Educator, explore our professional development opportunities for educators and students, and check out our project library.Visit us at UP Academy to learn more about our personalized and inclusive learning environment.Connect with Tanya and UP Academy on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram and learn more about her journey here.

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MORE ABOUT THE REBEL EDUCATOR PODCAST:

In each episode of the Rebel Educator podcast, I deconstruct world-class educators, students, and thought leaders in education to extract the tactics, tools, and routines that you can use as teachers and parents. Join me as we discuss how to shift the classroom, the learning environment, the mindset, and the pedagogy, to resist tradition, reignite wonder, and re-imagine the future of education.

This podcast is dedicated to all of the educators who work thankless hours to make our next generation the best it can be.  It was designed to begin conversations on how we can redesign education for the future of work and the success of our students.  It is meant for teachers, students, administrators, homeschoolers and anyone who interacts with and teaches youth. 

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IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.