Success Unlocked

Joyful, Non-Toxic Learning with Dr. Deena Shaffer

Dr. Adrienne Shnier / Dr. Deena Shaffer Episode 104

Joyful, Non-Toxic Learning with Dr. Deena Shaffer
When an educational experience is steeped in competitiveness, one-size-fits-all policies, a “grind” mindset, and an emphasis on achievement over individual growth, the classroom can feel stressful and unwelcoming. How can we create learning environments that feel healthy and supportive?


Infusing Sustainability, Empathy, and Inclusivity into the Classroom

This week, I was excited to sit down with a former teacher of mine, the wonderful Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer. Dr. Shaffer is the author of Feel Good Learning and a lifelong learning strategist who can be described as both an academic resilience coach and a nontoxic productivity coach. Our conversation is full of beautiful insights about what we can and should be doing to make learning feel better — for students and teachers alike.


You’ll discover:

  • The personal journey that inspired Dr. Shaffer’s nontoxic learning philosophy and the strategies she uses to make learning feel more welcoming and joyful
  • What needs to be unpacked and addressed when it comes to decision-making around learning and our students’ need for external validation
  • That all life is education — and why confining our focus to classroom strategies, institutional policies, and scoring standards is reductive and short-sighted  
  • How establishing a nurturing safe space to explore creativity can create lifelong confidence in expressing ourselves creatively
  • How introverted and gentle people can find their place in a teaching world that rewards extroversion and performativity

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Timestamps:‌ ‌

00:44  Meet Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer

04:49  Nurturing creativity & getting out of the way

13:55  Quiet teachers & embracing aliveness

17:24  Dr. Shaffer’s approach

23:27  All life is education

26:10  Authenticity & deconditioning

30:18  External validation

38:59  Finding joy

47:02  Final tip & what’s next

51:02  Conclusion


Links:‌ ‌

Awakened Learning by Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer 

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