Learning Can’t Wait · Episode 109
Nicole + Izzy Galante: Mosaic IP, AI in Education, Instructional Planning, Individualized Learning
- Izzy Galante
Hosted by Hayley Spira-Bauer, Chief Academic Officer at Fullmind
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Nicole + Izzy Galante: Mosaic IP, AI in Education, Instructional Planning, Individualized Learning
Episode summary
Siblings Nicole and Izzy Galante, co-founders of Mosaic Instructional Planning, describe an AI-powered platform that helps teachers personalize instruction for every student in real time. They define excellent teaching as learning with and in front of students, explain multiple entry point lesson starters that give every learner a voice in the first five minutes, and share how Mosaic generates translated student guides born from work in a nearly all-Spanish-speaking school. Their advice for new teachers: be vulnerable, sing karaoke, and be prepared enough to be flexible and reflective.
Key takeaways
- Excellent teaching in the 21st century means learning with and in front of students
- Most negative student-teacher interactions happen in the first five minutes, so plan the opening carefully
- Multiple entry point lesson starters give every student a voice at their level
- Auto-generated, translated student guides help multilingual learners access grade-level work
- New teachers should be prepared enough to be flexible and prepared enough to be reflective
About this episode
In this podcast episode, Hayley engages Nicole and Izzy Galante from Mosaic Instructional Planning about their perspectives on what makes teaching excellent and how their tool, Mosaic, supports that vision. They describe excellent teaching as a vulnerable, empathetic, and collaborative experience where teachers learn with and in front of their students, moving away from the traditional model of imparting knowledge and instead fostering a learning journey. They emphasize the importance of building genuine relationships, inspiring students, and empowering them to engage actively, even if that means teachers need to embrace their own learning curve with new tools like AI. Reflecting on their experience with new teachers, Nicole and Izzy highlight the importance of vulnerability, preparation, and adaptability, encouraging teachers to be both reflective and flexible in the face of classroom challenges. Mosaic’s goal is to support teachers in developing these core skills, ultimately aiming to disrupt traditional teacher preparation by making high-quality, intentional instruction accessible to every educator.
Episode notes
In the latest Learning Can't Wait podcast, Nicole and Izzy Galante, co-founders of Mosaic Instructional Planning, share their innovative approach to education that places students at the heart of the learning experience. They explain how Mosaic Instructional Planning empowers teachers to create student-centered, individualized learning experiences, with practical insights into how teachers, schools, and districts can transform their approach to teaching. Through a blend of adaptability, collaboration, and inclusive design, Mosaic Instructional Planning enables educators to meet the unique needs of every student, helping them thrive academically and personally. Let’s explore the key takeaways from their conversation, which sheds light on how to make learning genuinely engaging and meaningful for all students.
Looking to bring student-centered innovation into your school or district? Fullmind connects K-12 schools with experienced, state-certified educators trained in personalized, flexible instruction—just like the Mosaic model. Schedule a call with our team to explore how we can support your teachers and students with tailored instructional solutions.
The Power of Flexibility in Personalized Education
At the core of Mosaic's approach is flexibility. Nicole and Izzy discuss how education often takes a one-size-fits-all approach, but Mosaic advocates for dynamic instruction tailored to students' interests, abilities, and learning styles. "Learning becomes truly meaningful when students feel understood," Nicole notes, highlighting that personalized learning plans not only foster academic growth but also enhance students' emotional connection to their studies. This philosophy aligns closely with student-centered, individualized learning experiences and competency-based education model, where flexibility becomes essential for educators, allowing them to adapt to students' changing needs and interests, which is particularly valuable in classrooms with students from diverse backgrounds.
Nicole and Izzy emphasize that this adaptability extends to Mosaic's educational planning support, which equips teachers with the tools and frameworks they need to create customized lesson plans efficiently. "It's not about more work for teachers," Nicole says. Instead, Mosaic aims to simplify and streamline the personalization process by implementing proven personalized learning models, making it realistic and sustainable within the constraints of daily classroom routines.
Collaboration as a Catalyst for Success
A standout feature of Mosaic's model, as Izzy explains, is collaborative planning among educators. In a personalized learning environment, teamwork among teachers ensures that no single educator has to carry the entire workload of differentiating instruction for diverse learners. Izzy shares that by working together on lesson plans, teachers can pool their ideas, insights, and strategies, often incorporating differentiated instruction tools that result in a richer learning experience for students. This collective approach also provides educators with a support network, which is essential for managing the demands of personalized learning.
Izzy also emphasizes the importance of building a strong support structure for teachers. When teachers are empowered to collaborate, they are better positioned to implement personalized instruction that can benefit each student. "Sustainable personalized learning is only possible with collaboration," he notes, describing how working in tandem not only lightens individual workloads but also fosters a shared commitment to student success through practical student-led learning examples.
Bridging the Gap Between Standards and Individualization
One of the challenges of personalized education, as Nicole acknowledges, is finding the balance between adhering to standardized curriculum requirements and addressing students' unique needs. Mosaic Instructional Planning supports teachers in meeting curriculum standards while ensuring they have the freedom to address the individual goals of each learner. "Personalized education is about navigating the complexities of standards and individualization," Nicole explains, highlighting that Mosaic provides teachers with strategies to harmonize these sometimes conflicting demands—an approach that complements collaborative educational strategies where schools work together to develop innovative solutions.
Nicole and Izzy both see this balance as crucial to creating equitable learning environments. By giving teachers tools to integrate personalized learning with standardized objectives, Mosaic is helping educators reach students who may otherwise feel disconnected from traditional teaching methods. This dual approach allows for a more inclusive and engaging classroom, in which all students can find relevance in their studies while meeting essential educational benchmarks.
Real-World Impact: Mosaic’s Personalized Approach in Action
Izzy shares anecdotes that showcase Mosaic’s approach in practice, highlighting students’ responses to this personalized educational model. In his experience, students are more engaged when they feel that lessons are designed for them, with their voices and interests at the forefront. Izzy recalls a classroom where students were encouraged to work on projects that reflected their unique interests. Not only did they perform better academically, but they also demonstrated increased confidence, enthusiasm, and a desire to contribute to class discussions.
Both Nicole and Izzy believe that student engagement transforms when they’re active participants in their education. Mosaic’s personalized learning approach doesn’t just meet students academically—it reaches them on an emotional level, fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment in the learning process.
A Vision for Equitable, Future-Focused Education
Nicole and Izzy underscore a central theme: personalized, flexible, and collaborative education is essential for the future of equitable learning. By equipping educators with tools for individualized learning, Mosaic Instructional Planning is helping create a more inclusive education system. Nicole notes that the ultimate goal is to provide every student, regardless of background or learning style, with a path to success that feels relevant and achievable. This forward-thinking model is a powerful reminder of the potential that lies in shifting from traditional, one-size-fits-all instruction to a more tailored and compassionate approach.
Their discussion on Learning Can’t Wait highlights the transformative impact that Mosaic’s model can have on the entire educational ecosystem—from teachers and students to schools and districts. For Nicole and Izzy, this is only the beginning. Their vision is for Mosaic to continue leading the charge toward a future in which every student’s potential is celebrated and nurtured through meaningful, personalized learning experiences.
The conversation between Nicole and Izzy Galante on the podcast serves as a beacon for educators and administrators eager to embrace a more holistic, inclusive, and student-centered approach to teaching. Through collaboration, flexibility, and a focus on individualized learning, Mosaic Instructional Planning is creating a powerful roadmap to ensure that all students have access to an education that truly meets their needs.
Full transcript
Transcript generated from the recording; minor errors may remain.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Welcome to the Learning Can't Wait podcast of Fullmind. At Fullmind, our vision is to ensure every child has access to an exceptional education. Each episode, we will be joined by Pathfinders within and around the education space who are bringing about transformational change. On behalf of deserving students, I'm your host, Hayley Spira-Bauer. Welcome back everybody to the Learning Can't Wait podcast. I am so excited for this set of guests that are on the podcast today. There are two people whose work I admire deeply and who have promised me for a couple of years now that they've come on the podcast, it's finally happening. Here we are. I want to introduce you all to Nicole and Izzy Galante, the co-founders of Mosaic Instructional Planning. Nicole and Izzy, welcome.
Izzy Galante: Thank you.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Thanks
Nicole Galante: So much, Hayley. I'm so excited this is finally happening and we're so happy to be here talking to you.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: I'm excited to have you too. I feel like your education purists, which brings a whole level of depth to this conversation that I know will be exciting for our listeners to tune into. So let's jump right in. My first question, as always is how did you come to be the personal and professional version of yourself? Nicole, I'll start with you.
Nicole Galante: Perfect. I think I'm going to answer for both of us a little bit because of course, as you know, Izzy and I are siblings and despite many jokes to the contrary and many attempts from Izzy to say otherwise I am 11 years younger than he is, I love how you first start the podcast. You're like, let it clear the air before we get any further. I mean, if someone says, Nicole, you go first. That's the first thing coming out of my mouth.
Unidentified speaker: Sure.
Nicole Galante: Obviously. But in developing my personal self, I mean, you can't do that without mentioning in my family the influence of your older sibling. And for me professionally, obviously I can't do that without mentioning my older sibling either. I'm not going to go so far as to say I stood on the shoulders of giants here. No, but I really did. And I have to say that I think, and I can, Izzy, you can chime in. Maybe this is like a two for one answer, but I think that personally and professionally, I think that might be why you call us education purists because I think that we are just people purists. We both were raised with and developed over time together a heart for people and for children and for people who are in situations that don't match the expectation of where they thought they would be. And so over time, that's developed in me personally in so many different ways. And I really came to teaching a little tiny bit late in my career despite the fact that my older brother came to it much earlier and even so much as to say when he was becoming a teacher, one of his first field experiences was in my sixth grade class. So it was like, that's awesome,
Unidentified speaker: It
Nicole Galante: Really is. And I was like, oh, I never thought about being a teacher ever. That was his thing. It was so cool to watch him grow like that, whatever. But I was like, nah, that's not for me. I'm creative. I'm artsy. I I worked in corporate retail for a while and did merchandising and buying for, and that was so much fun and so great, but what I could really do well, and when things settled and I thought, wow, I can't do this forever. What am I going to do? This isn't fulfilling and this isn't a career. I knew I could motivate people. And I think that's what Izzy has taught me my whole life. He's motivated me, he's coached me and my basketball endeavors. He is any kind of situation, even to this day as a parent, as a brother, he's a coach through and through. And I thought, wow, I know how to motivate people. So isn't that just what teaching is? The rest is kind of the paperwork, right?
Izzy Galante: The rest is ai. I'm just kidding. But maybe there's some truth to that. First of all, thanks Nicole. I always do enjoy that story and do appreciate it, but the fact is I became my professional self by taking more interest in how students were impacted by teachers than how teachers felt they were impacting students. What I mean by that is early in my career, I had a Nicole that I actually trusted to try things on with and I had the ability to do that instead of doing it with an instructional coach, let's say, who was going to give me only their perspective and all good, really good, I value obviously the role of instructional coaching and experience and so on, but it's the experience through somebody else's eyes, through somebody else's eyes. It's like a double layer. I always said that I taught math because no one could teach me math. ([05:39](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2FJCkerSQtwE2IjocsAfYMgGqV1_K4ZpJGNzGPCVFB-IcRmmxGO12Z5YAeV9rrmJPkSaZOvx0N_p7YnKMHCw9lwKa2psc%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D339.16)): I was not a math head. It was not something that necessarily came easy for me because I was put in a box, especially at my age. And then in time coming up it was do as exactly as I say and you'll be fine. And then you forget it five minutes later. It had impact on future and that drove me crazy enough to say, I want to make this work somehow. And is it perfect? No. Does it always work? Probably not, but maybe if you approach it the right way. So that's what shaped my professional and my personal side of that is just everything is connected to that I grew up and just the way my brain is wired is that I want to see things through to conclusion and I want to see it work. And if it doesn't, I look at myself first and then kind of create a new path. And that's what shaped my teaching. And a lot of what we do at Mosaic actually as well,
[05:00] **Hayley Spira-Bauer:** I have to tell you, I have an older brother and I value him and our relationship, but listening to the two of you is so special. While this podcast is about education, I think Nicole, you hit the nail on the head when you said, we're people purists. Hearing your relationship and your admiration for each other and how the two of you have shaped each other's lives is truly beautiful. And I just want to take a minute for that. Thank you. Not everybody has that. That's special. Thank you.
Nicole Galante: Yeah, it's been a long time of obviously living and being and working together, but it's also, we just have this shared goal of really trying to see the kids that are overlooked and help. It's really simple. It's really simple. And if you keep that in the forefront, everything else follows.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: I'm being a bad podcast host because I know I should dig into that a little bit, but I am really curious, what grades did you all teach when you were in schools? I can't remember, even though I know you've told me before. Yeah,
Izzy Galante: No, I was middle grades. I was middle grades in general and then also touched into high school a little bit, but only very little. Primarily middle grades as a classroom teacher and then as an instructional coach as well.
Nicole Galante: But you've cried in elementary schools, right?
Izzy Galante: Oh yeah. Well, that was more of my student teaching parts. That's when I knew I wasn't going to stay in elementary
Nicole Galante: And Hayley, I taught high school English and then went on to higher ed and taught pre-service teachers at Stony Brook University in New York where I am now the director of the Master in Liberal Studies Program.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Hey, for those that don't know, we're neighbors here on Long Island. Maybe we should have recorded this in person. Alright, so let's jump into the meat here because you both have your talons deep into the work of ensuring that children are seen as you said. What is Mosaic instructional planning? Why does it exist and what are your vision for how you impact the education space?
Nicole Galante: Oh, those, that little question. Little question. Just a teeny one. Mosaic Instructional Planning is AI powered. It's an EdTech platform that helps teachers supports teachers to be able to personalize instruction for all of their students virtually in real time at once. I love the idea of thinking about children being seen, and so many people love that idea too, but a lot of times the focus is on that bottom third that really, really needs to be seen or that upper third that also is begging to be seen right in your face as a teacher. But so many times we overlook maybe the misdiagnosed kid in the general ed class who really needs an IEP and doesn't have one, or even the kid who doesn't need an IEP and is just like, well, you're spending a lot of time with that kid. He needs a lot of help, but what about me? So Mosaic, for us, that's the vision, that's the purpose, that's the goal. And it, it's like a thing that, it's the thing that we wanted when we were teachers to be able to help reach every kid.
[10:00] **Izzy Galante:** It's a way to create structures that are rooted in great foundational methodology so that we offer student voice and ways for students to drive and direct instruction and all the cliches. Remember, I'm old enough to remember when I gave my answer five minutes ago and said that my personality and Nicole's as well is to get to conclusion. It's not enough for me to have looked at. You couldn't give me an evaluation and say you need more rigor without me wanting to dive to the bottom of that ocean and leave that alone. It just doesn't get left alone. So what we did was we asked ourselves those hard questions, how are we the space between developing and effective and effective and highly effective, how do we bridge those gaps for teachers? And then how do we create a technology to do that, to support that ongoing? ([11:21](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2F1AxBIxKLZD8zhKnfdCFNigcffe7ekBraniE8qUfpqB43sbYsODkIyQ0ES0X9HkLusMVowUGcaQNL-4xWMtdkoZP4ZTg%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D681.18)): So that's the essence of what Mosaic is to me. And that surrounds itself with the basic concept of giving students the opportunity to and planning. So obviously Mosaic instructional planning capital there is that. How do we create learning experiences that allow students to have an opportunity to internalize the meaning for themselves. That's the first step in any differentiation. It's a respectful task that allows students to identify where they are at in the conversation with this content. Then how do they put their voice that they, maybe it's a small voice, maybe sometimes it's a loud voice depending on topic. How do they collectively put those voices together and look for multiple pathways to a solution, to a writing piece, whatever it might be, an opinion,
Nicole Galante: Multiple perspectives. Yeah.
Izzy Galante: And then how did that impact them enough individually. So we kind of flipped I do on its head and say, okay, now as a result of having created and established some sort of voice in this content understanding of the why of what we're even going after hearing from others, how did that impact you to be able to do a certain something for yourself? And so we created structures in Mosaic to guide teachers along in that process. So Mosaic instructional planning is not a static tool of here's where I can house my lesson plans. It's a way to really encourage the art and craft of planning.
Nicole Galante: Well
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Said.
Izzy Galante: Hey, thanks. I blacked out for a minute. Was that good?
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Okay. So before we get to fully talking about the tool itself, my favorite part about being in a school is seeing excellence in action. So what does excellent teaching look like, sound like, feel like from your perspective?
Nicole Galante: Okay, so this is something I say a lot and we have shaped many things around this idea because it's the 21st century and I've been saying it since it wasn't the 21st century, but what do kids need teachers for? Why do teachers exist? And it's not to give them information, it's not to be purveyors of knowledge. It's not to do the factory model, blah, blah, blah. We all know we need to disrupt that, but what then should it be on the other end? And I think that that's a huge thing that doesn't really get a lot of attention or we don't get a lot of change happening because everyone's like, oh, kids, they're Googling Google lensing their homework and getting the answers and what are we going to do? So what do we do? And for us, I'm getting to my saying, excellence looks like this. ([14:24](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2FPK6skZlTgdwwG9fB043M564F9-XZd7ffb2X3KqpF5UtSUHVzKmr82f_TlJ_D6L3IoFgmpF08kD50aZho0-j4g5DOl4A%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D864.49)):Teaching in the 21st century should look like learning with and in front of students.So if I'm looking for an excellent teacher, I am looking for a vulnerable, empathetic environment where people are looking at each other in ways that are productive, deep sensitive and figuring out how to figure out together. And I hate that I'm old enough to talk like Izzy now, but I've seen through the years the progression of how do I really use technology in my class, one of the first courses I taught in college was technology in the teaching of English. And it was like, make a GeoCities website for your class and a WebQuest, whatever. And ever since then, I mean even these young college students who are really excited to be teachers, they cannot let go of what it means to be a teacher and let go of the idea that that means person in the front of the room, kids in desks, and I'm directing this thing, technology, all this stuff. And we've moved a little bit more forward to say, oh, you should be using technology for learning, not teaching. It should be in the kids' hands. Who cares if you have a cool thing, the kids should be experiencing this and learning it and it's a control thing and people don't want to let go. And if I don't know how to do this tool, how can I give it to kids? They're going to ask me questions. We moved kind of past that
[15:00] **Izzy Galante:** Little bit,
Nicole Galante: But we still, it's the same emotional thrust that we need to keep going with where when we say you don't have to know how to use those tools, you don't have to know what AI does. You have to show kids what it looks like to responsibly learn that yourself and to engage in conversations with people about it and to what does it really look like to collaborate? Because to my mind, and I don't know if I'll offend people, but it's not a list of sentence starters taped to a desk. That's not how we communicate. So obviously I'm pretty passionate about the idea that what excellence looks like is learning and experiencing and engaging in an authentic relevant way with students.
Izzy Galante: If I can throw a couple of cents on top of that. Yes, please. The thing that I've always, that you can hang your hat on throughout time, and I cannot foresee it changing in the importance of the emotional relationship between teacher and student is what I look for as an excellent teacher. Someone who is an excellent teacher is a guide who is both inspired by their own work and causes students to be inspired to follow suit. So there was a study done, and I forwarded it a number of times and I just should make it my own by now because I really don't know where the study came from. But the two things that thousands upon thousands of people in any age, either post school, in school, cited as the top two reasons they remember what they consider a great teacher. And the number one was that they loved what they did and the second one was they believed in me and that I can do it. And so that will, in my opinion, supersede technology, ai, all of it. And so AI then becomes a tool that a teacher like that can work with and isn't threatened by it working for them.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Exactly.
Izzy Galante: It will never work for them
Hayley Spira-Bauer: If that's
Izzy Galante: The way you approach it.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: But you both, again, this is what I mean by being purists. One, you're saying that we have to learn with the kids and there is no more important time than today to learn with the kids. There are tools being developed and evolving every minute. You know that when I record AI episodes, I have to warn the marketing team who edits these episodes beautifully. Thank you so much. I have to warn them to release the episode quickly because it changes so much
Unidentified speaker: From
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Minute to minute that my normal cadence of maybe a couple weeks is too long.
Unidentified speaker: That's amazing.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Every juror who are the most overburdened humans on earth, they have so much on their plate, cannot possibly be experts. And the sooner they get to what Nicole said where they're vulnerable and they admit that the better.
Nicole Galante: Also mosaic teachers don't have that much on their plate because Mosaic also saves tons of time. So let's talk about That's shameless.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Yeah, let's talk about that. Let's talk about that mosaic planning. We're using the tool, what are we doing? How does it look? How is it saving teachers time?
Izzy Galante: So I'm going to jump quick so I can get in there first. What you are doing is you're taking, well, I look at it in two paths. I'm sorry if I'm creating or if I'm curating. So I might be creating from scratch. And not a lot of that exists at this point in time or in our experience, much to my chagrin because I feel like it's taking again, the art and the craft of teaching out of the teacher's hands a little too much. But if I were to be creating from scratch, I would be thinking about a methodology that considers the following. How am I entering students into the content conversation? How are we starting this experience? Because85% of all student teacher negative interactions happen in the first five minutes of class.And you can flip that on its head if there is an engaging and a relevant and authentic experience for a kid to come. ([20:47](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2F8yk9l1iQAXvDCIYYqDLBvmRiPzhvWl8u_QDZHjP6ArZvtEvMTKH0WWhLD1Ho5g43ssKthVSVoYErILZS3E4_IfK9OAQ%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D1247.44)): And that could sound as simple as in your own words, what might happen if you lean a little too far forward on a slide and my thinking, I'm going to slide down. Awesome. Now you understand gravity in a certain way and have a voice. So it could be a matter of how can I even ingest, engage and get every kid to have access to this content And the concept I'm teaching today, how can I take those voices and include them with others so I can explore something collaboratively that I couldn't otherwise do on my own and moving forward down the line of creation, I'm thinking that through from the same vantage points I'm saying, all right, once they're entered, once they get it now what are some examples I can give that would cause students to be able to self-reflect like, okay, how much do I really know about gravity? ([21:36](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2F7afBxJnx5at2SLj55MxruPo70mIxAmyy1w2zUeIao0V_pXEU41PTjLUFaB4kW4NEGXpzARZj79QayP9sXX7QrMNXoIA%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D1296.22)): Is that my only explanation is my only thought and then maybe within a 40 minute timeframe can I really synthesize that? That's a piece of the puzzle that gets so overlooked and it's really the most connected to long-term retention is my ability to synthesize that information and even put it somewhere where technology can really help is in that space there. And then I can as a teacher feel very comfortable assessing that moment and the moments that happened. So it's really from creation, it kind of moves in that path, but let's call it recreation. Something that's been given to me that I have to more or less curate now I have structures in the system to say, Hey, you know what? This great opener, this really cool engage, I feel like it's going to capture at least a third of my class what that means. I'm willing to give up two thirds of the class and let them be the one saying, I don't have a pencil, I don't know where to start. ([22:39](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2Fp-loobV1TRuvPnTglVlncYNcnj8Ol3p3n29QcQJdfQ-D7vSnyt7P35kbiHjEAvbvrN3aumSlDWYJA_pQeiHUqIKa3zo%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D1359.97)): Can I go to the bathroom? So I'm eliminating a lot of that by some of the structures that are in Mosaic, including I keep alluding to a system known as multiple entry point lesson starters. So I come into a place of choice that gives me a voice at the level that I'm at and can feel accomplished in the classroom. Because really my last point here is it comes down to when you plan that way and that intentional, you're accounting for the ideas of belonging of significance. And that is what I define as school fun. The idea of school fun is I can do this. I used to tell my students in math class, I know it's math, but we have an hour, you have nowhere else to be and so we might as well make this, we might as well make it work. Let's do this. And so when they feel a sense of accomplishment, that's a different type of joy. So belonging, significance, and
[23:00] **Nicole Galante:** Joy. So on a technical level, mosaic walks teachers through that process.
Izzy Galante: Yes.
Nicole Galante: So it's all of these decisions and thinking about why and the choices and thinking mosaic streamlines that. So that teachers go from taking hours and hours to find their standards, plan a lesson, think through what are two other options for a do a question. Mosaic takes all the work out of that and streamlines those choices and helps you make those intentional decisions as supported as you could possibly be, including ongoing coaching on our, we have a little help panel on the side. You could see Izzy's little avatar help you and giving you videos and then streamlining and automating outputs. So everything goes to Google Classroom, all the things slide decks are made automatically just from planning a lesson. One of the greatest things, and it's so funny because we can point to as we made Mosaic, it was with all the people we've worked with in mind,
Unidentified speaker: So
Nicole Galante: We can point to every feature and be like, oh, that was for Jose. Oh, that was for Ian. One of the things that we ran across in New York City was we worked with a hundred percent EL school, 98% Spanish speaking, and the teaching population maybe had 30% Spanish speaking teachers. ([25:11](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2FcYAqYaKZu-0VJW8aKytqlrx52yInF-tT86JbQMNxn4c_-ZNe0_65-MhhgYIJpQoClllkmzxUuygkwxTiv5PBBzujNdg%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D1511.12)): So I mean, it's not hard to figure out. And we worked there multiple times a week for years, and we don't speak one word of Spanish ourselves, but again, it goes back to you don't need to speak Spanish to Monday. You shouldn't, shouldn't be standing there in front of a PowerPoint. But one of the things that came out of that school was as teachers plan a lesson in Mosaic, it automatically creates a student note taking guide for kids in their language, in student friendly facing language. And then it can be automatically translated into multiple different languages so that kids have a chance to be empowered no matter what. One of the things that I would see as an English person in English classrooms would be like a 16-year-old kid sitting in a classroom where their peers are reading Shakespeare and they're reading children's books going like, B ball, that's not respectful. That's crazy. This is a teenage person. What are we doing?
[25:00] **Izzy Galante:** Right?Teach the human not the grade level
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Expectation. So you two, I want to just point out a few things that I heard you say while you were speaking. You spoke about what I took from what you spoke about. Actually let me revise that statement for a second. I heard you talk about making sure teachers know the right instructional moves to make as they're planning and in their execution so that they're meeting the kid where they are, but also honoring who they are as a child, making sure that it's relevant, ensuring you're targeting the right skill. In Japan, you are not considered a master future until you've taught the same subject for five years in a row. And I've always said after learning that and being trained in a lot of Japanese education models in my career, I've always said that if we could just meet these early stage teachers and really coach them, which it sounds like you are doing, be able to make the right choices at the right time in the right way. We have solved for so much, so many wasted hours in classrooms. And so I love that. That's a lot of what I hear you've built and what you're looking for and trying to accomplish.
Izzy Galante: That's what a great takeaway. The first iteration of Mosaic as a company was our, it never came to fruition, but the thought was that we were going to build a company called New Educator Network. And so what happened was we recognized the fact that this is not just for new educators, however, the impact on new educators is clear and anybody who is involved sees that immediately because we want to create those permanent habits and this is a way to help do that as well.
Nicole Galante: We've basically replicated what we've done for each other and seen from each other. Everybody needs, oh, Nicole, as Izzy said, everybody needs a coach. Everybody needs someone they can trust. I mean, there have been times where I'm like, oh my God, I can't ask anybody this question in my school building. I have to call my brother. I just did this thing. What do I do? This kid did this. What should I say to him? So everybody needs that person, and honestly, our larger ongoing vision is to create the mosaic verse of like-minded supportive community, people who can help each other in ways that we can only,
Izzy Galante: And ultimately, without giving too much of the secrets sauce away for our future roadmap, but it's going to heavily impact and use massive amounts of data that we have access to now through AI and through different large language sets, et cetera, to disrupt the way teachers are prepared to become a first year teacher. I think it's a big part of the issue is the disconnect between expectation and reality. And if we can bring a little more of a sense of reality to the situation during and for explicitly for teacher development and training, pre-service, then we can then build upon that work versus start that work sometimes at the expense of the students. I pity my first year kids, I back often to those first few years of mine and they could have had a different experience if I was trained differently. That's just the bottom line and can't, it's not to say that they didn't go on
Nicole Galante: Because either in, we have a few of them in the waiting room, Hayley's going to let Yeah, come on in guys. Oh my God, really get their pound of flesh right
[30:00] **Hayley Spira-Bauer:** Now. So listen, I think that the three of us, whenever we're together, which is the best time to be together, we could talk for days. And so I want to just acknowledge that you've led me to a really perfect opportunity to ask my final question about new teachers, and I'm not done with you. I think we have lots to talk about and I'm excited to learn about what is on that roadmap. So I'm just acknowledging that, making space for that. But you led me perfectly to that question of, so what advice would you give a first year teacher, Izzy and Nicole? Yeah. Mosaic obviously. No.
Nicole Galante: Izzy, do you want to go first? I feel you moving.
Izzy Galante: No, I'm good if you got something, but I always have something go.
Nicole Galante: So a first year teacher needs to know first of all the things you would say, right? Go drink tea and make sure you're taking vitamins and please self-care and rest and whatever. I just have to say that the sooner you can be vulnerable and break down those walls and show kids who you are, the easier it's going to be to make them understand the connection between going down a slide and the force of gravity. And it's so difficult to see that and really live that out as a veteran teacher or a person. So when I was doing my pre-service teacher training, part of what I made my students do, and I consistently still do this whenever I have the opportunity, is make them sing karaoke. Because isn't that just a feeling of if you can't do that, you're not going to be able to stand in the room where someone's going, miss, why did you cut your hair like that? ([31:52](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rev.com%2Ftranscript-editor%2Fshared%2Fv2HxKI3OY1ktosdWGV2CvGZaPt-P85a8zhGShpVgEIUT11TNOyaMP93a0r2j9d4UMCR89I_OPDlLy3pbgXRvTYKjB2E%3FloadFrom%3DDocumentDeeplink%26ts%3D1912.33)): Wait, why is the word to use? Okay, I don't know. All those things. And before you can get to your love of Shakespeare or something, not you have a long road to walk before you get to the place where you're like, captain, my captain standing on a desk. So karaoke is a good first step. I've never gotten that answer and I'm never going to forget it. Nicole, you got in karaoke and you could take it a step further because one of the things we do in one of our workshops is we ask people to choose a walkup song like an at bat song in baseball. Either it's projecting what you want yourself to do or be or feel or whatever, or just representing you. So you could take it a step further and ask about first year teachers to think about what is it that you want to project when you, you're teaching for. So you want to kick that door in, you want to, and once they choose that, then you make them sing that karaoke. It's even better, double whammy. It's so great.
Izzy Galante: All right, well, if that was the perfect answer, I don't know what I'm going to say
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Now. No, no, no, no. It was just a really good one. I want to hear what you have to say too, Izzy.
Izzy Galante: No, yet. It is a great one. Don't forget whose shoulder she stood on to get that. Oh,
Nicole Galante: Never sang karaoke in his life. True story. Go ahead. Is
Izzy Galante: True story and never probably will. We'll see, we'll see. Hayley might bring the best out of me at some conference somewhere. You never know.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: You never know.
Izzy Galante: So first year people just like I can't get away from the concept of being prepared enough to be flexible and prepared enough to be reflective. Those are the two things.
Nicole Galante: Oh, that's so good. Forget mine. So good.
Izzy Galante: Thank you. And that is what allows you to navigate situations that you don't realize are coming. It helps with what you don't know because what you think and any situation is what has been placed in us. We basically teach the way we've been taught the default. And when you are, like Mike Tyson says, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face and when the reality of a situation hits. And I will guarantee you as a first year teacher that reality will show up somewhere that you never thought was going to be your reality.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Right?
Izzy Galante: What do you do next? And if you're prepared enough in your approach and you keep the main thing, the main thing, which is the students learning and how they learn, then you can be both flexible in the moment a little and somewhat to the extent that you can. I mean, obviously there's no magic bullet to it, but you also then can be reflective and you have something to build off of instead of feeling so overwhelmed and you can kind of hone in on maybe the starting place and maybe a particular spot. And to give yourself a break. My first year teacher talk would sound like that. Do not suspend your expectations to only being you putting in the type of work that it's going to take to be both responsive and reflective. If that's the level of your expectation and not what success might look like or what I'm going to have a hundred percent gains and all that stuff that'll take care of itself. That'll be a byproduct of you doing your job well. So that's my answer to that.
[35:00] **Hayley Spira-Bauer:** Oh my goodness. Mic drop. Yes, my drop. Also sing karaoke guys. Yeah, both together. Oh my goodness. Nicole and Izzy, you are so thoughtful and passionate and I really feel inspired whenever I share some space with you. Thank you so much for coming on the Line. Can't Wait. Podcast. Thank you, Hayley. You're
Nicole Galante: So inspiring
Hayley Spira-Bauer: And
Nicole Galante: There's no better sibling moderator, so this is why we always have fun with you. There you
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Go. I love it. Thank you both. Thank you so much for coming on, and thank you to everybody who tuned in today.
Izzy Galante: My pleasure.
Hayley Spira-Bauer: Thanks for listening to The Learning Can't Wait podcast. If you like what you heard, please rate, review and share this episode. Be the first to know when we have a new episode by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or have a suggestion for an episode, email us at podcast Fullmind Learning.