About Trevor Mattea

Trevor Mattea is the second and third grade teacher at Cascade Canyon School, an independent school in Marin County focused on relationships and the whole child. He previously taught at High Tech Elementary Chula Vista, a project-based school in San Diego, and Stevenson PACT Elementary School, a progressive school with parent participation in Silicon Valley. For the past four years, Trevor has consulted throughout the country to support teachers and administrators with deeper learning, digital portfolios, project-based learning, parent engagement, and technology integration. He is also the host of the New Books in Education podcast as well as the former director of Imagineerz Learning, a Bay Area summer camp integrating social-emotional learning with making and design thinking. As an educator, his interests include supporting student-directed learning, fostering community, and sharing high-quality student work outside the classroom. He is a Google Certified Educator and Trainer and was recognized as the Silicon Valley CUE Outstanding Emerging Teacher in 2015. He holds an M.A. in Education from Stanford University and an A.B. in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis.
Trevor Mattea is an educational consultant and speaker. His areas of expertise include deeper learning, parent involvement, project-based learning, and technology integration. He can be reached by email at tsmattea@pm.me or on Twitter at @tsmattea.
Trevor's website

NBN Episodes hosted by Trevor:

Matthew H. Rafalow, "Digital Divisions: How Schools Create Inequality in the Tech Era" (U Chicago Press, 2020)

November 30, 2020

Digital Divisions

Matthew H. Rafalow
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Matt Rafalow, about his book, Digital Divisions: How Schools Create Inequality in the Tech Era (University of Chicago Pr…

Jonathan Haber, "Critical Thinking" (MIT Press, 2020)

September 15, 2020

Critical Thinking

Jonathan Haber
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with fellow New Books in Education host, Jonathan Haber, about his book, Critical Thinking (The MIT Press, 2020). This book …

Federico R. Waitoller, "Excluded by Choice: Urban Students with Disabilities in the Education Marketplace" (Teachers College Press, 2020)

September 9, 2020

Excluded by Choice

Federico R. Waitoller
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Federico R. Waitoller about his book, Excluded by Choice: Urban Students with Disabilities in the Education Marketplace …

Terry Iverson, "Finding America's Greatest Champion: Building Prosperity Through Manufacturing, Mentoring and the Awesome Responsibility of Parenting" (Fig Factor, 2018)

April 28, 2020

Finding America's Greatest Champion

Terry Iverson
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Terry Iverson about his book, Finding America's Greatest Champion: Building Prosperity Through Manufacturing, Mentoring …

Steven Alvarez, "Community Literacies en Confianza: Learning From Bilingual After-School Programs" (NCTE, 2017)

June 25, 2018

Community Literacies en Confianza

Steven Alvarez
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Steven Alvarez about his book, Community Literacies en Confianza: Learning From Bilingual After-School Programs (Nationa…

L. Taddei and S. Budhai, "Nurturing Young Innovators: Cultivating Creativity in the Classroom, Home and Community" (ISTE, 2017)

May 11, 2018

Nurturing Young Innovators

Laura McLaughlin Taddei and Stephanie Smith Budhai
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Laura McLaughlin Taddei and Stephanie Smith Budhai about their book, Nurturing Young Innovators: Cultivating Creativity …

Timothy D. Walker, "Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms" (Norton, 2017)

April 12, 2017

Teach Like Finland

Timothy D. Walker
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Tim Walker, the author of Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms (W. W. Norton & Company, 20…

Pat Farenga on John Holt's "Freedom and Beyond" (HoltGWS LLC, 2017)

March 21, 2017

Pat Farenga on John Holt's "Freedom and Beyond" (HoltGWS LLC, 2017)

John C. Holt
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Pat Farenga about the new edition of John Holt's Freedom and Beyond (HoltGWS LLC, 2017). This book offers a broad critiq…

Ondine Gross, "Restore the Respect: How to Mediate School Conflicts and Keep Students Learning" (Brookes, 2016)

January 13, 2017

Restore the Respect

Ondine Gross
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Ondine Gross, the author of Restore the Respect: How to Mediate School Conflicts and Keep Students Learning (Brookes, 20…

Lee Gutkind, ed., "What I Didn't Know: True Stories of Becoming a Teacher" (In Fact Books, 2016)

January 11, 2017

What I Didn't Know

Lee Gutkind, ed.
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Lee Gutkind, the editor of What I Didn't Know: True Stories of Becoming a Teacher (In Fact Books, 2016). His book shares…

Steven Levy, "Starting from Scratch: One Classroom Builds Its Own Curriculum" (Heinemann, 1996)

January 9, 2017

Starting from Scratch

Steven Levy
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Steven Levy, the author of Starting from Scratch: One Classroom Builds Its Own Curriculum (Heinemann, 1996). His book sh…

Heather Shumaker, "It's OK to Go Up the Slide: Renegade Rules for Raising Confident and Creative Kids" (TarcherPerigee, 2016)

January 7, 2017

It's OK to Go Up the Slide

Heather Shumaker
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Heather Shumaker, the author of It's OK to Go Up the Slide: Renegade Rules for Raising Confident and Creative Kids (Tarc…

Heather Dowd, "Classroom Management in the Digital Age: Effective Practices for Technology-Rich Learning Spaces" (EdTechTeam, 2016)

January 5, 2017

Classroom Management in the Digital Age

Heather Dowd
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

In this episode, I speak with Heather Dowd, the author of Classroom Management in the Digital Age: Effective Practices for Technology-Rich Learning Sp…

Michael Copperman, "Teacher: Two Years in the Mississippi Delta" (UP of Mississippi, 2016)

October 27, 2016

Teacher

Michael Copperman
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

Anyone who has spent time in a school as an adult probably knows how hard it is for teachers to leave their work when they come home every night. Ther…

Nicholson Baker, "Substitute: Going to School with a Thousand Kids" (Blue Rider Press, 2016)

October 18, 2016

Substitute

Nicholson Baker
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

Parents often wonder what their children do at school all day. How different is it from what they remember years ago? Teachers often hear similar ques…

John Owens, "Confessions of a Bad Teacher: The Shocking Truth from the Frontline of American Public Education" (Sourcebooks, 2013)

October 10, 2016

Confessions of a Bad Teacher

John Owens
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

As you spend more time working in one role, organization, or field, it can become easy to lose perspective on how your work is similar or different fr…

Daniel Rechtschaffen, "The Way of Mindful Education: Cultivating Well-Being in Teachers and Students" (Norton, 2014)

October 7, 2016

The Way of Mindful Education

Daniel Rechtschaffen
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

Time and resources are scarce for many teachers. Often times, these same teachers are under immense pressure to produce higher test scores and severel…

Milton Chen, "Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in Our Schools" (Jossey Bass, 2012)

September 26, 2016

Education Nation

Milton Chen
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

It feels like schools are in the midst of unprecedented change -- sometimes more in different places and sometimes more in different ways. Many people…

George Couros, "The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity" (Dave Burgess Consulting, 2015)

September 13, 2016

The Innovator's Mindset

George Couros
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

One of the most commonly used words right now in education is "innovation." It seems to be part of any response to our collective anxiety over the fac…

Nicole Nguyen, "A Curriculum of Fear: Homeland Security in US Public Schools" (U Minnesota Press, 2016)

September 7, 2016

A Curriculum of Fear

Nicole Nguyen
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

It can be tempting to generalize certain attributes of schools as either being good or bad. Magnet and charter schools are often characterized as bein…

Grant Lichtman, "#EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education" (Jossey-Bass, 2014)

August 29, 2016

#EdJourney

Grant Lichtman
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

Whatever your role -- teacher, principal, or superintendent -- when you work in a school system, you experience tensions between your reasons for goin…

Matt Renwick, "Digital Student Portfolios: A Whole School Approach to Connected Learning and Continuous Assessment" (Theory and Practice, 2014)

August 26, 2016

Digital Student Portfolios

Matt Renwick
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

Most of the time, school performance is not like performance in other arenas. In music, we want people to play something for us. In sports, we want pe…

Ron Berger, et. al. "Learning that Lasts: Challenging, Engaging, and Empowering Students with Deeper Instruction" (Jossey-Bass, 2016)

August 24, 2016

Learning that Lasts

Ron Berger, Libby Woodfin, Anne Vilen, and Jal Mehta
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

The school structures we present to teachers can sometimes resemble two extremes. In the first set of circumstances, teachers have enormous autonomy o…

Ira Lit, "The Bus Kids: Children's Experiences with Voluntary Desegregation" (Yale UP, 2009)

May 18, 2016

The Bus Kids

Ira Lit
Hosted by Trevor Mattea

Many of us are familiar with the court-mandated bussing programs created in an effort to achieve school desegregation in the 1960s and 1970s. Far fewe…