Teaching strategies, classroom management, education reform, educational technology -- if it has something to do with teaching, we're talking about it. Jennifer Gonzalez interviews educators, students, administrators and parents about the psychological and social dynamics of school, trade secrets, and other juicy things you'll never learn in a textbook. For more fantastic resources for teachers, visit http://www.cultofpedagogy.com.
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When Pernille Ripp moved from the U.S., where she had taught for over a decade, to her native country of Denmark, she was immediately struck by how different school was. In this episode, we'll explore why Danish schools are so good for teachers and students, and which practices we might be able to adopt in the U.S. ___________________________ Thanks to Alpaca and iCivics for sponsoring the episode. To read a written version of this podcast, visit cultofpedagogy.com/danish-school ....
It can ruin even the most carefully designed lessons: An activity you had planned takes way longer than you thought it would. Or worse, it takes way less time. And sometimes it can be both, with some students finishing a task in five minutes while others need half an hour. Getting classroom pacing just right is an art that takes practice and technique. In this episode, I'll share 10 habits you can build into your classroom routine that can prevent many of these problems from happening, or help y...
When a student behaves in a way that disrupts their own learning or someone else's, our response is often limited to a reprimand or a punishment. While this usually stops the undesirable behavior for a while, it doesn't often solve the problem long-term. What has longer-lasting impact is viewing the misbehavior as a sign that a student is missing an important skill, and if they are taught that skill, the behavior should naturally improve. In this episode, we learn more about what this approach l...
Students are coming to school with more needs than ever, and a lot of those needs aren't strictly academic: anxiety, withdrawal, behavior issues, and learning differences that don't always have quick or obvious solutions. These are problems that often send us to the internet in search of answers, but the nuances of each individual situation can make it hard to find exactly what we need. Ideally, we'd have a colleague with a lot of knowledge and experience who would listen carefully to our proble...
There's been no shortage of conversation about the science of reading over the past several years. But writing barely comes up, even though the two are deeply connected. That's what drew Melanie Meehan and Maggie Roberts to write their new book, Foundational Skills for Writing . The book breaks the larger task of writing into smaller skill categories, including transcription skills, oral language, and executive functioning. In this episode, they share eight of the strategies from the book. Each ...
Have you ever watched students sit completely silent in math class, only to come alive the moment they're asked to share an opinion? That's what inspired my guest Chris Luzniak to start bringing debate into his math teaching — and the results have been remarkable. In this episode, Chris walks us through how he turns ordinary math questions into debatable ones, how he gets students making and defending arguments, and why he thinks this approach matters now more than ever. It's a conversation that...
When our students face challenges in the classroom, some teachers double down on control and rigor: tighter rules, firmer consequences, higher demands. Others lean toward grace and flexibility: easing up, giving extensions, and softening expectations because they know our students are carrying a lot. But what if the answer isn't either/or? Warm Demander pedagogy is an approach that pairs genuine care and deep relationship-building with unwavering high expectations. It's the belief that students ...
Teaching students to write well has always been challenging, and newer developments have made it even more difficult: The internet offers unlimited text to plagiarize, standardized testing has pushed us to teach more formulaic writing, and AI constantly offers to do our writing for us. Frustrated with her students' lack of confidence and the robotic style of their writing, language arts teacher Nashwa Elkoshairi tried adding freewriting before and after her inquiry-based units. The results, she ...
We're kicking off the year like we always do, with a round-up of six educational tech tools we think are worth a look. On the list this year: a site that offers fantastic STEM interactives, an AI-powered collaborative writing platform, a free, web-based sound editor, a tool that can turn any text into an infographic, a library of beautifully produced documentaries on current events, and an incredible project that connects makers with people who need assistive devices. My lead technology speciali...
We're living in a time when having a difference of opinion is a potential minefield of hurt feelings, emotional outbursts, and severed relationships. If this has caused you to avoid certain topics in your classroom, the growth discourse framework used by the School of Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL) may offer a way to re-engage in these conversations. In this episode, I talk with SEGL founder Noah Bopp about how the growth discourse model works and how teachers can get started using it. ____...
Neurodivergent educators, like those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other forms of cognitive diversity, are essential voices in our schools. They bring innovation, empathy, and authenticity. Yet they often work within systems that weren't built with them in mind, and this can make the job of teaching especially challenging. In this episode, we'll learn about the strengths neurodivergent teachers bring to the classroom and strategies that help them thrive from Emily Kircher-Morris, who is a men...
If we're doing our jobs right as educators, students will gradually become independent, self-directed learners capable of monitoring, directing, and actively participating in building their own learning. But what if that's not happening? What if students continue to lean heavily on their teachers for step-by-step instructions on every task, never really taking the learning process into their own hands, and as a result, limiting their growth to only what their teachers happen to spoon feed them? ...
If your teaching requires students to read or work with texts, and things have gotten a little stale in the engagement department, this episode will give you some great new strategies to try. High school English teachers Susan Barber and Brian Sztabnik once felt the same way, so they curated tons of fun, interactive, interesting text-based activities in their new book, 100% Engagement: 33 Lessons to Promote Participation, Beat Boredom, and Deepen Learning in the ELA Classroom . In this episode, ...
Concept maps are graphic organizers or visual representations of knowledge. They're simple, they're low-tech, and they're incredibly powerful tools for learning. In this episode, cognitive scientist Dr. Kripa Sundar explains why concept maps are so impactful, then shares a handful of specific practices that will help you make the best use of them. Also joining us is Dr. Pooja Agarwal, editor of the book Smart Teaching Stronger Learning , which includes a chapter on concept mapping along with nin...
At a time when test-driven reform has quieted student voices and marginalized perspectives are being pushed aside, we need student voice and agency more than ever. In this episode, I'm joined by Shane Safir, Marlo Bagsik, Sawsan Jaber, and Crystal Watson, authors of the new book, Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency. The book offers a "seed store" of small, replicable classroom practices that help students reflect, speak, and act with purpose. Each of the four authors ...
Project-based learning can be a powerful instructional framework, but it is often structured in ways that exclude students who need a different approach. Too often, PBL becomes a space where accommodations and differentiation fall by the wayside. The good news is that we don't have to abandon PBL or dramatically overhaul it to make it work for diverse learners. In this episode, author and educator John Spencer shares five small but thoughtful structural changes we can make that will allow every ...
Answering student questions is faster in the moment, but redirecting is better in the long run. The next time a student asks you a question, pause before answering and see if you can point them toward finding the answer themselves. ------------------- Thanks to Brisk Teaching for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips ....
Sometimes the best instructional materials are sitting right in our classrooms. At a time when AI threatens to make human writing obsolete, using students' own work as a teaching tool offers a wonderfully authentic alternative. In this episode, educator Marcus Luther joins me to share four ways he uses student exemplars to teach craft lessons, build student confidence, practice giving feedback, and foster a much-needed sense of belonging. _________________________________________________________...
We're living in troubling times. When you're surrounded by so much chaos and confusion, it can be hard to figure out where to put your focus and energy. At a time like this, it might not make sense to talk about joy, but that's what were going to do in this episode. My guest is Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, author of the book Cultivating Genius and the 2023 follow-up, Unearthing Joy. We sat down to talk about about why joy is essential in our lives and in our teaching practice. She shares how to bring mo...
The practice of collecting supplies and distributing them to all students over the school year has become a common practice in elementary schools. Unfortunately, not all parents are happy with it, and much of the trouble stems from a few key misunderstandings. In this episode, my guest Julie Lause explains why schools use these systems and how they ensure that time in class is used effectively and every student gets the best education possible. Thanks to Alpaca and the EVERFI for sponsoring this...
If the thought of decorating your classroom fills you with anxiety, or if you're just ready to try something different, I have good stuff for you. In this episode, educator and author Tom Rademacher shares two simple activities he did at the beginning of every school year to get to know his students AND fill the walls of his classroom with beautiful, personal, meaningful student products: The One Word Wall and the What You Bring project. Thanks to Alpaca and the EVERFI for sponsoring this episod...
As a life-long reader, English teacher Dan Tricarico wanted to bring the love of reading to his high school students, but the constant, irresistible presence of digital media made for tough competition. Rather than seeking out a high-tech solution, he brought back simplicity in the form of daily silent reading, and to his surprise, most of his students really took to it. In this episode, he shares his experience in the hopes that more teachers will resurrect this classic practice in their own cl...
Although most teachers understand that not all students have the same home life, sometimes we forget how big those differences can really be, and how humiliating it can be for a student to be asked to publicly share details about their lives outside of school. In this EduTip we'll talk about some situations where this comes up, and what you can do to prevent it from happening. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultof...
Most special education efforts have focused on giving students with disabilities better access to the curriculum — but access alone isn't enough. In this episode, I talk with Amy Tondreau and Laurie Rabinowitz, authors of the book Sustaining Cultural and Disability Identities in the Literacy Classroom , about disability-sustaining pedagogy, a framework that helps students embrace disability as a cultural identity. We explore practical ways teachers can make their classrooms more inclusive, empow...
If you want to have the kind of classroom where students do more than just sit and listen, it's likely that your plans may include activities that require some social risk-taking. One way to help your students get more comfortable taking these small social risks is for you to be the first dork, the first one to do the thing that no one else wants to do because they're afraid of looking weird or being vulnerable. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written a...
Jennifer Gonzalez, joined by bink jones and Alex Shevrin Venet, discusses why discipline reform and restorative practices are struggling in many schools, leading to teacher frustration and an environment lacking consequences. They explain that the problem often stems from a fundamental misunderstanding and misapplication of restorative justice, which is a radical paradigm shift requiring deep community building and systemic support, not just an absence of traditional punishments. The conversation validates teachers' experiences, clarifies key terms like RJ, PBIS, and trauma-informed teaching, and offers practical strategies for educators and administrators to build a healthy, respectful, and productive school climate.
If I give my students an exit slip to check their grasp of a particular skill, and a third of them don't do well, just moving forward with my original teaching plan is a missed opportunity. Ideally, my next steps should involve some kind of targeted response. Let's talk about what that looks like. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips ....
Since ChatGPT's arrival in late 2022, the top concern I've heard from teachers is that students will stop doing their own writing and rely entirely on AI. While that worry is real, more teachers are recognizing that AI is here to stay and are looking for ways to work with it rather than against it. My guest today, Tony Frontier, offers one of the most insightful takes I've seen on this issue. In his new book AI With Intention and in our conversation, he shares clear, practical strategies for hel...
Lots of teachers give students some kind of questionnaire at the beginning of a school year to get to know them, but what do you do with that information after you get it? By putting responses into a spreadsheet, you'll have a relationship-building tool you can use all year. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips ....
Host Jennifer Gonzalez welcomes cognitive scientists Dr. Pooja Agarwal, Dr. Janelle Blunt, and Dr. Michelle Rivers to discuss practical retrieval practice strategies from their book "Smart Teaching, Stronger Learning." They highlight techniques like using whiteboards for low-stakes practice, "Question du Jour" for priming learning, peer instruction, detailed answer explanations, and confidence ratings. These methods aim to strengthen long-term learning by actively recalling information, making education more engaging and effective.
