Welcome to today’s episode! We’re diving into a topic that goes beyond lesson plans and teaching strategies—executive presence in education. Often associated with corporate leadership, executive presence is just as critical in the world of teaching. It’s about how we carry ourselves, communicate, and connect with others in a way that inspires confidence and respect. As educators, we navigate a variety of roles—mentor, leader, mediator, and advocate. Whether it’s managing a classroom, collaborati...
Mar 11, 2025•22 min
In today’s episode, we’re delving into the art and science of working with personalities and appreciation language. What better a topic to be released during this Valentine's Day week. As educators, we interact with diverse personalities daily—students, colleagues, administrators, and parents. Understanding these unique traits and how they influence communication, collaboration, and engagement is critical to fostering positive relationships and creating inclusive environments. We’ll unpack pract...
Feb 11, 2025•23 min
Well, we know that we have taken a little bit of a hiatus on Top of the Class these past few months. Life has been nothing short of a whirlwind, but we have missed you all and are so excited to jump right in. Today we are chatting about the ever-glamorous topic of educator certification. Whether you're just beginning your journey into teaching or you're a seasoned professional, navigating the certification process can feel overwhelming. In this episode, we’re diving into the nuts and bolts of ed...
Jan 13, 2025•25 min
So, we are back with Part II of our financial literacy conversation with our expert, Monica Martinez! We are here to chat about what financial literacy is and why it is important for us as educators. Again, we want to remind all you listeners that we are not professional financial advisors and the information shared today is simply to help educate and share tips. We ask that any listeners seek advice from professional financial advisors before making any changes to their financial planning. Let'...
Mar 05, 2024•18 min
This is part one of a 2-part special! Today we bring to you a conversation that is not always an easy one to dig into, but one that is so important to discuss as educators. We are bringing to you an expert to help us chat and learn a bit more about financial literacy as educators. Before we learn about our amazing guest, Meredith and I do want to remind our listeners that we are not professional financial advisors and the information shared today is simply to help educate and share tips. We ask ...
Feb 06, 2024•20 min
Special 75th Recording: This is a very special launch for a very special profession and we couldn't think of a better episode than this one! We have officially released 75 recordings here on Top of the Class. And, in this brand new year, we want to dedicate it all to our amazing profession and all the educators out there! You are all an inspiration and why we do what we do. Happy New Year and happy 75th recording!
Jan 01, 2024•10 min
We are excited to wrap up our special 4-part series on Character Education today. If you missed the first 3 episodes in this series, be sure to go back to hear all of the wonderful wisdom. As we enter episode 4 in this series, we are going to be chatting specifically about shared leadership and the Practical Wisdom Framework. Resource Links: Our Framework for Purposeful Cultures of Character The SSC for our Free Resources Leading with Virtue Free PD courses The Jubilee Center for Character and V...
Nov 06, 2023•19 min
Welcome back! We are so excited to dive into the 3rd of a special 4 part series all about Character Education. If you didn’t catch our first 2 episodes in the series, be sure to take a listen. Today we have a catchy model that we are going to dig into, the “Caught, Taught, and Sought Model”. I am really looking forward to this one! Resource Links: Our Framework for Purposeful Cultures of Character The SSC for our Free Resources Leading with Virtue Free PD courses The Jubilee Center for Character...
Oct 02, 2023•14 min
We are here with the 2nd episode in our special 4-part series on Character Educaiton! If you missed the 1st episode in the series, be sure to take a peek! Today we are chatting about some actionable steps. We all love some marching orders as educators! Resource Links: Our Framework for Purposeful Cultures of Character The SSC for our Free Resources Leading with Virtue Free PD courses The Jubilee Center for Character and Virtues teacher resources, The Jubilee Center for Character and Virtues – Th...
Sep 04, 2023•19 min
We are here to dive into a really important series on Top of the Class. We are about to jump into a special 4-part series around Character Education. We are here to build upon our previous episode where we had the opportunity to start chatting about this topic. So, in this series, we will have the opportunity to dig in much deeper to some of the practical applications and “action items” around implementing Character Education in our schools and classrooms. Let's dive into Part I of this amazing ...
Aug 07, 2023•19 min
We wanted to bring to you all a topic that has been on our minds for some time now. We have been in countless meetings, sessions, and conversations all about the teacher pipeline or educator pipeline and how we can help to fill the need out there. We know the need is great and we have had the opportunity to speak with some experts on some innovative pathways to educator certification AND GCU has been doing some innovation of its own. That said, we have two guests today who are going to help us b...
Jul 10, 2023•35 min
Recently, we celebrated a VERY important week. As the academic school year winds down each year, we have Teacher Appreciation Week. While we celebrate teachers and educators EVERY single day, this is a week where we pay extra special attention to our educators. To our listeners out there, teachers, leaders in the field, and anyone who is in the education field, we THANK you all from the bottom of our hearts. We know this job comes with a whole slew of ups and downs, but each and every one of you...
Jun 06, 2023•40 min
We are back with the 4th and FINAL episode in our special 4-part series on servant leadership. This topic has been rich with good reminders, tips, and ideas on how we can best serve our fellow colleagues, our students, our student’s families, and the community around us. We are so excited to wrap up such an amazing series with our final guest today. Let's jump right in and take a listen!
May 01, 2023•32 min
We are back…for part 3 of a very special FOUR-part series all on servant leadership. We know that it might not be a term used at all places of work, but our roles as educators really do embody a lot of those characteristics that are found in servant leadership. So, we thought it was such a worthy topic to dive into with 4 amazing experts who each have 4 very different backgrounds and are in 4 very different roles in the education profession! Join us as we hear from the expert, Melissa Woodward, ...
Apr 03, 2023•24 min
Well, we are back for another wonderful episode. This is Part II of our Servant Leadership Series. If you missed Part I, we chatted with an alum who went a bit viral on our COE Instagram page for her role in “Life of a First Year Teacher: Life of Shay!” and learned SO much! Feel free to take a listen! Now, we know that as educators, servant leadership is a term we often hear used in our field. In addition, here at GCU and in the College of Education, part of our mission is to assist in the overa...
Mar 06, 2023•30 min
With today being Valentine's Day, we thought that this was the perfect day to share the LOVE. In this Extra Credit episode, Emily and Meredith dive into why they love GCU and a little bit about their own history and journey. With over TWO decades between them at GCU, there is a lot of love to go around. If you are new to Top of the Class, or if you are a veteran listener, we hope you enjoy this fun episode. So, sit back, relax (unless you are driving), and enjoy the show!
Feb 14, 2023•14 min
Today, we have a fun episode that is actually part of a FOUR-part series! For the next few episodes, we are going to be talking all about servant leadership. As classroom teachers and school leaders, we’re not just leaders, but we’re servant leaders who provide emotional and academic support, create cultures of learning, encourage the individuals we work with to grow, and make room for everyone’s ideas to be heard. Our topic today is SO important that we thought it was necessary to break it down...
Jan 27, 2023•27 min
We are beyond thrilled about today’s episode. This has been a topic that is very important to us here at GCU and in the College of Education, but also personally important to us at Top of the Class. We know that there are SO many challenging things that our students experience in life. The world is HARD! And, we also know that those things affect our students in the classroom. Educators spend so much time with their students and lessons go beyond the math, English, science, and social studies cu...
Sep 20, 2022•21 min
We are so excited right now. As we record this episode, we have been bombarded with all of the back-to-school media, commercials, pictures on social media, etc. And, we know that so many of you are preparing to return to your classrooms and many of you may already have a classroom full of students! We know there is SO much work, TLC, and planning that goes into getting ready for back to school. We thought it would be wonderful to bring in one of our local experts to talk a little bit about what ...
Aug 22, 2022•37 min
Today, we are going to talk about a really special topic. We wanted to discuss those online and hybrid environments, specifically how we can best support our students with exceptionalities. We have brought in two amazing experts in this area today, Dusty Sanchez and Julie Blair, to help us all learn! Let's get ready to learn from the best. We also have some amazing resources discussed and shared by our experts today below: • High Leverage Practices (HLPs): https://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/high-l...
Jul 25, 2022•33 min
Today we have a really interesting topic that is new to us on Top of the Class. We are so lucky to know experts in the field who bring a wide variety of experiences to Top of the Class. We are so excited to learn something new today. We all can attest that we do a lot of talking as teachers, so today we are talking all about vocal health with our amazing guest, Dr. Rachel Velarde. Let's jump right in and learn how we can take care of our most important tool as a teacher, our voices!
Jun 27, 2022•39 min
Today we come to you all with a very timely discussion. We are here to chat about ethics and our professional practice as educators. Many of us likely have an understanding of the Model Code of Ethics for Educators and for our GCU students and grads, you may remember our Professional Dispositions. This is something that is not a one-and-done conversation. As educators, we must constantly work in this area to grow and refine our professional practice in the area of ethics in the classroom, especi...
May 02, 2022•49 min
Today we are going to chat a bit about some of the challenges that we are faced with today in the field of education. As many of us know, there is a need to help get more certified teachers in the classroom. So, we wanted to talk a little bit about what that might look like. How can we help support the field of education through a variety of alternative pathway opportunities? Here to chat with us is our Assistant Dean, Lindy Gaudiano, to share all of her wisdom and expertise as well as some inno...
Apr 04, 2022•26 min
Today’s episode comes to us after discussions with many of you on what parts of being an educator challenge and mystify you the most. For many of you, this is how to appropriately, kindly, and ethically set boundaries with all the different stakeholders we encounter from parents to students to colleagues. In addition, this happens to be a topic about which Meredith and Emily are particularly passionate. So, let's chat about setting those boundaries!
Mar 14, 2022•39 min
Many of us are hosting and running virtual meetings these days, so we thought we’d bring in an amazing expert, Tiffany Newell, who can teach us all the tricks to make the meetings run smoothly and make sure they are as informative and engaging as possible. This short and sweet extra credit episode is for all of you -- teachers, admin, faculty, staff, and parents -- anyone out there using virtual meetings to communicate information in these really unique times. Let's hop in and learn some helpful...
Feb 07, 2022•28 min
The world and the field of education are going through some transformation right now. We cover lots of serious topics on this show, but we wanted to dabble in something a bit lighter. So, we have added Part 2 to our Creating the Ultimate Teacher Wardrobe mini-series. I don’t know about you, but how I dress can definitely affect how I feel. How we dress in the classroom can help us maintain that teacher confidence, help with setting professional boundaries with students, colleagues, and parents/g...
Jan 17, 2022•34 min
We know that there are so many changes that we are seeing in the field of education right now...some from needs found from the pandemic. In this episode, Emily and Meredith chat about this timely topic including discussion on what our "new normal" might look like and some lessons we have learned in the field of education during 2020-2021. Let's hop right in and reflect!
Jan 05, 2022•14 min
This is a fun little episode with Meredith and Emily as they share some updates in the College of Education and with Grand Canyon University. They will chat about new roles, exciting vision, social media, and more! Hop on and learn about what's new with this dynamic duo.
Dec 20, 2021•13 min
Today we come to you all with a very important discussion and topic. We are here to chat about culturally responsive teaching. Now, as teachers, we know just how important this is. It is important to talk about, but it is also essential that we continue to reflect and grow in our practice as teachers. We are honored to welcome our expert and guest today, Mr. Justin Campbell. Let's dive right into this episode and learn from one of the best!
Dec 07, 2021•29 min
This is Part 2 of our episode on supporting our students’ mental health during trying times, so if you haven’t had the chance, be sure to check out Part 1 of this fabulous episode. We have had many requests from you all on how to support our students’ mental health during crisis points. We need this topic now more than ever, but not all of us are experts in this area! So, we have brought in the experts to help! Let's take a listen to Dr. Stephanie Nilsen and Dr. Crystal McCabe as they continue t...
Aug 17, 2021•14 min
