10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Latest Episodes:

AI for Teachers Who Have Bigger Fish to Fry Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Schools are funny. The weirdest things happen. But even in the midst of all of that hurry and scurry, we still have jobs to do, and AI for teachers can help get things done. Maurie Beasley, author of Teachers Have Bigger Fish to Fry, has some great perspectives to share with teachers.

Maurie is a former teacher, counselor, and assistant principal who now directs technology for a rural Texas district. She shares how you can still figure out the best uses of AI even when you have bigger fish to fry!

What you'll learn:

What happened when a snake fell out of the air conditioning vent onto a teacher's desk
The difference between efficiency AI and opportunity AI, and which one to start with
Why her book skips the AI's bad answers, and what she printed instead
The question Maurie says AI is finally making us ask about being human
Who should be in control when the laptop lid goes up

Show notes and full transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1013

If this episode helped you, please leave a rating and review. It helps other teachers find the show.

AI for Teachers and Gemini Notebook (Formerly NotebookLM) Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

I asked Gemini Notebook (formerly known as NotebookLM) a dress-code question, and it gave me the answer and the page number from our handbook.

Vickie Echols says the turning point for her was when she was barreling through the hallway and the teacher she was with stopped and asked her, "Ms. Echols, do you always walk this fast?" That moment was a turning point for Vickie, and when she saw AI, she wondered how she could save time on tedious tasks to make more time for human moments, so she wrote AI for School Leaders: 62 Ways to Lighten Your Workload and Focus on What Matters.

Vickie has lots of ideas, including how to fix tone in emails, how a superintendent used Gemini Notebook (formerly known as NotebookLM) to summarize meetings for board members, and the usefulness of Gemini Notebook when you're answering handbook questions (this tip is for teachers and administrators!).

Show notes, the full transcript, and links: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1012

In this episode, you'll learn:

The hallway question that changed Vickie Echols's decisions for how she would lead as an administrator
How to get a fast, straight answer with page numbers from your school handbook or policy manuals
The board-meeting trick one superintendent uses with NotebookLM
The one thing to do before you send anyone an AI-generated podcast
Where AI notetakers might cross a line in schools
How one teacher fixed her tone that caused her to be confrontational in her emails (without meaning to)

Restorative Practices and a Cell Phone Policy That Actually Works Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

If you're like me, you might have seen these nightmare "restorative practices" videos making the rounds on social media. I put restorative practices in quotes because seeing a kid misbehave, get a lollipop, and go back to class with no consequences seems like insanity to me; nothing is restored, and I would argue that, if that's what is happening, it is making the relationship worse.

So, when I read Amanda Jamerson's story (she won the 2026 National High School Assistant Principal of the Year), I knew her story would give us some insight. Amanda, or "AJAM the Advocate" as she's called online, tells how her team cut office discipline referrals by 69% over three years and how they built a cell phone policy that is actually working on a five-building campus. I also like that she calls her work "heart work" because it is.

Show notes, the full transcript, and links: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1011

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why a high schooler said it was "fair" to have his cell phone taken
Why kids who get lunch detention with AJAM almost never come back
What she checks before she'll act on a student referral
A simple classroom routine for cell phone management that doubles as attendance
Three questions a suspended student answers before coming back
Some mistakes AJAM has observed with restorative practices
How she helps her teachers know what to say when they are in the emotional moment of a student referral

Side Jobs for Teachers or a Calling? Build an Education Business Oct 17, 2026

Show notes

Teachers, IT coaches, and principals can get excited and present at a conference, and then it happens: side jobs for teachers come calling. People start asking them to speak. They get opportunities. But how do you handle this?

Today's guest, Dr. Will Deyamport (we call him "Dr. Will"), the author of The Edupreneur, talks about building an education business the right way. From disclosures to avoiding conflicts of interest (there are some things you can't do) to owning your own IP, Dr. Will's advice is solid and timeless.

In this episode, you'll learn:

The hard moment when Dr. Will realized he needed to have an opportunity on the side
Why I don't like calling it a "side hustle"
What you need to do before you cash your first check
The criticism Dr. Will got for talking about money and how he answered it
Why T-shirts and stickers shouldn't be payment for your work
When working with an edtech company becomes a conflict of interest
The question you need to ask before you create anything on a school-issued device

Guest: Dr. Will Deyamport, III, author of The Edupreneur and host of The Dr. Will Show podcast.

Show notes, the full transcript, and links: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1010

Think, Pair, Share, Show Me: Science of Learning in Action Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

What are the learning myths we need to abandon? What does the neuroscience say? Today's guest, Ross McGill, author of The Teacher Toolkit Guide to the Science of Learning, shares his findings.

If your students highlight every page and call it studying, or your school plans lessons around learning styles, you'll want to hear this. What does the science of learning say actually works?

In this episode, you'll learn:

The simple question about learning that many teachers can't answer
What a student is really telling you when they say, "Miss, what did you say?"
The myth Ross once had to plan his own lessons around
What helped my son learn to read, and why it isn't a learning style
The chapter Ross calls the most frightening in his book
Why a student who "highlighted everything" may have wasted the evening
The one step Ross added to think-pair-share, and why it matters with 30 students

Guest: Ross Morrison McGill, founder of TeacherToolkit and a former deputy head teacher in London.

Show notes, the full transcript, and links: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1009

Molecule Builder: How a Teen Coded a Free Chemistry App Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

His class didn't have the chemistry tools they needed. So, Ky'lin Spears built them. He's a student and has built a free molecule builder, periodic table, and chemistry simulations. His tool is free in any browser and collects no student information.

So today's Wonderful Classroom Wednesday is featuring a student. Every school has them. The quiet students who figure things out. As you listen to Ky'lin, ask yourself - how can we nourish and encourage students to solve problems in classroom subjects that interest them?

Ky'lin taught himself to code from YouTube videos.

If you teach chemistry, Atomency may be a free resource your students can use this week.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why he built it without AI, and what he tells other students about AI now
The feature that broke more than 50 times before it finally worked
Why he made it free, with no login and no student data
A molecule challenge a chemistry teacher can try this week
What he wants adults to understand about his generation
Why he says getting it right on the first try isn't always a win

Guest: Ky'lin Spears, a high school student from Suitland, Maryland, and the creator of Atomency.

Show notes, the full transcript, and links: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1008

Reflective Teaching: How Video and AI Help Teachers Improve Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Reflective teaching matters. As teachers and professionals, we need to ask ourselves: how are we reflecting and improving? The times I've videoed myself teaching have been hard to watch, but I've learned so much. As you listen to the innovations happening in the teacher education program at Valdosta State University, think about how reflection can improve your teaching.

Dr. Karen Terry has spent more than 30 years in education as a teacher, administrator, district leader, and now a professor preparing future teachers. Her goal is for the teachers from her program to still be happy in the classroom ten years later.

A big part of her program is the connection with mentor teachers. In today's show, Karen shares how her student teachers record their lessons and use both AI coaching AND mentor feedback to reflect and grow. I find it fascinating that each one adds value. Some student teachers who are eager to grow record themselves, reflect with AI, and try strategies they might not have found otherwise.

I would argue that what changes these teachers is their commitment to reflection and growth, along with their willingness to listen to their mentors and use the tools they're given.

Most teachers I know are overly critical of themselves, so we need to give ourselves grace when we watch ourselves teach. Yet reflective use of video can be a valuable tool!

In this episode, you'll learn:

What most student teachers say after they finally watch the lesson they thought was terrible
How an AI coach walks a new teacher through reflecting on one goal at a time
Why a skeptical veteran mentor ended up named mentor of the year
How one student teacher used video to handle a student's tough behavior
Karen's test for telling a lasting tool from a passing fad
What happened when her students wrote their own rules for using AI

If this episode helped you, please rate or review the show wherever you listen. It helps other teachers find it.

Show notes, the full transcript, and the research behind this episode: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1007

Student Belonging: A Principal of the Year's Plan Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

When a principal and her school achieve amazing results, I find one thing stands out: the focus on helping students belong and grow. Student belonging is the first thing Sonia Ruiz builds. She is the 2026 National Middle Level Principal of the Year in the US. Incredibly but not surprisingly, her school's English learners and students with IEPs are making gains.

Sonia says she didn't feel like school was built for her, but now she leads Jane Addams Middle School in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The school has earned the state's Exemplary status three years in a row. For her, love and high expectations go together.

In this episode, you'll learn:

The two survey questions that get middle schoolers to tell adults what they really need
What a school dance looks like when not every student likes noise
The three questions Sonia's staff asks before any decision
How a chronically absent sixth grader finished eighth grade mentoring younger students
Why Sonia uses a rubric to evaluate changes so change doesn't feel personal
The one small thing students say makes them feel they belong
What Sonia wishes adults outside school understood about middle schoolers

Show notes, the full transcript, and the research behind this episode: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1006

Bridge in the Classroom: A Screen-Free Math Game Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Going screen-free is an emphasis right now, as is building emotional intelligence. Perhaps that is why bridge is really attractive to some kids. You can also teach math, focus, and teamwork, and you don't have to know how to play. Hall of Famer Patty Tucker created JumpStart Bridge, a free curriculum that has reached more than 12,000 students. It comes with scripts, videos, supplies, and a stipend for teachers who have never dealt a hand.

In this episode, you'll learn:

The one rule of bridge that teaches kids not to quit
The grade levels Patty calls the sweet spot for starting
What a teacher who doesn't play bridge gets for free, and how one teacher stays two weeks ahead of her class
Why one school saw fewer tardies on bridge day
How a Montana middle school outgrew its own bridge tournament and had to expand from one to three days
What gifted-education teachers noticed about kids' social skills after the COVID years
The line from an eighth grader's essay that sums up why face-to-face games matter

Show notes, the full transcript, and links to Patty's free resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1005

If this episode gave you an idea for your classroom, take a moment to rate and review the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast. It helps other teachers find the show.

Screen Value, Not Screen Time: Leading Schools in the AI Age Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

ISTE+ASCD 2026 Board President Dr. Jeremy Owoh explains how his district runs toward AI instead of away from it. He also shares why AI can never replace a good teacher and his approach to encouraging innovation in the classroom.

So many teachers are tired of playing "AI whack-a-mole," but it is so helpful to hear how Jeremy helps his district make decisions that bring everyone on board. He says that schools should learn together and set clear expectations. He started as an English teacher in Little Rock, served as an assistant commissioner at the Arkansas Department of Education, and now leads the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District while serving as board president of ISTE+ASCD.

In this episode, you'll learn:

What did ISTE+ASCD CEO Richard Culatta say when he read Jeremy's technology policy?
Why his district asked students to help rewrite the rules
The AI tutoring pilot he calls "a game changer," and how he decided whether it worked
What a former English teacher says matters more than grading the five-paragraph essay
The one thing every superintendent should do before making AI decisions

Dr. Jeremy S. Owoh is superintendent of the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District in Arkansas and president of the ISTE+ASCD Board of Directors. ISTE+ASCD is now the International Society for Transforming Education. He began his career in 2003 as an English teacher at Parkview Magnet High School in Little Rock.

If this episode helped you, please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening. It helps other teachers find the show.

Full show notes, research, and transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1004

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