The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

Latest Episodes:

233: Meeting the Core Human Needs of a Teacher Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

Teaching is intense, vulnerable work that brings up a range of emotions all day, every day. If we really want to help teachers thrive, we need to go beyond the technical parts of the job and look at how our core human needs show up in this work. In this episode, author and instructional coach Elena Aguilar joins me to explore what it looks like when a teacher's needs for belonging, autonomy, competence, self-esteem, trust, and purpose are not being met, and what can be done to address that.

Thanks to EVERFI and Listenwise for sponsoring this episode.

For links to Elena's book, Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 233.

232: How Metacognition Can Optimize Learning Aug 18, 2024

Show notes

The act of thinking about our own thinking, or metacognition, plays a huge role in how well our brain holds on to information. If we can get a better understanding of how metacognition works, we can tap into it to improve our learning and teach our students to do the same. In this episode, cognitive scientist Megan Sumeracki explains how we can make that happen.

Thanks to EVERFI and The Wired Classroom for sponsoring this episode.

For links to Megan's book, Ace That Test, visit cultofpedagogy.com/metacognition.

231: Teaching Executive Functions to All Students Aug 04, 2024

Show notes

All students can benefit from learning and practicing executive functions, the skills we use to control our attention, keep ourselves organized, initiate tasks, and manage time. But where do we find the time to teach them? In this episode, educator and author Mitch Weathers shares his proven 5-step system for integrating executive functions into regular class time without taking away from the regular lesson.

Thanks to EVERFI and The Wired Classroom for sponsoring this episode.

For links to Mitch's book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/executive-functions

Summer 2024 Update: What I'm Working On Over the Break Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

The podcast is on a break this summer because I'm working on a big project. I thought I'd take a few minutes and tell you a little bit about it.

More on the project here.

Be back soon!!

230: What is a Semantic Pulse Survey, and Why Should You Try it? Jun 09, 2024

Show notes

When teachers and students feel heard, the climate of a school just gets better, and semantic pulse surveys can make that happen. In this episode, we'll learn what about this fresh approach to surveying and how teachers and administrators can create their own to gain better insights about the students and teachers they serve.

This episode is sponsored by Alpaca. School leaders can get 15% off a year of Alpaca's pulse surveys — visit alpacapacks.com/pedagogy to learn more.

To read the post, visit cultofpedagogy.com/semantic-pulse-surveys

229: Not Just for Math: A Tiered System of Learning Supports for Any Subject May 30, 2024

Show notes

You can never have too many ideas for helping struggling students, right? In this episode, you'll get a few more that you may not have tried. My guests are two teachers — learning specialist Sarah Riggs Johnson and math teacher Nate Wolkenhauer — who share their system of strategies that help all students learn better, a kind of pyramid where the ones at the bottom apply to all students, the middle layers are used with a smaller group, and at the top are strategies that are only needed for a few students. If you teach math or special ed, this one is a must, but even if you don't, you're going to come away with some new ideas for how to help students who struggle — even if they don't have an identified learning disability.

Thanks to Scholastic Magazines+ and Studyo for sponsoring this episode.

To read Nate and Sarah's post, visit cultofpedagogy.com/tiered-learning-supports

228: A Conversation About School Choice May 12, 2024

Show notes

The rights of parents to choose the best school for their children — also known as school choice — may seem simple on the surface, but it's anything but, and it has the potential to impact teachers and students all over the country. In this episode, I talk with Cara Fitzpatrick, author of The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America. We discuss why school choice is actually pretty complicated, we dig into some of the key groups that have historically pushed for it, and we explore some things concerned citizens can do to ensure that families can still get their children the best education possible.

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Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode.

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To read a transcript and get a link to Cara's book, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 228.

227: Two Effective Ways to Teach Annotation Apr 28, 2024

Show notes

Annotation can be a powerful way to improve comprehension and increase engagement, but its effectiveness can vary depending on how it's taught. In this episode, two teachers share their classroom-tested approaches to teaching students how to effectively annotate texts: 3rd grade teacher Andrea Castellano and high school English teacher Irene Yannascoli.

Thanks to Listenwise and Studyo for sponsoring this episode.

To read a full transcript of this conversation, visit cultofpedagogy.com/art-of-annotation/.

226: Yes, Your School Librarian Can Do That (and More) Apr 14, 2024

Show notes

If your school is lucky enough to have a full-time certified librarian, it's likely they are not being utilized to their full capacity. In fact, yours may be one of a growing number of schools that are eliminating librarians altogether, and that is a terrible idea. In this episode, I sit down with four accomplished librarians — K.C. Boyd, Barbara Paciotti, Lauren Mobley, and Karina Quilantan-Garza — to explore all the ways a certified school librarian can make teachers' work easier, more efficient, and more effective, and to make a strong case for why every school needs one.

Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode.

To read a full transcript of this conversation, visit cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 226.

225: Two Programs with Fresh Solutions to the Teacher Shortage Apr 02, 2024

Show notes

Many states are seeing record high numbers of teacher turnovers and vacancies. While the problems that caused this shortage have not gone away, there are groups of people who are coming up with some creative ways to address this situation, new and surprisingly affordable pathways for training good, enthusiastic teachers. Two of these programs are Oxford Teachers College at Reach University and Educators Rising. In this episode, educator Kimberly Eckert talks with me about how and why both of these outstanding programs work.

Thanks to Edge•U Badges and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode.

To read a full transcript of our conversation and find links to all the resources mentioned in this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/teacher-shortage.

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