If you use rubrics, this episode is for you. I talk with administrator Mark Wise about five guidelines that can help make your rubrics more effective.

55: Your Top 10 Genius Hour Questions Answered

3 Nov 6th, 2016 44m 23s

Genius Hour has exploded in classrooms over the last few years, and teachers who want to try it have a lot of questions. In this episode I ask A.J. Juliani, creator of the Genius Hour Master Course, the top 10 questions teachers have about Geni

162: Up-Down-Both-Why: A Funds of Feeling Approach to Literature

Jan 24th, 2021 45m 5s

Students often struggle to make meaningful connections to literature and put those connections into words. The Up-Down-Both-Why technique, which starts with how the text makes a student feel, gets much better results. My guest, Sarah Levine, ex

159: Connecting Students in a Disconnected World

Nov 23rd, 2020 35m 18s

Breakout rooms, collaborative projects, games—whatever we do, it's crucial that we do something to get our students talking to each other. In this episode, I'm giving you a huge list of ideas teachers have shared with me for getting students to

152: Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online

Aug 17th, 2020 31m

One of the most important things we need to accomplish as we move forward into the school year is building relationships with our students. But if you're teaching online, that task will be more challenging than ever. In this episode I talk with

150: A Few Creative Ways to Use Student Blogs

Jul 19th, 2020 34m 50s

Since blogs first showed up on the internet, they have really evolved as a genre, and they're a smart choice for a robust, long-term assignment. In this episode I'll share six different kinds of blogs students can write, along with advice on as

149: Nine Ways Online Teaching Should Be Different from Face-to-Face

Jul 5th, 2020 47m 38s

Chances are you're going to be doing at least some online teaching in the upcoming school year. What shifts do we need to make in our face-to-face teaching practices to make the most of online learning? In this episode I talk to instructional t

144: Making Great Screencast Videos

Apr 26th, 2020 47m 18s

If you are moving some of your direct instruction to video, whether it's by necessity or by choice, knowing how to create a good screencast is essential. In this episode, blended learning mentor Kareem Farah gives us advice on how to make scree

143: To Teach Social-Emotional Learning, Start with Yourself

Apr 12th, 2020 38m 57s

While most teachers recognize the value of social-emotional learning, many struggle to fit it into their curriculum. But one of the most powerful ways to teach SEL is through modeling the competencies ourselves every day, which doesn't require

134: Repairing Harm: A Better Alternative to Punishment

Nov 10th, 2019 39m 49s

Detentions and suspensions don't really change behavior. What's much more effective is having students work to repair the harm done by their actions. In this episode, I talk with Brad Weinstein and Nathan Maynard, authors of Hacking School Disc

121: Is that Higher-Order Task Really Higher Order?

May 12th, 2019 28m 13s

Ask any group of teachers if their goal is to simply have students regurgitate facts, and every one of them will say no. Despite that, it keeps happening. In this episode, we'll look at two of the most common errors teachers make when planning

118: To Boost Learning, Just Add Movement

Mar 31st, 2019 31m 12s

Physical movement makes learning stick better. In this episode, we'll explore six different ways to add more movement to your classroom.

107: The Best Ways to Use Leveled Texts

Oct 21st, 2018 37m 10s

There's a lot of confusion about how to use leveled texts in the classroom. In this episode, I interview literacy expert Jen Serravallo about the mistakes teachers and administrators make with leveled texts and which practices Serravallo has fo

103: Deeper Class Discussions with the TQE Method

Aug 26th, 2018 44m 26s

Want your students to have rich, complex discussions about the texts they read? In this episode, high school English teacher Marisa Thompson shares a method she calls TQE, which requires almost no prep or grading and leads to the kinds of class

81: The Great and Powerful Graphic Organizer

Oct 22nd, 2017 25m 28s

Graphic organizers can pack a strong instructional punch if you know how to use them. In this episode I review the research on why graphic organizers work so well, list 10 creative classroom uses for them, and offer a few tips so you can implem

79: Retrieval Practice: The Most Powerful Learning Strategy You're Not Using

Sep 24th, 2017 58m 7s

The research is clear: Retrieval practice is one of the most powerful ways to learn. In this episode, I talk to Pooja Agarwal about what retrieval practice is and how teachers can start incorporating it into their teaching tomorrow.

50: Using Playlists to Differentiate Instruction

Sep 4th, 2016 44m 52s

If you're trying to figure out an easy way to manage differentiated instruction, this episode will be a big help. Teacher Tracy Enos explains how she uses student playlists--customized, digital lists of assignments she assigns to students based

168: Mistake Analysis

Apr 18th, 2021 33m 34s

Wrong answers can be an incredible tool for learning and critical thinking. In this episode, Thinking Like a Lawyer author Colin Seale teaches us four easy ways to add mistake analysis into our regular teaching practices. This is a strategy tha

141: Getting Rid of "I Don't Know" in Your Classroom

Mar 15th, 2020 26m 8s

How often do you hear "I don't know" in your classroom? For some students, this phrase becomes a crutch that stops them from learning. In this episode, I talk with author Connie Hamilton about how we can teach students to use more specific phra

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

12 days ago 1h 7m

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 tha

225: Two Programs with Fresh Solutions to the Teacher Shortage

25 days ago 58m 27s

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

224: Some Thoughts on Teachers Crying in the Classroom

Mar 17th, 2024 23m 6s

Crying in front of your students can be a humiliating experience. Not the kind that happens when you're moved to tears by a poignant story or you react to upsetting news; those moments can actually bond you to your students. It’s the kind tha

223: Why Students Give You the Blank Stare, and What to Do About It

Mar 3rd, 2024 35m 1s

It's happened to so many teachers: You teach your heart out. Really just knock it out of the park. Then you ask a question all students should know the answer to … and nothing. What's going on? In this episode, educator and writer Blake Harvard

222: Building Better Collaboration Between Families and Schools

Feb 19th, 2024 46m 44s

As our student population grows ever more diverse, many schools haven't been quite as successful as they'd like to be when trying to connect with students' families. If current efforts aren't working, it's time we tried a different approach. In

221: The Photography Project That Showed Teachers Through a New Lens

Feb 4th, 2024 36m 40s

When high school English teacher Dan Tricarico started taking photos of his colleagues, he didn't expect them to create new bonds among his staff. Teachers rarely get an opportunity to have their humanity and uniqueness showcased in this way, b