The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

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, but these beautiful portraits do just that — and anyone with a smartphone can do the same thing for the teachers at their school.  Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. To view the full portrait gallery go to https://cultofpedagogy.com/pod and choose episode 221.

Standardized testing has, without a doubt, created a lot of problems in education, and far too often, our conversations about these problems end in statements like "we need to just get rid of them all" or "Oh well, nothing we can do to change things." In this episode, education researcher Jenn Binis joins me to talk about a different approach to solving the problems around standardized testing: moving away from all-or-nothing thinking and towards the idea of reducing harm. Jenn offers 5 specific strategies educators can take to make things better. Thanks to NoRedInk and Edge•U Badges for sponsoring this episode. Read Jenn's full blog post by going to cultofpedagogy.com/standardized-tests-what-to-do

It's a brand-new year, and to celebrate the launch of the 10th edition of our Teacher's Guide to Tech, we're exploring 8 tech tools that are worth a look in 2024. I'm joined by my team of ed tech geniuses — Brandie Wright, Lucia Hassell, Kim Darche, and Marnie Diem — to talk about a collection of tools that can make your teaching richer, more efficient, and more satisfying. Enjoy! Thanks to WeVideo and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. Check out the 2024 Teacher's Guide to Tech at https://teachersguidetotech.com.

As a teacher, you probably find yourself in situations pretty often where you're made aware of a student having needs or challenges that exceed what your school typically offers them. The list of student needs in so many schools is never-ending, and your desire to help meet them is probably pretty strong, too. But attempting to meet these needs on your own — to become a kind of "savior" to your students — can not only lead to burnout for you, it's also not ultimately that helpful to the student long-term. In this episode Alex Shevrin Venet, author of the book Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education, returns to talk about the danger of getting into a savior mentality when helping our students, how to tell if you're slipping into that kind of thinking, and how to shift toward healthier and more helpful ways of thinking about and approaching student needs. Thanks to NoRedInk and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. You can find links to Alex's book and a full transcript of our conversation at cultofpedagogy.com/savior-mentality/.

Our classrooms have the potential to be spaces where we learn how to have conversations about challenging topics with respect, curiosity, and kindness. Contrary to the voices that say race is not an appropriate topic for school, in this episode we're saying just the opposite. My guests are Matthew Kay, author of the book, Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom, and Jennifer Orr, Kay's co-author of the follow-up book, We're Gonna Keep On Talking: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Elementary Classroom. I talked with Matt and Jen about the value of discussion as a teaching tool, the elements that are necessary for creating a healthy ecosystem for race conversations, some strategies for having these conversations in organic and authentic ways, and a message for teachers working in states that are hostile to conversations about race. Thanks to NoRedInk and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. You can find links to both books and a full transcript of our conversation at cultofpedagogy.com/classroom-conversations-about-race/.

I have no new strategies or tools or books to share with you this week. Nothing new to implement. Just a simple call to action for administrators to start giving your teachers more specific, genuine positive feedback. They need it.  Thanks to NoRedInk and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. You can read this podcast as a post at cultofpedagogy.com/your-teachers-need-a-win/.

Cooperative learning can be a powerful learning strategy, but only if it works well. In this episode Connie Hamilton, author of Hacking Group Work, returns to the podcast to share 17 small changes you can try that will make group work more effective in your classroom. Thanks to EVERFI and Verizon Innovative Learning HQ for sponsoring this episode. You can read a full transcript of this podcast at cultofpedagogy.com/group-work-17-tweaks/.

At a time when student behaviors and attitudes seem more troubling than ever before, we may need to approach their behavior in a different way, too. In this episode, Alex Shevrin Venet returns to talk about unconditional positive regard, a philosophy that offers students care no matter what — they don't have to earn it, and nothing they do can make it go away. This approach can transform some of the most difficult student-teacher relationships, but it's not easy. Venet shows us how it works, why it works, and how teachers can get the support they need to navigate it.  Thanks to Listenwise and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. Read the full transcript and find links to Alex's book, Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education at cultofpedagogy.com/unconditional-positive-regard/.

Giving students time for reflection on their learning is so good for them: It builds their metacognitive capacity, it teaches them to take agency for their own learning, and it helps them and YOU see more clearly what they have learned and what they need next. But when we have so much other stuff to do, reflection often gets shoved out of the way. In this episode, high school teacher Marcus Luther returns to share a simple, completely free system he developed for giving students regular time for self-reflection. It's a year-long document we're calling a Learning Story.   Thanks to Listenwise and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. Read Marcus's full blog post about this strategies, view images, and grab a free Learning Story template at cultofpedagogy.com/learning-stories.    

When it comes to teaching kids how to read, what is the big debate about? And what does research say we should be doing? In this episode, literacy expert Jen Serravallo and researcher Dr. Kelly Cartwright help us understand the different perspectives on effective reading instruction and what research says teachers and school leaders should be doing now to help kids learn to read. Thanks to EVERFI and Verizon Innovative Learning HQ for sponsoring this episode. You can read a full transcript of this podcast at cultofpedagogy.com/reading-instruction/.

Students who have learned enough English to do well socially may still need scaffolding to thrive academically. In this episode, I talk with Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton, authors of the book Long-Term Success for Experienced Multilinguals, about the specific strategies teachers can use to help these learners reach their full potential across the curriculum.  Thanks to Grammar Gap Fillers and Giant Steps for sponsoring this episode. You can read a full transcript of this podcast at cultofpedagogy.com/experienced-multilinguals.

Positive, accurate representations of Arab voices and contributions are largely missing from our classrooms. In this episode, four educators — Sawsan Jaber, Reem Fakhry, Fatma Elsamra, and Abeer Ramadan-Shinnawi — teach us how we can change that. This episode is sponsored by JumpStart. Read a full transcript of this episode and find a robust list of excellent resources for integrating Arab narratives into your curriculum at cultofpedagogy.com/arab-narratives.

Trauma-informed teaching has gotten a lot of attention in recent years, and my guest, Alex Shevrin Venet, is a wonderful guide to help us better understand how it works. Her book, Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education, offers a holistic, nuanced exploration of what this work looks like in practice, and it does so with equity at the center. In this episode, we talk about what trauma-informed teaching looks like in practice, how some approaches to this work miss the mark, and how teachers can start applying some basic principles of good trauma-informed teaching right away.  Thanks to EVERFI and Giant Steps for sponsoring this episode. Read a summary of this interview and a full transcript at cultofpedagogy.com/trauma-informed-education.

Do you ever feel like you're just marching through your content, trying to get it done? Like your students are just regurgitating it back, but not really learning it? Would you love to design deeper learning experiences in your classroom, but you're just not sure how? This episode may have some answers for you. I talk with Sarah Fine, co-author of the book In Search of Deeper Learning, about the specific elements found in classrooms that offer richer, more engaging learning experiences for students, and how you can apply those elements to your own teaching. Thanks to EVERFI and Giant Steps for sponsoring this episode.  

The core activity of this after-school program is boxing, but it offers so much more to students. In this episode, I talk with Jamyle Cannon, executive director of The Bloc Chicago, about why this program has been so wildly successful at helping students achieve personal and academic success, and how other educators can follow the same model by building engaging programs around student interests in their communities. Thanks to EVERFI and Giant Steps for sponsoring this episode.