The time students spend in your classroom may be the only opportunity they have all day to engage with other humans in any meaningful way. And it's such a shame to waste that by letting them stay in some sort of Matrix-like environment where they're only plugged into devices and rarely even look to the left or to the right. So take deliberate steps to help them get to know each other. ------------------- You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

A messaging platform that translates messages into any language, a daily curation of current events, the one everyone's talking about that writes essays for you, and more: Here are six tools we think are worth a look this year. And while you're listening, you can grab a brand-new copy of the 2023 Teacher's Guide to Tech here. Thanks to JumpStart and Hapara for sponsoring this episode.

Learning requires us to be vulnerable, and in order to do that, we need to feel safe. In this episode, I talk with Elena Aguilar, author of The PD Book, about how professional development facilitators can make that happen for teachers. Thanks to JumpStart and Hapara for sponsoring this episode.

Two factors have given lectures a bad name: overuse and poor execution. In this episode we'll deal with both of these issues, considering when a lecture might be the best choice, then looking at ten things you can do to make sure the lectures you do give are outstanding.  Thanks to EVERFI and Hapara for sponsoring this episode.

Offering small group mini-lessons that students only sign up for if they are interested is another great way to offer personalized instruction. Author and writing instructor Melanie Meehan returns to share how she has used this strategy in her classroom. Thanks to EVERFI and Today by Studyo for sponsoring this episode.

We are living in a time where a segment of the population is working as hard as it can to keep our students ignorant of history. Dozens of states are attempting to erase history from textbooks and curriculum if it paints certain populations in an unflattering light, and teachers' jobs are under threat in many places if they teach certain concepts. If you are a student or parent living in a place where history is under attack, and you want to give yourself or your child the education that your legislators are trying to take from you, the nine outstanding resources in this episode are for you.  Thanks to EVERFI and Today by Studyo for sponsoring this episode.  

While it's true that student choice has a lot of value, it's possible to give so much choice in an assignment that it kind of backfires. When a task has little to no structure at all, students often respond with confusion, not creativity. ------------------- You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to CommonLit for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Our sensory systems have a HUGE influence on how we learn, serving as building blocks for regulation, engagement, exploration, safety, movement, social interaction, and brain integration. In this episode, pediatric occupational therapist and author Jamie Chaves shows us how applying some basic principles of sensory processing in the classroom can remove unnecessary barriers and boost learning in significant ways.  Thanks to EVERFI and Today by Studyo for sponsoring this episode.   Check out Jamie's books, The "Why" Behind Classroom Behaviors and  Sensory Smart Classrooms (affiliate links).  

When a student or audience member has a question, repeating it before you answer allows everyone else to hear it and gives you a chance to clarify the questioner's intent. ---------- You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to CommonLit for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Even though many of us are back in physical classrooms this year, blended learning offers a way to weave together online and offline learning to position students at the center of the learning process. Instead of reverting back to a teacher-led, whole-group instructional model, blended learning can free us from the front of the room and allow us to work directly with individual and small groups of learners. In this episode, Catlin Tucker shares four specific models teachers can follow for structuring blended learning lessons and units to suit different purposes. ------------------- Thanks to CoderZ and Today by Studyo for sponsoring this episode. ---------------- Check out Catlin's book, The Complete Guide to Blended Learning (affiliate link).