The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

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).

Collaboration is great as long as you have high-quality projects for students to work on. In this episode, we'll explore five unique ideas for collaborative projects that can be adapted for any subject area, along with suggestions for adding criticality and opportunities for student agency to each one.  ------------------- Thanks to CoderZ and Hapara for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Stopping while you read a text out loud might be necessary in order to explain, dissect, or analyze something, but those interruptions can really mess up a listener's experience of the text. Next time, start with a smooth first read, then start over and get into the instruction. ---------- You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to Edulastic for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Critical thinking is something usually reserved only for advanced classes, but if we want our students to receive an equitable education, they all need regular practice in thinking critically. In this episode, Tangible Equity author Colin Seale shares three easy strategies for infusing critical thinking into any lesson. ------------------- Thanks to CoderZ and Pear Deck for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

If too many of your classroom plans go off the rails, you might need to add more norm-setting, where you clarify expectations in detail before starting an activity. It's a step some of us skip, but the time you spend on it will pay off later.  ---------- You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to Edulastic for sponsoring this episode. -------------------