The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

Language shapes so much of who we are, but not all students feel they can bring their whole selves into the classroom. Even the most well-meaning teachers can unwittingly do more harm than good. In this episode, educator Andrea Castellano answers some common questions about students who code-switch between languages and dialects and shares research-based practices that will help multilingual students flourish. ------------------- Thanks to CoderZ and Edulastic for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

We spend a LOT of time with students, and quite a bit of that time is not used for direct instruction. This "downtime" offers plenty of tiny opportunities for teaching, assessment, and relationship building—we just have to recognize them. You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to Pear Deck for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

We've covered a lot of differentiation strategies over the years, and here's one you may not have heard of: backward chaining. It allows students to start a task a few steps ahead, allowing them to experience a sense of completion that might otherwise be out of reach. My guest Melanie Meehan explains how it works.  ------------------- Thanks to Pear Deck and Spinndle for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Adding an unexpected ingredient to a lesson makes students more likely to remember the thing they were supposed to learn. You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to Pear Deck for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Whether or not you're involved in athletics, all teachers will have transgender students in their classrooms, and understanding the issues that impact them will make you a better teacher for these vulnerable students. In this episode, I talk with former college athlete and sports policy scholar Katie Lever about the reasons trans athletes should be included in women's sports.  ------------------- Thanks to Pear Deck and Spinndle for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Teachers are leaving the classroom in larger numbers than ever, and many are breaking contracts mid-year just to get out. What can school leaders do to stop this? What makes one school lose teachers in the double digits, while others manage to hold on to almost everyone? In this episode, we'll hear the stories of four teachers who left their jobs in the past year. Then we'll hear the words of hundreds of teachers who stayed, and what administrators in those schools did differently. ------------------- Thanks to Listenwise and Spinndle for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

There are so many things we ask our students to do in school that they would do so much better if we just modeled it for them. While modeling is already probably a strategy you're using to teach some concepts, you probably could be using it a whole lot more, and getting more from your students as a result. You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to Stash101 for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

Many teachers don't know enough to effectively meet the needs of students with ADHD. In this episode, we'll take a look at 8 principles you can apply to your teaching that can help these students thrive. ------------------- Thanks to Listenwise and Read&Write by Texthelp for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

When we say something generic like "good job," it might make a student feel good, but that's about it. What has a lot more impact is specific praise given to individual people. You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. ------------------- Thanks to Stash101 for sponsoring this episode. -------------------

An essential first step toward becoming an anti-racist educator is uncovering your own implicit biases—attitudes and beliefs about certain groups of people you may not even realize you have. In this episode, Hedreich Nichols walks us through an 8-question exercise to help us start to do this work on ourselves. ------------------- Thanks to Listenwise and Read&Write by Texthelp for sponsoring this episode. -------------------