10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Kelly Christopherson has taught for twenty-five years and has been helping educators use to level up their learning for most of that time. As one of the leaders on #saskedchat (Saskatoon Ed Chat on Twitter), he has seen classrooms transform and is now studying the impact of social media on classroom pedagogy. Come to the edge of research and learning as we discuss how teachers are learning. Not su...

Part of being remarkable is that students believe your class and content applies to their life. On the 10 Minute Teacher, we want to help you be a more remarkable educator, so today, Denis Sheeran, author of  Instant Relevance, Using Today's Experiences to Teach Tomorrow's Lessons, shares five ways we can become more relevant in our classrooms today.  Students need to feel like what they do relate...

Thankfulness is modeled and shown by how we appreciate those around us. In today's show, Dr. Frank Buck gives some creative ways to thank administrators. If you're planning ahead for the holidays, you'll have time to work on these ideas at your school. www.coolcatteacher.com/e589   Sponsor:  The U.S. Toyota Dream Car Art Contest invites youth, ages 4-15, to submit their original hand-drawn artwork...

As we lay out our rooms and organize our spaces, we can make our learning environments more positive spaces to interact, collaborate and work together. Today Kevin Stoller gives us ideas to make our learning environments more positive places to interact. www.coolcatteacher.com/e588   Sponsor:  The U.S. Toyota Dream Car Art Contest invites youth, ages 4-15, to submit their original hand-drawn artwo...

Science can be difficult for low to average readers. Today, we'll dig into the power of comic books to help us teach difficult subjects to students by making learning reachable and approachable. C.A. Preece works to reach every learner by working to make science approachable and understandable.    www.coolcatteacher.com/e587  - to see show notes and examples of comics he uses. Sponsor:  The U.S. T...

Recently, I came across a story that my mother had adapted when she was a teacher to use to teach students about caring for others who had done things for them. During this time of Thanksgiving and approaching Christmas, it is easy for many of us (kids included) to become self-absorbed and to forget those who have done so much. So, feel free to use today's story as you want but also to use it as a...

Have you ever made the mistake of giving students or others the kind of feedback you want to receive - but it just falls flat? For example, I'm a "word" kind of person and I can float on a compliment for days. However, some people I know are visual. Others like to hear a person's voice. Still, others really love graphics or video. We all need to be excellent at giving quick and impactful feedback....

Filled with dread, some math teachers have a problem. As they give problems to students to work their students become problems. Behavior problems. Boredom problems. Sometimes the problem is that students aren't excited by the problems. However, math can be exciting. The "Open Middle" math problem format is NOT talking about middle school math, although it applies to middle, high school, elementary...

Students need life skills. Some schools are adding in courses to help students cook, care for their families, manage their money and more life skills. Others have always had these courses. Today we interview a teacher, Andrea Moore, who started her career as a literature teacher but teaches many practical things to her students every day. www.coolcatteacher.com/e583   Sponsor: The U.S. Toyota Drea...

Creativity is something that we have to nurture as teachers. In this blog post and episode, I share some of the ways I believe nurture creativity in students. See the show notes at www.coolcatteacher.com/582   Sponsor: The U.S. Toyota Dream Car Art Contest invites youth, ages 4-15, to submit their original hand-drawn artworks that answer the question, "If you could design a car to make the world a...

Have you ever had a moment when your life changed? Perhaps it was a comment or it was a moment and although it may not have seemed to be anything to others around you, you experienced a seismic shift in how you viewed yourself. Dr. Michael Rousell studies these moments and relates them to neuroscience. Today he shares the surprising science behind the commonalities in these life-changing moments....

Lynn Colón, co-author of Empowering Girls: Opening the Door for Girls to Achieve More , helps us understand what schools need to be doing to intentionally empower their female students to achieve more. Lynn shares some of her journey and the nuances of understanding girls today. www.coolcatteacher.com/e580   Lynn Colón - Bio As Submitted Lynmara Colón brings the perspective of a teacher, assistant...

Take care of yourself! We often tell each other this as teachers and rightly so. I once read that teachers work the same amount of time in ten months that most people work in a year. Teaching is not for the faint of heart or weak of the back but we must rest and stay strong to be our best. But how? Today, Mandy Froehlich gives us advice for self-care. www.coolcatteacher.com/e579   Challenge Press...

Many schools are reimagining the learning spaces that some call libraries or media centers. Carolyn Foote takes us to the center of this trend to take us inside how she redesigned her learning space and the thought process behind it. As you plan your school's strategy, you'll want to have conversations about this show. www.coolcatteacher.com/e578   Carolyn Foote - Bio As Submitted Carolyn Foote is...

Lots of things are labeled "STEM" these days but many of them are just rote instructions for students to follow. Is this truly STEM learning? Taylor Ryan is STEM coordinator for his school as they work to integrate STEM into every class. He shares what he's learned about true STEM learning in the past year in this role. Hear about STEM from the trenches of a school that is doing it. www.coolcattea...

Tara Martin has written a book to help children (and adults) face their fears called Cannonball In! Today, we talk about a powerful metaphor and the risks of life and how sometimes we have to jump! Enjoy! www.coolcatteacher.com/e576     Your Challenge I have a saying in my office by Eleanor Roosevelt that says "do something every day that scares you." Again, we're talking rational risk and getting...

Thom Gibson has fun ways to greet students as he walks around campus. He shared them on Twitter recently and I started using some of them and it adds a whole element of fun and engagement while interacting with students. Learn about these ideas and become the kind of person that kids love to greet! www.coolcatteacher.com/e575   Sponsored By Advancement Courses The holidays are just around the corn...

"Room service" door hangers are one of the unique ideas that André Sasser shares on the show. From a Woot Wagon to more, André talks about little things that encourage her as a teacher. I also talk about the "fun committee" at my school and some ideas to build community and collegiality. www.coolcatteacher.com/e574   Sponsored By Advancement Courses The holidays are just around the corner, and thi...

Families want to engage in classrooms but as students get older, it can be challenging. In today's episode, Jeromie Heath helps teachers understand how to engage families in the classroom in positive, proactive ways. www.coolcatteacher.com/e573   Sponsored By Advancement Courses The holidays are just around the corner, and this is the perfect time to start planning your PD. Get started by going to...

Deep fake videos are now possible. In this disturbing trend, convincing videos, audio, and photos are viewed and shared by those who somehow think you can trust what you see and hear. Wesley Fryer takes us deep into the world of deep fakes in this resource-full lesson in a trend that is dangerous and threatening, particularly for a gullible population. This is a special extended episode of the 10...

Do you have that difficult student who seems to fight you each time you try to reach him? Coach D was that student. He tells a powerful story of a teacher who was a reacher in his life and changed his life with a two-minute conversation in sixth grade. For all of those teachers who struggle to reach students (as many of us do), this show is for you. www.coolcatteacher.com/e571   Sponsored By Advan...

Chad Klein is a 22-year educator. He shares his advice for teachers to take care of themselves and love teaching in this quick motivational talk. www.coolcatteacher.com/e570     Chad Klein - Bio as Submitted I've been teaching and coaching since 1997. I've worked with mainly middle years' students. I coach volleyball, baseball, basketball and golf and help as a trainer with a local youth football...

Dr. Lee Graham is working with teachers to teach them principles of game-based learning to teach writing. Her anecdotes of classroom behavior-changing results are - pardon the pun - game-changing. Learn more. www.coolcatteacher.com/e569   Dr. Lee Graham - Bio As Submitted Dr. Lee Graham teaches courses in educational technology and pre-service teaching at the State University of New York, College...

Jeremy Rinkel has added technical writing to his traditional English Literature course. As a form of relevant non-fiction writing, Jeremy uses drones, robots, and 3d printers to give students an exciting topic on which to write their how-to and technical manuals. Dive deeper into what he's doing and learn how to apply it to your classroom. www.coolcatteacher.com/e568     Jeremy Rinkel - Bio as Sub...

Programming doesn't have to be so hard. Computer Science teacher, Michael Backus, gives us advice to help make programming easier. www.coolcatteacher.com/e567    Michael Backus - Bio As Submitted \Michael Backus teaches computer literacy and computer science at Teeland Middle School in Wasilla, Alaska. As the creator of the https://www.akrobotnerd.com , he has shared many projects that he has deve...