10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Kitty Tripp shares a breakthrough she's had with helping her students solve word problems. Teach them to become a director! If you're preparing students to take a test or just teaching math, this is a fascinating method of teaching.  Kitty Tripp, an innovative educator with 19 years in the field of education, has experience not only as a teacher and district office administrator but also in a wide...

Matt Farber talks about game-based learning in his classroom and a new tool he loves: Twine. We're also hosting a giveaway contest of his new book Game Based Learning version 2. As Matt discusses Game-Based Learning, you'll hear:  Why game-based learning works  Matt's favorite example of game-based learning  How Matt got a month ahead in his history curriculum using Twine to make adventure games ...

Today I share a post I wrote several years a go that tends to be shared like crazy this time of year. I hope it encourages you to finish well. Here's the link to the blog post: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/how-to-make-it-to-the-end-of-the-school-year/ I've also got a new way I'm posting transcripts. Once the show goes up, give it a few hours and the transcript will go live at www.coolcatteacher.c...

Dr. Brad Johnson talks about the mistakes schools make that hurt their standardized test scores. You might be surprised that sometimes the things schools do may have the opposite impact of what they intend. Consider this feedback as you prepare to administer testing this spring. As Brad discusses standardized testing mistakes schools make, he will share:  Mistakes we make in routines  during testi...

Mark Barnes @markbarnes19 discusses a popular method of problem-solving: Hack Learning. Instead of a 5-year plan, this model helps educators improve on a daily and more short term basis. He gives examples of how educators are hacking (and improving) meetings and more. Let's Hack Learning! Today, Mark shares how we can Hack Learning by:  Understanding the model of hacking learning  Giving us exampl...

David Raymond is part of equipping Virginia high school students to defend themselves from cyber attacks. With knowledge in digital forensics and current technology, the Virginia Cyber Range is working to lead the world in educating its students on cyber security. Learn how in this wide-ranging conversation about modern security.  As David Raymond and I discuss cyber security, we talk about:  Priv...

Jennifer Cronk helps us empower those with special needs. She shares her treasure chest of favorite edech tools for those with special needs. This show is a must-listen for special needs teachers.  In today's show about special needs edtech tools, Jennifer Cronk shares:  Why speech recognition empowers students  How to help students guide their eyes in online reading  Accessibility tools  Why we s...

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life" Mary Oliver. Joan Flaherty, the author of Rest and An Approach to Rejuvenating our Teaching and Ourselves , talks about how we can combat emotional fatigue. Teacher, you have one wild and precious life. Our students do too.  We need to use it well. In today's show on emotional fatigue, Joan discusses  How we should center ou...

Want to help students learn and be more refreshed. Students need breaks too. That is why brain breaks are becoming so popular. Teacher Rob Donatelli @ DTown_MrD talks about the Brain Breaks phenomenon and gives teachers five ideas he uses in his classroom for brain brains in his high school class. Take a brain break today! Rob will share five ideas today including the:  Backwards classroom race  6...

How much time on devices is too long? Should kids put up their smartphones and talk to each other and parents sometimes? Are we using technology too much as parents?  Today, for Thought Leader Thursday, Weston Kieschnick @ wes_kieschnick and I have a conversation about digital parenting. There aren't easy answers, but one thing is sure, we won't find answers without having the hard conversations. ...

African Step, based on the African Gumboot Dance, has an American version with a competition. Junior Bernadin @ JBernadin is one of the STEP coaches at 3-time national champion winning Ron Clark Academy. Learn about this marvelous type of song/ dance and its role in African American culture. Also, hear about Junior's commitment to excellence and what students learn from competing in this dance com...

Richard Byrne @rmbyrne discusses the edtech tools he's most excited about today. From video tools, creation tools, to app creation, you'll hear about the tools and ideas that Richard is most excited about in edtech today. In today's show, Richard shares:  Live video streaming tools and why he's moving to YouTube Live  Blogging and creation tools  Why app creation will soon be in the reach of every...

Empowering special needs students with technologies is one of the greatest ways to motivate and ignite their learning. Jennifer Cronk @ jenniferacronk shares two tearful but joyful stories of people with special needs unleashed (including her own.) Let's start this Monday motivation remembering the joyful opportunity we have to help every child with technology!  In today's show, Jennifer shares  H...

Digital citizenship is a challenge. In today's episode, Alice Chen shares five things every student should know about digital citizenship. A full transcript of this show and the show notes are available at www.coolcatteacher.com/podcast as well as details on entering this month's giveaway contests.

Classroom management can be a challenge in any classroom. In this episode, I share my secrets and tips for managing my computer lab classroom. I hope it helps.

Karen McCallum is a special ed elementary teacher in Alberta, Canda. She has specialized in special education and behavior support programming. Today she tells a heartwarming but powerful story about how two puppets are helping transform the social emotional learning of elementary special needs kids. Karen will share:  How she decided to use puppets to reach a nonverbal student  Modeling appropria...

Dr. Tim Green, Instructional Design Expert, talks today about augmented reality. Specifically he shares his favorite Augmented Reality (AR) instructional tool, Aurasma. Tim also shares a vision for the future of where augmented reality is probably taking us in education.  Today, Tim shares:  How teachers and students are using Aurasma  His wildest dreams for the future of augmented reality in educ...

Will Parker @williamdp has seen kindness go viral on his campus. Learn how his faculty and student council worked together to create a nurturing environment. And how one Post-It Note moved the school to go viral. Will shares how:  His student council created a nurturing environment for kindness to grow  What happened in the girls' bathroom that changed everything  How the faculty noticed and encou...

Today I'll tell some crazy stories about the lengths I'll go to get a laugh in my classroom. We're celebrating 50 episodes of the 10-Minute Teacher! Thanks for your support and sharing the show!!! These 5 ways are how I introduce a little laughter into my classroom and still get a lot done.  Some ideas I'll share:  Dress up and drama activities  Humor on my flipped videos  Using stories  Changing...

Sylvia Martinez, @ smartinez , co-author of Invent to Learn , talks about tinkering today. Some teachers have a misconception that kids just pick up and play with materials and learn, but it is a little bit more nuanced than that. Sylvia does an amazing job of helping us understand the drawbacks, possibilities, and essential nature of tinkering.  Today, Sylvia teaches us: How to make time for tink...

Felicia Casto @ jfcasto28  , 2017 Milken Award Winner, used to hate math. But one day, she woke up and realized she was bored and her students were too. She set about to find answers. After diving into research and applying what she learned, Felicia and her elementary students have left behind a traditional way of teaching math and awakened to the exciting possibilities. If you're tired of boring,...

Rayna Freedman @ rlfreedm shares classroom blogging. Her students all blog weekly. Some blog collaboratively. She uses blogging to teach elementary students how to write. In today's show, we talk about classroom blogging with Rayna Freedman. Rayna will share: What students write about Workflow of blogging The tools she uses for blogging and commenting Image citations and photography Digital equity...

Michelle Cottrell-Williams @ WakeHistory applies Brene Brown's research on vulnerability to make her classroom a safer place. Motivate yourself to be more authentic with your students as we talk about vulnerability, shame, and guilt in the classroom. Michelle shares: How students and teachers can practice vulnerability in a way that brings positive results How to combat shame A powerful "just beca...

TW Williamson @ tww00 an educator in Taiwan shares his story of global collaboration and connection with US teacher Annette Lang. In today's show, TW shares 5 Ideas for connecting your classroom with others. Connecting is part of a teacherpreneurial mindset that characterizes a true world-class 21st-century educator. Let's dig in. TW shares with us: How to let go of the concept of control How to s...

Larry Ferlazzo @larryferlazzo discusses classroom management. Today, for Thought Leader Thursday, we're thinking about how we can all improve our classroom management skills. Larry shares tips from an "old pro" about how we can create a more successful classroom environment. (And a word on if it ever gets easier.) In today's Show, Larry discusses: The first ingredient in successful classroom manag...