3 Ps in a Pod: An Education Podcast

As artificial intelligence tools have become far more accessible in the past year, "AI" has become a major conversation for not just schools and education but in all aspects of life. That's why we're diving into discussions about AI in education in this four-part series with guest host Dr. Chad Gestson, executive director of the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy, and Dr. LeeAnn Linds...

It's been an exciting last few months for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards . Today, 3Ps in a Pod host Juliana Urtubey talks with CEO Peggy Brookins about recent National Board news and conversations.   Peggy shares about the vision and work of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and the benefits of National Board Certification for educators and their studen...

When Dr. Jennifer Robinson first attended the Arizona K12 Center's annual Teacher Leadership Institute, she was the only one from her district but connected with other "lone wolves." She learned there but has since found even more value in bringing a team to this annual summer conference.  She shares with 3Ps host Paula about how she brings a variety of personnel from her school with her to Teache...

Julia King Pool joined us last season to talk about the psychology behind the concept of burning in rather than burning out. In this episode, she continues that conversation by sharing specific strategies for approaching some difficult scenarios you might have encountered. Hosts Juliana and Marlys ask Julia several questions about stressful scenarios educators often find themselves in. These inclu...

National Board Certification is the most respected professional certification available in education and provides numerous benefits to teachers, students, and schools. Today, 3Ps in a Pod host Donnie talks with four educators from Litchfield Elementary School District about how they have structured and grown their support for National Board Certification candidates to, in turn, better support stud...

If you're a teacher, you're a dendrite grower, according to today's guest Dr. Marcia Tate. Growing dendrites is a piece of brain science Dr. Tate shares in many of her books and workshops to help educators understand the context of brain-based teaching and learning. Dr. Tate talks with 3Ps host Josh about how, after years working as a teacher and an administrator, she learned about the brain scien...

You may know the Arizona Educational Foundation or AEF as the home of the Arizona Teacher of the Year program and the Arizona State Spelling Bee. In this episode, you'll hear from Kim Graham, CEO of AEF, about the work of the Foundation and how she approaches her work leading these efforts. Kim shares how she moved from studying theater to teaching high school English to working in arts education...

Here at the Arizona K12 Center, we're big proponents of reflecting on your practice. But what does it mean to be a reflective practitioner and how do we use that reflection to not be the end goal but a tool to generate change in ourselves and our learners? Dr. Kevin Roessger, associate professor of adult and lifelong learning at the University of Arkansas, has focused his work in quantitative rese...

Efrain Casillas, the 2024 Arizona Teacher of the Year, has been teaching at Tolleson Elementary School District for 17 years. His vision isn't to just teach music to his current students but to build a culture of music in Phoenix. 3Ps hosts Josh and Donnie talk with Efrain about the beginning of his interest in music as a child in Puerto Rico and how that led to his music education career.  Efrain...

Explore the world of Cognitive Coaching — a transformative approach unlocking minds and elevating problem-solving skills — in this episode of 3Ps in a Pod with educators and facilitators Taryl Hansen, NBCT, and Mary Bouley. Taryl and Mary talk about the history of Cognitive Coaching and give an overview of this approach to coaching that mediates thinking and prioritizes teacher autonomy. They make...

If you attended our 2023 Teacher Leadership Institute, you heard a bit from Dawn Quamahongnewa, her family, and her teacher leadership. Today, Dawn is expanding on what she shared in that speech and how knowing our past informs our future.  Dawn begins this episode by sharing how her parents first shared about the history of her family and the Hopi people. She shares the history of her family's cl...

You know how challenging teaching can be and how many teachers today encounter burnout. That's why Julia King Pool founded the Burn-in Mindset, a coaching program for experienced educators that mitigates burnout and cultivates energy, optimism, and confidence. Julia shares with hosts Juliana and Marlys how she founded Burn-in Mindset and how it is based in the tenets of positive psychology. Positi...

Today, we welcome back Chris Kotterman, the Director of Government Relations for the Arizona School Boards Association, to discuss the past Arizona legislative session, significant bills that did and didn't make it into state policy, and what might be coming in the 2024 session. Kotterman notes that fewer bills than usual affecting education will take effect this year due to several vetoes by Gove...

This is a replay of an episode from September 2022. In recognition of National Day of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools on September 30, we are discussing the history of American Indian boarding schools and the continued legacy of this part of our history. Hosts Daniela and Donnie welcome Marcus Monenerkit from the Heard Museum to the podcast to speak about the history of American India...

In January of 2023, Dr. Dani Portillo became the superintendent of Roosevelt School District, the first Latina to hold this position. In today's episode, Dr. Portillo talks with hosts Kathleen and Josh about her journey into education and her vision for Roosevelt School District, an elementary district in south Phoenix.   Roosevelt, an elementary district in south Phoenix, currently serves about 7...

3Ps in a Pod is taking a break this week, but we'll be back in your podcast feed next Thursday. We hope whether your fall break is this week or later this month, you're able to take time to rest and rejuvenate. And thank you for all you do to support Arizona's learners, from all of us at the Arizona K12 Center.

Janet Wong left a law career and dove into writing poetry and helping others see the power of poetry. In this episode of 3Ps in a Pod, Janet talks with hosts Josh and Juliana about her approach to poetry and shares a variety of ways you can use poetry in your classroom. Janet shares how poems can be used as a way to get to know your students, as a brain break, as a way to teach revision, and to pr...

In this final episode of our series with The Learning Scientists, Dr. Megan Sumeracki dives into more detail about the three teaching and learning strategies of elaboration, concrete examples, and dual coding. The Learning Scientists, a group of cognitive psychologists, have developed six main strategies to support your teaching and your students' learning. In the previous episode, Dr. Sumeracki a...

In the last three episodes, we've explored some different aspects of the cognitive psychology behind how we learn. Today, we're taking that context and applying it to six strategies to support your teaching and your students' learning. In this episode, Dr. Althea Need Kaminske and Dr. Megan Sumeracki, two of The Learning Scientists, begin talking about these six strategies: Spaced practice, repeti...

We continue our series with The Learning Scientists on this episode of 3Ps in a Pod. Today, hosts Josh and Paula talk with Dr. Althea Need Kaminske and Dr. Megan Sumeracki about working memory and perception. Dr. Sumeracki and Dr. Kaminske give multiple examples demonstrating how background knowledge shapes your perception and what that means for how we communicate or give instructions to students...

We're back with part two of our series with The Learning Scientists! Today, cognitive psychologists Dr. Megan Sumeracki and Dr. Cindy Nebel pick up where we left off in the first part of this series.  They jump into a demonstration with hosts Josh and Paula that illustrates some aspects of how our brains work. That leads into a discussion about why it's cognitively so important to understand your...

We're starting off a five-part series with The Learning Scientists, a group of cognitive psychological scientists focused on how we learn. Today, hosts Josh and Paula talk with Dr. Megan Sumeracki and Dr. Cindy Nebel about the science of learning. As cognitive psychological scientists, The Learning Scientists are a group interested in research on education, specifically on the science of learning....

STEM education can look very different across Arizona, which is why the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project came to be to help advance STEM in schools across the state. In this episode, hosts Donnie and Daniela talk with Mike Vargas and Amanda Whitehurst share how the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project (ASAP) works to transform how educators deliver STEM education.   The Arizona STEM Acceleration Pro...

The school year is back in session, so 3Ps is back too! Today, hosts Kathleen and Donnie chat with Jason Catanese, a middle school math teacher in the Isaac School District, about how he extended his support of his students far outside his classroom and began a comprehensive college prep program.   Jason, also known as "Mr. Cat," teaches seventh- and eighth-grade math at Pueblo Del Sol Middle Scho...

On this fourth and final episode of our series on Humanizing Pedagogy, Oscar Corrigan joins us to talk about classroom management. He shares how his own experiences as a teacher and working with other teachers caused him to realize the importance of classroom management and what works best to support students in being successful. Oscar explores routines, procedures, and expectations to help studen...