3 Ps in a Pod: An Education Podcast

In this third installment in our series on Humanizing Pedagogy, we welcome Johnathon Walker to 3Ps in a Pod to talk about his approach to character education and how educators can better get to know their students.  Jonathon begins the episode by sharing how working with students in athletics led him to become a classroom teacher before talking about the importance of educators to teach the whole...

We are back with part of our series on Humanizing Pedagogy. Today, we'll be talking with Kristin Speck about how to create a classroom environment that fosters deeper engagement and concrete strategies to get us there. Kristin shares about how her degree in nutrition and dietetics and teaching at a San Diego cycling studio led to her career as a high school biology teacher. Noting that teachers ne...

What does it mean to humanize pedagogy? Why is it crucial to our work as educators? And how do beginning teachers do that in the midst of other demands and expectations? That's what we are diving into in our next four episodes of 3Ps in a Pod, starting today by hearing from Dr. Dominique Smith about how the language we use shapes how we view and interact with learners and others. Dr. Smith begins...

Meet the Arizona K12 Center's new executive director, Daniela Robles, in today's episode of 3Ps in a Pod. Daniela has been in education for more than 27 years, including working as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and a variety of administrative roles at the school and district level. In today's episode, hosts Marlys and Kathleen talk with Daniela about what first brought her into teachin...

In this final episode of our series on Leading with Inquiry, Jessica Vance and host Paula Watkins continue their learning and discussions from past episodes, this time focused on the power of using questions in learning.  Jessica and Paula discuss the need to be flexible when prioritizing questions in learning and how to stay in that flexible mindset. They dive into how to get comfortable respondi...

We're taking the learning we've done with Jessica Vance in the last two episodes on Leading with Inquiry in a new direction. In this and our next episode, you'll hear a vulnerable coaching conversation between Jessica and 3Ps in a Pod host and teacher leadership program director Paula Watkins. Jessica and Paula take what they've talked about in the first two episodes of this series and apply it to...

We're continuing our series with Jessica Vance on leading with inquiry, this time focused on provocations. In the last episode of 3Ps in a Pod, Jessica set the stage for what inquiry in leadership is. Today, Jessica and host Paula Watkins dive into a discussion about provocations, what they are, how to use them, and why they're important. Jessica and Paula also touch on some of the misconceptions...

What does it mean to lead with inquiry? And what does that actually look like in a classroom or when working with other adults? Today, we begin a four-part series exploring those questions and more about leading with inquiry. 3Ps host Paula Watkins and Jessica Vance, the author of Leading With a Lens of Inquiry, will lead us through this exploration, setting the stage in our first episodes about w...

Today we welcome Danielle Brown, NBCT, a former host of 3Ps in a Pod, and now the senior manager of candidate experience at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She and host Donnie Dicus discuss the changing landscape of education and how the National Board is approaching some of that change.  Brown first shares how her role at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standa...

3Ps in a Pod is back, and we're kicking off our 13th season by exploring the Arizona Education Progress Meter. Connected with that progress meter is the Achieve 60 AZ Action Plan, which sets the goal of having 60 percent educational attainment in Arizona by 2030. That means 60% of the state's population of working adults will have a certificate, license, or degree.  Host Paula Watkins welcomes Ric...

Today, we welcome author and Minnesota's 2014 Teacher of the Year Tom Rademacher to the podcast.  Hosts Donnie and Kathleen talk with Rademacher about his two loves of teaching and writing. His books, It Won't Be Easy, An Exceedingly Honest (and Slightly Unprofessional) Love Letter to Teaching and Raising Ollie: How My Nonbinary Art-Nerd Kid Changed (Nearly) Everything I Know , combine both those...

This week of Veterans Day, we're revisiting an episode from November 11, 2020, when hosts Angelia and Danielle welcomed Dr. Nancy Pratt to 3Ps in a Pod to share about her military experience and how that has carried into her education career. Then the Director of Instruction and Innovation at Cave Creek Unified School District, Pratt is now the Director of Instruction at Buckeye Elementary School...

One year ago, the Arizona Department of Education and Northern Arizona University came together to announce the creation of the Arizona Teacher Residency. Housed within the Arizona K12 Center, the Arizona Teacher Residency now has its first cohort of residents working in the classrooms of supervising teachers in Osborn, Roosevelt, and Tempe Elementary school districts. Today, you'll hear from one...

Just three days after being named the 2023 Arizona Teacher of the Year, chemistry teacher Ty White joined us for a conversation about what brought him into teaching, how he approaches his practice, and about receiving this exciting honor.  3Ps in a Pod host Josh Meibos welcomes Ty White to the podcast, who talks through the evening he was named the Arizona Educational Foundation 's 2023 Arizona Te...

Arizona has been in a teacher shortage for years, and today we explore this issue with Dr. Richard Ingersoll , a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and expert on the K-12 teaching force, about what he sees as the foundational issues of this shortage and what steps may help us move forward. Ingersoll is recognized for his research in teacher turnover and workplace trends and the impact of...

Today, we're focusing in on special area teachers and classes by welcoming an art teacher, music teacher, and physical education teacher to the podcast to discuss the importance of these special areas and what they'd like other educators to know. Hosts Josh and Donnie welcome to the podcast Kyle Bragg, an elementary physical education in Scottsdale Unified School District, Rusty Carle-Ogren, a mid...

Be inspired by the five teacher leaders on today's episode of 3Ps in a Pod. The five semifinalists from the Arizona Educational Foundation's 2023 Teacher of the Year consideration join us to share about their teaching journeys, the affirmation they've received through this recognition, and what they hope to do with their platform. The 2023 Teacher of the Year semifinalists are Jaime Camero, who te...

How do we turn behavior into a teachable moment? That's a primary question that Dominique Smith, Doug Fisher, and Nancy Frey address in The Restorative Practices Playbook . In this episode of 3Ps in a Pod, Dr. Dominique Smith joins hosts Paula and Kathy to talk about restorative practices and how he went from being a naysayer to an advocate for this work. Dr. Dominique Smith shares about how his o...

What is drawing Arizona's future teachers to education, and what are these aspiring teachers' hopes and fears about teaching here? That's what we're talking about today with two Northern Arizona University education students and one of their education professors. Hosts Josh and Juliana welcome NAU College of Education students Alexa Negrete and Ainsley Brubaker and Associate Clinical Professor of...

As educators, we strive to build a safe and supportive environment for all our students as well as our colleagues. In this extended episode, you'll hear from a few Arizona educators who identify as gay or lesbian and a former teacher whose son came out as gay during his middle school years as we together discuss the LGBTQ+ experience within the world of education. Host Donnie welcomes Maria and Mi...

If you miss having a four-legged friend with you at school every day, you may love this episode. Today, we're exploring the Pawsitive Peers Foundation school therapy dog program in Mesa Public Schools, which allows staff to adopt local shelter dogs and train them to be certified therapy dogs.  Mesa Public Schools boasts one of the largest in-school dog therapy programs in the country, and hosts Da...

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 Indian boarding schools and the Away From Home: American...

You know how important it is to build strong relationships with students, and it's just as important for mentors to build that trust and rapport with teachers. Today, hosts Kathleen and Paula talk with Treva Jenkins from Maricopa Unified School District about how to build those strong relationships with new teachers to best support their growth and confidence in the classroom. Jenkins, a beginning...

You may not know a "kickflip" from an "ollie," but today's episode of 3Ps in a Pod may make you want to grab a board and start exploring how the skills you can learn skateboarding can apply to other parts of life. Extracurricular activities can be a crucial part of both students' and teachers' school experience, and today we're going to be looking at how one particular program, Skate After School,...

The 22-23 school year has kicked off, so we're back with another great season of 3Ps in a Pod! Today, we're talking about how to develop those strong, caring relationships in your classroom with three fantastic Arizona teachers and providing you with ideas for how to start this school year off strong with a safe and successful classroom. Hosts Kathy Wiebke, NBCT, and Paula Watkins, NBCT, welcome A...