Teaching Today

As essential workers, teachers and healthcare professionals have been among the most impacted groups throughout the pandemic. In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Ademola Adewale, an assistant clinical professor of Emergency Medicine at AdventHealth Hospital, and Darius Adamson, Executive Area Director with Orange County Public Schools, to discuss the intersection of education and healthcare and t...

School counselors lead, advocate, and collaborate to promote equity and access for students of all ages. As the realities of our world have shifted, their roles have expanded, playing a tremendous and crucial part in bridging the social, emotional, and academic needs within schools. We're joined by three school counselors — Dr. Jenan McNealey, John Nwosu, and Channelle Joseph-Nwosu — who discuss t...

When it comes to social-emotional support, school leaders support teachers. Teachers support students. But what about the school leaders — who's supporting them? Cheryl Green returns this week to discuss the stress of being a leader coupled with the stress of leading during a pandemic.

Social-emotional health plays an integral role in education, and continues to impact both teachers and students as we navigate various stages of the pandemic. In this week's episode, we're joined by school leaders from New York, Connecticut, and Georgia who discuss how they're offering social and emotional support to their school communities.

Being a leader comes with tough challenges, and leadership in difficult times certainly brings its own unique set of obstacles. In this episode, The Main Idea's Jenn David-Lang joins us for a conversation about the diverse and complex skills needed for 21st century leaders.

We're back! This week, we're sharing the promising practices we'll be leaning on in 2022 to help make the year more manageable and restorative for our team and our school communities.

During an(other) unpredictable year, our team and community of schools have remained dedicated to breaking down the problems, policies, and promising practices that define teaching today, continuing to expand our creativity and innovations to meet fellow educators and students where they are. In our last episode of 2021, we look back on how developments in areas like technology, social-emotional l...

As school districts have returned to in-person teaching and learning this fall, district leaders have continued to make tough calls, balancing a number of safety and instructional concerns within their communities. This week we continue our New Normal series with two district leaders — Dr. Michelle Aquino of New Jersey's North Plainfield District and Dr. Roderick Richmond of Shelby County Schools...

Experienced instructional coaches Melissa Bryant and Ashlynn Wittchow revisit our New Normal series — in which we take a look at the instructional interruptions and innovations that have surfaced over the past two years — and explore the successes and challenges of returning to in-person classrooms this fall.

Questioning is a key formative assessment strategy that helps students digest the content they're being taught and generates useful feedback for teachers. When used effectively, questioning can inform adjustments to your instruction, and identify necessary supports for students who may be struggling. 21st century learning specialist G. Faith Little is back this week to discuss this critical assess...

Discussions are an important component of 21st century learning in all disciplines; they help students process and communicate information, and help teachers better understand which concepts students are connecting with. 21st century learning specialist G. Faith Little joins us this week to unpack the benefits of classroom discussions, and how they can be a simple, authentic way to assess student...

When teachers work together in teams, they coach each other, learn from one another, and increase their expertise. This team dynamic — in which everyone plays a role and is valued — provides educators with a safe space to refine their practices and in turn, improve teaching and learning. But how do schools structure and support these teams? How do they measure and achieve success? Experienced team...

There is a natural — and often overlooked — link between leadership development and adult learning. Effective leaders recognize that adults are practical, hands-on learners who come equipped with prior knowledge and many years of experience — and adjust their leadership and professional development accordingly. This week, The Aspen Institute's Cheryl Green returns for a conversation around how lea...

Our colleagues Courtney Brown & Dr. Cristina Compton are back to unpack leadership and teacher teams, and offer their strategies for maximizing teamwork in school communities. Teams don't just appear — they're the result of effective leadership, trust, and a collective commitment to student success. The feelings of inclusion and interdependence that stem from teamwork can bolster teachers as they...

Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz returns to share her insight on engaging scholars at all levels. Designing authentic and engaging instruction is challenging, but essential — when done well, intellectual engagement creates a ripple effect that helps develop students' creative and critical thinking skills. How can you capture, retain, and maintain engagement in your classroom?

Darius Adamson is back to shed insight on how teachers and school leaders can effectively engage students in the learning process — something research shows leads to an increase in attention and focus, motivates students to practice higher level critical thinking skills, and promotes meaningful learning experiences.

Dr. Anissa Moody joins us to discuss the importance of social-emotional intelligence when dealing with trauma, how to re-establish relationships with students, and strategies for recognizing and addressing student needs.

The need to engage — and re-engage — students has never been more present. This week, we're delving into the crucial role student engagement plays in building 21st century skills, how engagement practices have been impacted by the pandemic, and suggestions for approaching engagement in the new school year.

In the final episode of our series exploring core coaching principles, we're focusing on culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy — a crucial practice that explores the cultural implications and power dynamics present in education, and requires mindfulness and vulnerability from educators as they work to unpack and undo inequities in their school communities.

In part five of our series exploring core coaching principles, we're looking at cycles of inquiry — a powerful component of transforming and improving professional practice. As educators, we must maintain a commitment to the inquiry process — identifying challenges, posing questions, implementing interventions, and monitoring for improvements. It is this quest for understanding that helps us evolv...

In part four of our series exploring core coaching principles, we're looking at the process of cultivating strengths, which stems from the belief that improvement in growth areas increases when we leverage areas of strength first.

In part three of our series exploring our core principles, we're looking at critical reflection — a crucial practice that encourages metacognition and self-awareness, and results in action that uses past successes and missteps to transform professional practice.

In part two of our series exploring our core coaching principles, we're looking at contextualized practice — a way of working that allows us to design each project to the culture, context, and concrete goals of unique individuals and communities.

We're kicking off a six-part series exploring our core principles — communities of practice, contextualized practice, critical reflection, cultivating strengths, culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy, and cycles of inquiry — which inform, define, and shape our K-12 coaching practices. In this first episode of the series, we unpack communities of practice — a collaborative approach to discour...

Data provides a blueprint for what our students know, what our students need, and what our students bring to the classroom. Data allows teachers to provide instruction that ensures their students are learning necessary skills, and it allows school leaders to better understand and support the teachers in their community. How can we support educators at all levels in understanding and applying data...