The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

Plagiarism is a serious problem for many teachers, and to beat it, we need to go beyond looking for new ways to threaten, catch, and punish students for it. We have to work on prevention. The 5 research-based exercises I describe in this episode will teach students how to avoid plagiarism and weave information from outside sources into their own writing in elegant and ethical ways.

Many of us like the idea of personalized learning, but we don't have many models for making it happen. In this episode, I interview the founders of the Apollo School, a project-based, personalized program built inside a public school that offers a hybrid of English, social studies, and art in one block of time. You'll definitely want to see how they make it work and possibly do the same thing at y...

Most teachers struggle with what they might call lazy, unmotivated, or disorganized students. What really works with these learners? In this episode, I interview executive function coach Seth Perler about the systems he uses to help these kids finally reach their potential in school.  To read the full blog post that goes with this episode, including links to all resources mentioned, visit 7 System...

Here they are: My six favorite ed tech tools for this year. They are not all brand-new, but I don't think any of them are getting the attention they deserve. Each one has the potential to make a real difference in your teaching. And there may just be one or two surprises at the end...

How significant is the runaway problem in the U.S.? What resources are out there to prevent running away and help those who do it? I interview Maureen Blaha, Executive Director of the National Runaway Safeline, to learn about how teachers can help.

Can studying be taught? I interview cognitive psychologists Megan Smith and Yana Weinstein about six high-power, research-based learning strategies most teachers don't know about. These can be used in instruction and should be taught to students so they can use them in their own studying. If you enjoyed reading "Make It Stick" last summer, you're going to love what you learn in this episode!

This episode is a goody bag for everyone! My buddy Mark Barnes, publisher of the Hack Learning series, shares some of the best ideas from all nine of the books in his series. If you don't walk away from this episode with something new to try, then I'll refund you the price of the podcast. Just kidding. It's free. But you get what I'm saying, right?

So many regular ed teachers feel inadequately prepared to serve the needs of students with special needs. In this episode, special educator Jam Gamble shares five ways regular ed teachers can make their classrooms more welcoming for special ed students.

Genius Hour has exploded in classrooms over the last few years, and teachers who want to try it have a lot of questions. In this episode I ask A.J. Juliani, creator of the Genius Hour Master Course, the top 10 questions teachers have about Genius Hour, and he gives me some great answers.

I've got a bit of a rant to share with you in this episode, and it has something to do with Grecian Urns. Chances are you have one or more of these in your lesson plans, and in this episode I'm going to help you find them and get rid of them.

If we want to make our content really relevant to students, we need to design our instruction the way a chef orchestrates a good meal. Rather than giving in to the educational equivalent of processed food, we could be putting more thought into preparing our lessons, from the appetizer all the way to dessert. In this episode, I interview John Stevens and Matt Vaudrey, authors of the book The Classr...

So much of learning depends on whether your students feel comfortable taking risks. In this episode, I share some suggestions for making your classroom an academic safe space.

If you're always looking for short, high-quality informational and literary texts to use in your classroom, you are going to love the free online library at CommonLit. In this episode, I interview CommonLit founder Michelle Brown to talk about why she started the platform and walk through all of the wonderful features that help teachers get the most out of this growing library of texts.

If you're trying to figure out an easy way to manage differentiated instruction, this episode will be a big help. Teacher Tracy Enos explains how she uses student playlists--customized, digital lists of assignments she assigns to students based on their individual needs. A playlist might contain links to videos, online articles, or interactive lessons that live somewhere online. It could also incl...

Dialogue journals are a simple but powerful tool for building trust with your students and sustaining that relationship all year long. In this episode I talk with teacher Liz Galarza about how she uses these journals in her classroom and the research she's doing about how they shift the power dynamic in the classroom. 

An interview with Michael Linsin, creator of the Smart Classroom Management  website. Michael shares his insights about how to design and implement an effective classroom behavior plan.

Are we meeting the needs of black girls in our schools? In this interview with author Monique Morris, we talk about her book Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, the 2016 selection for the Cult of Pedagogy Summer Book Study. Dr. Morris explains how far too many teachers lack the cultural competence to understand and meet the needs of black girls, the damaging long-term effects o...

If you're trying to figure out exactly what you need to improve about your teaching, it helps to listen to your body. In this episode, I walk you through 5 questions about key areas of your teaching to help you uncover trouble spots, then create a plan of action to improve them.

If you're finding that your classroom management seems to be a problem no matter what you do, there's a good chance you might be doing something to get in your own way. Here are 10 mistakes teachers make that can undermine even the best classroom management system.

If you've ever thought about using podcasts as classroom texts, but didn't have time to find the right ones, you're going to be blown away by Listen Current, a website that curates the best podcasts of public radio and wraps each one with classroom-ready materials. In this episode, I talk to Listen Current founder and CEO Monica Brady-Myerov about what the site offers to teachers.

For educators, Twitter is part of an essential 21st century toolkit, but so many people don't know how to use it well. In this episode, I share six ways to make better use of Twitter. I'll also tell you about a new online course I have created that shows you exactly how to do those six things, plus a whole lot more.

Many parents opt to "redshirt" or delay their child's entrance into kindergarten. This practice is generally seen as beneficial to a child's success in school, but how does it impact their overall happiness later in life? In this episode, I interview Dr. Suzanne Jones, who studied the perceived life satisfaction of adolescent boys who were redshirted at kindergarten compared with those who could h...

When choosing end-of-unit or end-of-year assessments, we often fall back on essays, presentations, or tests. In this episode, I'll teach you how your students can easily create PDF e-books to demonstrate their learning, and 12 different ideas for the kinds of projects they can do with these.

Do you yell at your students (or your own children) more often than you want to? I'll share some techniques that can help you stop yelling, and the research on why you should.

What are the best practices in tech training for teachers? In this episode, I interview three technology integration specialists to hear what they've learned about the most effective methods for planning and delivering ed tech training in schools. Thanks to Sarah Thomas, Rodney Turner, and Craig Badura for sharing their experiences!