280: A Realistic Approach to Differentiation
In Part 4 of our Back to Basics series on unit planning, we're taking our sample unit and building in more differentiation. I'm putting out...
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The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast
Teaching strategies, classroom management, education reform, educational technology -- if it has something to do with teaching, we're talking about it. Jennifer Gonzalez interviews educators...
Episodes
20 of 318 episodes279: How to Write a Lesson Plan
We've reached part 3 of our Back to Basics series on unit planning! Last episode, we built the assessment plan for our sample unit that incl...
278: How to Create an Assessment Plan
It's part 2 of our Back to Basics series on unit planning! Last episode, we looked at the overall process and started by setting measurable...
277: How to Plan a Unit of Instruction
I'm kicking off a four-episode Back to Basics series that will offer a practical overview of how to effectivley plan a unit of instruction....
276: A Classroom Ritual for Peer Affirmations
Character education often gets lip service in schools — we say it matters, but rarely build a real system to make it happen. What if student...
275: Three Fresh Ideas for Structuring Professional Development
What often sets the best PD experiences apart are a few intentional choices in how that learning is designed. In this episode, I talk with J...
274: Why School in Denmark is Better, and What We Can Learn from Them
When Pernille Ripp moved from the U.S., where she had taught for over a decade, to her native country of Denmark, she was immediately struck...
273: The Art of Classroom Timing: 10 Ways to Fit it All In
It can ruin even the most carefully designed lessons: An activity you had planned takes way longer than you thought it would. Or worse, it t...
272: The Replacement Skills Approach: Teaching Behavior Instead of Managing It
When a student behaves in a way that disrupts their own learning or someone else's, our response is often limited to a reprimand or a punish...
271: Meet Ellis: Your On-Demand Classroom Companion
Students are coming to school with more needs than ever, and a lot of those needs aren't strictly academic: anxiety, withdrawal, behavior is...
270: Eight Ways to Squeeze Writing Instruction Into a Few Minutes
There's been no shortage of conversation about the science of reading over the past several years. But writing barely comes up, even though...
269: Bringing the Power of Debate to Math Class
Have you ever watched students sit completely silent in math class, only to come alive the moment they're asked to share an opinion? That's...
268: What is a Warm Demander?
When our students face challenges in the classroom, some teachers double down on control and rigor: tighter rules, firmer consequences, high...
267: How Inquiry-Based Freewriting Can Deepen Student Writing
Teaching students to write well has always been challenging, and newer developments have made it even more difficult: The internet offers un...
266: Six Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2026
We're kicking off the year like we always do, with a round-up of six educational tech tools we think are worth a look. On the list this year...
265: Growth Discourse: A Framework for Discussing Hard Topics with Students
We're living in a time when having a difference of opinion is a potential minefield of hurt feelings, emotional outbursts, and severed relat...
264: How Schools Can Support Neurodivergent Teachers
Neurodivergent educators, like those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other forms of cognitive diversity, are essential voices in our school...
263: Five Skills that Get Students to Take Ownership of Their Learning
If we're doing our jobs right as educators, students will gradually become independent, self-directed learners capable of monitoring, direct...
262: Three Fresh Strategies That Get Students Engaged With Texts
If your teaching requires students to read or work with texts, and things have gotten a little stale in the engagement department, this epis...
261: How and Why to Use Concept Maps
Concept maps are graphic organizers or visual representations of knowledge. They're simple, they're low-tech, and they're incredibly powerfu...