Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers
328 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.2K ratingsTruth for Teachers is designed to speak life, encouragement, and truth into the minds and hearts of educators and get you energized for the week ahead.
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Episodes
EP299 A spring cleaning classroom guide: what if you didn’t need all that STUFF to teach well?
April 14, 2024 16:00 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MBDo you refuse to throw anything out because you MIGHT need it one day, or find yourself holding on to worthless stuff “just in case” you need it? In this episode, I’ll share 10 things you can get rid of in your classroom this spring to make space for what you actually need and use. And, I’ll help you establish a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity, so you can approach spring cleaning with a perspective that will help you feel good rather than apprehensive about getting rid of the t...
EP298 Clock out confidently: 5 tips to get out the door at contract time (with June Link)
March 31, 2024 16:00 - 27 minutes - 36.3 MBThis episode features a sneak peek from one of the upcoming 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Online Summit sessions. You’ll hear from a teacher named June Link, whose session is called, “Clock out confidently: 5 tips to get out the door at contract time.” In this episode, June shares some helpful principles and mindset shifts, along with the exact process she used to carve out time for a new demand in her workload. June and her colleagues were supposed to implement a new socio-emotional learning c...
Join us for the FREE 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Online Summit in April
March 24, 2024 16:00 - 7 minutes - 12.4 MBIt's the only event focused entirely on saving teachers TIME! Learn from current K-12 teachers as they share their best tips for working more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably. The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program is an online course I first created in 2015 (with a total update in 2020), and we’ve now had tens of thousands of teachers complete the course. With so many different personality types and teaching contexts, the amount of new ideas to spring out of the course was inevitab...
EP297 Feedback first: How 2 different teachers help students focus on learning, not grades
March 17, 2024 16:00 - 26 minutes - 34.8 MBTeachers spend so much time giving feedback to students, but often kids don’t internalize it. They tune out the carefully-crafted written comments on their work, briefly register the grade they earned, and move on. So how can we help students care about improving their skills and take time to reflect deeply on their learning? In this episode, you’ll hear how two different teachers have reimagined their instruction to make that possible. It’s a sneak peek at two sessions from the upcomi...
EP296 Thinking creatively about tough problems: the power of diffuse thinking for you and your students
March 03, 2024 17:00 - 22 minutes - 30 MBHave you ever noticed how breakthroughs often come when you're not actively trying to find a solution? That's diffuse thinking at work: a relaxed state in which creativity flourishes. On today’s episode of Truth for Teachers, I’ll share how stepping back can lead us forward. It turns out that intense concentration isn't always the best approach to problem solving, and we can instead let our minds wander through the meandering paths of diffuse thinking. Focused thinking is a bit like a fl...
EP295 Can banning phones in school help solve the youth mental health crisis? (with Dr. Jean Twenge)
February 18, 2024 17:00 - 29 minutes - 38 MBThere has been a significant increase in mental health issues among young people in America since 2012, including anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, and suicide. Contrary to popular belief, these trends started before the pandemic, with rates of major depression among teens doubling between 2011 and 2019. Girls and young women are more likely to experience these issues, and the gender gap has been widening. The introduction of smartphones and social media around 2012 is beli...
EP294 What does it mean to “teach like yourself’ in 2024? (with Dr. Gravity Goldberg)
February 04, 2024 17:00 - 32 minutes - 41.1 MB“Making a conscious and intentional effort to tap into your own personal power and being courageous” is the way today’s guest defines “teaching like yourself.” I’m talking with Dr. Gravity Goldberg, whom you might remember from a 2019 interview I did, which ended up being one of the most downloaded Truth for Teachers episodes ever. It’s Episode 171, called “Teach like yourself: Why YOU are the person your students need most.” Gravity has over 20 years of teaching experience, including po...
EP293 When students don’t want to think for themselves or put in effort, try this.
January 21, 2024 17:00 - 24 minutes - 32.4 MBDo you feel like self-advocacy among students is a pervasive problem? As in, if students don’t know what to do, they won’t ask questions or seek out more information … they’ll just sit there and do nothing. If something is challenging, they don’t seem to be interested in improving their skills, or learning for the sake of learning. They just give up. In response to this, many teachers feel like they have to work harder than their students are working. They have to keep going the extra mil...
EP292 How I'm planning and setting goals this year
January 07, 2024 17:00 - 22 minutes - 29.9 MBI’m back from my sabbatical and excited to share how I used my time off and what I’m planning for 2024! I’m sharing more about my personal daily art practice in December (which I plan to continue) and time with family over the holidays. I also discuss my approach for the new year, which is flexible intentionality. I want to be deliberate about where I invest my time while holding plans loosely and staying open to necessary adjustments. Additionally, you’ll hear what I’m working on for 20...
EP291 Creating space this winter for dreaming and radical reimagination
November 26, 2023 17:00 - 22 minutes - 30.1 MBThis episode is the last for 2023, and Truth for Teachers will be back in January. If you want to learn more about my sabbatical process or how you can take one with me on your break, read or listen to episode 244. I thought carefully about the message I wanted to leave you with for the coming weeks, and sinceI’ve already talked about the logistics of a sabbatical in past years, I thought I’d focus this year not on how to carve out the time or what to do during that time, but on how we...
EP290 The surprising research about how talent is developed (with Dr. Rishi Sriram)
November 12, 2023 17:00 - 53 minutes - 65.9 MBWhat if there was no such thing as innate talent? That’s the argument my guest today is making: that talent is not a cause, but an outcome. It is cultivated, developed, and learned. I’m talking with Dr. Rishi Sriram, who serves as Associate Professor of Higher Education & Student Affairs for the Department of Educational Leadership at Baylor University. His research interests include the development of talent and college student retention, engagement, achievement, and learning, and he is c...
EP289 A practical guide to building students’ attention stamina and ability to focus
October 29, 2023 16:00 - 32 minutes - 41.1 MBHow long can you read a book without getting distracted? Do you swipe through TikToks or reels before they’re over because you’ve gotten impatient? Do you find it hard to just stream a TV show or movie without also looking at your phone or doing another activity at the same time? Yep — the shortened attention span issue isn’t something unique to Gen Z. It’s something that I think almost all of us in modern western culture have been impacted by…and there’s good reasons for that. In this e...
EP288 Mindful moment: Finding the calm amidst chaos
October 15, 2023 16:00 - 15 minutes - 22.4 MBLet’s try something new together! I started offering guided “mindful moments” on my new Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement podcast about once per week, interspersing them with the main content of uplifting and motivational messages. I don’t plan on incorporating mindful moments here on the regular podcast, but I did want to introduce you to the concept so if you like this format, you know you can get more on the Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast. New & exclusive ad-free ...
EP287 Bell-to-bell instruction is NOT best practice. Here's the research.
October 01, 2023 16:00 - 30 minutes - 39.7 MBThe expectation that students be fully engaged in learning tasks from the first minute of the class period until the last is known as “bell-to-bell instruction.” It’s a widely-accepted practice in education, but does neuroscience actually support it? Bell-to-bell instruction works from the premise that our class time with students is precious and limited, and therefore needs to be maximized. I think we can all agree on that: wasting students’ time and dragging out transitions isn’t benef...
EP286 Student-centered learning sounds great, but what’s the reality? (with Erika Walther)
September 17, 2023 16:00 - 40 minutes - 51 MBNeed a practical roadmap for increasing student ownership? So much of teaching now revolves around teacher accountability, but the same accountability and ownership can be transformative for students as well! Students who have opportunities to increase their ownership over their learning throughout the school year can complete more assignments on time, they feel more confident during testing, and they feel less anxiety over time when it comes to academics. In today’s episode, I’m interview...
Announcing the NEW Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast!
September 10, 2023 16:00 - 10 minutes - 16.9 MBI’m starting a brand new show with short episodes dropping each week from Monday-Friday! The purpose of the Truth for Teachers Daily Encouragement Podcast is to offer an exclusive message each day for educators who want to show up as the best version of themselves. Every weekday, you’ll receive a short message that helps you return to what matters, stay grounded in your purpose, and uplift your mood. The TFT Daily Encouragement podcast is ad-free and exclusive to subscribers for $3.99/m...
EP285 Why boys are struggling (and what educators can do about it)
September 03, 2023 16:00 - 55 minutes - 68.2 MBI recently read a powerful book called, “Of Boys and Men: Why They’re Struggling, Why We Should Care, and What We Can Do About It” by Richard Reeves. It’s not the first piece of media I’ve consumed about the crises men are facing in the U.S. right now, but IS the first I’ve seen with a deeply comprehensive, intersectional understanding of the problems AND practical solutions. In this episode, I wanted to open a (hopefully ongoing) conversation about this topic, sharing what I learned from ...
EP284 Ask me anything: Listener questions about my personal + professional life
August 20, 2023 16:00 - 56 minutes - 69.4 MBThis AMA is a follow-up to the 3 part summer series I created for the podcast to celebrate 20 years of sharing teaching ideas online and reflect on my personal and professional growth during that time. In the final ep of that series, I included a link to an anonymous Google form for folks to submit questions about things I didn’t answer in the series that they’re curious about. Your questions were absolutely wonderful and you’ve brought up some super interesting things for me to discuss! ...
EP283 Rooted in joy: Creating a classroom culture of equity, belonging, and care (with Dr. Deonna Smith)
August 06, 2023 16:00 - 37 minutes - 47.6 MBIf you need an uplifting conversation to get you energized for the new school year, this episode is a can’t-miss! I’m talking with Dr. Deonna Smith about the ideas behind her new book, Rooted in Joy: Creating a Classroom Culture of Equity, Belonging, and Care.” Listen in as we discuss: What it means to be “rooted in joy” and how Deonna uncovered the meaning of that phrase in her own work as a teacher The types of internal work we can do as educators to create school-based practices th...
EP282 Where I’m going: Reflections on what excites me about my work & the future of schools
July 23, 2023 16:00 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBI’m concluding the 3 part podcast series this summer offering a deep dive into my personal story: where I’ve been, where I’m at, and where I’m going. Usually you can listen to my podcast episodes in any order you want, but since this is basically my life story, what I’m sharing in this episode will make a lot more sense if you’ve heard the beginning of what happened: EP278 How I got here: Reflections on 20 years of sharing teaching ideas online EP280 Where I’m at: Reflections on who I’v...
EP281 Why planning ahead can be a form of self-care (with Lisa Woodruff)
July 09, 2023 16:00 - 33 minutes - 42.4 MBIt’s a myth that “having a plan” means locking yourself into a rigid schedule from which you can’t deviate. Knowing the things you want to experience and accomplish (and carving out time for them) is one of the most powerful ways to craft a fulfilling life! Lisa Woodruff recently interviewed me for her Organize365 podcast, and I wanted to play an excerpt of that conversation for you here. Listen in as we talk about how we each fell in love with planning and how our individual planning pr...
EP280 Where I’m at: Reflections on who I’ve become as a person and educator
June 25, 2023 16:00 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBThis is the 2nd episode in my 3 part summer podcast series offering a deep dive into my personal story: where I’ve been, where I’m at, and where I’m going. Usually you can listen to my podcast episodes in any order you want, but since this is basically my life story, what I’m sharing in this episode will make a lot more sense if you’ve heard the beginning of what happened. In this second installment of the three part series, I'm sharing more about the lived experiences and personality tr...
EP279 Summit sneak peek: K-12 teachers share their favorite timesaving tips & tricks
June 11, 2023 16:00 - 39 minutes - 49.1 MBThe first FREE online summit focused entirely on saving teachers time is happening July 10th and 11th! The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Online Summit is: Entirely online Completely FREE Beneficial for all K-12 teacher Includes 30+ presentations and roundtable discussions Opening and closing keynotes by 40 Hour founder Angela Watson (that’s me) No fluff, filler, icebreakers, or pitches: each session is just 15-20 minutes long All session presenters are current K-12 classroom teachers...
EP278 How I got here: Reflections on 20 years of sharing teaching ideas online
May 28, 2023 16:00 - 1 hour - 75.7 MBI’m getting deeply personal and vulnerable in this 3 part summer podcast series, and sharing things with you that I’ve NEVER talked about publicly before! This was sooo hard for me to do … but it’s the 20 year anniversary of my teaching website (I built the first iteration back in July 2003) and I didn’t want to let the occasion pass without reflecting on all that’s happened over the past two decades. Some of you have actually been on this journey with me for the entire 20 years I’ve bee...
EP277 Can you do "fewer things, better" when there's a staff shortage?
May 14, 2023 16:00 - 37 minutes - 47.2 MBIf you’re constantly covering for absent colleagues, supporting temporary hires in your building, or otherwise taking on additional duties because there aren’t enough people on staff … you’re not alone. Teacher shortages have been one of the most difficult lingering effects of the pandemic, and unfortunately, we’re continuing to see things trend downward. There’s no way around it: when some folks are gone, it creates more work for the people who remain. Click here to read the transcr...
EP276 Finding flow: How to teach productivity strategies to students
April 30, 2023 16:00 - 22 minutes - 29.8 MBWe all want students to be self-directed in their learning and take initiative to figure things out for themselves. We want them to think critically and engage in the struggle of understanding so they come out on the other side truly owning their own learning, ideas, and beliefs. Two of the most powerful ways to help students experience this kind of learning are: Explicitly teaching students how to optimize concentration, time, and energy Model these strategies for students with enthusi...
EP275 What does it mean to “bring the best version of yourself” to the classroom? (with Elena Aguilar)
April 16, 2023 16:00 - 39 minutes - 50 MBWho you ARE matters just as much as what you DO. How can you show up as the best version of yourself each day, not only for students, but in every aspect of life? I’m talking today with Elena Aguilar, a writer, leader, teacher, coach and the author of seven highly acclaimed books including The Art of Coaching, (2013) Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018), Coaching for Equity (2020), and The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development (2022). Elena is ...
EP274 Unlocking new ways to see learning—and ourselves—through STEM practices (w/ Jason McKenna)
April 02, 2023 16:00 - 28 minutes - 36.8 MBAs a child, I didn’t think I was a “math and science” person. But you know what I did like? Robots. Robotics would have been an easy inroad into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) practices that would have piqued my interest in a way the regular school curriculum didn’t. If I’d been able to experiment with robotics in school, I might have unlocked an entirely new passion apart from the reading/writing skills I was far more comfortable with. I might have begun to see myse...
EP273 The power of asking better questions for self-reflection
March 19, 2023 16:00 - 14 minutes - 20.4 MBWhen it feels like there’s no good answers, that may be a sign that we’re not asking useful questions. If we can frame our thinking with better questions, we can uncover better answers. There are so many ways you can use questions to shift your emotional state, focus on what’s most important, and help you problem-solve constructively. This episode will help you find a framing for things you’re confused or frustrated about so you can find the path to solutions. I’ll also share how you can...
EP272 The neuroscience of co-thriving with students (with. Dr. Rebecca Branstetter)
March 05, 2023 17:00 - 38 minutes - 47.9 MBWant some practical strategies backed by brain research that can help you and your students co-thrive together? My guest today is Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, Ph.D. She’s a school psychologist, speaker, and author on a mission to help children thrive by supporting educators, mental health providers, and families. She is the founder of The Thriving Students Collective and Thrive Hive TV™ Network, online platforms for boosting the mental health and learning needs of children. She is also my co-c...
EP271 What could be possible if you aimed for B+ work?
February 19, 2023 17:00 - 15 minutes - 22.3 MB“Just do your best” is not always helpful advice for perfectionists, people-pleasers, and folks struggling with anxiety. The phrase is meant to offer comfort, but can create pressure, because you know what your best looks like, and how much time and effort it involves! The truth is: you can’t possibly give your best effort to everything on your plate, and not everything you need to do deserves your best effort. What if you only aimed for A+ work on the most important stuff in life and ...
EP270 How ChatGPT can reduce your teacher workload (with Dr. Monica Burns)
February 05, 2023 17:00 - 18 minutes - 25.8 MBArtificial intelligence can help you work more efficiently and save hours each week! Listen in as I talk with Dr. Monica Burns, an author, speaker, and former New York City public school teacher. Monica shares incredibly practical ideas for teachers on her website ClassTechTips.com, and is prolific on Twitter as well. This episode was recorded live at the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), and Monica and I discuss why artificial intelligence is exciting us right now in the w...
EP269 Why YOU always seem to be right (and how to tell if you're not)
January 22, 2023 17:00 - 23 minutes - 31.5 MBTruth for Teachers is back for Season 17! We’re kicking things off with a powerful concept that can help transform your relationships with others (and yourself) in 2023. I’ll share how to examine the usefulness of your thought system, and explain why we ourselves always seem to be right. Once you grasp this teaching, I think you’ll find it’s easier to work with–instead of against–people who think differently than you. Use the principle of separate realities to help you approach students,...
EP268 A message of encouragement and call to rest: You. Are. Still. Here.
November 06, 2022 16:00 - 20 minutes - 27.7 MBIt’s the LAST EP of season 16, and per usual, I want to be a little more informal as I close out the podcast season. I’m sharing some personal reflections and a recap of my projects from the fall. I’ll also share a new focus I’m trying for November, and give an overview of my December sabbatical plans. New course on reversing educator burnout New book on educator mindset (discounted for the month of November on Kindle, paperback, and audiobook) You’re invited to take a sabbatical wi...
EP267 How to release unrealistic standards and change the stories you’re telling yourself
October 30, 2022 16:00 - 26 minutes - 35.1 MBWhen we feel responsible for controlling students' behavior and work habits, the classroom environment, the way parents/caregivers and other faculty behave, and how the school and district make decisions, we are destined to be miserable. Other people will rarely meet our ideals, and trying to force them to do so will feel like a full-time job in itself. The second edition of my new book addresses this. It’s called, "Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching.” Depending on wh...
EP266 Creating change in education without burning out (w/ Dr. Nadia Lopez)
October 16, 2022 16:00 - 1 hour - 77.3 MBRevolutionaries and visionaries can get exhausted. They often sacrifice their own needs because they believe so strongly in the cause. Today I’m asking aloud: Does it have to be that way? Is there a sustainable approach to fighting for liberatory education? What might it look like to create change in education without martyring ourselves? My guest is Dr. Nadia Lopez, an award-winning educator who became a viral sensation after the popular blog Humans of New York featured her as one of th...
EP265 Why I’m pulling some of my books out of print & rewriting "Awakened"
October 09, 2022 16:00 - 17 minutes - 23.9 MBHere’s a little insider knowledge into the publishing world and how I make decisions to ensure all 5 of my books are current and relevant... I’m planning to release a second edition of Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching in November 2022, and I wanted to give you an idea of what will be different and why. From a technical standpoint, the second edition of a book counts as a brand new book: it has a new ISBN number, new links and listings in online retailers, etc. A...
EP264 Help students do more with less effort using cognitive load theory (with Jennifer Brinkmeyer)
October 02, 2022 16:00 - 26 minutes - 34.6 MBWhen students struggle to focus, follow directions, and stay on task, it may be helpful to consider cognitive load theory. Classroom teacher Jennifer Brinkmeyer’s my guest in this episode to talk about how she’s utilized her research in this area to help students get more done with less mental effort. Cognitive load is a learning theory developed by educational psychologist John Sweller. In this theory, our brains are compared to a computer’s working memory. Just as a computer can only h...
EP263 How to reframe a negative situation when you just can't move on
September 25, 2022 16:00 - 23 minutes - 31.6 MBWe’ve all had hurtful or upsetting incidents with colleagues, parents, and students that we can’t seem to move past. How do you change your thinking in order to move on? How do you stop carrying around the weight of what happened Folks in our Truth for Teachers Podcast Community were invited to submit their situations anonymously, and tell me about the stuff that they just can’t move past. We’re tackling unfair accusations, stressful interactions with students, and attacks on the teach...
Introducing NEW Truth for Teachers playlists!
September 18, 2022 16:00 - 4 minutes - 9.97 MBI first started this podcast back in 2015, and nearly 300 episodes later, I’m proud to say there’s a wealth of helpful information available to you. But… you don’t have time to listen to 300 episodes. How do you know you didn’t miss out on something great awhile back? What if there’s something you need to hear NOW that I haven’t talked about in awhile? Enter the NEW Truth for Teachers playlists. I’ve carefully curated the episodes I’m most proud of — and that I think will help you ...
EP262 The 3 day weekend mindset
September 11, 2022 16:00 - 21 minutes - 28.8 MBWhat if you were able to have a 3 day weekend EVERY week? Obviously you still need to show up to school 5 days a week and give your best each day. But you can shift your perception of how the week is structured to maximize time for rest and recovery. Listen as I share: How all days/hours are not experienced equally (some are more valuable for specific purposes, some feel longer and other shorter) Why weekends feel too short, and how beginning them sooner is a better solution than stretc...
EP261 The Swiss Cheese Model: letting go of “all or nothing” thinking
September 04, 2022 16:00 - 11 minutes - 17.2 MBThis short, encouraging episode explains how you can tackle really difficult problems using layers of imperfect solutions, rather than giving up doing anything altogether. This approach is used in healthcare, aviation safety, computer security, and more…why not uncover a real place for it in K-12 education, as well? We can work to create positive change in our schools, communities, nation, and planet if we think in terms of multiple layered solutions, rather than waiting for that one bi...
EP260 Three ways to create teaching templates that will save you 5-10 hours a week (with Marguerite Rendelfs)
August 28, 2022 16:00 - 29 minutes - 38 MBSave yourself huge amounts of time by reusing your own work! Teacher Marguerite Rendelfs has developed a plan to create reusable resources that saves her between five and ten hours every week. One major shift in my mindset that she learned through the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program that has helped her in many situations is this: We often focus on saving time right now. Considering how we can use our current work to save time for ourselves in the future can be a game-changer. Margueri...
EP259 Set a target number of hours to work...and stick to it
August 21, 2022 16:00 - 24 minutes - 32.9 MBYou can decide this school year to find a sustainable approach to your workload. How? By not trying to work until everything is done. It’s NEVER all going to be done, which means you’re always either going to be working or feel like you should be working. Instead, I’m going to teach you a principle I share in the 40 Hour Workweek programs I run for teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders. It’s the Target Number Planner. You can create a schedule in which you determine — at ...
Burnout, work/life balance, and supporting teachers (with Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365)
July 02, 2022 21:40 - 1 hour - 75.3 MBI recently had an upbeat, fun conversation with Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365 for her podcast, and thought I'd share an excerpt of it here with you! We're talking all about the state of education today, what we're hearing from teachers about their needs, and our experiences with burnout and balance. As a fellow former educator, Lisa knows the mindset and challenges of teaching well, and does a deep dive with me into some of the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek principles. This includes: the dif...
"Nothing short of a revolution": What's happening in the 40 Hour programs
June 14, 2022 15:31 - 23 minutes - 30.9 MBIn this in-between-seasons bonus ep, you’ll hear some quick audio clips of teachers sharing how they are challenging norms in education and creating a sustainable workload through the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program. I’ll also share how 40 Hour is creating institutional change through the 40 Hour Leadership and 40 Hour Instructional Coaching programs. I hope you will hear my heart and get the bigger picture message I want to send! This is an offering of hope, encouragement, and support ...
EP258 Envisioning what’s next for schools: my personal reflections & hope for the future
May 15, 2022 16:00 - 44 minutes - 55.7 MBLAST EP OF SEASON 15! We're wrapping up with thoughts on processing, healing, dreaming, and rebuilding as we find our path toward whatever is next for schools. So in this unscripted episode, I share my broad observations, loosely-held conclusions, and partially-formulated ideas about what might be possible. What is the future of public education? How do we keep the dream alive with so many forces undermining, privatizing, and monetizing it? In the midst of culture wars and opposing...
EP257 How to work ONLY your contractual hours as a teacher (with Samantha Smith)
May 08, 2022 16:00 - 25 minutes - 33.7 MBThe job of a teacher is not designed to be completed within 40 hours a week. It’s assumed that teachers will provide additional labor by coming in early, staying late, and bringing work home on a regular basis….all without compensation. So, how can we change this norm? One way is to amplify the work of teachers who have resisted that pressure to be the last person out of the building each evening, and who are willing to talk openly about how they have streamlined and reduced extraneous exp...
EP256 Four teachers' small changes that made BIG reductions in their workload
April 24, 2022 16:00 - 19 minutes - 26.6 MBWe all want to work smarter, not harder … and that doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your teaching practice or a brand new innovative workflow. Small changes in daily habits and mindset shifts can add up to big results, and I’ve invited 4 teachers to share what’s made the difference for them: The MVP principle and timer when lesson planning (LB Blackwell) Using a turn-in sheet for student work to speed up grading (Christina Rudd) Simplifying and automating email with parents (Chr...
EP255 Student behavior, grace, & consequences in the final weeks of school (with Amy Stohs)
April 17, 2022 16:00 - 49 minutes - 61 MBTeachers are often told to “focus on the positive and ignore the negative” when it comes to student behavior. While providing positive reinforcement and specific praise is good practice, it’s NOT the only thing we need to do, and consequences are a part of learning behavioral expectations. So how do we get the outcome of better behavior? Classroom teacher Amy Stohs is here to share how her teaching philosophy manifests in a blend of grace and consequences in the classroom. Having taught ...