The Thoughtul Teacher Podcast: Recent Episodes
R. Scott Lee, Ph.D.
The Thoughtful Teacher podcast shares the stories of educators who have implemented innovative or creative solutions within their space. These stories and commentaries empower educators by sharing a world of ideas that can enhance pedagogical choices and decrease the isolation many teachers experience. We introduce listeners to school-based educators, thinkers, policymakers and researchers who have useful and powerful ideas and innovations that makes your work more meaningful for your students. We also occasionally offer commentary on practice and policy to help navigate the growing complexity of our profession.
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Policy researcher Weade' James shares research that she and her colleagues at the Center for American Progress conducted regarding new teacher induction programs. In this episode we discuss the findings of her research and what supports new and experienced teachers should receive from induction programs.
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Cheryl Randle is an instructional specialist helping teachers and administrators support students. In this conversation she shares how she approaches finding the clues to help teachers motivate students.
Cheryl's website
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No student ever was successful without developing self-regulation skills, which is harder than ever for students to develop. In this conversation, Danielle Larsen shares how she teaches yoga in the classroom specifically to promote and develop self-regulation within students. We discuss how she approaches her work and Danielle shares some tips for teachers.
Rise Yoga-Danielle Larsen's website
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In the second part of our series on building communities of practice around social emotional learning through the Social Emotional Learning Alliance, we share a conversation with Megan Lyons and Beth Rice. Megan and Beth joined with a group of educators in North Carolina to form the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for North Carolina or SEL 4NC. In this episode they share the work that the Alliance is conducting in North Carolina, telling how they got started in 2023 to their current (and future) work.
Links:
SEL4NC website
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Jim Vetter the executive director of the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the United States-SEL4US- shares how this collection of state alliances supports classroom teachers and schools to develop and promote strong social emotional learning initiatives. This is the first of a two part series featuring the work of educators within SEL 4US.
Links
https://sel4us.org/ Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the US website
https://sel4us.org/in-your-state/ State alliance websites
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Does your school's detention program do little to teach students how to make better choices in the future? Many do because detention is not used as a learning opportunity. In this episode Leslie Trundy shares how talking students on a hike as an alternative to after school detention actually works as a teaching opportunity and changes detention from punishment to community building.
Links
Outdoor Skills Leadership class mentioned in episode
Maine Public Media story about detention hikes
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Aspen Institute Senior Fellow Laura Schifter shares about her work at This Is Planet Ed-part of the Aspen Institute's Energy and Environment Program. This Is Planet Ed an initiative to unlock the power of education as a force for climate solutions to empower the rising generation to lead a sustainable and resilient future. In this conversation we discuss why learning about climate action should be part of the content in all classes and we'll share some actionable ideas for classrooms and schools.
Links:
This Is Planet Ed
Laura Schifter, Ed.D.
Subject to Climate - teacher resources
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It's happened to all of us we have to teach grammar and our teeth clench because we hate it. Almost all teachers have some writing instruction, but the grammar lessons remind us of all the red ink on our own papers when we were in school-so we find work arounds and avoid. In this episode Patty McGee, co-author of the new book Not Your Granny's Grammar, shares that it doesn't have to be like that.
Links
Patty’s website
Not Your Granny’s Grammar book from Corwin Press
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School-based nature educator Kyra Stephenson shares how she developed the nature-based learning program at her school in New York and shares stories about how this program promotes learning with her students.
Links from episode
Children & Nature Network Resources for Schools
Nature Mind Solutions website
Rochester Ecology Partners website-partner organization mentioned in episode
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Christina Cipriano led a research team that studied over 250 social emotional learning programs worldwide again demonstrating that SEL is effective and essential to promote positive outcomes for all students. In this conversation we discuss why SEL is so important and how your school should approach developing daily, quality SEL interventions for students and why every teacher must intentionally work to promote SEL with all students.
Links
Christina Cipriano’s website
Yale Child Study Center
Yale Education Collaboratory - site for ongoing SEL data updates and additional research
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Anne Podolsky of the Learning Policy Institute shares the latest research trends in effective teacher professional learning. Some of the findings-particularly on learning environments for experienced teachers may be surprising. What is not surprising is that the collegial professional learning environment of a school has a huge effect on student academic and social emotional learning.
Links discussed in conversation
Think Again: Do the Returns on Teacher Experience Fizzle Out? research brief by Anne Podolsky and Linda Darling-Hammond published by The Fordham Institute
Learning Policy Institute blog
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National Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025 Missy Testerman uses her position to advocate for the teaching profession. In this conversation, she shares how even in times of stress and upheaval there is great joy and positivity in the education profession.
Links
RAND study on teacher stress
Earlier Rand study on teacher stress
Neurolaunch editorial on professional stress
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She taught, she founded schools, she was published widely, she demonstrated that women and girls could achieve academically at the same levels as men and boys. She became one of the most famous women of her time in the 19th century. Yet, almost none of us have ever heard of Catharine Beecher (even those who know of her famous younger sister). In this episode biographer R. Lee Wilson shares the story of one of the most influential educators that you have never heard of and why he believes you should know how Catharine Beecher changed American education for the better.
Links
Lee Wilson’s website
Lee Wilson author page on Goodreads
Catharine Beecher background at PBS
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At both the local and national levels PBS stations are facing serious challenges. Yet, they keep providing some of the most helpful and robust resources for educators. In this conversation local PBS educator Robyn Stringfellow shares how PBS stations support the work of teachers-and will continue to do so in the future!
Links
WTCI TV Chattanooga-the local PBS station we discuss
PBS Kids website
PBS Learning Media website-specific for Tennessee teachers, may need to change for your location
PBS Supporting Teachers-informational website
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Every interaction with every student is important, but how we structure (and yes, even plan) our conversations have an enormous impact on how students learn and achieve. In this conversation Erika Bare and Tiffany Burns, authors of Connecting Through Conversation: A Playbook for Talking with Students, share their strategies building connecting relationships with students.
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English teacher and author Matthew R. Kay shares how to build the classroom ecosystem for having meaningful conversations in the classroom, especially conversations about race in America. In this conversation he shares several interventions he uses and discusses how to craft great questions that lead to quality conversations in the classroom.
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Matthew Hawn used to be a social studies teacher until he was fired. He had his day in court and won, but instead of being reinstated the school board appealed. In this conversation, Matt shares his story, his thoughts on teaching controversial issues and how the community and particularly his former students have reacted. Despite many setbacks, he continues to be optimistic about the future and his desire to return to the classroom.
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Have you ever noticed that tree-lined streets and neighborhoods with lots of trees seem appealing? Have you ever thought that your school or the area around campus could use more trees? Well, it turns out that trees do more than just make things look nice: having a lot of trees on campus and near a school actually improves achievement (yes for real!). In this episode of The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast Albert Garcia shares research that directly connects a fuller tree canopy with improved student achievement and he tells why planting trees is one the strategies for student success.
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Most teachers know that the physical space in schools and classrooms matter for student learning, health and wellness. But often teachers are using guesswork when they make decisions about physical spaces that are conducive to learning. Design consultant Bill Browning and architect Jim Determan are practitioners and researchers on biophilic design. In this conversation they share the research on how to create spaces that support student learning and wellness and share ideas for educators to turn their own physical spaces into learning spaces.
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In this conversation, self-described "bad student" Jerry Kolber shares insights from his work producing kid friendly media and how good storytelling can help teachers connect with students. Jerry is co-founder of Atomic Entertainment which produces kid-friendly programming like Brain Games and the podcast Who Smarted.
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Dr. Maggie Brodkerick shares her past experiences as a music teacher and her current work as a professor to tell how teachers can create a culture of caring in their classrooms-while also maintaining academic rigor. Many students are sometimes not connected to teachers or other students for a variety of reasons, but teachers can integrate the arts and social emotional learning to reach and engage all students.
Links
Maggie Broderick’s faculty page at National University
National University homepage
Harmony Academy resource mentioned in conversation
Sir Ken Robinson’s well known TED Talk
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While still a teenager, Sydney Guerette founded a nonprofit where youth run the show solving problems within their communities and promoting mental health. In this conversation Sydney and Scott Lee discuss how she got started on this journey and how educators and caring adults can support youth who are making a difference in their communities.
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Amy Richter founder of Music Workshop shares how music education can be transformative experience for students. In this conversation, Amy shares that funding cuts at her children's school meant no more music education. She decided to take action and find a solution by founding the non-profit Music Workshop. Now Music Workshop is available to 6 million students around the world and it is completely free! Listen as Amy shares her story and how how music education impacts students.
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This episode features a conversation with Vince Shorb, CEO of the National Financial Educators Council. In this wide-ranging conversation we discuss the problems many K-12 educators face in developing a quality personal finance program at all grade levels and Vince shares his ideas for improving outcomes and implementing serious reform initiatives.
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Education researcher and advocate Dr. Nancy E. Bailey shares why educators should be concerned about literacy programs that claim to be based on the "Science of Reading". While there is no consensus on what the term "Science of Reading" means, many reading programs may only meet the literacy needs of some students. In this conversation we discuss what to look for and what issues to be wary of in selecting and using literacy programs in schools.
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Our friend James Dittes returns to share his latest experiences with teaching internationally. When we first met James in 2020 he had started an exchange program with his class and a school in Germany. Since our last conversation, James has taken on a new adventure and now teaches English in an international school in Turkey. In this conversation he shares how he approaches teaching in a new country and shares some stories about his classroom.
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Hayes Greenfield is a jazz musician, composer, and teaching artist. In this episode he shares the importance of not just music-but sound and how teaching students about sound can enhance social emotional learning and student attention.
For schools to truly provide an equitable learning environment, educators and school leaders must understand implicit bias and how implicit bias affects all our interactions with students (and other professional educators). In the first of two episodes Mark Anthony Gooden shares his work and insights into these important and timely issues in a conversation with host Scott Lee.
Host Scott Lee offers this commentary on the implications of the lack of prioritizing civics education in the US.
In this conversation, occupational therapist Michele Morgan shares how she and her colleagues implemented several mental health interventions within her school district's career and technical education (CTE) program. Using evidence-based approaches they developed a relationship-focused, student-centered curriculum model that promotes safety and wellness.
This far-ranging conversations share specifics about the program and the positive outcomes for students.
Many times students with serious mental health needs are sent to separate schools or residential placements. In this episode we discuss an alternative-The Therapeutic Inclusion Program with Michael A Murray and Laura Balogh. After developing and implementing The Therapeutic Inclusion Program in their public school they co-authored the recently published book The Therapeutic Inclusion Program: Establishment and Maintenance in Public Schools (published by Routledge) which offers a step by step guide for implementing similar programming in almost any school.
In this episode host Scott Lee discusses this program in depth with both authors.
In this conversation Sarah Giddings and Wendy Salcedo-Fierro share their experiences working with students in Teacher-Powered Schools. Teacher Powered Schools are organized intentionally to have a shared, collaborative leadership structure.
Both Wendy and Sarah share how their schools are different, how it changes their professional practices and how the student experience is different from more rigidly focused schools.
The conversation continues as Steve Van Bockern and host Scott Lee discuss some examples of what happens, or should be happening in schools.
Steve Van Bockern is author of Schools That Matter: Teaching the Mind and Reaching the Heart and is co-author with Larry Brendtro and Martin Brokenleg of Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Futures of Promise.
Listen in this conversation that provides a positive challenge to the status quo in many schools!
Schools can create a culture where students are challenged academically while also supporting the well-being of all students. In this conversation host Scott Lee and Steve Van Bockern discuss how the needs of students can be met without sacrificing academics.
Steve Van Bockern is author of Schools That Matter: Teaching the Mind and Reaching the Heart and is co-author with Larry Brendtro and Martin Brokenleg of Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Futures of Promise.
Listen in this conversation that provides a positive challenge to the status quo in many schools!
In this conversation Scott Lee and Brantley Turner discuss Brantley's experiences as an administrator in shared Sino-US school and how her work shapes her beliefs in the importance of challenging assumptions and helping students become global citizens.
Host Scott Lee thanks listeners from around the world for supporting The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast and issues a call to action about the lack of quality mental health services for children and adolescents in the United States.
Teachers are drowning in data and much of this data has little value to inform and improve instruction. Scott and Matthew Courtney discuss how to solve this problem- and do so simply and without wasting valuable time.
Matthew Courtney is author of the book Exploratory Data Analysis in the Classroom and he shares how to effectively choose useful data (that teachers are probably already collecting anyway) and manipulate that data to help make real, meaningful instructional decisions. And this can be done without buying any software or taking a class in multivariate statistics: these are accessible processes that any teacher and any team can use and immediately begin developing a culture of instruction that is richly data informed.
Thoughtful Teacher Podcasthost Scott Lee explores the problem with the growing trend of retaining 3rd grade students for a full year using state testing scores. This commentary considers some of the problems with using state tests in this way, policy considerations and a few ideas for what could be done differently.
Scott Lee has a wide ranging conversation with author and former teacher and literacy coach Jill Speering. Jill shares insights from her memoir Rubies in the Rubble: An Educator's Transformation from Pain to Prominence, from Abuse to Absolution. The discussion includes Jill's work as an elementary teacher, district-wide literacy training specialist and school board member. This insightful discussion touches on literacy, teaching for joy (instead of a test) and school board politics.
Author Isela Arredondo discusses her book about about an absent parent I Will Always Be There and how she works with cancer survivors using jewelry making as a healing activity. She also shares her education experiences from her perspective as a US immigrant.
This commentary by Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee outlines a vision for meaningful change in how we do schools. Using a historical background we explore the current state of our education systems and what is missing as many schools do not adequately respond to the changes in society that are not reflected in our schools.
Ellen Montgomery returns to The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast to discuss her work in implementing trauma informed programming in the Metro Nashville (Tennessee) Public Schools. We discuss how this student mental health centered initiative helps students who have experienced trauma and Ellen shares some stories about how this work positively supports both students and teachers.
In the second part of our discussion on school safety and de-escalation Amy Muphy, Brian Van Brunt and Scott Lee discuss the public health model for safety and de-escalation, teacher creativity, relationships and get sidetracked a little about films that feature teachers.
School safety and crisis intervention experts Amy Murphy and Brian Van Brunt discuss techniques for classroom crisis de-escalation with host Scott Lee. Amy and Brian recommend a research-based three-pronged approach to preventing or mitigating crisis situations in a classroom setting: clarifying norms for a safe climate, de-escalation, and teamwork.
Sanford Johnson the Executive Director for Teach Plus Mississippi and host Scott Lee discuss teacher advocacy. Sanford has spent a great deal of his career advocating for education professionals, in this episode he shares his work supporting teacher quality as well as the activities that he and Mississippi Teach Plus Fellows including improving teacher compensation, improving mental health resources and strengthening the teacher pipeline.
In the second part of our discussion with Larry Brendtro we talk about how the latest brain science and social science research continues to demonstrate that youth develop resilience by developing supportive relationships with caring adults. The values that support these relationships are belonging, mastery, responsibility and generosity which are universal values.
Larry Brentro shares his experiences in his career as a teacher, principal, program director, social worker and professor as he helps illuminate what what effective educators do in classrooms and schools. Larry has authored or co-authored 15 books on topics include teaching and learning, healthy brain development and quality learning environments for students who have been marginalized. He also co-hosts the annual Reclaiming Youth Seminars, which are currently held every summer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota along with his co-authors of the book Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Futures of Promise. Larry and his late wife, Janna who was research editor for his publications, are parents to three adult children and seven grandchildren. Our wide ranging discussion will start with some of Larry's early professional experiences and continue as we discuss why many schools fail to adequately meet the needs of students.
A non-profit Haitian and US based partnership for recycling plastic also has a growing educational mission within Haitian schools. In this episode, guest Blada Desauguste and host Scott Lee discuss this teacher-created education program that operates as part of a plastic recycling program in Haiti. Blada also explains how some short-sighted policy decisions have led to a large plastic waste problem in Haiti and how his organization, Kay (pronounced Kai) Blada Recycling, provides part of the solution.
Malcolm Gillard and Scott Lee discuss equity issues, restorative practices and creating a positive classroom environment for all students.
Executive Director of the Tennessee Council for the Social Studies and I discuss recent laws that limit discussion of equity, race, and gender issues by teachers. Tennessee was one of the first of several states have passed such laws. We talk about how this law may affect teachers, particularly social studies teachers, in Tennessee and elsewhere.
In this episode, Jennifer Knowles returns and we dive deeper into mindfulness in schools as we discuss trauma informed mindfulness. Enjoy learning more about how mindfulness is a part of transforming learning and schools.
Our friend Joshua Sneideman returns to discuss his new book Parenting Tweens: Successfully Navigating the Middle School Years. We learn about a useful resource for teachers and parents about this important (and sometimes difficult) developmental time.
We continue our conversation from last season with Adam Jordan discussing the negative public narratives that professional educators are facing.
Guest Adam Jordan and I discuss some of the exciting events planned for this summer and fall sponsored by the All Y'all Social Justice Collective. After that he and I discuss some of the problems of equity facing the teaching profession. This part one of two episodes of conversations where we discuss equity issues. This episode will conclude our spring 2021 series, we will return with the fall series in September and Adam and I will continue our conversation.
Commentary by host Scott Lee discussing Tim Shriver's recent call for "An Education Moon Shot".
As part of the continuing series on restorative practice, we continue our discussion with Dr. Paul Baker focusing on how all school staff members can learn to be a therapeutic helper for students who have experienced trauma. Specifically, Dr. Baker outlines the ways in which Neurotransactional Repair happens for students who have become disconnected.
Guest Dr. Paul Baker discusses what is going on with students who have experienced trauma and why the approaches that some educators often fail. We also talk about what does work and a mindset that will help teachers work with students who exhibit difficult behaviors.
For a variety of reasons, students bring white nationalist and extremist ideas into schools. For most educators this is a challenge because this is rarely a topic for professional learning and this is an unusually difficult topic to address. The Western States Center recently published the 2nd edition of their Confronting White Nationalism in Schools Toolkit and in this episode we will meet one of the co-authors Jessica Acee. In our discussion we learn about white nationalism in general and how to use the toolkit in school contexts.
We continue our discussion with Mark Freado in our restorative practices series. In this episode we follow up our discussion about restorative culture by talking about interventions. We specifically discuss Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) and Planning Restorative Outcomes both of which educators and youth care workers can use to enhance their professional practice.
Mark Freado discusses how to develop a restorative culture within a school or youth serving organization and why focusing solely on punishment and rewards does not foster positive change within children and adolescents.
Teachers Laura Fittz and Ellen Montgomery discuss their experiences as the implemented restorative practices and continue to strengthen their teaching by being intentionally restorative in their relationships with students. Each are high school content area teachers who understand the real nature of the student-teacher relationship and how the promote student motivation and student agency.
Guest Joshua Sneideman discusses his award winning book (co-authored with Erin Twamley) Everyday Superheroes: Women in STEM Careers. Joshua is also an expert in education technology and we discuss how technology could change (or not change) the work of educators.
This year, many teachers have found themselves teaching remotely, whether they had planned on it or not. Hamilton County (Tennessee) Technology Coordinator Greg Bagby normally works with teachers to integrate technology for in-person schooling. As one would expect, this year his job has changed and he shares his ideas for how to navigate potential pitfalls to remote teaching. We also discuss best practices, planning and where to find additional resources to support educators who find remote learning challenging.
Former elementary school teacher Erica Richardson tells her story of how she founded the grass-roots literacy organization Culture Books. We discuss her concerns about elementary literacy teaching and assessment that is not serving the learning interests of elementary aged students. She also describes the programs that her organization conducts to promote develop culturally sustaining literacy development.
Adam Jordan and Rebekah Cordova are among the founding members of the All Y'all Social Justice Collective. In this episode they discuss how All Y'all supports the work of teachers through providing meaningful, action-oriented professional development experiences.
We continue our series on teacher developed literacy initiatives with Shereen Cook a teacher who has been part of the Project LIT team for several years. She discusses how she implements Project LIT in her classroom.
Podcast guest Jarred Amato discusses the literacy initiative, Project LIT, that he started with a group of students. What started as a classroom project about "book deserts" has now become a literacy community of over 40 chapters all across the country. Jarred discusses how project based learning, social emotional learning and culturally sustaining pedagogies intersect within this project.
Guest James Dittes, a German and English teacher in Gallatin, TN, discusses his work with a global student exchange program that he coordinates. We also discuss the importance of having a global perspective and how this can enhance learning for students.
Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee draws on his experiences in alternative schools discussing ideas on how to approach teaching students in a changing, unpredictable environment.
This episode is a commentary by host R. Scott Lee discussing problems with structural racism in schools. The episode focuses on important omissions in social studies, civics and the humanities and a lack of professional development regarding implicit bias.
Commentary on how racial inequality and injustice is a problem that all teachers must deal with, an article from The Bitter Southerner is suggested for reading.
Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host R. Scott Lee continues commentaries about how schooling will be different during the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode he discusses how teachers should be planning for classroom procedures in the 2020-2021 school year.
Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee commentary on what the upcoming school year may look like and some thoughts on what educators may need to prepare for as we can expect another school with COVID-19 disruptions.
Part of the continuing series reviewing remote learning resources. This episode we review the YouTube Channel: Teaching Without Frills
In our ongoing COVID-19 special series we review another useful remote learning resource the website of teacher and author Kelley Gallagher.
Continuing our current series providing resources that are helpful for teachers to use in remote learning environments. This episode reviews the middle level STEM program Learning Blade.
This is review of another remote learning resource that teachers could find useful. The Project LIT community provides useful reading resources for teachers and students.
This episode is part of the continuing special series reviewing resources for remote learning. The resource reviewed in this episode is PBS Learning Media and includes suggestions for how this could be used by teachers in a remote learning environment.
This our first in a series of episodes reviewing resources for teachers who are teaching remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. This review is for the YouTube Channel: PE with Coach Wood.
Our guest for this episode is Joshua Sneideman who is the co-author of the book, Everyday Superheroes: Women in STEM Careers. Joshua is a former middle school science teacher and former Einstein Fellow working in the US Department of Energy. We talk not only about his book, but also the essential nature of literacy development and social emotional learning in STEM instruction.
Teachers sometimes find themselves in tit-for-tat power struggles with students. Our guest, Richard Tate, has worked with teachers and mental health professionals on ways to develop positive relationships with children and adolescents. We'll talk about how power struggles start as well as why and how to avoid them. We will also learn about the programs of Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee.
Guest Jennifer Knowles of the Center for Mindful Living discusses how to use mindfulness techniques in the classroom. Jennifer coaches teachers in the use of mindfulness in schools. Not only can mindfulness practice improve the social emotional climate in a classroom, Jennifer also discusses how mindfulness can improve academic performance. We will also talk about techniques and additional resources.
Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee shares the ideas of the podcast and briefly tells about upcoming episodes.