Staying Afloat Teaching: Recent Episodes
Staying Afloat Teaching
Join a first year teacher as he catalogs his transition from college to the classroom. Weekly episodes reflect on the wins and losses along the way as well as other reflections on topics in the world of education from the perspective of a new teacher and lifelong learner.
New episodes every Monday at 6:00 AM EST!
In this final (?) episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on the tail end of his first year of teaching, how he has grown as a teacher and a person in the last year, and what he's most looking forward to in year two. Thanks for listening :)
In this mini episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses what he's been up to in the weeks he took off from recording the podcast after coming to a realization about how he has spent his free time recently.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses the results of his summative assessment and how he will move forward from it for the next school year.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses moving forward from the first bad test of the year and his best test of the year (two different tests!) as well as reflecting on moving into the fourth and final marking period and approaching his first AP exam.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses: improving his grading schemes thanks to help from his co-teacher, covid cases skyrocketing at his school as a result of poor decisions, his third observation, and how he's maintained a healthy work-life balance by focusing on what's most important with his time.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on his week teaching from home quarantining with Covid. Also discussed is his return to teaching in-person as the school switches schedules.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses the work that went into supporting a student to help them pass his class and make up late work.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses some positive and negative experiences from last minute backup-planning, co-teaching, and trying to help failing students.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses how his confidence has been tested as he prepares to enter a new co-teacher environment despite scoring positively on his latest observation.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses getting a co-teacher and potential curriculum reforms for the next school year as he crosses the halfway point to the school year.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses how he's reevaluated his goals for his first year of teaching and focusing on accomplishments instead of shortcomings. Thanks for twenty episodes of the podcast!
In today's episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses a bevy of developments from his winter break to the first school week of 2021. Topics include addressing cheating, creativity-fueled lessons that promote student engagement, and moving forward from an emotional experience surrounding a few students.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on how he encouraged himself and his students to look at the positives of 2020 and sets some ambitious goals for 2021. He also discusses how to lean into the limitations of assessment in the hybrid model and how to turn cheating into something positive in the future.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses the parameters surrounding an inevitable event regarding teaching during a global pandemic and how it's going to affect his teaching for the next week.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses how he breezed through the last week thanks to finding a groove in his workflow that maximized both efficient prep time and free time. Other topics include being intrinsically motivated at work and why procrastinating is not necessarily bad as a teacher.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses how he learned from his attempt at performing in-person labs in a hybrid learning environment and how a miscommunication added to the challenge of catching up his new students. Also discussed is the importance of mental health and how feeling positive can be more important than planning in the right situations.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on the first marking period of his first year teaching and sets a few goals for the next one. Also discussed in this episode is the critical importance of flexibility and a huge change coming to his classroom this week.
In today's episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on how the last few weeks of building relationships with his students has made teaching so much easier in recent weeks and why he is happy with his decision to be a laid back teacher. Other topics include an update on the video game club and questioning the best way to handle accepting late work and having strict deadlines.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses what he learned from getting through a tough week that really tested his time management skills and how he's adjusting his weekend routines in response.
In this episode, Carmen sits down with a college friend in his student teaching to talk about student teaching during a global pandemic, being more than just a teacher, and aspiring to enter the world of educational content creation.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses how his first ever classroom observation went. He also discusses the importance of creating a positive classroom environment and how important it has become after feedback from students and his principal.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses how the major changes he made to his AP Physics 2 class has paid off in the last week and how important it is to constantly collect and act on student feedback, especially in your first year of teaching.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses his struggles with balancing the challenge of his AP Physics class with his desire to please every student. He also discusses how focusing on mental health can boost productivity and how negative emotions can be used to focus on improvement.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses his struggle with being tough on students and balancing challenge with fun in the classroom.
In the first guest episode of the podcast, Carmen sits down with a long term friend to discuss his experiences as a Graduate Student Instructor teaching an undergraduate chemistry lab at an R1 (research intensive) university.
In this episode, Carmen reflects on how he handled discipline by creating a positive moment with his students. He also touches on the value of giving students freedom, good rumors being spread around the school, and why he is happy he's teaching in the blended learning model.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on the wins and losses of his first week of school as a full time teacher. Topics include being yourself in your classroom, getting the most out of the blended learning environment, and more.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on working nonstop the week before school starts and getting acclimated to the workload of a first year teacher.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on his positive experiences from his district's New Teacher Orientation and discusses topics like self-motivation, seeking out a new opportunity, and balancing time working with time recharging.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen discusses his school's potential plans for hybrid instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic and gives his thoughts on opening schools during a global pandemic in general.
In this episode of the podcast, Carmen reflects on his experiences as a student in an undergraduate secondary education program and a student teacher.
On the inaugural episode of the podcast, a new college graduate starts reflecting on his educational experiences so far before he begins his first year as a high school physics teacher.