10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Matt Clay is a science teacher in Ness City, Kansas and a doctoral student in education at the University of Northern Colorado researching environmental experiences. Matt is helping his science students create science kits for students in Haiti.

So many bored, unexcited students. Today’s students want to do meaningful work in all of their subjects. But it can be so hard for teachers to relate their content to real world problems. In today’s show, Matt Clay talks to Vicki Davis on 10MT about how he saw a need and is rallying his science classes to meet that need. Matt takes us from when he found a need on the streets of Haiti to how he got his students and parents excited about meeting that need. He also shares the problems and pitfalls with such a project and how any teacher can apply this type of project in their classroom.

Matt and his class have set up a funding page to help send their science kits to Haiti at https://www.gofundme.com/haitisciencekit.

A full transcript of this show and the show notes is available at www.coolcatteacher.com/podcast as well as details on this month’s giveaway contest to win a MakerBot mini replicator 3D! I use this printer in my classroom and love it!

Jennifer Burgin teaches amazing 2nd graders at Oakridge Elementary in Arlington, Virginia. She was named Oakridge Teacher of the Year and Arlington Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2016. Too many teachers are working too hard to teach writing.

When the teacher is “queen of the classroom” and has to do everything (review, give feedback, find mistakes) it either burns out the teacher or frustrates the students. Today’s show will help teachers solve this problem by learning the fundamentals of facilitating peer review that works.

Starting at the beginning with simple steps and moving towards a full peer review classroom, Jennifer talks with Vicki Davis on 10MT today about how her classroom changed when she started using peer review. She also shares her biggest mistakes and frustrations and how teachers can avoid them. Finally, she talks about how every teacher can start using peer review today.

A full transcript of this show and the show notes is available at www.coolcatteacher.com/podcast as well as details on this month’s give away contest to win a MakerBot mini replicator 3D! I use this printer in my classroom and love it!

Karen Lirenman and Kristen Wideen have written the definitive book on using iPads in the elementary classroom, Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning in the Classroom. In this episode, they share their favorite apps and the biggest mistake they made when getting started with iPads in their classrooms.

The problem with iPads is there are so many apps and so many choices. It is easy for teachers to get overwhelmed and not know where to start. Even worse, some teachers just use them for “game day” and miss the opportunity they have to do help students learn with them.

Today’s show will help settle the dust and bring clarity to iPads in the elementary classroom. I love their book, Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning in the Classroom, so much that we bought it for every teacher at my school. And here’s the most exciting thing!

We’re hosting a giveaway of this book in the next 24 hours! A full transcript of this show and the show notes are available at www.coolcatteacher.com/podcast as well as details on this month’s giveaway contest to win a MakerBot mini replicator 3D and Kristen and Karen’s book!

Billy Krakower (@wkrakower) co-author of 140 Twitter Tips for Educators talks about the benefits of Twitter for educators. Bill and host Vicki Davis (@coolcatteacher) share:

biggest mistakes

strategies for not getting overwhelmed

ideas of cool things teachers do on Twitter.

Finally, Billy finishes up with the MOST EXCITING thing he's learned on Twitter, Breakout EDU's.

So exciting, that our show tomorrow will be on this topic! Stay tuned! A full transcript of this show and the show notes are available at www.coolcatteacher.com/podcast as well as details on entering this month’s giveaway contests.

You can have the first day back to school activities any day of the year. We all need classroom management tips and first-day back stations are one of those you can use any time of the year. Right now, this is more important than ever as classrooms return from quarantine, teachers handoff substitute teachers, students come back to school from spring break, or a classroom may get off track and need a fresh start. First-day back stations are a teaching tactic to add to your tool belt so you can help reestablish the procedures that give the order that students need and crave.

See the full blog post, podcast, and transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e772

Sponsor: Voting is now open in Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers bracket challenge. Would you rather teach Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter or Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Ferris Bueller or Bart Simpson? From now until March 30, you’ll have a chance to vote for which character you want to see advance through each round and see the winners announced on March 31. Go to www.coolcatteacher.com/tournament to get your votes in and start playing.

Angelina Murphy is a secondary English language arts teacher based in Los Angeles. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and has a master’s degree in education from UCLA, where her focus was on trauma-informed teaching, ethnic studies, and community-grounded praxis.

Twitter: @magicalmsmurphy

Instagram @magicalmsmurphy

Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/profile/angelina-murphy

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”