Schoolutions: Curious Educators. Evidence-Based Strategies. Classrooms Where Every Child Thrives.

Jaksot

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  How Can You Build Your Influence As a Leader? 16.09.2026

  In this clip from my conversation with Jenn David-Lang of @themainideaeducation , she breaks down a shift that changes how new leaders solve problems. In her mastermind groups for aspiring leaders, someone always brings the same complaint early in the year: a teacher won't do what's being asked, and the instinct is to have the principal force it. Jenn pushes back on that instinct. Real influence starts long before the issue comes up, built through credibility and trust with the p...
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  Try it Tuesday Teacher Move: Keep Your Lesson Relevant 15.09.2026 1min

  It's Tuesday, and I'm starting a new weekly series called Try It Tuesday. Each week, I'll give you one teacher move that has a real, measurable impact on student success and student engagement. This week's tip comes from a moment with Cris Tovani, and it's about relevance. We were standing in a high school classroom together, and the teacher couldn't quite explain why the content mattered to her students. Cris said one thing: Google it. So we did. We searched why kids still need to learn th...
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  What Does Peer-Driven Leadership Look and Feel Like in Schools? 14.09.2026 21min

  Jenn David-Lang has spent over 20 years supporting school leaders, first through @themainideaeducation, her monthly education and leadership book summary service, and now through the peer-led Mastermind groups she facilitates for principals and aspiring leaders. In part one of this S6E1 Schoolutions conversation, Jenn and I break down what school leadership actually looks like when instructional leadership comes from the people already in the building instead of an outside consultant. Jenn...
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  How to Build a Stronger School Community this September 13.09.2026

  This September on Schoolutions, I'm bringing you three conversations that will change how you see leadership inside school buildings. 💫You'll hear from Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea about a peer-led leadership model where instructional leaders troubleshoot problems together and partner with each other from all over the world. It's a model built on instructional coaching, coaching strategies, and professional learning instead of top-down answers. 💫You'll hear from 17 teachers who attend...
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  Forever Getting Better: Season 6 of Schoolutions 11.09.2026 1min

  Season 6 of the Schoolutions Podcast is here. This season leads up to the release of my book with Stenhouse Publishers, Forever Getting Better: 5 Essential Practices for Reclaiming Teacher Expertise, which I hope will be in your hands by June of 2027. This season follows teachers, coaches, and school leaders as they use the five essential practices from my book in real classrooms. Guests discuss learning in action, share ways to inspire students, and walk through methods to boost student par...
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  Behind the Scenes: Revising my Book Chapter by Chapter (Writing Wednesday) 09.09.2026

  This is my last Writing Wednesday post for a while. Season six of Schoolutions starts next week, and Wednesdays are switching over to expert tips from that week's guest. Right now I'm in the final stretch of revising and editing my book, Forever Getting Better: 5 Essential Practices for Reclaiming Teacher Expertise. Going slow here is what lets me move fast later. I'm going chapter by chapter, checking that the language holds together and the structure stays consistent so the text feels acce...
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  Reading Wars: The $1 BILLION Industry That's Failing Students 07.09.2026 1t 13min

  Are reading wars destroying our children's education? In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. P.L. Thomas, a former high school English teacher with 18 years of classroom experience, exposes how education strategies, effective teaching, and instructional strategies are being replaced by one-size-fits-all programs that ignore what we know about student engagement, student motivation, and inclusive teaching. What You'll Learn: ✅ Why the reading wars keep repeating every decade (it's not wh...
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  Inside the Secret Moves of Expert Teachers 04.09.2026 42min

  S5E1 of Schoolutions begins with Professor John Hattie, renowned for his groundbreaking Visible Learning work. After analyzing 2,500+ studies with 200 million students, Professor John Hattie discovered something shocking: there's virtually no correlation between teaching experience and effectiveness after 5 years. So what separates expert teachers from the rest? In this eye-opening conversation, Hattie reveals that expert teachers are "nosy" - obsessed with understanding not just IF students...
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  What Words and Phrases Could You Cut As a Writer? (Writing Wednesday) 02.09.2026

  Five words/phrases are quietly cluttering your writing: our, your, that, I think, I believe. This Writing Wednesday breaks down why these words sneak into student writing and adult writing, and what happens when you cut them. The tip comes from a real classroom. A teacher noticed her student kept writing "I think" and "I believe" before every idea. Her response: you're the one writing it. We already know it's your thinking. This kind of small shift is what effective teaching and instructiona...
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  Finding Common Ground in a Polarized World 31.08.2026 43min

  In this powerful conversation with former Colorado Commissioner of Education Dr. Katy Anthes, we explore her groundbreaking "Forward Framework" for navigating polarization and finding productive middle ground in education and beyond. Dr. Anthes shares research-backed strategies to move from destructive conflict to productive disagreement, explaining why curiosity and humanity are essential for progress. Learn practical skills to address divisive topics in your classroom, school, or comm...
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  The 3 Types of Student Engagement Every Teacher Needs to Know 28.08.2026 22min

  This S1E1 Schoolutions conversation with Cris Tovani and Sam Bennett covers the importance of student engagement, building relationships, time management, and planning for disengaged students. Cris shares ideas for identifying and supporting disengaged students through long-term planning and building relationships. Sam paints a picture of the circles of engagement (emotional, behavioral, and cognitive) and explains why a workshop structure enables students to connect with their teache...
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  Don't Let Fear Stop Your Progress (Writing Wednesday) 26.08.2026

  I've been writing and getting close to turning in my book manuscript. My editor Kassia let me know it's time to reach out to people for endorsements. I'd had a list in my head for months. Sending it terrified me. I asked anyway. The response floored me. People I admire said yes, fast and warm, with no hesitation. One person said no. That's fine. Everyone's stretched thin right now. If you're building something, a book, a program, a workshop series, ask for help when you need it. Chapters: ...
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  Being 'Pro-Kid' in 2026: What Teachers REALLY Need to Know 24.08.2026 49min

  In this S2E1 Schoolutions Teaching Strategies interview, join education expert Cornelius Minor for this powerful conversation about revolutionizing classroom management, student engagement, and inclusive teaching. Discover why traditional behavior strategies fail and learn the "radical listening" approach that transforms disruptive students into engaged learners. What You'll Learn: ✅ Why student behavior is communication, not defiance - game-changing classroom behavior insights ✅ The "heavy ...
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  I See, I Hear, I've Got You: Changing How We Teach with The NeuroWild Shift 21.08.2026 52min

  In this S3E29 Schoolutions conversation, Emily (Em) Hammond shares why she built NeuroWild after her own late autism and ADHD diagnosis, and after years of translating abstract concepts into illustrations for the neurodivergent kids and families she works with as a speech pathologist. She walks through The NeuroWild Shift, her three-stage framework for classroom belonging and student engagement: I See You, I Hear You, I've Got You. The conversation covers fluctuating capacity, why lowering t...
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  Are You Quoting Too Much? A Simple Writing Tip (Writing Wednesday) 19.08.2026

  Happy Writing Wednesday. This week's tip is about a decision writers make constantly: quote it directly, paraphrase it, or summarize it. I pulled an old favorite off my shelf, Emily Kissner's Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling. I've had this book since 2006 and it still holds up. Some quotes need to stay word for word. Others work better paraphrased. The book helps me sort out which is which before I hand my writing off to a reader. I recommend this resource for teachers working with ...
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  Using Micro Mentor Texts: Standing Next to & Teaching Beautiful Writing 17.08.2026 37min

  In this S2E31 Schoolutions conversation, Penny Kittle lives by her words, "When you stand next to beautiful writing, your writing is just kind of set free." Penny shares how her latest book, Micro Mentor Texts: Using Short Passages From Great Books to Teach Writer's Craft offers a process for studying and teaching on the shoulders of incredible authors as mentors to transform student writing. Ep. Mentions: Donald MurrayDonald GravesThomas NewkirkTom RomanoBook Love FoundationMatt de la PeñaKe...
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  Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics 14.08.2026 54min

  Dr. Peter Liljedahl breaks down why 80% of students sit through a math lesson without ever thinking, and what actually fixes it. This episode covers the research behind Building Thinking Classrooms: random groups, vertical whiteboards, and the difference between a thinking task and a mimicking task. Peter and host Olivia Wahl talk through classroom behavior, student engagement, and why low engagement often starts with how a room is set up, not who's in it. They dig into active learning, stud...
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  What I Learned When My Friend Read My Writing Aloud to Me (Writing Wednesday) 12.08.2026

  Reading your own writing out loud catches a lot of errors. But, reading it out loud yourself is not the same as hearing someone else read it back to you. In this Writing Wednesday, I talk about what happened when my friend Katie Kelly read the opening of a chapter I wrote. Hearing her voice on my own words showed me exactly where the writing dragged, where it confused her, and where I could cut without losing anything. I was too close to my own draft to see it clearly. This takes five minu...
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  20 Years in Kindergarten Taught Me This About Joy 10.08.2026 38min

  Kindergarten teacher extraordinaire "Mr. Greg" of The Kindergarten Smorgasboard and ELEVATE Conference shares why being a teacher matters most. Listeners will leave inspired by Greg's hilarious tales from the classroom and practical tips to try right away with their students! Episode Mentions: The Kindergarten SmorgasboardResource CenterBlogBasket Head ELEVATE ConferenceHolly Ehle - The Science of Literacy LearningScheduling Sunday!Greg's Recommendations: Greg HIGHLY recomme...
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  Kids Deserve More Than Answers: They Deserve Ownership 07.08.2026 41min

  Discover why true educational transformation happens when we shift from content-centered to student-centered learning! In this insightful conversation, educators Julie Wright and James Goldberg share wisdom from their book The Limitless Classroom: Mantras to Deepen Learning. Learn how giving students time, purpose, and ownership develops genuine curiosity and transferable skills. Julie and James explain their three powerful mantras: Kids deserve more time to think and doKids deserve the why a...