Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud

Epizodai

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  Planning Period Literacy 17.09.2026 20min

  Where do teachers learn to maximize the value of planning periods in their schedules? Teacher and productivity coach, Carla Erskin, reports that "Planning periods have long been treated as empty space on the master schedule, resulting in a missed opportunity to recognize the effective use of that time as professional practice and to help teachers develop the knowledge and skills it requires." What are some first steps coaches and leaders might take? Read Carla's article, "Are Schools Squandering Teacher Planning Periods" here.  Visit Carla's website, Sustainable Teaching Solutions here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  
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  Leading and Coaching Teaching Professionals 10.09.2026 15min

  If I believe the person sitting across from me is a professional, my coaching job can't simply be to get that person to do what I've decided is best. I need to engage their thinking which means deep listening on my part. Treating someone as a professional isn't simply something we say. Teachers experience whether we see them as professionals through the conditions we create and the ways we interact with them. If we want our students to be taught by professionals who exercise professional judgment, our leadership and coaching need to continually develop that judgment and create the conditions that support professional dignity. Listen to Jim Knight’s podcast episode, "Stop Telling Teachers What to Do" here.  Visit Brad Gaynor's website here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  A Focus on Teacher Dignity 03.09.2026 36min

  The author of, "Not One More Teacher Lost," Brad Gaynor, explores the powerful idea that improving education is not only about developing better teachers and leaders, but also about creating the conditions in which they can continue to do their best work. What happens when systems confuse accountability with documentation, support with compliance, and improvement with constant change? Connect with Brad and his work here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Teacher Leadership Skills vs. Teacher Leadership Positions 27.08.2026 35min

  “Within every school there is a sleeping giant of teacher leadership which can be a strong catalyst for making change.” (Katzenmeyer and Mollar, "Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders") Carly Quiros, from EdAdvance, explores this quote with Steve. What should instructional coaches, school and teacher leaders be modeling and doing to create schools that are “leaderfull?” Find Carly’s Blog in ISTE/ASCD Visit Carly's LinkedIn and get in touch Visit EdAdvance Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  More Than Setting a Goal: Turning Professional Growth Plans into Professional Learning 20.08.2026 16min

  A meeting to establish a teacher’s professional growth plan goal can either be a perfunctory activity to be checked of the “to do list” or the start of a year-long do --- reflect --- apply cycle that generates professional learning. Ask these questions at the end of the planning meeting: Does the teacher own the goal? Is there something they're curious about? Have they identified something they want to learn rather than simply something they want to accomplish? Do they know what evidence they'll examine? Are they leaving the conversation thinking more deeply than when they entered it? Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Scale-up Leadership Production Behaviors 13.08.2026 34min

  Kelly Hastings, founder of Enlightening Leadership and author of Leading Change That Lasts shares thoughts on school leaders planning backwards from desired student outcomes to leadership actions. How do leaders involve and empower teachers in the process? What role does evidence of progress, with cautions around “fidelity,” play in supporting an implementation. Visit the Enlightening Leadership website and Connect with Kelly here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Three Questions That Can Change Your School 06.08.2026 16min

  Schools aren't experienced through mission statements or curriculum guides. They're experienced one interaction at a time. What are students experiencing? What are teachers experiencing? How do we know? Coaches can help teachers and leaders gather evidence about experiences that often go unnoticed because they have become routine - or even unconscious. Watch Marcela Andreas Diaz Revultas’ video here.  Find Tim Montalvo’s blog here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Professional Learning: A Key Element of an Eco System for School Change 30.07.2026 30min

  If professional learning for educators is going to generate increased learning success for students, it needs to be an environment, not an event. Dr. Marisa Ramirez Stukey, co-author of, "Professional Learning Redefined: An Evidence-Based Guide," shares key elements of effective professional learning and the necessary commitments needed from administrators, instructional coaches, and teachers. Visit The Reading League website and get in touch with Dr. Stukey here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Teachers Engaging with Instructional Coaches to Start the Year 23.07.2026 15min

  In many schools, it isn’t common to find teachers exploring possibilities and reflecting on observations with instructional coaches early in the school year. Perhaps there is a view that coaching is problem-solving and the idea that coaching around designing is being missed. Hear an example of what that coaching around a teacher’s early planning might sound like. Find Dan Steele’s post here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  
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  The Multiplier Coach: Spotting, Naming, and Growing Teacher Talent 16.07.2026 17min

  Multipliers, as Liz Wiseman identified ("Multipliers - How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter") don't simply recognize talent—they help it grow and spread. Perhaps that's one of the most important roles of an instructional coach. Rather than identifying what teachers are missing, coaches are on the prowl for the capabilities that are already emerging. Noticing them, naming them and creating opportunities for those talents to become even more powerful and, ultimately, benefit colleagues and students beyond a single classroom. Watch the Positive Psychology in Coaching and Professional Practices video (from Growth Coaching International) here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Why Teacher Conversations Matter More Than Meetings 09.07.2026 19min

  Teacher to teacher conversations are powerful when they expose us to perspectives we would not generate on our own. Left to ourselves, we tend to revisit familiar assumptions, interpretations, and solutions. We think within the boundaries of our current mental models. Dialogue creates the opportunity for those mental models to be challenged, refined, or expanded. How do instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and administrators support those dialogues? Listen to Naquin’s podcast, "What educators should know when talking with one another" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Learning with Wow, Awe, and Wonder 02.07.2026 33min

  Michael Hernandez, the author of, "Storytelling With Purpose: Digital Projects to Ignite Student Curiosity" and "The Uncheatable Assessment Course," shares insights on authentic learning. How can we create learning tasks and assessments that encourage and strengthen students' curiosity - supporting them in becoming engaged and inquisitive scholars and citizens. Read Michael's article, When Assignments Invite Wonder here. Find his book, "Storytelling With Purpose: Digital Projects to Ignite Student Curiosity" here. Find the Uncheatable Assessments Course here.  Contact Michael: LinkedIn | Instagram | [email protected] Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Wandering and Wondering for All Learners 25.06.2026 33min

  "It’s time to treat curiosity as the superpower it is. We can build students’ ability to use this learning power by giving them the tools, time, and encouragement to wield it effectively." Dr. Teresa Hill, the superintendent of South Holland Schools in Illinois and the author of, "The Instructional Leaders Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps: Five Keys for Improving Student Outcomes," highlights the “why and how” to empower learning with curiosity. Curiosity is a key to her motto, "All children can learn….. Period." Read Dr. Hill's ASCD article, "Curiosity Is a Superpower" here. Find Dr. Hill on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Building Your Coaching Impact: Confidence, Communication, Connections 18.06.2026 36min

  Leadership coach for educators and business leaders, Julie Schniers, shares her insights around coaching others to create opportunities for growth, self- discovery, increased confidence, and a focus to accomplish their goals. She focusses on the importance of communication, connections, and confidence. Coaching curiosity is a key. Visit Julie's website and connect here.     Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Supporting Teacher Wellbeing 11.06.2026 42min

  Keith Young, a co-author of, "The Teaching Strategy Handbook: 200+ Solutions for Common Classroom Challenges," explores the strategies from the book’s Chapter 8, "Teacher Burnout and Stress." Keith shares the practices individual teachers can implement as well as the roles that teacher leaders, instructional coaches and administrators can play in support of teachers. The impact that effective PLCs can play is highlighted. Coaches can support teachers in exploring “circles of influence” as a way of focusing energy investment. Having options addressed throughout "The Teaching Strategy Handbook" support teacher wellbeing. Listen to Keith’s earlier podcast, "Observing and Coaching Classroom Management" here.  Visit Keith's website and get in touch here.  Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  A Coaching Model of Coachability 04.06.2026 19min

  It’s rather clear to most people that to be an effective coach one needs an appropriate mindset for investing in the growth of others and a set of listening and verbal skills for coaching conferencing. Less often considered are the mindsets and skills needed to gain from coaching input. We might label it as one’s coachability. Robyn Vierra, the Teaching and Learning Coordinator at the American School in New Delhi, shares her experiences with being coached. Consider your coachability as you hear Robyn’s story. Connect with Robyn: [email protected] Find the Instructional Coaching Micro-Credential Program here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Real Objects, Curiosity, and Inquiry 28.05.2026 35min

  Tania Lattanzio from Innovative Global Education examines the impact of real objects and the real environment on student learning: When real objects and real environments are the starting point: Curiosity leads the learning. Questioning feels purposeful. Wonder is protected. Understanding grows from evidence. It communicates that learning is not about receiving information, but about making sense of the world. Honoring students as thinkers. Visit the Innovative Global Education website and connect with Tania here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Building Teachers' Trust for AI Adoption 21.05.2026 28min

  Roney Nascimento, an IB Diploma Mathematics Teacher and AI solutions developer describes his response to this insight. "Teachers weren’t avoiding AI because they didn’t understand it. They were avoiding it because they didn’t trust it or trust themselves to use it responsibly. They were skeptical and wary."   Gain insights for your professional learning design both in and out of technology adoption. Read Roney's ASCD article here. Find Roney's book, "Generative AI for Teachers: A Practical Guide to Educational Technology" here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!
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  Coaching Around the Fidelity Question 14.05.2026 15min

  Have you heard this from school leaders? “We invested heavily in this new curricular program. Teachers were invited to give input during the decision-making process. Resources were purchased. Training was completed. Expectations were communicated. We all want greater consistency across classrooms and stronger outcomes for students. So why aren’t teachers implementing the program with fidelity?” Fidelity to purpose that engages teachers as professional partners is likely necessary. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!  
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  The Intersection of Curriculum, Technology, and People to Deliver Learning Outcomes 07.05.2026 25min

  Sari Factor, the Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer at Imagine Learning, explores the intersection of curriculum, technology, and people. These questions are explored: What makes a curriculum high quality? How can technology best support the teaching and learning process? What role might AI play in extending this intersection? How should schools be considering the questions around screen time? What role do instructional coaches and school leaders have in supporting high quality learning? Visit the Imagine Learning website here.     Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!