Classroom Dynamics: A Teacher Podcast

Tough Everyday Classroom Problems, and What Actually Works

A student keeps calling out....a class won’t stop talking during transitions...students are struggling to stay focused...technology and AI are becoming a crutch instead of a tool for learning...and in an already overcrowded classroom, you’re expected to differentiate instruction for students performing at dramatically different levels.

Sound familiar?

These aren’t hypothetical situations. They’re the real classroom challenges educators are facing every single day.

In this episode of Classroom Dynamics, I'm joined by Cheryl Abla and Lisa Maxfield, authors of Teachables, for a very different kind of conversation.

Instead of talking about classroom management in theory, we’re putting real classroom scenarios on the table—including questions submitted by educators—and asking:

👉 What can teachers actually DO?

We’ll explore practical strategies for:

📚 Managing challenging student behaviors while protecting relationships
🤖 Helping students understand when #AI and technology support learning—and when they need to step away
🎯 Differentiating instruction without driving teachers toward burnout
🧠 Building attention, focus, stamina, and perseverance
🏫 Creating student buy-in around rules, routines, accountability, and safety
👨‍👩‍👧 Helping parents reinforce these skills at home

Because sometimes #teachers don’t need another complicated initiative.

They need an idea they can try tomorrow morning.

🎙️ The Toughest Classroom Problems—and What Actually Works

If you’re an #educator, school leader, instructional coach, or anyone who works with students, this is an episode you’ll want to hear—and share with a colleague who could use a few practical ideas right now.

Classroom Dynamics — Your Weekly Professional Reset.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Teachables Field Guide (Free download)

DBC, Inc. Bulk Orders

Teachables on Amazon

Videos mentioned in the epiosde:

Helping Students Understand Differentiation and Fairness in the Classroom

Primary and Elementary
Fairness

Middle & High School
Equality vs Equity
Equity vs Equality

#Education #Teachers #ClassroomManagement #TeacherLife #EdLeadership #EducationLeadership #Teaching #StudentEngagement #EdTech #TeacherSupport

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Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

Bits & Bytes: No Coding Required: Build a Rotating Digital Classroom Display With ChatGPT

What if your classroom’s digital interactive panel could do much more than display a website, presentation, or video?

In this episode of Classroom Dynamics: Bits & Bytes, host Adam Todd explores how teachers can use ChatGPT to create a custom, rotating digital signage display for their classroom — even without knowing how to code.

Imagine walking into your classroom and seeing a digital display that automatically updates throughout the day with the current time, class period, instructional countdown, math or reading groups, learning targets, state standards, vocabulary or spelling words, and encouraging social-emotional messages for students.

The best part? You can build it yourself.

Adam explains how to think of your ChatGPT prompt as the blueprint for your digital display. Rather than starting with HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, teachers can begin by simply describing what they want the display to do. ChatGPT can then help turn that idea into a functional digital panel that can be customized, refined, and adapted to meet the needs of different classrooms and grade levels.

Whether you're a technology teacher, classroom teacher, instructional coach, or school leader, this episode demonstrates a practical way to combine AI, interactive displays, and classroom organization to create a more dynamic learning environment.

Your digital panel doesn't have to be just a screen. With AI, it can become a classroom information hub.

Classroom Dynamics:  Your weekly professional reset. 

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Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

Screen Time vs. Screen Value: Rethinking Technology in Education 

Are we asking the wrong question about technology in schools?

For years, educators, parents, and policymakers have debated one central issue: How much screen time is too much? But what if the more important question is not how many minutes students spend on devices—but rather what value students gain from those experiences?

In this thought-provoking episode of Classroom Dynamics, host Adam Todd welcomes nationally recognized education leader Dr. Patricia Brown, President-Elect of the ISTE and ASCD Board of Directors, to explore the future of technology integration in education.

Inspired by Dr. Brown’s article “Beyond Screen Time: A Better Question for School Leaders,” this conversation challenges educators to rethink how we measure meaningful technology use in classrooms. Together, Adam and Dr. Brown examine the difference between low-value and high-value screen experiences, and discuss why technology should amplify great teaching—not replace it.

This episode explores critical questions facing educators today:

• How can schools determine whether technology is truly improving learning outcomes?
• Are efforts to reduce screen time sometimes limiting opportunities for innovation and digital readiness?
• How can educators find the balance between AI that enhances learning and AI that replaces important thinking skills?
• Why is digital citizenship more important than ever in an era of AI-generated content, misinformation, deepfakes, and algorithm-driven media?
• What gives education leaders hope as schools prepare students for an increasingly digital world?

Whether you are a classroom teacher, technology leader, administrator, or someone passionate about the future of education, this episode offers practical insights and multiple perspectives on one of the most important conversations happening in schools today.

Because the future of education isn’t about more technology or less technology…

It’s about better technology experiences that create deeper learning.

Welcome to your weekly professional reset—welcome to Classroom Dynamics.

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Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

Bits & Bytes:  Google Classroom Just Got Smarter: Meet the New AI-Powered Experience 

Google Classroom is evolving—and artificial intelligence is leading the way. In this episode of Bits & Bytes, Adam Todd explores the latest Google Classroom updates designed to simplify teaching, personalize learning, and save educators valuable time.

Discover how the new personalized homepage delivers customized experiences for teachers, students, and administrators, making it easier than ever to stay organized and focused on what matters most. Then, dive into the growing capabilities of Gemini, Google's AI assistant, including customizable Gems that can become experts in your curriculum, instructional frameworks, and classroom resources.

You'll also learn how Gemini Notebook can transform class materials into interactive study guides, mind maps, podcast-style summaries, and engaging learning activities, while new AI-powered practice sets and video questions provide students with real-time support and immediate feedback.

Whether you're just beginning your AI journey or looking to maximize the latest Google for Education tools, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can start using today to create more engaging, efficient, and personalized learning experiences.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

Why Teachers Dread Professional Development... And How We Can Fix It 

Ask yourself this: What if professional development was designed with the same care and intention as the classrooms we hope every student experiences?

For too many educators, professional development feels like something to endure rather than something to anticipate. Yet research continues to reveal a disconnect between what school leaders believe #teachers need and what teachers actually experience. So how do we bridge that gap?

In the Season 7 premiere of Classroom Dynamics, host Adam Todd welcomes acclaimed author, speaker, educator, and instructional leader Connie Hamilton for a powerful conversation that challenges everything we think we know about professional learning.

Connie shares why professional development shouldn't simply tell #educators about best instructional practices—it should model them. Discover how productive struggle, visible thinking, purposeful questioning, meaningful collaboration, and differentiated learning can transform professional development into experiences that educators genuinely value and carry back into their classrooms.

Together, Adam and Connie explore:

•  Why teachers and school leaders often see professional development very differently. 
•  The biggest mistakes schools make when planning PD—and how to fix them. 
•  What differentiated professional learning actually looks like. 
•  How instructional leaders can intentionally design PD that changes classroom practice instead of simply checking a compliance box. 
•  Practical strategies to ensure professional learning creates lasting impact long after the session ends. 

Whether you're a classroom #teacher, instructional coach, administrator, or district leader, this episode will inspire you to rethink professional development—not as another meeting on the calendar, but as one of the most powerful opportunities to improve teaching and learning.

If you're ready to transform professional learning from something educators have to attend into something they genuinely want to experience, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

🎧 Season 7 starts here. Welcome back to Classroom Dynamics—your weekly professional reset.

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Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

NYC Moves to Ban AI in K–8 Classrooms: Less Screen Time, More Human Learning

New York City is moving to restrict AI in education and student screen time for younger learners. In this episode of Classroom Dynamics: Bits & Bytes, host Adam Todd breaks down NYC's proposed limits on generative AI, AI chatbots, AI tutors, classroom technology, and individual devices for students in 2-K through 8th grade.

What does the new NYC AI policy mean for teachers and students? And could it signal a broader shift toward more intentional, age-appropriate technology use in schools?

Explore what educators need to know about artificial intelligence in schools, EdTech, screen time, AI literacy, and the future of classroom technology.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

Back to School, Forward Thinking: Classroom Dynamics Fall Preview 

Education is changing faster than ever. Are you ready for what’s next?

Welcome to Classroom Dynamics—the podcast where educators, innovators, and thought leaders come together to explore the ideas shaping the future of learning.

Hosted by educator and lifelong learner Adam Todd, Classroom Dynamics brings you inspiring conversations with nationally recognized leaders, classroom experts, authors, researchers, and innovators who are transforming education one idea at a time.

From artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to student engagement, instructional strategies, teacher wellness, digital citizenship, and the future of schools, each episode explores the questions educators are asking—and the solutions they need.

Featuring conversations with some of the most influential voices in education, Classroom Dynamics goes beyond trends and headlines to uncover practical strategies, fresh perspectives, and meaningful insights you can bring directly into your classroom, school, or district.

Whether you're a teacher, administrator, instructional coach, technology leader, or simply passionate about education, you'll discover ideas that inspire reflection, spark conversation, and help move learning forward.

With listeners tuning in from 136 countries and more than 2,000 cities worldwide, Classroom Dynamics has become a global community where educators connect, learn, and grow together.

Each season delivers powerful interviews, thought-provoking discussions, and our popular Bits & Bytes episodes—short conversations highlighting the latest education news, technology breakthroughs, and classroom innovations.

Because the future of education isn't something we wait for...

It's something we create together.

Subscribe to Classroom Dynamics and join the conversation transforming classrooms around the world.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

AI or Fall Behind? Using AI to Differentiate, Support, and Empower Students

As Classroom Dynamics closes out Season 6, host Adam Todd welcomes veteran special educator and AI consultant Latashia Crenshaw for a powerful conversation about why educators can no longer afford to ignore AI in education. With 25 years of experience in special education and inclusive learning design, Latashia shares how teachers can move beyond simply learning #AI tools and begin thinking critically about accessibility, differentiation, bias, neurodiversity, and student-centered instruction.

In this episode, Adam and Latashia explore why generic prompts often lead to generic instruction, how educators can improve their prompting strategies, and what it really means to “prompt for access” instead of just asking AI to create a lesson plan. They also discuss why schools should stop banning AI and start teaching AI literacy, practical ways teachers can experiment with tools like Gemini, Copilot, and Google Notebook LM this summer, and how AI can support planning, personalization, and engagement without losing the human connection that matters most in education.

Whether you’re AI-curious, cautiously skeptical, or already experimenting in your classroom, this season finale delivers practical takeaways, honest conversation, and inspiration to help you prepare for the school year ahead — because the future of education is already here.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

The Innovation Pause: Why the EdTech Plateau Might Be Exactly What Schools Need 

Is the EdTech boom leveling off — and if so, what does that mean for your classroom?

In this episode of Classroom Dynamics: Bits & Bytes — the podcast within the podcast — we look into the growing conversation around the “EdTech Plateau.” After pandemic-era surges in adoption, sky-high investments, and nonstop innovation, the landscape is shifting. Engagement is flattening. Funding is cooling. And educators are asking tougher, evidence-based questions about what actually improves student learning.

From the evolution of generative AI and large language models to the broader move from hype to measurable impact, this episode explores why the plateau may not be a slowdown — but a strategic turning point. If the next phase of educational technology is less about flashy features and more about meaningful outcomes, what should educators prioritize?

This is the conversation every forward-thinking teacher, leader, and edtech innovator needs to hear.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...

Are We Skipping a Critical Step? The Truth About Handwriting in Today’s Classrooms 

What if one of the most essential building blocks of literacy is quietly disappearing from our classrooms… and we don’t fully understand the consequences yet?

Welcome to Classroom Dynamics, your weekly professional reset. I’m your host, Adam Todd—and this episode is one every educator needs to hear.

Today, we’re tackling a topic that’s often overlooked in a digital-first world: handwriting. Not as a routine task—but as a critical driver of brain development, language acquisition, and long-term literacy success.

Joining me is Holly Britton, a curriculum designer, handwriting specialist, and founder of Squiggle Squad. With over 26 years of experience, she breaks down what the research is telling us—and why delaying or minimizing handwriting instruction in early education could be a mistake we can’t afford to make.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

•  What’s actually happening in the brain when students write by hand 
•  What students may be losing as schools shift away from handwriting 
•  Why waiting until later elementary grades to teach handwriting can create gaps 
•  How to bring meaningful, developmentally appropriate handwriting instruction back into your classroom 

If you teach in a K–5 classroom—or support literacy in any way—this conversation will likely challenge what you thought you knew.

Because the real question is: Are we preparing students for the future… or unintentionally holding them back?

🎧 Don’t miss this one. Follow and subscribe to Classroom Dynamics—because in #education today, what you don’t know can matter just as much as what you do.

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Support the show

Follow Classroom Dynamics on Twitter @ClassDynamics, on Instagram @classroomdynamicspodcast, and on TikTok @classroomdynamics!

Find Classroom Dynamics on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and other popular podcast platforms.  You can also listen to us on YouTube! 

Classroom Dynamics LinkTr.ee.

Classroom Dynamics is the premier podcast for educators passionate about integrating technology into their classrooms. With a dedicated audience of teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts, the show provides unparalleled access to decision-makers in the education sector. By advertising on Classroom Dynamics, your company can showcase innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience actively seeking tools to enhance teaching and learning. Each episode spotlights the latest trends, proven strategies, and success stories in edtech, making it the perfect platform to position your brand as a leader in educational innovation. Don’t miss the chance to connect directly with the educators shaping the future of technology in schools! 

Interested in advertising on our podcast?  Join other edtech companies in helping to ...