What is a Hogzilla Chuck Norris Duck Ape? It’s the creation of a special education class in St. Louis and winner of the 2014 Global Monster Project. Terry Smith explains how creating monsters can help kids learn and grow. Plus: Earlier this year, a viral video raised new concerns about how teachers should be disciplining young children. Kevin Sutherland talks about training teachers to address bad behavior before it happens, not after. And: Rhonda Brock-Servais says that gothic or horror literature for young kids is more popular than ever. She explores why and shares some of her favorites.

Later in the show: The most important factor in determining student success is having a good teacher. In two 15-minute sessions, Bob Pianta can tell whether a teacher is good or bad. Plus: Heralded by Time as one of the ten best college presidents, Freeman Hrabowski helped build UMBC’s reputation as a top school for students of color in STEM fields. And: Surprisingly, sometimes the problem in math class is not with numbers, but with words. Anne Charity Hudley believes teachers need to be more