For many teachers, parent-teacher conferences rank among the most nerve-wracking moments of the school year. But what if they didn't have to be? In this episode, host Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang sits down with New Teacher Network leaders Courtney Brown and Pam McGowen to talk about what makes family engagement so challenging — and rewarding. From that first anxious phone call home to navigating multilingual families and emotionally charged conversations, they share real stories, hard-won lessons, and practical strategies that work. Whether you're heading into your first round of conferences or looking to strengthen the family relationships you've already built, this conversation will leave you feeling more prepared, more empathetic, and maybe even a little excited to pull up a chair.

We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

What if your most disengaged students—the ones with heads on desks and hoodies over their eyes—actually want to do their best work? Research shows they do. In this episode, Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang and Dr. Cristina Compton sit down with Dr. Kyra M. Caldwell Templeton, Program Director of Student Engagement at Atlanta Public Schools, to explore what happens when schools move beyond asking students about spirit week themes and actually bring them to the table for curriculum design, policy decisions, and strategic planning. As Dr. Caldwell Templeton reminds us: "You can simply ask a student and they'll tell you." The question is—are we ready to truly listen?

We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In this episode, Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang sits down with Dr. Adele Bruni Ashley and Dr. Jen Gowers to discuss Literacy Unbound, an initiative designed to transform the way students engage with complex, "hard to read" texts. The conversation explores how to move away from rigid, traditional literary analysis toward a model of collaborative artistry and creative remixing. Through multiple entry points and "taming" intimidating texts, stories that seem far away become personally relevant and accessible to all learners.

Participate in this year’s institute: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/literacy-unbound-2026.html

We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Join Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang, Dr. Cristina Compton, and G. Faith Little for a conversation that challenges us to look honestly at our classroom practices. In this episode, you'll hear a refreshing reframe of Project-Based Learning that moves beyond surface-level activities to authentic, real-world application where students and teachers discover answers together. The conversation deepens as we explore the Touchstone Texts for Equity course, where educators engage in shared reading and inquiry to uncover their own implicit biases and create meaningful action plans for their schools. This isn't about guilt or judgment—it's about growth, self-awareness, and recognizing that we can't separate our identities from our teaching.

Whether you're looking to make one small evidence-based shift in your practice or ready to fundamentally rethink who your students' work is for, this conversation offers practical wisdom and honest reflection.

We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In this episode, Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang talks with CPET instructional designers about two essential online courses for today's teachers. Courtney Brown discusses "Centering CRSE," a course that helps educators build culturally responsive practices into their daily practice. Learn how to use "mirrors, windows, and sliding doors" to create learning experiences where students see themselves, explore other cultures, and step into new perspectives.

Dr. Jacqui Stolzer shares insights from "Keys to Co-Teaching." Co-teaching is now standard practice, but making it work takes intentional effort. This course offers practical tools for building shared ownership, establishing communication protocols, and transforming two teachers in a room into an effective team.

Both courses are available on-demand or in cohorts. Both bridge theory and practice. Both meet teachers exactly where they are.

We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

We all know students need "21st century skills"—but what does that actually look like on a Tuesday morning in your classroom? In this conversation, Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang and Dr. Kelsey Hammond go beyond buzzwords to explore why discussion isn't as intuitive as we think, how our classrooms haven't kept pace with how the world actually works, and most importantly, what we can do about it. While the gap between what students are learning and what they need is widening, you don't need 3D printers or fancy AI tools to close it—just clarity on what 21st century skills really are and how to weave them into the curriculum you already have. Let's figure it out together.

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Welcome to our annual wrap-up episode of Teaching Today! We're excited to bring you a special compilation featuring our three most-listened-to conversations from the past year plus a special thanks for our international listeners. Thank you again for these discussions: Colleen Keating-Crawford, Izzy Fitzgerald, Sydney Tweedley, Courtney Brown, Elizabeth Clay Roy.

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What happens when students walk into your classroom asking "Can I get out of this?" Professor Carlo Rotella, author of "What Can I Get Out of This? Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics," joins us to explore how student skepticism—about literature, interpretation, and even their own belonging—can become a productive starting point for learning. In this conversation, we tackle the tensions teachers face daily: wanting students to question everything while also needing them to engage, building authentic community in transactional educational systems, and reclaiming face-to-face discussion as essential human practice in an age of AI and instant information. Whether you teach third grade or college freshmen, you'll walk away with concrete strategies for lowering barriers to participation, transforming doubt into curiosity, and creating classrooms where every voice matters.

Explore the book: https://carlorotella.com/

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What if strategies designed to support students with disabilities could transform learning for everyone? In this episode, Dr. Rhoda Bernard, Founding Director of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education and author of Accessible Arts Education, shares how predictability, structure, and universal design principles make arts education accessible to neurodiverse learners—and benefit all students in the process. From visual schedules to advance notice, discover practical strategies that apply far beyond the arts classroom and learn why we can't separate a student's identity from their individuality when creating truly inclusive learning spaces.

Dr. Bernard's book: Accessible Arts Education: Principles, Habits, and Strategies to Unleash Every Student's Creativity and Learning – https://www.solutiontree.com/accessible-arts-education.html

We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Tired of the polarizing debate about AI in writing classrooms? Dr. Kelsey Hammond offers a more nuanced path forward. Rather than creating endless guidelines about when students should or shouldn’t use ChatGPT in their writing process, she explores how writing itself can become a tool for understanding our relationship with AI. Through reflective essays, poetry, metaphor-making, and examining our own prompts as "mirrors of self," educators can help students develop discernment instead of just follow rules. This conversation invites each of us to shift how we think about AI, writing, and what it means to be human.

We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html