Teaching Today

Despite what the media may depict, teaching is not all about summer vacations and chatting it up in the lounge between classes. It’s challenging day in and day out, so much so that after the pandemic, we’re seeing educators leave the field in record numbers.

Today we’re talking with Alison Cohen, a former high school teacher and professional development coach who now specializes in mindfulness including developing a personal mindfulness practice, mindful communication, and mindful classroom spaces.

In our conversation we’ll explore how we can reframe feelings of overwhelm, tease out the difference between stress and distress, and use mindful practices to center our hearts and minds and to avoid burnout.

There is a deep divide between selecting a high-leverage curriculum and implementing it. This divide is professional learning.

We can’t just assume that anyone can pick up a packaged curriculum and implement it with fidelity on their own. It takes time, energy and support to analyze, adapt and adjust for your students.

Today we’re talking with Molly Gurny and Grace McCarty from the Center for Public Research and Leadership about their recent research and publication about Curriculum-Based Professional Learning.

Cooperating teachers volunteer to host a student teacher, but many discover that teaching through modeling, giving feedback, and collaboration with their apprentice, usually over the course of a semester, is not as easy as it looks.

In this episode, we’re talking with Dr. Marcelle Mentor and Dr. Kelly DeLuca — the Teachers College, Columbia University faculty members responsible for identifying cooperating teachers and placing student teachers all across New York City.

Teachers go through years of education and hundreds of hours of internships to become certified or licensed to teach in their area of study, but there’s often very little training that goes into becoming a teacher leader. Teacher leaders often jump — or are thrown — into their roles without realizing how much support they need to develop the nuanced skills needed to lead adults on teams or in coaching relationships.

In this episode, we’re talking to our CPET crew — Courtney Brown and G. Faith Little — about the benefits and challenges of becoming a teacher leader.

Culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining education includes cultivating a welcoming and affirming environment for student learning. This sounds good on paper, but can be difficult to bring to life in the real world. This week, we’re talking to our colleague Dr. Cristina Compton and Dr. Sherrish Holloman, Director of Diversity and Institutional Equity at Saint Ann's School about how to create an environment consistent with the values in our Centering Students Framework.

The start of the school year can be overwhelming for anyone, but especially for new teachers who are experiencing the heavy weight of their responsibilities for the first time. New teachers have to balance building relationships with students, short and long term planning, navigating professional responsibilities, and finding their way in a new professional environment.

In this episode, we’re talking to the New Teacher Network at Teachers College to learn about the pressures new teachers are facing at the start of the school year, and hear the advice they have to offer this fall.

In 2002, Dr. Ruth Vinz, founded the Center for the Professional Education of Teachers with the help of a generous donation. Her vision to bridge the gap between theory and practice in a manner that perpetuates the professionalism of educators has endured for 20 years and impacted countless teachers, leaders, and students.

The Teaching Today podcast is an extension of the Center. In this celebratory episode, we are joined by Ruth as Teaching Today celebrates its 100th episode in conjunction with the 20-year anniversary of the Center for the Professional Education of Teachers.

In this episode we’re joined by Garrett Peters and Anna Tabet, two New York City school leaders, who discuss the academic, social, and instructional implications for the upcoming year. As school launches in full force, this conversation focuses on how schools are preparing new students, new teachers, and new learning.

We’ve been in school, out of school, online, and working with blended models of learning over the past few years. The upcoming school year is poised to be the return to “normal” school, and educators are preparing differently. In this episode, our colleague Dr. Cristina Compton joins us along with educators Leah Clark and Dr. Phyllis Harris to discuss the joys, concerns, and excitement surrounding getting back to "normal".

Creating your own curriculum gives you more flexibility, including the ability to create assignments that are hands-on and relevant to your students. But as with any process, there are pros and cons. In this episode, we're joined by Amanda Murphy and Annie Ward, who share their experiences with curriculum design and offer advice on where to begin when embarking on this process.