Teaching Today

Curriculum refers to an interactive system of instruction and learning with specific goals, contents, strategies, measurement, and resources. Many schools receive a pre-packaged curriculum from their district or state. The challenge may come with implementation and trying to make the curriculum your own. In this episode, we are joined by Courtney Brown and Bina Clifford who offer strategies to adapt, adjust, and adopt pre-packaged curriculum.

We have turned a corner in education, and some things are beginning to look like they did pre-pandemic — is that a good thing? What have we learned about teachers, students, academic loss/gain, and social-emotional learning over the past few years? How can we apply these lessons learned to the upcoming school year and beyond? In this episode, we’re joined by educational leaders Darius Adamson, Chris Mastrocola, and Dr. Valerie Wanza, who share insights and perspectives for the path forward.

We’re back with the second set of our upcoming professional learning courses, chatting with the designers themselves — both of whom are accomplished coaches and tuned in to the most pressing issues facing educators today.

Here they discuss the inspiration for their courses and what educators need to know about infusing writing across grade levels and content areas, and how busy professionals can deepen their understanding of equity when they don’t have time to read all the research on their own.

Opportunities featured in this episode:

• Expanding Essential Writing Practices with Dr. Sherrish Holloman

• Touchstone Texts for Equity with G. Faith Little

Head to tc.edu/cpet to learn more and reserve your spot at an upcoming course!

Dive into the first set of our upcoming professional learning courses and hear from the designers themselves — all of whom are accomplished coaches in our school and district partnerships across the world and tuned in to the most pressing issues facing educators today. Here they discuss the inspiration for their courses and what educators need to know about learning loss, 21st century literacy, and becoming a reflective practitioner.

Opportunities featured in this episode:

• Mind the Gap with Dr. Cristina Compton

• Expanding Essential Reading Practices with Dr. Sherrish Holloman

• Teacher As Researcher with Courtney Brown

Head to tc.edu/cpet to learn more and reserve your spot at an upcoming course!

How can we support teachers in the early years of their career? Targeted support increases the likelihood that new teachers will stay the course long enough to become more effective educators, which becomes a winning scenario not only for teachers, but for students, school districts, and the teaching profession. 

After we attract talented teachers, the best way to sustain and support them is through a network of mentorship, collaboration, and community belonging. Danette Hardy of Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Ashlynn Wittchow of the New Teacher Network at Teachers College, Columbia University join us to discuss innovative ways to provide dynamic support for new teachers.

School Principals lead teachers and staff, set goals, and ensure students meet their learning objectives. They oversee day-to-day operations that range from handling disciplinary matters, to managing a budget, and hiring instructional staff.

In the final installment of our A Mile in My Shoes series, we’re joined by Principals Paul Gumina (Renaissance High School for Musical Theater & the Arts), Candace Hugee (The Urban Academy School for Collaborative Healthcare), and Vanessa Williams (IS141, The Steinway School), who share the challenges and joys of the principalship and offer advice for anyone considering this role.

Teacher leaders guide a broad range of efforts, from modifying school-wide or content area curriculum, to supporting teachers in collecting and interpreting student achievement data, to improving instructional efficacy throughout a school.

This week, we’re joined by three teacher leaders — Jennifer Castillo, Rachel Cerlen, and Garett Peters — who walk us through this complex role and reflect on their paths to becoming teacher leaders.

Broadly speaking, the function of teachers is to help students learn by imparting knowledge to them and cultivating the learning environment. However, teachers fill a complex set of roles, which vary from one society to another and from one educational level to another. Do we fully understand their roles? We’re joined by three teachers this week — Tanesha Cager, Chloe Chapel, and Leah Clark — who share their journeys and allow us to walk a mile in their shoes.

Educators often feel burdened by mandates and frameworks, as they usually signal changing expectations and a revolving door of initiatives. Can a new framework actually reduce this burden and help teachers to synthesize expectations in practical ways?

In this episode, we’re joined by Leticia Pineiro, a Director of Teaching and Learning within the NYC DOE, to discuss the launch of our CR-SE guidebook — Centering Students: A Guidebook for Implementing Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education —  and how it’s making CR-SE clearer for teachers and school leaders.

In part two of our Exploring Equity series, we look at two additional books our community studied as we challenge ourselves to incorporate CRSP in our daily lives and work. Listen to our senior leaders discuss key takeaways from Cultivating Genius by Gholdy Muhammad, and Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces, by Detra Price-Dennis and Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz.