The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast
The Thoughtful Teacher podcast shares the stories of educators who have implemented innovative or creative solutions within their space. These stories and commentaries empower educators by sharing a world of ideas that can enhance pedagogical choices and decrease the isolation many teachers experience. We introduce listeners to school-based educators, thinkers, and researchers who have powerful ideas and innovations that makes teaching and learning more meaningful for your students. We also occasionally offer commentary on practice and policy to help navigate the complexity of our profession.
Episodes
75 episodes
Build the Ecosystem for Great Conversations about Race with Matthew R. Kay
English teacher and author Matthew R. Kay shares how to build the classroom ecosystem for having meaningful conversations in the classroom, especially conversations about race in America. In this conversation he shares several interventions he ...
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Season 2025
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Episode 6
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38:08
Our Kids Want to Have Difficult Conversations with Matthew Hawn
Matthew Hawn used to be a social studies teacher until he was fired. He had his day in court and won, but instead of being reinstated the school board appealed. In this conversation, Matt shares his story, his thoughts on teaching controversial...
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Season 2025
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Episode 5
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35:08
How Trees Support Learning with Albert Garcia
Have you ever noticed that tree-lined streets and neighborhoods with lots of trees seem appealing? Have you ever thought that your school or the area around campus could use more trees? Well, it turns out that trees do more than just make thing...
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Season 2025
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Episode 4
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27:08
Building Design for Learning with Willam Browning and James Determan
Most teachers know that the physical space in schools and classrooms matter for student learning, health and wellness. But often teachers are using guesswork when they make decisions about physical spaces that are conducive to learning. Design con...
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Season 2025
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Episode 3
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45:33
Relating to Kids Through Storytelling with Jerry Kolber
In this conversation, self-described "bad student" Jerry Kolber shares insights from his work producing kid friendly media and how good storytelling can help teachers connect with students. Jerry is co-founder of Atomic Entertainment which produce...
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Season 2025
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Episode 2
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21:21
Using the Arts for a Classroom Culture of Care with Maggie Broderick
Dr. Maggie Brodkerick shares her past experiences as a music teacher and her current work as a professor to tell how teachers can create a culture of caring in their classrooms-while also maintaining academic rigor. Many students are sometimes not...
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Season 2025
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Episode 1
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31:17
Empowering Youth and Youth Voice with Sydney Guerette
While still a teenager, Sydney Guerette founded a nonprofit where youth run the show solving problems within their communities and promoting mental health. In this conversation Sydney and Scott Lee discuss how she got started on this journey and h...
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Season 2024
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Episode 12
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31:02
Connecting Students Through Music Workshop with Amy Richter
Amy Richter founder of Music Workshop shares how music education can be transformative experience for students. In this conversation, Amy shares that funding cuts at her children's school meant no more music education. She decided to take action a...
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Season 2024
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Episode 11
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23:00
The Epidemic of Financial Illiteracy with Vince Shorb
This episode features a conversation with Vince Shorb, CEO of the National Financial Educators Council. In this wide-ranging conversation we discuss the problems many K-12 educators face in developing a quality personal finance program at all grad...
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Season 2024
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Episode 10
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42:19
So Is It a Science? with Nancy E. Bailey
Education researcher and advocate Dr. Nancy E. Bailey shares why educators should be concerned about literacy programs that claim to be based on the "Science of Reading". While there is no consensus on what the term "Science of Reading" means, man...
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Season 2024
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Episode 9
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40:34
A Different Global Perspective with James Dittes
Our friend James Dittes returns to share his latest experiences with teaching internationally. When we first met James in 2020 he had started an exchange program with his class and a school in Germany. Since our last conversation, James has taken ...
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Season 2024
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Episode 8
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35:37
It's Not Just Music-It's Sound! with Hayes Greenfield
Hayes Greenfield is a jazz musician, composer, and teaching artist. In this episode he shares the importance of not just music-but sound and how teaching students about sound can enhance social emotional learning and student attention.
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Season 2024
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Episode 7
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43:43
Communication in the Classroom with Donna Van Natten
Donna Van Natten-the Body Language Dr.- shares her expertise on non-verbal communication and behavioral intentions. A former teacher herself, the conversation focuses on communication skills with students in the classroom.
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Season 2024
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Episode 6
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31:09
We Get a Chance to Work with the Best Students
Lynne Roland, Brain Hopkins, and Raymond Appleberry are educators in the Grand Prairie Independent School District in Texas and Rising Phoenix Consulting. In this episode they share their stories of creating a culture where students develop resili...
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Season 2024
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Episode 5
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50:22
The Next Generation of Sloyd with Luke Johanson
Sloyd is a 19th century teaching methodology that fell out of favor in the early 20th century in America. Luke Johanson shares how The Sloyd Experience is bringing this highly useful teaching approach back to relevance for students in the 21st cen...
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Season 2024
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Episode 4
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42:18
Science in the Schoolyard with Janneke Petersen
Listen to this conversation with science curriculum developer Janneke Petersen shares how she empowers students with Symbiotic Schoolyard. This curriculum helps teachers plant and grow native plants in their schoolyard. This place-based learning i...
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Season 2024
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Episode 3
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27:14
Inclusive Support for Transgender and Non-binary Students with Vanessa Ford and Rebecca Kling
Transgender and non-binary students often do not find inclusive experiences in schools and many teachers do not know where to turn in finding resources and supports. Scott Lee shares a conversation with Vanessa Ford and Rebecca Kling who discuss t...
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Season 2024
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Episode 2
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51:13
You Can Teach Writing in the Age of Generative AI with Jen Roberts
Have you ever worried that your students are using an artificial intelligence (AI) program to cheat? To do homework? To do something else dishonest? Join me for this conversation with Jen Roberts as we talk about not only how to prevent academic d...
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Season 2024
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Episode 1
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46:53
For Real Engagement...Take Them Outside with Becca Katz
Outdoor learning expert Becca Katz shares the powerful, research based reasons why students perform better when outdoor learning is part of everyday education activity. She also shares about how her non-profit organization provides professional le...
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Season 2023
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Episode 13
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37:50
What a Foster Child Really Needs
Thoughtful Teacher Podcast host Scott Lee shares a story about a former student who was in foster care and eventually adopted by his foster parents and how it all happened without using a computer dating service.
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Season 2023
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Episode 12
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12:44
Just Don't Break Your Hammer with Caroline Mickey
Librarian Caroline Mickey says "reading builds empathy" in this conversation about school library censorship. Caroline shares her experiences having a lesson cancelled as the result of an organized campaign falsely claiming that her lesson had ina...
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Season 2023
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Episode 11
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40:03
Reclaiming Intervention for Trauma with Sue Jones
Sue Jones a Trauma Informed Practices Coach in New York shares how using the restorative intervention Life Space Crisis Intervention supports students who have experienced trauma and present with elevated ACE scores.
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Season 2023
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Episode 10
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50:43
Implementing Equity-Focused Practices in Schools with Dr. Mark Gooden
Equity-focused school leadership is an ongoing, whole-team process for school improvement. In this continuing conversation Mark A Gooden and Scott Lee discuss the ongoing routines and habits of equity focused leadership teams as well as various ch...
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Season 2023
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Episode 9
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34:49
Helping School Leaders Understand Implicit Bias with Mark Anthony Gooden
For schools to truly provide an equitable learning environment, educators and school leaders must understand implicit bias and how implicit bias affects all our interactions with students (and other professional educators). In the first of two epi...
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Season 2023
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Episode 8
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42:02