Anyone who knows me can tell you that I love a good podcast. I listen to them during my morning routine getting ready for work, while I’m exercising, and before I go to sleep. It’s gotten to the point where if I need to walk into another room in my house to get something, I turn on a podcast through my phone speakers during the 5-10 seconds I am traveling to the other room. I’m not sure how much I get out of the few seconds, but it’s a habit of mine now.
Most of the shows I listen to are about politics, financial literacy, science related topics, or actual play RPG shows like Worlds Beyond Number. This past year however I delved into the world of podcasts focused on the teaching profession, mainly because I needed more help and guidance to implement the Building Thinking Classrooms model of instruction into my class. As any podcast fan is probably aware, once you find one good pod, many more tend to find their way into your feed.
After a year of listening, here are my favorite podcasts about teaching.
This podcast’s goal is to help listeners, and the hosts, implement Building Thinking Classrooms the best way possible in their own classrooms. Many of the episodes delve into each chapter of the book, much as I have started to do in my own BTC section of my website, helping break down the most important takeaways and strategies that we could be using. They also interview various experts and classroom teachers to see how it is going for them, and what adjustments they have made along the way. Episode 5 is a highlight, as the hosts interview the author Peter Liljedahl. If you are attempting to teach using this model, I highly recommend listening to every episode.
First Episode: April 18th, 2023
# of Episodes: 28
Average Episode Length: 30-35 minutes
My Favorite Episode: Episode 6 – The Students Have Their Say
2. Making Math Moments That Matter
I’m a math teacher, and I need all the help that I can get. Hosts Kyle Pearce & Jon Orr are passionate educators who truly love teaching math, and want all of their students to succeed and feel the same way that they do about the big world of numbers. Since 2018 they have been interviewing innovators in the math teaching field, as well as experts in brain research and how kids learn math. This was the first teaching podcast that I ever found, and I love when my feed pops up with a new episode because I know for sure that I will learn something new that I can apply with my students almost instantly. If you are a math teacher, you need to listen to this podcast.
First Episode: December 15th, 2018
# of Episodes: 265
Average Episode Length: 1 hour
My Favorite Episode: Episode #260: The Myth of the Math Brain and the Underdiagnosis of Dyscalculia – An interview with Dr. Sandra Elliot
Last year the math team at my school switched to using Standards Based Grading over the traditional points/percentage based system we had always used in the past. It was not a very smooth transition, for myself or my students. Over the summer I looked for help in understanding how to better implement the system, and more knowledge about why it was more beneficial so that I could be better prepared for all of the questions I would get from students and parents alike. This podcast has really helped me understand why what I am doing is better for students, and how to implement it more effectively. I really resonated with the first few episodes where the hosts Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley talked about their own struggles and failures when putting this into place in the high school and college setting. A must listen for any teacher using Standards Based Grading, or is interested in doing so.
First Episode: July 18th, 2023
# of Episodes: 23
Average Episode Length: 1 hour
My Favorite Episode: Getting Started Part 1: The Problems With Traditional Grading
So, teaching during the pandemic was really hard. Many teachers decided to leave the profession during that time. Not gonna lie, I thought about it as well. Frazz & Redacted host a show where former teachers talk about why they quit their job, or reasons that make current teachers want to. While the hosts Frazz and Ms. Redacted have TikTok fame, I don’t use that platform, so I only stumbled upon them from an ad from a different podcast. While I never quit teaching (or at least haven’t done so yet) I think my favorite thing about this podcast is the catharsis I feel when listening to other teachers who simply had enough and decided to walk away. If you have taught for more than 5 years I bet you have had that feeling at least once. Probably the best thing I get out of listening is hearing about how poorly teachers are treated in other parts of the country, which really helps me appreciate how amazing my school and school district actually is. A huge dose of perspective when I’m having a bad day.
First Episode: September 9th, 2022
# of Episodes: 66
Average Episode Length: 45 minutes
My Favorite Episode: Episode 10: Queer Librarian
So that’s my list for 2023. What did I miss? Which teaching podcasts do you find value in that I could start listening to? Please let me know in the comments section below, and let’s find more great resources in 2024.
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