(graphic created using the essential oils drop shots app)
This year, I became OBSESSED with podcasts! I love information, but reading information isn't always convenient. It's hard to have the time to sit down and read a book or an article. The wonderful thing about podcasts is I can get amazing information while cleaning the house, driving to and from work, doing laundry, cooking, etc. I listen to podcasts on a variety of topics- Disneyland, lifestyle, true crime- but the podcasts I listen to the most are teaching podcasts. Once I started looking for them, I couldn't believe how many I found. What follows is a list of my top favorite teaching podcasts.
1. Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers : Angela Watson is founder of the website The Cornerstone for Teachers and author of the book Unshakeable: 20 Ways to Enjoy Teaching Everyday. Angela's podcast is full of encouragement and acknowledgement for how difficult our jobs really are. Every episode has helpful advice and is like a little pep talk from a good teacher friend. Some of the episodes are about changing your mindset and some are about improving your teaching practices. I recommend this podcasts for teachers who are feeling a little discouraged.
2. The Cult of Pedagogy : Jennifer Gonzalez runs the Cult of Pedagogy Website where she says, "Teacher nerds, unite!" She has tons of articles and some videos on ways to improve your teaching. She covers some really fascinating topics on her podcasts, like "The Montessori Method," "Genius Hour (or 20% time)," "Dog-fooding," and "Teaching Without Grades," just to name a few. I especially like her interview episodes. She interviewed Peter Brown, the author of Make It Stick and Jessica Lahey, the author of The Gift of Failure and now I really want to read both books. She also interviews people with interesting points of view, like an ESL instructor, a mother of a child with autism, a teacher who left the profession, and the teacher of a self-paced classroom. If you're looking to try some new strategies in your classroom and want to stay up-to-date on teaching trends, this is the podcast for you!
3. Teach 4 the Heart : This is a podcast from Linda Kardamis, founder of Teach 4 the Heart. Linda speaks to all teachers, but has special information and advice for Christian teachers. Regardless of beliefs, though, Linda has great advice. Her first season recently wrapped up and it covered a variety of behavior management topics. I would recommend this podcast especially to new teachers, as behavior management is often a huge struggle for first-year teachers.
4. Sheila Jane Teaching : Sheila Jane Teaching runs Sheila Jane Teaching and Teach Happy Membership. She is passionate about preventing teacher burnout, and teacher entrepreneurship. Her podcasts cover teacher well-being, interviews with other teachers, and teaching ideas and tips. Some of the most unique topics she has covered are classroom decor, meditation for teachers, keeping your room allergy-free, and writing a letter of recommendation for a colleague.
5. Talks with Teachers : Talks with Teachers also has a website companion to its podcast. This podcast is just how it sounds- it's chock-full of interviews with all types of cool teachers with awesome ideas. In fact, Sheila Jane and Jennifer Gonzalez (mentioned above) have both had interviews on this show. If you love collaborating with other teachers, I highly recommend this podcast.
I hope you check out some of these podcasts for yourself! You can conveniently listen to all of them in one place using a podcasting app like iTunes, or some of them allow you to listen on their websites. There are many more teaching podcasts available, but these are just five of my favorites!
