10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Vicki Davis
  • 4.8 (270)
  • How To
  • Updated Weekly

A teacher podcast for busy educators—about 10 minutes, every week. Stay current on artificial intelligence in education (plain English), edtech, and what matters in the classroom: culture, instruction, assessment, digital health and wellness, and more. Simple ideas you can use right away. Hosted by AP Computer Science teacher Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher)—author and longtime edtech blogger—this teaching podcast features best-selling teachers, researchers, and in-the-classroom administrators sharing practical strategies that connect with today's students. Follow the 10 Minute Teacher—the podcast for teachers and school leaders—for weekly, classroom-ready tips. Show notes & resources: https://coolcatteacher.com/podcast

  1. 4h ago

    Teaching Kids Boundaries: What to Say in the Moment — Episode 970

    Boundaries are not a heavy conversation you need a degree to have. They are small, repeated moments — and the right words handed to a child before they need them. Ashley Bendiksen, author of A Kids Book About Boundaries, shows teachers what to say. Ashley Bendiksen is a national speaker and abuse prevention advocate who spent years talking to teens about dating violence. Then she moved earlier. Her book for children ages five to nine teaches the skill underneath all of it: knowing you have a choice, and having the words to say so. In this conversation she shows what that looks like in an elementary classroom — the two-option choice, the "I don't like that" script, the pause to ask "did we ask first?" — none of which requires adding anything to your lesson plan. We also talk about your boundaries, because teaching is high-burnout work and we are modeling something for kids either way. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why boundaries are emotional and social, not just physical - The micro-moments that teach boundaries without a new lesson - A role-play activity you can run this week - What to say to the student who always decides what everyone plays - Why "let's all just get along" can send the wrong message - One small boundary to set for yourself this week Show notes and full transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e970  Show Sponsor: Ellis, a program of Children's Health Council, sponsored this podcast episode. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. Ellis pulls from a knowledge base on content from trusted partners like CAST, CASEL, Understood and others, and gives you evidence-aligned ideas for students who are struggling with learning, behavior, or the emotional side of school (but not clinical advice). If you've got a student (or two) who you can't stop thinking about, try it and see what it brings you. No personally identifiable student information is collected, and it is a much better place to start than "brainstorming" with your general-purpose AI chat tool. Try Ellis today: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/ellis  ★ If this show helps you, leave a rating or review wherever you're listening. It is the single thing that helps another teacher find us.

    Teaching Kids Boundaries: What to Say in the Moment — Episode 970

  2. 3d ago

    Who Smarted? Why Human-Made Kids' Media Still Beats the Bots — Episode 969

    Jerry Kolber built Nat Geo's Brain Games and Netflix's Brainchild — then moved his team off screens entirely. In this episode he explains why, and what teachers are doing with kids' podcasts that he never planned for. The practical piece: transition time. Coming back from lunch or recess, a short episode gets students seated, listening, and settled without a single reminder — and they don't notice they're learning. Jerry also shares how mini quizzes every three or four minutes train attention, and why "co-listening" — making a show adults genuinely enjoy — is a deliberate design choice. Then the conversation turns. Vicki and Jerry talk through what happens when AI-generated audio floods the feed, and land on the question that actually matters: if a show gets something wrong, is there a human on the other end who can fix it? In this episode, you'll learn: - Why transition time is the highest-value slot for a short podcast in your day - How question breaks every few minutes build listening stamina - Why co-listening makes a classroom resource work at home too - How to search a back catalog for episodes that match your current unit - Why human accountability is the real dividing line with AI content One thing worth knowing: Who Smarted?+ is free and ad-free for educators. Go to whosmarted.com, click Educators, and enter your school email. Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e969  If this episode gave you something you can use Monday, please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening — it's the single best way to help other teachers find the show.

    Who Smarted? Why Human-Made Kids' Media Still Beats the Bots — Episode 969

  3. 4d ago

    Keeping the Teacher at the Center of Classroom AI

    For twenty-five years we sent the struggling kid to the back of the room with headphones on. Todd Brekhus of Renaissance explains why that model broke personalized learning, and how teacher-facing AI hands the room back to you. Todd Brekhus is Chief Product Officer at Renaissance, General Manager of Nearpod, a former English teacher and technology director, and the creator of the myON literacy platform. We recorded this conversation at ISTE 2026. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why "personalized learning" quietly pushed teachers out of the loop, and what changes when you say "personalized teaching and learning" instead - How to pull last year's skill-level data and plan two paths before tomorrow's lesson - Why back-of-the-room intervention stigmatizes kids, and how to differentiate inside the core lesson - The case for a formative check every six to eight minutes without leaving your slides - Why Renaissance deliberately chose not to build student-facing AI, and what productive struggle has to do with it This episode is sponsored by Renaissance. Renaissance Intelligence connects the loop across assessment, curriculum, instruction, practice and proficiency, so educators can act on student needs in real time. Learn more at renaissance.com/intelligence Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e968  If this episode gave you something you can use tomorrow, leave a rating and review wherever you're listening — it helps other teachers find the show. And share it with a teacher friend who's tired of the screen-time argument. Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a sponsored episode. Renaissance has compensated me to share information about Renaissance Intelligence. However, all opinions expressed are my own. I have personally reviewed these resources and only recommend tools I believe offer genuine value to classroom teachers. My endorsement is limited to the educational products and services discussed in this episode. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." The sponsor has no impact on the editorial content of this show.

    Keeping the Teacher at the Center of Classroom AI

  4. 5d ago

    How to Teach About Quantum Computing to Littles (Yes, Littles!)

    Quantum computing is roughly where AI was nine years ago. Dr. Nneka McGee has already taught it to five-year-olds — with a penny. Nneka is the founder of Muon Global, project lead and principal co-author of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning white paper "AI + Learning Differences," and the author of an ISTE Jump Start Guide on introducing AI to young learners. Her FETC session on quantum for educators is what convinced me this belonged on the show. Her argument is simple and hard to dodge: the technologies that will shape our students' careers are being built right now, states are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in them, and we are sending kids to college without the grounding to take those seats. As she puts it — there will be a breakthrough technology like ChatGPT in quantum at some point, and where will we be as educators if we didn't do what was necessary? Then she gets practical. You'll hear how she teaches superposition, entanglement, and coherence with materials already in your desk drawer. You'll hear about the plate with no nose — an image generator's mistake she turned into a full lesson on why AI still needs a human in the loop. And you'll hear about my own ninth grader, who worked out on her own that attackers could capture encrypted traffic today and decrypt it years from now once quantum arrives. That's a real, named threat, and she nailed it. In this episode: - Why quantum won't replace classical computing, and the problem it's actually built for - The encryption math that makes today's passwords a temporary arrangement - "The nerds before the herds" — the 2022 ISTE room with empty seats - Teaching quantum concepts to four- and five-year-olds - Why the awareness gap is the opportunity, not the obstacle Full show notes, every resource, and free unplugged activities you can use this week: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e967  ⭐ If this show helps you teach, please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening. It's the single best way to help another teacher find us — and it takes about thirty seconds. Share this one with the teacher down the hall who thinks quantum is over their head. It takes a penny to prove otherwise.

    How to Teach About Quantum Computing to Littles (Yes, Littles!)

  5. 5d ago

    Vibe Coding with Gemini: Build Your Own Classroom Tools

    Alice Keeler built the Educator AI Assistant — a Google Sheets add-on that collects no data — in two days. In this episode she talks about how she vibe codes with Gemini to create extensions and tools for teachers and the classroom. Vibe coding is all the rage and everyone is talking about it. But how do you actually do it? This conversation goes specifically to Gemini, surfaces the privacy issues we should be concerned about, and casts a vision for what school IT departments are becoming — or might need to become. Alice makes the case that if a district can describe the tool it needs, someone inside that district can build it — and know it is safe, because they made it themselves. She also talks about what it costs to own the thing you built, and the question worth asking about any tool you rely on: is anyone still maintaining it? This was recorded in the middle of last year. The tools have changed and they will keep changing. The principles underneath — how we protect student privacy and help our schools succeed — have not. Full show notes, Alice's free resources, and a Gemini prompt you can use tomorrow: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e966  If you're vibe coding in your classroom, I'd like to hear your story.

    Vibe Coding with Gemini: Build Your Own Classroom Tools

  6. Aug 10

    How a School Built Its Culture Around the 7 Habits — and the Academics Followed — Episode 965

    A struggling Title I school built its culture around the 7 Habits — and the academics followed. Principal Muriel Summers tells how. In 1999, Muriel Summers became principal of A.B. Combs Elementary in Raleigh, North Carolina — the fifth person interviewed for a job four others had walked away from. She had just heard Dr. Stephen Covey speak, and she went back to her staff with one question: do you think we can teach these habits to children? There was no framework. There was no money. What they built turned A.B. Combs into the original Leader in Me school and one of the most visited schools in the world. Muriel is now Global Ambassador for the Leader in Me, co-author of the updated The Leader in Me, and co-author with David K. Hatch of the new book Teacher Believed in Me. This is a Motivational Monday conversation for every educator heading back to school. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why Muriel fixed the school's culture first and let the academics follow — "you don't have to worry about the academics, they just happen" - The one question she asked parents, students, teachers, and local business leaders before changing anything, and what each group actually said - The three words posted above the front door that every child read getting off the bus: you are seen, you are known, you are loved - How children as young as five were taught to interview teacher candidates — and the one time in twenty years Muriel overruled them (she was wrong) - What "every child has genius" looks like in practice, from 900 pieces of art on the walls to a morning meeting that matters as much as instruction Full show notes, resources, and Muriel's books: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e965  If this episode gave you something to use tomorrow, please rate and review the show wherever you're listening — it's the single best way to help another teacher find it. And share it with a colleague who's rebuilding their classroom culture this year.

    How a School Built Its Culture Around the 7 Habits — and the Academics Followed — Episode 965

  7. Aug 7

    Free BBC Resources for Your Classroom: Dinosaurs, Bluey, Planet Earth and News — Episode 964

    Free, ad-free BBC videos with ready-to-teach lesson plans — Bluey, leveled reading articles, dinosaur field trips, and a daily newsroom, all free for K-12. Kimmie Fink spent 13 years in the classroom and was named Puget Sound Teacher of the Year before becoming Senior Editor of the BBC Learning Hub. At her ISTE 2026 booth, teachers kept asking what the premium version costs. The answer: there isn't one. Everything is free. In this Fab Idea Friday episode, Kimmie walks through what a teacher can download and use tomorrow — and how a former teacher decides what belongs in a resource library she once wished she had. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the BBC Learning Hub holds the only licensed Bluey learning materials — 15 free lessons on friendship, feelings, and reading body language Where to find leveled reading articles pulled from BBC magazines, written at grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 so every reader in the room can access the same content How the Walking with Dinosaurs virtual field trip works — six dig sites, an interactive map, a paleontologist field journal, and a full teacher guide, in a 45- to 60-minute student exploration you can also break into pieces How a daily five-minute Newsbite with built-in questions gives you a media literacy warm-up that's ready every school day How to sign up free, build your own playlist, and assign it straight to Google Classroom Full show notes, every resource link, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e964 This episode is sponsored by the BBC Learning Hub.

    Free BBC Resources for Your Classroom: Dinosaurs, Bluey, Planet Earth and News — Episode 964

  8. Aug 6

    Assessment and Feedback That Move Learning Forward — Episode 963

    The moment you put a grade on something, it stops being formative. Starr Sackstein returns for her fourth 10 Minute Teacher appearance to make assessment practical — what formative really means, what to do with the data you're already collecting, and the strategies that work at the start, middle, and end of a lesson. Starr has spent more than two decades helping teachers move from traditional grading toward feedback that actually drives learning. Her newest book, Actionable Assessment, is co-authored with Michael McDowell. In this episode, you'll learn: - The one-word difference between assessment OF learning and assessment FOR learning — and why it changes everything - Why putting a grade on a formative task cancels the formative part - How the four corners strategy works, plus the Post-it note round that gives quiet students the floor - The most common assessment mistake teachers make: assessments that don't match what we're actually trying to assess - Why observational data is just as valid as testing data — and why you don't have to quiz every day Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e963  If this show helps you, a rating and review wherever you're listening genuinely helps other teachers find it. And if you know a teacher who is drowning in grading right now, send them this one.

    Assessment and Feedback That Move Learning Forward — Episode 963
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A teacher podcast for busy educators—about 10 minutes, every week. Stay current on artificial intelligence in education (plain English), edtech, and what matters in the classroom: culture, instruction, assessment, digital health and wellness, and more. Simple ideas you can use right away. Hosted by AP Computer Science teacher Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher)—author and longtime edtech blogger—this teaching podcast features best-selling teachers, researchers, and in-the-classroom administrators sharing practical strategies that connect with today's students. Follow the 10 Minute Teacher—the podcast for teachers and school leaders—for weekly, classroom-ready tips. Show notes & resources: https://coolcatteacher.com/podcast

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