10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Vicki Davis
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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

  1. 2h ago

    AI and Academic Honesty: The Second Crisis in Schools

    Honesty. We need to be honest about where we are in education. Whether authentic, true, genuine learning is happening should be the question for all of us in education. None of us wants to pretend or participate in a farce. AI guilt is now "a thing" college graduates are talking about. College graduates who are not being "caught" but feel like they spent the last years pretending to learn. Dr. Christian Miller, author of The Honesty Crisis, has spent more than a decade running some of the largest funded research projects on honesty and moral character. He says that the internet was the first honesty crisis in education. AI is the second one. We talk about both sides of the desk on this one. Both the student writing their paper with AI and learning nothing, and the teacher giving AI-generated feedback without disclosing it to students. This is why an honest expert is staying up at night about the papers his philosophy students are writing (or if they are not). Show notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e978

    AI and Academic Honesty: The Second Crisis in Schools

  2. 1d ago

    Teaching Autistic Learners: Listen, Believe, Then Act

    Wow, this is a sensitive topic. And remember that every person with autism has a different experience. But Claire O'Neill is a teacher and she's telling her story of school. Claire can see the roof of her old primary school from her classroom window. She remembers walking up to the school door with that gnawing, upset feeling in her stomach and the itchy, scratchy uniform that made her so uncomfortable. She says the room was either too hot or too cold. It was almost always too loud, and she says it was smelly. Claire got in trouble a lot. Now, that she's studied autism, she understands better why. Claire has spent more than twenty years teaching autistic students and is a PhD researcher at University College Cork (Ireland) studying what school is actually like for autistic teachers. Claire shares her story from an educational perspective. A full-circle moment of a PhD expert teacher reflecting upon the girl she used to be and advocating to help us all understand how to help children like her. My Mom was one of the most compassionate, intuitive teachers I've ever known. She always said when I had a student who learned differently and I would accommodate for the whole class, everyone in the classroom learned better. Claire says the same thing. She also talks about the importance of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). She also encourages us to listen to our learners. Believe them when they tell you how they experience your room. And to act upon what they tell us. Claire is an expert, but I'm not. While I've taught some precious students with autism and most of them thrived in my classroom (one early in my career, I wish I could go back and use strategies I know now.) I share this story with sensitivity and the knowledge that I don't know what I don't know but I know it is important to listen. And isn't that what Claire tells us in the show? I hope this show makes us all more empathetic on this Wonderful Classroom Wednesday because not every child actually thinks our classroom is wonderful and we need to listen and learn to make it better. Show notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e977

    Teaching Autistic Learners: Listen, Believe, Then Act

  3. 2d ago

    AI Agents Explained: What Teachers Need to Know

    I find this conversation interesting because it tells a story from when ChatGPT was released about how a college student responded to it. Zach Kinzler was a junior in college. He was sitting in the front row of a systems engineering class when a friend punched him in the arm and said, "Look at this." The student had just used ChatGPT to solve the problem on the board. And Zach's journey began as he not only used ChatGPT to help him in his work but also talked openly with his professors about it. He did write his papers with ChatGPT. (OK, now I'm not for this, but this is Zach's story, and it is worth a listen.) Understandably, professors got upset. But when they did, Zach asked them to quiz him on what he wrote and what he had learned. He felt like he was learning faster. Zach leads academic sales strategies at Boodlebox and hosts the Smarter Campus Podcast. We discuss the difference between using AI to learn and using AI to skip learning. He also discusses AI agents and how they work. But here's a point I want us all to understand - Zach has struggled with reading his whole life. As I told a commenter today, not all uses of AI are good. However, not all are bad. I believe AI should improve human flourishing and never detract from it. Yes, AI is a flashpoint issue. People who are angry and hate it really hate it. And some who are fans really love it. I find myself somewhere in the middle. Just like in Web 2 days, actually, when I knew that social media could do good but also had the potential to do great harm. And I don't like to call AI a brain, but I also know that there is (and should be) room for different opinions and the voices should be heard. I've aired interviews of pundits and pro-AI advocates. But we need to listen, because often the way forward is in the conversation that helps us see what the future can look like. All the AI haters in the world, I don't think, can make it go away. Nor can all the AI advocates every convince me that AI should be student-facing for many of our younger students. I am interested to see what you think after you listen to this show. I do want to note that, as I cared for my Dad last year, I fell behind on airing some of my shows. This interview was recorded in 2025, but we've worked to preserve the story and relevant arguments. That delay was all mine, so if you hear anything dated, just know that's on me. As always, thank you for listening to the show! Link to show notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e976

    AI Agents Explained: What Teachers Need to Know

  4. 3d ago

    Teacher Burnout: Go 10% Slower and Get Your Joy Back

    When you're busy, it can be impossible to see the smoke. The smoke of your own burnout. As a teacher, for so much of my career, I've been busy. There have been seasons when I described the feeling to my husband as "hyperventilation." There were times I wore the lack of sleep as a badge of honor. Today's guest, Dr. Jen Rafferty, was a middle school music teacher for fifteen years. Then, when she reached what she thought was the top of her career (she published her first book, was presenting all over the country) - her marriage was falling apart, her back was debilitated with pain, and she had odd red splotches on her skin that seven doctors couldn't explain. In the end, it was stress. Looking back, she realized it was burnout. So, in today's Motivational Monday, we talk about what can help a teacher move out of burnout without having to quit or just try to make themselves into a different person. I find her arguments about emotional intelligence interesting, and they offer another view as we grapple with the realities and challenges of living a life of personal and professional balance and joy. Jen shares the brain science, tells her own story, and then gives us something we can do tonight. I've included links in the show notes below. If this is you and you're really struggling, remember, get help from a professional mental health professional, doctor, or minister. But if you're deaing with life management as all teachers do, I hope you'll find this show encouraging. Show notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e975

    Teacher Burnout: Go 10% Slower and Get Your Joy Back

  5. 6d ago

    Chronic Absenteeism: How to Get Kids Back in School — Episode 974

    Chronic absenteeism doesn't get fixed by counting absences. It gets fixed by asking why. Dr. Leah Marsh is Assistant Principal at Niles Middle School in Ohio and one of three finalists in the country for the National Association of Secondary School Principals Middle Level Assistant Principal of the Year. Under her leadership, Niles Middle School reduced suspensions by 32% while attendance and engagement went up. She did not relax a single standard to get there. SPONSORED: Ellis, a program of Children's Health Council, sponsored this episode. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. In this episode she walks through what her team actually did: pulling the absence data apart until it named real causes — a bus-driver shortage was one — building a Check & Connect mentoring program that pairs struggling students with one adult in the building who is glad to see them, and opening a room called the Dragon Den where a student can re-regulate and go back to class instead of collecting a detention. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why the number on your absenteeism report is the beginning of the question, not the answer • How her team decides which students get a mentor, out of 450 to 500 kids • What the Dragon Den is, and why it isn't just another detention room • Why a rise in tardies can be a win when whole-day absences fall • Her answer when someone asks whether a teacher's wake-up call is really the parent's job Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e974  If this episode gave you something to try, leave a review wherever you're listening — it helps other educators find the show.

    Chronic Absenteeism: How to Get Kids Back in School — Episode 974

  6. Aug 20

    Principals and AI: 7 in 10 Are Already In

    Only 18% of principals say they feel very confident about leading AI this school year — but 7 in 10 schools are already immersed in figuring it out. SPONSORED: Ellis, a program of Children's Health Council, sponsored this week's shows on the 10 Minute Teacher. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. Ronn Nozoe, CEO of the National Principals Association, joins me to unpack a survey we ran together across his members and my Classroom Matters subscribers. What we found is more encouraging than the headline number suggests: the schools making progress with AI aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones where principals and teachers are figuring it out side by side. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why only 18% of principals feel "very confident" leading AI — and why overconfidence would be the real warning sign - What 7 in 10 schools are already doing, and what the other 3 in 10 say they're waiting on - The number one thing principals asked for in the survey — it isn't funding and it isn't tools - What happened when Ronn convened a teacher round table as a state deputy superintendent - The exact words to use when you want to help your principal — and why you shouldn't say them in a faculty meeting - Why "we were supposed to be good soldiers" is the wrong model for a profession trying to grow leaders Ronn Nozoe has been a teacher, a principal, deputy state superintendent in Hawaii, and a leader at the U.S. Department of Education. He now leads the National Principals Association, which serves about 17,000 school leaders across the country. Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e973  If this episode helped you, please rate and review the show wherever you're listening — it genuinely helps other teachers find us. And share it with a teacher friend who needs to hear that nobody has this all figured out yet.

    Principals and AI: 7 in 10 Are Already In

  7. Aug 19

    What Happens to Your Student's IEP After High School? - Episode 972

    Your student has an IEP all the way through high school. Then they graduate — and it doesn't go with them. Dr. Toby Tomlinson Baker was diagnosed with a learning disability in 1987, attended six different schools between kindergarten and twelfth grade, and was told by her guidance counselors not to bother applying to college. She has a PhD. In this episode she explains what actually changes the day a student walks off a high school campus, why the accommodations you fought for don't automatically transfer, and how to teach a student to ask for what they need before anyone makes them. In this episode, you'll learn: - What legally changes when a student moves from high school to college — and why a university can say no - Why self-advocacy is a skill you teach, not a personality trait a student either has or doesn't - What Dr. Baker found when she interviewed college professors about disability law for her dissertation - Why the accommodation that helps one student usually helps the whole class - The one thing that predicts whether a struggling student turns a corner Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e972  If this episode helped you think differently about a student, share it with a teacher who needs it. SPONSORED: Ellis, a program of Children's Health Council, sponsored this episode. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. 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

    What Happens to Your Student's IEP After High School? - Episode 972

  8. Aug 18

    Free Teacher-Facing AI for Behavior and Learning

    Most teachers reaching for AI to help with a struggling student are reaching for the wrong kind of AI. General-purpose chat tools pull from the open internet, they were never trained on whether the information is accurate, and they should be nowhere near a student's personally identifiable information. Natalie Tamburello, a learning disability and education equity advocate at Children's Health Council, walks through what a teacher-facing AI built on vetted research actually looks like — and why she thinks that is where the real classroom wins are right now. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why "just ask ChatGPT" falls short when a student is struggling with behavior, learning, or the emotional side of school - What RAG (retrieval augmented generation) is, and how pulling from a curated library of vetted nonprofit resources changes the answer you get - Why the first question a good tool asks you is "what are this student's strengths?" - How to describe a student situation without putting personally identifiable information into any AI - The clear line between a classroom strategy and clinical advice — and what a teacher-facing tool should refuse to do Ellis is a free tool for K-12 educators from Children's Health Council. It pulls from a knowledge base of content from trusted partners like CAST, CASEL, Understood and others, it gives you information rather than clinical advice, and it does not collect personally identifiable student information. Today's show was sponsored by Ellis. All opinions are my own and that of the guest. https://www.askellis.org/  Full show notes, links, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e971  Share this one with the teacher down the hall who is still thinking about that one student.

    Free Teacher-Facing AI for Behavior and Learning
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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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