School of Practice

Edutopia
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School of Practice, the first podcast from the team at Edutopia, brings you ready-to-use strategies to improve your teaching today. Join us for 15-minute episodes filled with smart, pedagogy-shifting advice—backed by research and test-driven by teachers just like you.

  1. 2D AGO

    How to Teach Students to Spot What’s Real, Fake—or Deepfake

    Can your students spot what’s real and what’s AI-generated on TikTok and Instagram?  How about when they’re researching topics for humanities classes, gathering sources in social studies, and preparing for math assessments?  In this super-engaging lesson developed by science teacher Katie Coppens and researcher and former STEM teacher Andy Zucker, students become digital detectives, analyzing a set of videos and websites to determine what’s real, what’s been altered, and what’s just pure misinformation. ⁠ The catch? They can’t just guess. They have to be able to defend their conclusions with evidence. ⁠ Join us for this unmissable episode of School of Practice, we’ll walk through detailed lesson instructions, explore the best strategies for zeroing in on digital misinformation, and share all the resources you’ll need to teach this 60-minute lesson in your own classroom.  Related resources: Learn more about this episode Real, Fake, or Deepfake? This Lesson Helps Students Decide 5 Ways to Build Critical Literacy in the Age of AI What Fact-Checkers Know About Media Literacy—and Students Should, Too Teaching Students to Evaluate Websites Helping Students Find the Truth in Social Media Teaching Students to Analyze Fake News Giving Students the Skills to Spot Fake News (video) Evaluating Primary Sources Through a See, Think, Wonder (video) New Perspectives on Combating Misinformation Research: People are More Susceptible to Misinformation with Realistic AI-Synthesized Images that Provide Strong Evidence to Headlines (2025) Research: Lateral Reading on the Open Internet: A District-Wide Field Study in High School Government Classes (2022) Research: Students’ Civic Online Reasoning: A National Portrait (2021) www.katiecoppens.com  Improvethengss.org  Video clip: Bobsled and Snowboarder Video clip: Deepfake Newscasters Video clip: Waterskiing Squirrel

    23 min

  2. MAR 17

    How to Teach Deep Mathematical Thinking

    Narrow, rigid math has “turned students off for generations,” says renowned researcher and Stanford mathematics professor Jo Boaler.  Yet teachers often don’t have much choice when it comes to math curriculum—what’s mandated by a school or district is what they need to teach. That’s where *rich tasks* can be transformative, Boaler argues, because they invite the type of reasoning and problem-solving that get kids digging in and taking risks.  In this episode of School of Practice, we’ll chat with Boaler—who’s spent decades studying math teaching—about how to choose, adapt, and improve math tasks; the power of reasoning and visualizing math questions; and the impact of tiny tweaks, like asking students: “Can you prove it to me visually?” Related resources: Learn more about this episode 5 Ways to Encourage Deep Mathematical Thinking Are We Teaching the Math Kids Need? Rough Draft Thinking Can Make Math Class More Inclusive Should More Time Be Spent Learning Math Facts? 7 Ways to Balance Joy With Rigor in Math Class If You’re Not Failing, You’re Not Learning Research: Productive Failure in Learning Math (2014) How to Build a Healthy Math Identity (video) 6 Unproductive Ways to Learn Math Basics—and What to Do Instead Math-ish YouCubed: Moving from Maths Anxiety (video) YouCubed: Math-ish in the Classroom YouCubed: Jo Teaching a Visual Dot Card Number Talk YouCubed: Fluency without Fear YouCubed: Wise Investments, Big Returns: Prioritizing Teachers for Districtwide Mathematics Success

    21 min

  3. MAR 3

    Smart Strategies to Improve Your Scaffolding

    Getting scaffolding right—amid the messy reality of teaching 30+ students at different skill levels—is one of the toughest challenges in teaching.  Done well, it looks like tactical magic: teachers seamlessly know how and when to support kids, then step back at just the right moment, building independence by removing the training wheels.  In this episode of School of Practice, we get into it with Beck Alber, a former high school ELA teacher and UCLA School of Education instructor. She unpacks the evidence-based essentials of smart, timely scaffolding—both for new teachers, as well as classroom veterans (have you changed up your routines lately? No? Alber’s got suggestions for that). We’ll chat about how to determine if your scaffolds are working, what to do if they’re not, and what a strong scaffolding toolbox looks like.  Related resources: Learn more about this episode 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students Empowering Middle School Students to Create Their Own Scaffolds Scaffolding Like a Pro: Powerful Ways to Support Learning 6 Foundational Ways to Scaffold Student Learning Frayer Model (downloadable) Fishbowl Method (downloadable) 60-Second Strategy: Fishbowl Discussion (video) Choosing Words to Teach Research: Benefits of Interactive Graphic Organizers in Online Learning: Evidence for Generative Learning Theory (2021) Research: The Early History of the Scaffolding Metaphor: Bernstein, Luria, Vygotsky, and Before (2019)

    22 min

  4. FEB 17

    Boosting Reading Comprehension for All Students

    Maybe you’ve seen it in your classroom: Students who zip through chapters but then can’t tell you much about what they just read. To move those kids from fluency to sense-making, you’ve got to teach them the habits of good independent readers. In this episode of School of Practice, educator and literacy specialist Nina Parrish walks us through evidence-based strategies that keep kids focused as they tackle challenging texts—from pre-reading tactics that make vocabulary stick and activate prior knowledge, to active reading protocols that turn kids into engaged, metacognitive readers who are always asking themselves, “Did I really understand that?” Related resources: Learn more about this episode 5 Ways to Support Students Who Struggle With Reading Comprehension 5 Research-Backed Ways to Build Better Readers 4 Reading Strategies to Retire This Year (Plus 6 to Try Out!) How to Move From the ‘Main Idea’ to ‘Background Knowledge’ Slowing Down the Reading Process to Build Students’ Comprehension Skills Aiding Reading Comprehension With Post-its 4 Ways to Teach Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Sweeping Round Robin Reading Out of Your Classroom Research: Promoting Fluency Through Challenge: Repeated Reading With Texts of Varying Complexity  Research: A Longitudinal Randomized Trial of a Sustained Content Literacy Intervention from First to Second Grade: Transfer Effects on Students’ Reading Comprehension  Research: Effects of a Read Aloud Intervention on First Grade Student Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, and Language Proficiency  Research: Understanding Specific Reading Comprehension Deficit: A Review  Research: The Effect of Mandatory Reading Logs on Children’s Motivation to Read

    19 min

  5. FEB 3

    How to Use Formative Assessment Like an Expert Teacher

    Have you ever been shocked when your students bomb a unit test after weeks of seemingly locked-in learning?  Veteran educator Jay McTighe has the ultimate research-backed solution: formative assessment. In the best-case scenario, it’s frequent, quick, and highly attuned to the content and your students.  “You don’t want to wait till the end to find out, ‘Gosh, I didn’t realize the kids never understood this concept or had this continued skill error,’” says McTighe, an author and assessment expert. “Whatever you’re teaching, you should always be doing very quick checks to see how it’s working.” Frequent pulse checks midstream are “potentially one of a classroom educator’s most powerful tools to enhance student learning,” according to David Marzano, a leading researcher. They’re also important tools for students to gauge their own progress. The key to getting the best outcomes is *how* you deploy them. In this episode of School of Practice, we chat with McTighe about how to get the most out of formative assessments, how to choose the right technique for your content and students, how to insert them seamlessly into the flow of instruction, and whether or not they should be graded. Plus, Jay shares his “Vagoo Rule,” a mysterious yet very important tip that you won’t want to miss. Related resources: 8 Quick Checks for Understanding  Building SEL Skills Through Formative Assessment 7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment 13 Super-Quick Formative Assessments  Research: The Impact of Formative Assessment on K-12 Learning: A Meta-Analysis  Assessing Student Learning by Design: Principles and Practices for Teachers and School Leaders  Research: The Effectiveness and Features of Formative Assessment in US K-12 Education: A Systematic Review  Seven Keys to Effective Feedback Research: Formative Assessment Is an Essential Component of Classroom Work and Can Raise Student Achievement  Hacking Student Motivation  The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast

    21 min

  6. JAN 20

    Handwriting Is Essential—Here’s How to Teach It

    Did you know there’s a strong connection between the hand and the neural circuitry of the brain?  As students learn to write letters by hand, they also learn to recognize them more fluently. This letter recognition leads to greater letter-writing fluency, which leads to stronger overall reading development. Handwriting, the research reveals, is in fact a foundational tool for literacy. And as kids get older, the benefits continue, deepening how they process new material and encode learning. Meanwhile, good handwriting instruction doesn’t require a huge time investment: Brief instructional lessons followed by frequent modeling and feedback for students can slip into all areas of the curriculum throughout the school day, says Brooke MacKenzie, a former elementary teacher and certified reading specialist. “Handwriting practice can and should be quick and dirty,” she says. “It’s not like you need a 20-minute lesson on how to hold your pencil.” In this episode of School of Practice, MacKenzie chats with us about four fundamental handwriting skills. Plus, she shares her top instructional secrets—from using cursive to help students struggling with print to why Kindergarteners should “talk to their pencils.” Related resources: How to Teach Handwriting—and Why It Matters  The Power of Multimodal Learning (in 5 Charts) Neuroscientists Say Don’t Write Off Handwriting The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025 Research: The Impact of Handwriting and Typing Practice in Children’s Letter and Word Learning: Implications for Literacy Development (2025) Research: Handwriting But Not Typewriting Leads to Widespread Brain Connectivity: A High-Density EEG Study with Implications for the Classroom (2024) Research: The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults (2020) Research: The Effects of Handwriting Experience on Functional Brain Development in Pre-literate Children (2012) Ghost Games (2022)

    21 min

  7. JAN 6

    How to Talk About (and Normalize) Learning Accommodations

    It’s a tricky (but very common) classroom dilemma: How do you talk about—and normalize—learning accommodations in class without singling anyone out in front of peers?  Unfortunately, many teachers aren’t trained to have these sensitive conversations, so they’re figuring it out on the fly. But we’re here to help! In this episode of School of Practice, we chat with Daniel Vollrath, a veteran high school special education teacher, and elementary teacher Jeremiah Kim. They’ll share excellent, teacher-tested tips for talking with individual students (and your whole class) about learning supports in age-appropriate ways, establishing classroom norms that make space for different learning needs, and managing privacy without making disability a taboo topic. Related resources: It’s Important to Talk About Learning Accommodations With Your Students—Here’s How to Do It A One-Page Chart to Support Every Student Every Day  Equity vs. Equality. What Does Fair Look Like in the Classroom 2024? Talking to Students About Their Learning Differences: A Guide for Teachers Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported (2025) The Purpose-Driven Classroom (2024) Stigma Consciousness Among Adolescents With Learning Disabilities: Considering Individual Experiences of Being Stereotyped (2018) Stigma and Stratification Limiting the Math Course Progression of Adolescents Labeled with a Learning Disability (2016) Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities (2016) Redefining Disability, Re-imagining the Self: Disability Identification Predicts Self-esteem and Strategic Responses to Stigma (2012)

    22 min

  8. 12/17/2025

    The Most Significant Education Research of 2025

    Are you curious what the latest research reveals about everything from brain breaks to groundbreaking research on AI, cell phones, and handwriting in the classroom? Then you won’t want to miss this special year-end bonus episode based on one of our most popular feature articles of the year.  In the latest episode of School of Practice, Edutopia’s research editor Youki Terada and editor-in-chief Stephen Merrill walk us through the latest research on the impact of cell phone bans on classroom learning, why more recess time is critical for learning, how adept problem solvers tackle thorny math word problems, and how microbreaks powerfully impact focus and attention. Plus, we’ll share practical tips for bringing these findings right into classrooms today.  Related resources: The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025 Sustaining Student Concentration: The Effectiveness of Micro-Breaks in a Classroom Setting (2025)  Highlight, Write, Elaborate: Note-Taking Strategies to Master Reality-Based Mathematical Tasks (2025)  The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida (2025)  Removing Phones from Classrooms Improves Academic Performance (2025)  Ill Communication: Technology, distraction & student performance (2016) The Impact of Recess on Chronic Stress Levels in Elementary School Children (2025)  The Impact of Handwriting and Typing Practice in Children’s Letter and Word Learning: Implications for Literacy Development (2025)  Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task (2025)  Generative AI Can Harm Learning (2024) IEPs in the Age of AI: Examining IEP Goals Written with and Without ChatGPT (2025)

    28 min
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About

School of Practice, the first podcast from the team at Edutopia, brings you ready-to-use strategies to improve your teaching today. Join us for 15-minute episodes filled with smart, pedagogy-shifting advice—backed by research and test-driven by teachers just like you.

Information

  • Creator
    Edutopia
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 George Lucas Educational Foundation
  • Show Website
    School of Practice

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