I started finding solace in podcasts on my hour-long commute to school across the state of New Jersey. My husband and I lived at the beach (#surfwifelife) and I would leave the house at 6 a.m. to arrive at school at least 15 minutes before my students started showing up for homeroom! Being a lonely little car on Route 72 at sunrise…coffee and podcasts were my saviors.
The quirky teacher tips, the inspiration, the commiseration stories…when you need a little boost as a hard-working teacher, hearing the voices of others really makes a difference. I decided to put together a round-up of my favorite education podcasts!
Cult of Pedagogy
Jennifer Gonzalez’s Cult of Pedagogy podcast is just my favorite. Jennifer is a former classroom teacher and she investigates different aspects of pedagogy, classroom management, teaching tools, and educational theories. She does the ‘dirty work’ of finding experts to speak on these topics and in turn she interviews dynamic educational leaders and thinkers. She tells lots of stories about her trials and tribulations teaching middle school Language Arts. Jennifer’s podcast explores ideas that are truly fresh and important.
The Bedley Bros. EdChat
Tim and Scott are math teachers with lots of experience and they offer engaging and entertaining episodes exploring various ideas in education in their Bedley Bros. EdChat podcast. I have found these episodes to be SO interesting. They interview practitioners who are leading the way in improving education. Check out one of their most controversial episodes– The pitfall of inquiry based learning with Craig Barton. (And then you may be keen to listen to Craig Barton’s Math podcast!)
Truth for Teachers
In her podcast Truth for Teachers, Angela Watson addresses the real week-to-week challenges of being a teacher. She offers motivation, inspiration, actionable tips, and camaraderie for the teacher tribe. The fact that she created the 40-Hour Teacher Workweek Club should tell you something about her ability to help teachers develop a more efficient practice! Some of Angela’s episodes are just 15 minutes long, but they offer a pop of inspiration to meditate on while you’re walking your dog or cooking dinner!
Always a Lesson
I love the range of topics covered in Gretchen Bridger’s Always a Lesson’s Empowering Educators podcast! These short episodes (around 15-20 minutes) are great professional development because Gretchen has her finger on the pulse of what’s going on in classrooms. I especially like how real Gretchen is about the realities of teaching– she gives you a shoulder to lean on on the days when you’re exhausted and frustrated by all that’s on your plate. I highly recommend that you also check out her website/blog at www.alwaysalesson.com!
Teachers Talking Tech
Obviously, technology in the classroom is a never-ending exploration into what works, what’s worth it, and how to iron out the kinks that come with using it. On the Teachers Talking Tech podcast, Mike and Eric offer great, fresh ideas for integrating technology in your classroom. I like how they chat with practicing teachers to keep the show relevant and real. Check out their YouTube channel for visuals and tutorials of some of the apps and programs that they discuss!
The TeachThought
In The TeachThought podcast, Drew Perkins and other guest hosts interview a range of educators and other professionals involved in the field of education to discuss educational trends and theories in practice. The topics cover everything from PBL to conquering the digital divide to controversial issues. These episodes tend to be long, but they dive deep!
Teaching Matters
Some weeks it feels like I’m doggy-paddling through my days: juggling my middle schoolers’ impulsiveness, prepping labs, photocopying papers, keeping up with my colleagues, and attending meetings about upcoming field trips and grading deadlines. The depth and breadth of studies in pedagogy and educational theories are not necessarily at the forefront of my mind! During weeks like this, it’s great to revisit some of those deeper themes. The Teaching Matters podcast with Scott Titsworth is like a quick-dose of the themes I studied in grad school. It reminds me how important my job is and that I should keep refilling that cup whenever it’s feeling low.
Lab Out Loud
If you teach science, you’ll love this one. Lab Out Loud is a fantastic podcast sponsored by the National Science Teachers’ Association. With a perfect balance of information and humor (as the name suggests!) Dale and Brian explore all kinds of corners of science teaching. These topics include STEM, using virtual labs, using pop culture to teach science, cool phenomena to show your students, outside resources to add spark to your lessons (websites, songs, blogs, YouTube channels, etc.), coding, robotics, and more. If you know how awesome the NSTA website is as a resource, then you can imagine how great this podcast is!
The Naked Scientists
Down-to-Earth while being rich with fresh information, engaging and professional while also being entertaining, in The Naked Scientists podcast, Dr. Chris Smith and Co. cover such a fantastic range of topics in many science realms. They discuss current events in science, interview guest scientists, explain concepts in layman’s terms, and do experiments that they report on. Wow- you learn so much in one hour! Listening to this podcast makes me feel like I’m keeping up with real science happening in the world! I also highly recommend checking out their website, which is chock-full of informational and fascinating articles. They also have a spinoff podcast called Ask the Naked Scientists, which is set up so that callers can ask questions on topics that they’d like to understand better (What would happen to a baby born on Mars? Why are rainbows curved? How do we get vitamin D from sunlight?). Each episode is about 30 minutes and in this time Dr. Chris Smith fields an amazing range of questions! The British accent is also quite soothing 😉
The STEM Read
Just as its name suggests, The STEM Read podcast marries the fields of science, technology, engineering, math, and literacy! This is a relatively new one, but it’s really interesting already! By interviewing experts and authors, Gillian and Kristin (from Northern Illinois University), explore the interesting front where these content areas merge. Some of their episodes include visual literacy, learning by doing, and infusing storytelling into science teaching.
To listen to any of these podcasts, click the link in the description and from there click “View in iTunes”. Listen on your computer while you cook dinner, or download to your phone to listen to on headphones while you walk the dog or work out! I hope that this curated list of education (and science) podcasts is helpful for you. And I would love to know of any great ones that you’re listening to that aren’t on this list, so please leave ideas in the comments section!
