Two Pint PLC

In this extra length episode, we talk with Dr. Imogen Herrick about her work developing Community Science Data Talks. These talks help students engage the local consequences of climate change to develop their STEM knowledge while navigating their emotional experiences with the data. Our ranging conversation touches on the need for local data sources, fostering student agency, and cultivating civic empathy and hope.

All professional learning occurs when teachers try things in their classroom and iterate to make it better. We reflect on the importance of articulating aspirational goals and supporting teachers as they iterate toward their goals as on-going professional development. Later, we grapple with how research on the impact of educational technology cannot exist outside of the instructional context. What problem does any given technology help teachers solve, and how effectively does it help teachers solve it?

Dual language programs provide a local opportunity for students to get closer to an immersive experience learning a language directly within their school community. However, we read research on the barriers to providing multilingual instruction that fosters racial literacy within a similarly multilingual context. Later, we look at the positive impact of high quality instructional materials for English-language learners that improves their test performance while substantially increasing their ability to engage in effective argumentation.

Team teaching is increasing in popularity among schools to help educators work together in their daily practice. We read about different models for team teaching and think about how it maps to our past experiences in a wide variety of teaming approaches from our own careers. Later, we reflect on how to develop epistemic empathy. Our ability to take the perspective of students who don't yet know our content helps us be better guides in their learning journeys, but relies on our hard won experience in the classroom.

Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs, provide a collegial network for educators to reflect on and improve their practice. We look at an evaluation of a pre-packaged PLC program that did not improve PLCs in schools, and wonder how we can support educators at the building level instead. Later, we look at how very early math is learned by children. They experience the snowball effect, meaning it is far more important that learners have experiences with math regardless of the specific types of math they may experience. Math is good, m'kay.

Edutopia did another review of the best research of 2024, and we are here to talk about it. First, discussion of student errors can lead to big gains in student learning. However, those gains only come in an interactive, collaborative class culture. Later, the remembered success effect shows that ending challenging learning experiences with clear victories on more attainable problems improves student perceptions of their learning in ways that can sustain their motivation long-term.

Teachers may give lectures or create videos to provide information to students, and the speed of information delivery affects the cognitive load of students. We read a study of video playback speed and support materials that shows speeding up the videos may not be particularly harmful to their usefulness, and that other supportive elements are more important to consider. Later, we read a study of UDL practices and differentiation that shows formative assessment, adaptive grouping, and growth mindset all have distinct impacts on instructional differentiation.

This month is our official “AI episode.” We are joined by Ben Riley, who wrote a guide for considering the use of AI for education. Our discussion considers the tasks for which AI might be useful, and the multiple concerns we have for its use as a substitute for thinking. Later, we read a study that shows AI can help people produce incrementally more creative task solutions. However, we are unconvinced that is ever the purpose of the educational process.

Effective statistics instruction - like many other disciplines - should empower students to ask questions and interrogate data to answer questions. We look at research evaluating the impact of an inquiry-focused statistics curriculum that showed very large gains for student learning by emphasizing statistical practice rather than mathematical routines. Later, we read a review of creativity research that identified key areas where students need practice with creativity (just like any other skill). We must make space for risk-taking and student exploration.

We start Season 8 in a tempestuous election cycle in the United States. We are joined by guest host Chris Carter to discuss an approach to civic education in today's political landscape, with a focus on grounded discussions based on essential anchor questions. Later, we look at the absence of state standards for media literacy in the US. Their research provides a call and roadmap for teachers to prioritize explicit instruction in media literacy for students.

We review the most noteworthy papers of the past year, developments in our practice, and the top beers of AY23-24.

Many curriculum decisions are made at the district-level, but each classroom teacher must figure out how to implement those decisions for themselves. We read a study showing how “philosophical fidelity” is far more important than “mechanical fidelity” to the success of district efforts to improve instruction. Later, we read a study of required behavior grades in Germany that shows those grades have zero positive impact on… well, anything.

It can feel like people in disagreement just aren't listening to each other. We read a study showing disagreement significantly reduces our perceptions of being listened to, regardless of how well our audience does listen. We discuss takeaways for exhibiting active listening behaviors that reduce the effect. Later, we read a review of research on aphantasia (or the condition of not seeing concrete images in your mind's eye). We reflect on how this dimension of neurodiversity is connected to differences in a variety of human outcomes.

Practice is more effective when we space it out, rather than doing lots of repetitions all at once. We read research that looked at the effect of varied practice compared to identical practice over time. Their results show subtle variation helps students focus and remember the important elements upon recall. Later, we read an account of the negative impacts of graded math homework disproportionately affecting mothers in Canada. We see how homework takes away from family time and undermines the development of math identities.

Project-Based Learning is a thoroughly researched method of instruction with many benefits. We read a meta-analysis looking specifically at how PBL affects student motivation, and saw data illustrating just how important an excellent project prompt is to project success. Later, we read a study showing neurofeedback devices can increase the accuracy of students' understanding of their own emotional state. We consider the responsibility of mindfulness programs to help students respond in healthy ways to their increased emotional engagement.

More schools are looking to address the socio-emotional needs of students, and a key area for that work is helping students manage anxiety in the classroom. We look at a study showing how some accommodations may be reinforcing their anxiety, and how teachers can help students develop healthier strategies for managing it. Later, we read a study of principal characteristics that support teacher self-efficacy and a shared sense of collective efficacy. Communication and modeling are essential, while coercion is deeply ineffective.

Field trips to the theater can be memorable opportunities for students to engage in community-based performing arts. Dr. Goldstein joins us to talk about how even a single theater experience can have an impact on socio-emotional outcomes like empathy and perspective-taking for students. Later, we discuss the intersection of cognitive load theory and motivation. Their method of diagramming teacher practice across both led us to lively reflection on our own tendencies in the classroom.

Student underachievement occurs when students' day-to-day class performance is lower than their test scores predict it should be. We read a review of research that shows the causes of underachievement can vary widely. Still, it gives teachers some useful starting points when trying to help a student reach their full potential. Later, we discuss some recent coverage of AI and student cheating. We reflect on how student use of artificial intelligence - whether or not it is teacher-approved - may sit in relation to our classroom values.

This month is a collaborative episode with the hosts of the School Spirits podcast. We read a study of pigeon working memory that indicates complex visuals activate substantially more of our brains than simple ones, which can help with memory and processing of information. Later, we discuss new data that shows how common caregiving responsibilities are among school students. The findings prompt us to think about how schools can be places that support and embrace students as caregivers.

Researchers measured the impact of student-directed project weeks on their sense of motivation over the course of a school year. We reflect on the importance of consistently prioritizing learner agency throughout the year, rather than sequestering it to a single week of freedom. Later, we read a review of research on learning math in bilingual settings. Their paper emphasizes the influence of the teaching language on learner processing, and the importance of someone's multilingual schema as they process mathematical concepts.

This month we talk with Dr. Elisabeth Tipton about the research support for growth mindset interventions, and the flaws in last month's meta-analysis. Together we consider how growth mindset should be part of a more comprehensive approach to helping students improve. Later, we read how listening to music reduces our ability to use our working memory for academic tasks. Their laboratory study shows music has a cost, but we wonder whether the cost of background classroom distractions might be higher.

A meta-analysis of co-teaching showed that it benefits students to have more than one adult in the classroom, regardless of the specifics. We reflect on what it could mean to successfully build a co-teaching classroom based on trust among the teachers and students. Later, we read another meta-analysis that is sharply critical of the current research on growth mindset. We consider what their critiques mean for our past support of growth mindset research and what elements of growth mindset we want to keep (for now).

This month we reflect on our year of reading scholarship and growing as humans. First we'll return to the segments we felt had the greatest impact on our practice and our thinking from the research we read. Later, we'll reflect specifically on our praxis. We share some of the changes we're making in our classroom and in our study that is moving us toward our goals as education practitioners. Finally, we'll share a bit about how our lives are changing outside of school… and mark the 2023 recipients of the Mug of Honor.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework being adopted by many schools, and some claim it can integrate trauma-informed pedagogies. However, we read scholarship that shows how PBIS is fundamentally incompatible with trauma-informed education. Later, we discuss a large-scale reciprocal reading study with significant impacts for some students is still not effective for every student. How should this shape our approach to implementing research-informed reading instruction?

Many schools have adopted new instructional standards in recent years, but some schools have struggled in helping teachers align their instruction. We talk with author Morgan Polikoff about his team's work studying why flexible specificity is so important for success. Later, we look at a very large study of a belonging intervention that helps students persist in their first year of college. We consider what that could mean for teachers in both K-12 and higher education settings.

Feedback is an essential component of professional growth, and teacher evaluation has changed in most places across the US over the last 15 years. What do we actually know about how those changes impacted school performance? Later, we read a study that showed retrieval practice is only beneficial when we have working memory resources to devote to the process. We reflect on what this means for students who may be stressed or otherwise not able to allocate those resources.

Universal Design for Learning represents a framework that can impact every part of the school. We read research looking at how UDL can contribute to more effective MTSS Tier 1 interventions… if teachers have an accurate understanding of UDL. Later, we look at an eye-tracking study to examine how students process feedback differently. The authors discuss “feedback literacy” and we brainstorm how we could help students become more feedback literate in our classrooms.

This month we are joined by two authors of a piece on constraints that fuel creativity. They share how limits on our writing help us focus on new parts of the writing process and make interesting connections along the way. Later, we read about how errors are essential to the learning process and what we as teachers can do to make more productive use of the errors students will inevitably make.

This month we look at professional development. A fresh framework for PD lays out how we need to consider teacher learning in-context, with definite answers to the “for whom” and “when” when discussing whether something works. Later, we look at norms for co-teaching by examining the role of a mentor teacher while a student teacher works with students. How should the mentor engage or intervene during a lesson?

This month we are joined again by guest Youki Terada to discuss his 2022 education research roundup. His team at Edutopia has curated their 10 top studies of the year - from retrieval practice to play-based learning - and we discuss every last one of them in a marathon episode.

Digital literacy skills are important for teachers to consider across many teaching contexts. We read about how critical ignoring should be part of what we are teaching to help students manage the information overload of today's digital landscape. Later, we read a classroom study of how reverse engineering can help students get more out of their first robotics experiences. The benefits over “forward” designs reached their collaborative skills and what they learned.

This month we read a robust, experimental study on teaching self-regulation and the increasing benefits to students over time. They learn more AND close a key achievement gap. Later, we read about a pedagogy of enactment - how to learn about teaching through teaching. It underscores the many ways we improve through practice.

The theories about teaching students according to learning styles have been debunked in research, but the idea has been difficult to interrupt in practice. We read a new paper focused on helping teachers move on from old thinking related to learning styles with more productive contemporary research. Later, we look at a listener recommendation focused on helping students think about how they view their own learning, in order to promote more effective practices among students.

Staffing challenges in districts across the United States are fueling a narrative of a nationwide teacher shortage. However, Paul Bruno joins us to talk about his recent work showing there may not be a national shortage… or national anything. Later, we read a paper showing some of the inequitable impacts of math homework, and the persistence of a meritocracy myth despite teachers' knowledge of the inequity.

This month we reflect on our year of reading scholarship and growing as humans. First we'll return to the segments we felt had the greatest impact on our practice and our thinking from the research we read. Later, we'll reflect specifically on our praxis. We share some of the changes we're making in our classroom and in our study that is moving us toward our goals as education practitioners. Finally, we'll share a bit about how our lives are changing outside of school… and mark the 2022 recipients of the Mug of Honor.

As the summer of 2022 wanes, we will spend some time looking at the bigger picture of how education has been affected by COVID-19 these past few years. We read reviews of the current research on COVID impacts on mental health and academic outcomes, with thoughts on how it may impact our prep for the coming year. Later, we react to a review of research on visual displays and the importance of intentionally developing visual literacy. How can we help students learn to decode visual language?

Why are people so influenced by false information, even when they know better? We are joined by researcher Nikita Antonia Salovich to discuss her recent work on evaluative mindsets, and how we can apply on-going work to how we handle information in the classroom. Later, we discuss Culturally Responsive Science Teaching - and how teachers can better cultivate sociopolitical consciousness with students.

When professional development programs conflict with overemphasis on test scores, teachers face a precarious tension between their growth and the ever present threat of dubious evaluations. We read about an effort to sustain professional development in writing instruction amid a high-stakes testing environment. Later, we look at the correlation between increasing cultural socialization and reductions in suspensions for Black students. These findings illustrate the need for a culturally competent teaching workforce.

The routines, rewards, and incentives we use in the classroom can help students build productive habits they use throughout their lives. We read about a series of studies that found how rewarding cognitive effort can lead to greater intrinsic motivation for participants… even after the rewards. We think about how this could apply in classrooms. Later, we discuss a recent report promoting research on the positive impacts of professional learning. How can we get the most from our time and energy in PD?

Retrieval practice has a ton of research support, but we're still figuring out the when and how of its effective use in instruction. We read a series of studies comparing the impacts of post-testing and pre-testing on measures of learning, with the results showing tremendous power in pre-tests. Later, we read a study showing how local poems and songs provide viable material for reading instruction. The added benefits of local connections for student appreciation offer a powerful tool for facilitating student learning.

Technology has taken a prominent position in many schools as we have taught these past few years, yet we need to look at who is using what technological tools… and why? We read how technology manifests and reproduces categorical inequalities in education, with some lessons on how to disrupt those means of sorting students. Later, we read an article critiquing the prominent savior narrative used in education to avoid important conversations about classroom power dynamics and the treatment of teachers in society.

Universal Design for Learning is an exciting framework to improve accessibility of instruction. However, Dr. Guy Boysen joins us to discuss his critiques of the existing research to support UDL and how future work could improve confidence among scholars. Later, Lali DeRosier returns to the show to share a paper on science discourse in urban classrooms. We explore why science talk matters, and how to facilitate just & effective discourse among students.

All learning is brain-based, which means taking care of our brain is part of a good education. We read a scoping review to look at some examples of how healthy habits can impact learning, motivation, and mental wellness. Later, we read a study that compared the efficacy of student argumentation when approached collaboratively or adversarially. The results suggest there are specific benefits to helping students argue in parallel. NOTE: equipment problems have caused some issues with sound quality. Our apologies, and we are making changes for future tapings.

Students need feedback on their work in order to improve, but what is the impact of different approaches to giving that feedback? We read a study of how students perceive the feedback they get, and how it impacts their motivation and vitality. We see the applications for helping students boost their sense of competency. Later, we read a teacher-written journal paper on applications of Cognitive Load Theory. We find implications for helping students manage their cognitive resources, especially when applying IEPs and 504 plans.

State standards set the expectations for what teachers teach in the classroom, but we should continue to examine who is represented in those standards… and who is erased? We read a study of state civics standards to analyze where Indigenous nations are represented. We learned from these examples to see how to explicitly include Indigenous nations in instruction. Later, we read a study of how teacher responsiveness is an essential tool for providing equitable instruction in classrooms. What role do teachers have to use their agency to change the classroom experience to better align to what students need?

Starting another school year with pandemic concerns rising again, it's important to address student mental wellness as a classroom goal. We read a national survey that asked students how they feel about school, both at the moment and as they remember it. The results give us concrete opportunities to support student wellness this fall. Later, we read a design-based study that evaluated a culturally sustaining approach to multilingual literacy. This example shows how to help students reach reading AND content goals.

This month we reflect on our year of reading scholarship and growing as humans. First we'll return to the segments we felt had the greatest impact on our practice and our thinking from the research we read. Later, we'll reflect specifically on our praxis. We share some of the changes we're making in our classroom and in our study that is moving us toward our goals as education practitioners. Finally, we'll share a bit about how our lives are changing outside of school… and mark the 2021 recipient of the Mug of Honor.

This month we are talking about race, and read a series of papers looking at the experience of Black students in US education. First, we read an article that examined the story of “The Space Traders” as a starting point for imagining what it looks like to create Black Education Spaces for students to express fugitivity and create racial counterspaces. Later, we read an empirical study that measured associations between autonomy-supportive teaching practices and student self-determination skill expression. They found connections between the way Black students perceive autonomy-support and their engagement & skill development.

Student social, emotional, and behavior development will be a critical consideration for teachers returning to physical classrooms in the fall. We read a national study examining the various methods schools use to screen students for social, emotional, and behavioral needs. Universal screening is still rare in the US, but its impacts are considerable. Later, we discuss the emotional display rules for teachers. How are we expected to show, or not show, our emotions with students or colleagues? We read how the rules are not the same for everyone.

This month we are thinking… about thinking. We read a review of the applied research on retrieval practice, which recognizes the difference between “learning” something and “knowing” something. We reflect on the ways this has played out in our classrooms, and what we can learn from recent studies for how to improve our use of the technique. Later, we read a piece on translational research that makes recommendations for how to help students improve their ability to engage in metacognition.

Standardized testing is happening again this year. Researchers are talking about how to use the data more responsibly. We read an advising memo that describes some of the common problems with comparing testing data from this year to past years, so we can properly recognize the progress students have made this year. Later, we discuss several studies that look at the impact later high school start times have on a variety of outcomes for student achievement and community health. Finally, we talk In Your Classroom to think about our personal definition of success after a very difficult year.