New Teacher Talk

Ep 208: Summer Strong: What to Do Before Day One

The season finale of New Teacher Talk delivers exactly what new and returning teachers crave heading into summer: a clear, confidence‑building plan that replaces overwhelm with strategy. Dr. Beth and Dr. Anna break down how to prepare for the school year with intention, from documenting your classroom space to designing management systems that actually work. Their message is simple and powerful — systems come first, content follows — and they show you how to build those systems step by step. 

This episode is packed with the kind of practical wisdom teachers wish they’d had in year one: routines that run themselves, attention signals that actually land, community‑building that feels natural, and self‑care that keeps you in the profession long enough to thrive. If you want to start the year grounded instead of scrambling, this finale is your roadmap.

Summer Extra Value "Classroom and Behavior Management” Episodes: 

Episode 145: Building Community Through Structure, Essential Classroom Management Techniques with Kwame Sarfo-Mensa

Episode 177: Mastering the Art of Behavior Redirection, Part 1

Episode 181: Mastering the Arts of Behavior Redirection, Part 2

Episode 183: Redirecting Behavior, Part 3

Episode 191: Redirecting Behavior, Part 4

 HASHTAGS #TeacherSummerPrep #SystemsFirstTeaching #NewTeacherPreparation #ClassroomManagementDesign #SustainableTeachingJourney #EdChat #TeacherTips #NewTeachers #FirstYearTeacher #NewTeacherTalk #TeacherPodcast

Ep 207: Work-Life Balance: How New Teachers Can Protect Their Time and Avoid Burnout

First-year teaching is a marathon disguised as a sprint. In this episode, first-year English teacher Isabel Wilde and department chair Amy Howerton get honest about what no one tells you before you step into your own classroom: the planning is relentless, the administrative tasks are endless, and the risk of burnout is real. Together they unpack practical strategies for protecting your time and your energy, from setting email boundaries and building smarter planning routines to understanding why comparison with other teachers will quietly steal your joy. Amy also shares research-backed insight on the three-year teaching cycle and what shifts when you finally hit your stride. Whether you are weeks into your first year or already dreaming of survival, this episode is your reminder that sustainable teaching is not selfish. It is the whole point.

HASHTAGS: #SustainableTeaching #WorkLifeBalance #OnePositiveEveryDay #Yet #EdChat #Newteachertips #newteachers #newteachertalk #podcast

Ep 206: Building Confident Teachers: What Early-Career Educators Need to Stay and Thrive

At the heart of every new teacher's journey is a quiet question: Can I really do this? In this episode, Dr. Beth and Dr. Anna welcome Dr. Virginia Shank of Liberty University, whose research and mentoring work centers on what helps early-career educators feel capable, confident, and supported.

Dr. Shank unpacks the concept of teacher self-efficacy in practical, classroom-level terms -- explaining why it is one of the strongest predictors of new teacher confidence and success. She shares what tends to chip away at a new teacher's belief in themselves, what small wins and experiences can strengthen it, and why that inner confidence is so closely tied to whether teachers stay in the profession.

Whether you are a new teacher, a mentor, an instructional coach, or a school leader, this conversation offers research-grounded, experience-backed insight into what early-career educators truly need to grow and thrive.

AAEE Job Search Handbook: https://www.aaee.org/job-search-handbook

HASHTAGS: #TeacherSelfEfficacy #TeacherConfidence #MentorSupport #SupportNewTeachers #EarlyCareerEducators #Newteachertips #NewTeacherTalk #podcast

Ep 205: The PD Early Career Teachers Actually Want: A Conversation with 3NBCTs

What if professional development felt less like an obligation and more like a conversation? In this episode, Dr. Anna is joined by her 3NBCTs colleagues Maryellen Friel and Laura Mota Newmeyer, both National Board Certified Teachers, to talk about something teachers rarely get in their professional lives: the freedom to choose. Together, the three educators walk through the self-paced individual book studies available at 3NBCTs.com, explaining why teacher-selected reading paired with deep reflection questions produces the kind of growth that mandatory PD rarely does. They discuss how the books were chosen, how the reflection questions are designed to push beyond comprehension and into genuine practice transformation, and why starting this kind of reflective work early in a teaching career pays dividends for years. Whether you're a new teacher trying to find your footing, an experienced educator craving meaningful professional learning, or someone exploring National Board Certification, this episode makes the case that becoming a scholar of your own practice is not a luxury; it's the foundation of excellent teaching. Visit 3NBCTs.com to browse available book studies and find the one that meets you where you are right now.

HASHTAGS: #EarlyCareerTeachers #TeacherPD #TeacherReflection #3NBCTs #TeacherLeadership #ReflectiveTeaching #TeacherBookStudy #Newteachertips #newteachers #newteachertalk #podcast

Ep 204: Five Things Every New Teacher Should Do in May

May is a lot. You have spirit weeks, field trips, testing windows, and emotions all at once. But before you sprint to the finish line, there are five things that can help you close out the year with intention and set future-you up for success. In this episode, Anna and Beth walk you through a simple "What's Working" reflection, how to gather honest student feedback without a formal survey, what to document before summer erases your memory, how to start building the relationships that will carry you into next year, and why protecting your energy right now is not optional, it's essential. If you're a new teacher in the home stretch, this one's for you.

HASHTAGS: #NewTeacherTalk #NewTeacher #TeacherPodcast #FirstYearTeacher #EndOfYear #TeacherSelfCare #NewTeacherSupport #TeachingTips #ClassroomCommunity #YouveGotThis

Ep 203: Teaching with Cultural Intention

What does it mean to teach with cultural intention, and how do you actually do it across every subject area? In this episode of New Teacher Talk, host Dr. Meg White explores the transformative framework of Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors, first introduced by Emily Style in 1988 and expanded by scholar Rudine Sims Bishop in 1990. This powerful lens helps teachers evaluate whether their classroom materials reflect students' own identities, open windows into the lives of others, and invite deeper perspective-taking.

Meg unpacks why the "heroes and holidays" approach falls short — and why celebrating culture only on designated days can actually reinforce the stereotypes we're trying to dismantle. Through the lens of the Cinderella story (did you know there are approximately 900 global variations?), she demonstrates how traditional curriculum choices can either limit or expand students' worldviews.

You'll also hear practical, subject-specific strategies for building culturally responsive classrooms: from math word problems featuring diverse names and contexts, to STEM lessons that highlight scientists from underrepresented backgrounds, to gallery walks that invite students to engage with real-world social issues. Whether you teach in a rural, suburban, or urban school, this episode offers concrete tools to ensure every student sees their heritage, language, and lived experience reflected in your classroom.

Inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story" and grounded in equity-focused pedagogy, this episode is essential listening for any educator committed to creating a learning environment where every student feels valued and empowered to succeed.

HASHTAGS #TeachWithIntention #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #WindowsMirrorsDoors #NewTeacherSupport #NewTeachers #NewTeacherTalk #TeacherPodcast #NewTeacherTalkPodcast

Ep 202: Rethinking Smart: A Framework for Recognizing Every Student's Strengths

What if the students who struggle most in your classroom are actually among your smartest? In this episode, Dr. Beth welcomes Faye Snodgress, an elementary teacher with a powerful framework for transforming classroom culture by changing the way students, and teachers,  think about intelligence.

Faye opens with a question that will immediately resonate: who gets picked first on the playground depends entirely on the game. The same is true in the classroom. When we expand our definition of smart, everyone gets to be a first pick somewhere.

Drawing on Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, Faye introduces nine distinct ways of being smart: from word smart and logic smart to body smart, nature smart, and philosopher smart; and shows you exactly how to bring this framework to life with your students. You'll hear about a character creation activity that helps students discover their own strengths and recognize the strengths of their peers, plus individual reflection exercises that shift the focus from deficits to possibilities.

Faye also gives you specific language to use in your classroom starting tomorrow, including how to respond when a student says they're bad at school and how to ensure every kind of smart is represented during group work.

If you've ever watched a student disengage and wondered how to bring them back, this episode will give you both the tools and the perspective shift to make it happen.

HASHTAGS #StrengthsBasedTeaching #ClassroomCultureShift #EveryKindOfSmart  #NewTeacherSupport #NewTeachers #NewTeacherTalk #TeacherPodcast

Ep 201: What No One Tells You About the Teaching Job Search (A Golden Apple Scholar's Real Advice)

What does it actually take to land a teaching job while you're still student teaching? In this episode our guest is Samantha "Sammi" Katschke, a Golden Apple Scholar and current student teacher who secured a K-5 General Music and District Band Director position at Chadwick-Milledgeville before finishing her program. Sammi shares four concrete strategies that made the difference: expanding your professional network beyond job boards, preparing targeted application materials before you need them, submitting your first application earlier than you think you should, and applying even when a position isn't your perfect fit. Whether you're entering your student teaching semester or actively job hunting, Sammi's candid and practical perspective will give you real tools, not recycled advice, for navigating one of the most exciting and stressful chapters of your teaching journey.

HASHTAGS: #NewTeacherTalk #TeacherJobSearch #FutureTeachers #TeacherInterviewTips #FirstYearTeacher #TeacherNetworking #EducationPodcast #Newteachertips

Ep 200: Are You Accidentally Triggering Your Students? 6 Teacher Behaviors That Cause Classroom Disruption

What if some of the behavior challenges in your classroom are being unintentionally triggered by you? Before you close this tab, this episode isn't about blame. It's about empowerment.

In this candid episode of New Teacher Talk, Dr. Anna and Dr. Beth open with a personal confession: even experienced educators have moments where they don't show up as their best selves. What matters is what we learn from those moments. Together, they walk through six categories of teacher-created triggers and offer concrete, compassionate strategies for making intentional changes.

Here's what you'll explore:

Communication and Language Triggers: How tone, sarcasm, public correction, and absolute language like "you always" or "you never" can escalate conflict before it even starts.

Relationship and Respect Triggers: Why students challenge authority when they don't feel known or valued, and how cultural responsiveness and consistency build the trust that prevents power struggles.

Environmental Triggers: How visual clutter, noise, harsh lighting, and unpredictable routines can overwhelm students and look a lot like misbehavior.

Instructional and Academic Triggers: Why work that's too hard or too easy leads to avoidance and acting out — and why that's a curriculum problem, not a discipline problem.

Power and Authority Triggers: How refusing to negotiate or offer agency sends tweens and adolescents searching for other ways to assert their independence.

Emotional Climate Triggers: Why students are exquisitely attuned to teacher emotions, and what happens when their own emotional states go dismissed or unacknowledged.

Dr. Beth and Dr. Anna close with five practical strategies for moving forward. This includes keeping a brief reflection journal, inviting trusted colleague observations, and practicing the self-compassion that makes honest self-examination possible. Teachers who are willing to look inward build stronger classroom communities and spend less time managing symptoms because they're addressing root causes instead.

HASHTAGS #ClassroomManagement #TeacherSelfReflection #TeacherTriggers #TeachersOfInstagram #EdChat #TeacherTips #NewTeachers #FirstYearTeacher #NewTeacherTalk #TeacherPodcast

Ep 199: Testing Season Without Losing Classroom Culture

April is here, and if you're feeling the weight of testing season, you are not alone. In this episode, Abigail Jarrett, a first-grade teacher from New York, brings warmth, wisdom, and practical strategies to help you navigate spring testing with confidence and intention.

Abigail walks you through three core strategies for protecting your classroom culture when the testing environment threatens to unravel it, two morale-boosting rituals you can put in place right now, and one powerful mindset shift that will change the way you see this season entirely.

You'll learn how to recognize the signs that your students are struggling with testing anxiety, why abandoning your routines is one of the biggest mistakes you can make this time of year, and how to separate your students' test performance from their identity and yours. Abigail also shares specific scripts for supporting students during testing, and how to handle the post-test moments in ways that keep community front and center.

If you've been questioning everything you've done this year, this episode is your reminder: your classroom culture is your legacy, and no test score can measure what you've built.

HASHTAGS: #TestingSeasonStrategies #ClassroomCulture #EdChat #NewTeacherHiring #Newteachertips #newteachers #newteachertalk #podcast