199 and Counting: The Conversations That Built Teaching Today

Teacher burnout is a global crisis. Dr. Jan Springob, Professor Beatrix Busse, and Jazmin Guardado, join Teaching Today to discuss the EUniWell conference at the UN and Teachers College. They unpack the global statistics behind teacher overwhelm, why well-being needs to be built into teacher education from day one rather than addressed only after burnout hits, and how the conference culminated in a UN resolution calling for holistic well-being education to be embedded in teacher preparation worldwide. Dr. Jan Springob: Center for Teacher Education, University of Cologne Professor Beatrix Busse: University of Cologne, European University for Well-Being Jazmin Guardado: Former International Projects & Partnerships Manager at TC, now International Programs Manager at Yale University Host: Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang, CPET Executive Director We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Who do you actually trust to tell you what works in education — the policymaker, the researcher, or the person who’s lived every layer of the system? Dr. James Lane has been all three: band director, teacher, principal, superintendent, state and federal policymaker, and now CEO of University Instructors. He joins hosts Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang and Dr. Cristina Compton to unpack his new book, Leading with Laser Focus: The Seven Steps to School Success, sharing the deeply personal stories behind his framework and discussing “academic optimism” — the belief that teachers, more than any outside factor, make the decisive difference in a student’s trajectory. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Recorded fresh off the UNIWELL Conference — a joint gathering of Teachers College, UNESCO, and the UN focused on the global crisis in teacher well-being — host Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang sits down with CPET coaches Dr. Jacqui Stolzer, Dr. Maria Luisa Underwood, and Dr. Kelsey Hammond (former CPET coach, now Learning Scientist at Google) to talk about what they saw, presented, and took home. They dig into why teacher stress is a systems problem, not a personal one, and unpack the connections between culturally responsive, sustaining education and translanguaging — two frameworks that are usually discussed separately but rarely put into practice apart. Along the way: a sobering statistic on teacher satisfaction, the "say something" protocol, and why "teaching huddles" might be coaching's best-kept secret. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Why does learning to read come easily for some kids and feel like an invisible wall for others? Dr. Shantell Blake, VP of Education and Outreach at Reading Horizons, joins Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang and Dr. Cristina Compton to unpack the science of reading — starting with personal stories of their own children's early reading struggles. Dr. Blake explains why reading is a taught skill, not a natural one, how word recognition and language comprehension must work together through "structured literacy," and why the burden of piecing together fragmented curricula shouldn't fall on individual teachers. A candid, research-grounded conversation for anyone who's ever watched a child struggle to read and wondered why. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Why do some "turn and talk" moments fizzle out or drift off-topic? Dr. Tia Albig, a sixth-grade teacher and model learner, joins hosts Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang and Dr. Cristina Compton to unpack "purposeful talk" — a framework built on four reasons we talk: to build relationships, play with ideas, argue, and report out. Tia shares how naming these purposes for students transforms classroom conversation from chaotic to intentional, why low-stakes talk is the on-ramp to deeper discourse, and how classroom culture and student dignity make it all possible. A practical, energizing conversation for any educator trying to move beyond surface-level discussion and toward real communication skills that last a lifetime. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In our milestone 200th episode, CPET founding director Professor Ruth Vinz returns to Teaching Today for a conversation about what endures in teaching—and what she’s learned along the way. Joined by Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang and Dr. Cristina Compton, Ruth reflects on 25 years of CPET, the porousness of spaces that invite real learning, and why teachers need principles they can name and stand behind. From pandemic pivots to scripted curricula to the quiet power of silence in a classroom, this episode is a call to teach with courage, stay honest about what works, and never do it alone. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In 199, we explored Teaching Today's origin stories with hosts and co-hosts who got things started and kept them going! Next time, we'll celebrate our 200th episode with Dr. Ruth Vinz, the founding director of the Center for Professional Education of Teachers (CPET). This episode is a callback conversation from episode 100, where Ruth, Roberta, and Sherrish discuss building reciprocal partnerships, cultivating a culture of collaboration, and keeping curiosity and imagination alive in the work of teaching and learning. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Episode 199 is a homecoming. Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang gathers with some of the people who helped build Teaching Today from the ground up — Dr. Sherrish Holloman, Dr. Cristina Compton, Brian Veprek, and original CenterEd Teaching host Dr. Matt Kautz — to celebrate nearly 200 episodes of free, educator-centered professional learning. Together they trace the journey from a round table with a microphone in the middle to a global podcast reaching listeners across continents. Along the way, they get into what makes a great conversation, why "promising practices" will always beat "best practices," and what it means to keep showing up for educators in turbulent times. Pull up a chair — listen in on the conversation — you're exactly who this was made for. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In the landscape of professional learning, it is easy to settle for "random acts of kindness" or one-size-fits-all workshops—but real, sustainable change requires a deeper grounding. In this episode of Teaching Today, Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang is joined by Dr. Kelsey Hammond and Dr. Sherrish Holloman to explore three of CPET’s "Six C’s": Cultivating Strengths, Contextualized Practice, and Culturally Relevant, Responsive, and Sustaining Pedagogy (CRSP). The conversation moves beyond flashy mission statements to the "complex root system" of intentional practice. Listen in for a vulnerable and insightful conversation about how these principles work recursively to elevate the humanity and expertise of every educator. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

What does it really mean to reflect — not just on what happened, but on why it matters and what comes next? In this episode, Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang reunites with three of CPET's original team members — Courtney Brown, Dr. Cristina Compton, and Dr. Marcelle Mentor — to revisit 3 of the 6 principles that have grounded CPET's work for over a decade. Together, they look back at the messy, generative process of naming what they were already doing, and make the case for why Critical Reflection, Cycles of Inquiry, and Communities of Practice are not relics of the past — but essential tools for navigating the present. Pull up a chair. This is one of those conversations you'll want to eavesdrop on. We’re proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html