Cool Cat Teacher Talk
Want to supercharge your teaching with research-backed strategies that actually work? Join veteran educator Vicki Davis as she shares practical, real-world solutions to into spaces where every student thrives. Help and Hope for Teachers 🎙 Are you striving to improve student learning without increasing your workload? Education is changing fast, but practical, research-backed strategies can help you work smarter, not harder. Join veteran educator Vicki Davis, a full-time teacher, instructional technology coach, and award-winning podcast host, as she shares real-world insights from the classroom. Each 1-hour episode features top researchers, expert educators, and classroom teachers who are tackling today's biggest challenges—like student engagement, AI in education, classroom management, lesson planning, and teacher burnout. ✨ What You'll Get in Every Episode: 🎯 Cut through the AI hype—learn what works (and what doesn't) in real classrooms 📚 Engage students in meaningful ways without overwhelming yourself 🚀 Stay ahead in teaching with research-backed strategies that make an impact 🎤 This show is a blend of expert interviews and solo discussions, designed to give you real, actionable solutions you can use tomorrow. 🏆 Why Listen to This Podcast? ✅ Named Top Podcast Host in Education (Bammy Award) ✅ Recognized as a Top Global Edruptor (ICS Research, 2022 & 2023) ✅ 23-year classroom veteran & instructional tech coach helping educators from K-3 to college ✅ AP Computer Science Principles teacher with a 100% student pass rate 🌎 Join thousands of educators worldwide who trust Cool Cat Teacher Talk for authentic insights, inspiration, and practical strategies. 📅 New episodes released every Thursday! 📲 Subscribe now & leave a review to help more teachers discover the show. 🌐 Get show notes & connect with Vicki at coolcatteacher.com Join a community of passionate teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders who believe in teaching smarter, not harder. About Your Host: Vicki Davis is a practicing classroom teacher, instructional technology coach, and creator of the award-winning 10-Minute Teacher Podcast. With over 7 million downloads and 20+ years of experience, she brings you tested strategies that help students thrive. 🔹 New episodes drop Thursdays! Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. 📌 Get full show notes and resources at coolcatteacher.com.
Episodes
Teaching is hard, and it keeps changing. Vicki Davis opens with the 200-question test she gave the second week of her first year — a disaster that made her ask what she actually wanted students to be able to do, and set off the chain of changes that led to the internationally recognized Flat Classroom Project. Then, a 2012 study of 242 teachers in the UK and the Netherlands: 93% and 96% of them believed the learning-styles my...
Someone Who Noticed: Kathy Nimmer, the Helen Keller Award, and Why Noticing Matters in the Age of AI
Every AI story in the news right now has a human being at the center of it who looked twice. A reporter read the products on Teachers Pay Teachers. A community college chemistry teacher with a full course load read fourteen meta-analyses and found the research was rotten. MIT's own faculty said policing AI was poisoning their relationships with students. In this episode, Vicki Davis and John Davis open with what those ...
How do we help this next generation with their relationship to screens, to each other, and to the adults in their lives? That's the question we're digging into today. Betty Ray talks about rites of passage — those moments that help children move from one stage to the next. She also has a genius way to work with children so they gradually earn more responsibility with technology. Lawrence C. Harris is a 20-year-old who looks b...
Two women were named a 2026 National Principal of the Year — and when you ask them how they did it, they both use the same word: love. In part two of this leadership series, Vicki Davis talks with Amanda Jamerson, associate principal at Shorewood High School in Wisconsin and the 2026 National High School Assista...
Leadership is not a personality you're born with. It can be learned — and if it can be learned, it can be taught. In part one of a two-part series, Vicki Davis talks with Ronn Nozoe, CEO of the National Principals Association (formerly NASSP), about what principals across the country actually told us about AI in their schools — and why the number one thing they need isn't a tool, it's time...
AI is already in your school—the real question is how to use it on purpose. In Part 3 of the ISTE 2026 AI & EdTech Super Series, recorded live in Orlando, Vicki Davis talks with three education leaders about implementing AI across a whole school while keeping the teacher at the center. Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Owoh makes the case that reaching k...
ISTE 2026 Buzz + AI assessment + space education: the conversations every teacher is having this summer, with Dr. Carmalita Seitz, Steve Swanson, and Dr. Mark Wagner.
This summer's biggest ed-tech conversations in one show. Dr. Carmalita Seitz of ISTE+ASCD previews what everyone will be talking about at ISTE 2026 — AI, instructional leadership, the tech backlash, "brain rot," and the return of project-based learning. Hi...
Heart first, tools second. That's the secret to teaching well in the age of AI — and on this Cool Cat Teacher Talk, Vicki Davis and three educators show you how.
Great teaching still happens, even in the hardest times...
Leadership in education isn't a title — it's seeing a gap and building the bridge. A 16-year-old coder, a college-readiness expert, and a national principal show how.
In this episode of Cool Cat Teacher Talk, Vicki Davis brings together three voices on what leaders...
Data-driven schools aren't about spreadsheets — they're about seeing students. AJ Juliani led 150 educators in building AI-powered data dashboards using Claude Code, no coding required. Victoria Setaro introduces the framework of cold data vs. warm data that will transform how you use every number in your school. And Dr. Deborah Dennie, NASSP
Are we being honest about what AI is really doing in our classrooms? Two leading thinkers say the conversation most of us need to have isn't happening yet.
MIT's Justin Reich and philosopher Dr. Christian Miller join Vicki Davis for Season 6's Big Picture Conversations s...
Five teachers — from Laredo to Denver to rural Colorado — share what really happens when you take students traveling. The fundraising. The quiet student who finds his voice. The FFA kids in Irish pastures. The principal who watches a student "come to life" on a Boston trip. After 20 years of leading student trips around the world, Vicki Da...
In the age of AI, what can machines never do? Communication. Emotional intelligence. Real editing. True connection. This episode explores what makes us beautifully, irreplaceably human—featuring a rhetoric expert on why your body language speaks louder than words, a master editor on why AI can't do what humans do with craft, and educators who've rejected technology to reclaim human-centered learning. What AI Can't Do: Being B...
What if you could describe exactly what you want and let AI write the code? That's vibe coding—and it's transforming how teachers create classroom tools. In this episode, Vicki Davis talks with 5th-grade teacher and 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Donnie Piercey about vibe coding in action, explores agentic AI with producer John Davis (including Vicki's 18+ custom Claude Cowork skills), and co...
STEAM classroom ideas that actually work — from AI literacy to garden-based science. Nine expert educators share hands-on strategies you can use in your classroom this week.
This is Part 2 of the STEAM Super Series on Cool Cat Teacher Talk. In this episode, you'll learn:
- How Code.org's Hour of AI gives every teacher a free starting point for AI literacy — including unplugged activities with no computers needed
- W...
What happens when teachers stop starting with answers and start with questions instead?
In this first episode of our two-part STEAM Super Series, twelve educators share how shifting to an inquiry-driven, curiosity-first approach transforms science, math, art, and every subject in between. Sponsored by the Van Andel Institute for Education and their new Educator Studio.
In this episode you'll hear from:
- Terra Tar...
One in five children in the U.S. is neurodivergent, yet one in three educators believes learning disabilities are just laziness. In this episode of Cool Cat Teacher Talk, host Vicki Davis sits down with two remarkable guests who are changing how we think about neurodiversity in the classroom. Dr. Sue Fletcher-Watson from the University of Edinburgh sh...
Nearly half of teachers say their students show little to no interest in learning. In this episode of Cool Cat Teacher Talk, four educators from around the world share what actually works to build classroom culture that transforms learning. From student motivation to productive struggle to teaching thinking on purpose, this episode is packed with prac...
Why are students forgetting everything you just told them? How do class rosters make or break a school year? This Epic Elementary Supershow brings together seven expert educators to tackle the challenges elementary teachers face every day. From executive functioning to differentiated math instruction to a remarkable story of 91% reading proficiency, t...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Mike Florio & Chris Simms discuss the biggest NFL stories with honesty, candor, and authenticity.