The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

269: Bringing the Power of Debate to Math Class

Have you ever watched students sit completely silent in math class, only to come alive the moment they're asked to share an opinion? That's what inspired my guest Chris Luzniak to start bringing debate into his math teaching — and the results have been remarkable. In this episode, Chris walks us through how he turns ordinary math questions into debatable ones, how he gets students making and defending arguments, and why he thinks this approach matters now more than ever. It's a conversation that will make you rethink what math class can look like.  ___________________________ Thanks to Listenwise and Erikson Institute for sponsoring the episode. To read Luzniak's article about math debates, visit cultofpedagogy.com/debate-math. To find Chris online, visit DebateMath.com. To learn more about The Teacher's Guide to Tech, visit teachersguidetotech.com.

268: What is a Warm Demander?

When our students face challenges in the classroom, some teachers double down on control and rigor: tighter rules, firmer consequences, higher demands. Others lean toward grace and flexibility: easing up, giving extensions, and softening expectations because they know our students are carrying a lot. But what if the answer isn't either/or? Warm Demander pedagogy is an approach that pairs genuine care and deep relationship-building with unwavering high expectations. It's the belief that students need to feel seen, respected, and valued — and that we honor them most by refusing to lower the bar. In today's episode, I'm joined by educators Marcee Harris and Dr. Wendy Amato. They explain what Warm Demander pedagogy looks like in action, how it supports student agency and productive struggle, and why it's especially relevant for teachers right now. ___________________________ Thanks to Renaissance and SchoolAI for sponsoring the episode. To read Amato and Harris' article about Warm Demander pedagogy, visit cultofpedagogy.com/warm-demanders. To learn more about The Teacher's Guide to Tech, visit teachersguidetotech.com.

267: How Inquiry-Based Freewriting Can Deepen Student Writing

Teaching students to write well has always been challenging, and newer developments have made it even more difficult: The internet offers unlimited text to plagiarize, standardized testing has pushed us to teach more formulaic writing, and AI constantly offers to do our writing for us. Frustrated with her students' lack of confidence and the robotic style of their writing, language arts teacher Nashwa Elkoshairi tried adding freewriting before and after her inquiry-based units. The results, she says, were dramatic: Students became more confident as writers and their writing developed far more depth and complexity than she'd ever seen before. In this episode, she joins me to talk about how she weaves freewriting into her classroom practice. ___________________________ Thanks to Renaissance and SchoolAI for sponsoring the episode. To read Dr. Elkoshairi's article about how she uses inquiry-based freewriting, visit cultofpedagogy.com/inquiry-based-freewriting. To learn more about Grammar Gap Fillers, visit cultofpedagogy.com/grammar.

266: Six Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2026

We're kicking off the year like we always do, with a round-up of six educational tech tools we think are worth a look. On the list this year: a site that offers fantastic STEM interactives, an AI-powered collaborative writing platform, a free, web-based sound editor, a tool that can turn any text into an infographic, a library of beautifully produced documentaries on current events, and an incredible project that connects makers with people who need assistive devices. My lead technology specialist, Marnie Diem, joins me to talk about them.  ___________________________ Thanks to foundry10 and SchoolAI for sponsoring the episode. For links to all six tools and videos showing each one in action, visit cultofpedagogy.com/6-ed-tech-tools-2026. ___________________________ To learn more about The Teacher's Guide to Tech, visit teachersguidetotech.com.

265: Growth Discourse: A Framework for Discussing Hard Topics with Students

We're living in a time when having a difference of opinion is a potential minefield of hurt feelings, emotional outbursts, and severed relationships. If this has caused you to avoid certain topics in your classroom, the growth discourse framework used by the School of Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL) may offer a way to re-engage in these conversations. In this episode, I talk with SEGL founder Noah Bopp about how the growth discourse model works and how teachers can get started using it. ___________________________ Thanks to foundry10 and SchoolAI for sponsoring the episode. To read a full transcript of this conversationa and find links to the growth discourse guidelines and the sample lesson plan we talked about in the episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com/growth-discourse. To learn more about Grammar Gap Fillers, visit cultofpedagogy.com/grammar.