PD for the SOUL
Welcome to PD for the Soul, the podcast that nourishes your passion for teaching with research-driven insights, inspiring case studies, and thought-provoking conversations with special guests. Relaunching January 2025, we’re here to help you connect the dots between theory and practice, with a special focus on mathematics education. From innovative strategies to deepen math instruction to stories that bring numbers to life, PD for the Soul is your go-to resource for growth, innovation, and inspiration in education. Let’s transform classrooms—one concept, lesson, and student at a time.
Episodes
24 episodes
Teaching from Within: The Power of Identity-Aligned Practice feat. Dr. Tami Dean
Dear Educator,What if the most powerful tool you have in your teaching practice… is you?In this episode of PD for the Soul, we’re joined by Dr. Tami Dean of Dragonfly Rising to explore the deep and transform...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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53:24
Capacity Isn’t Just About Skills, It’s About Self
Dear Educator, You’ve been told to protect your peace. To set boundaries. To rest. But no one talks about how—especially when the work is demanding, the days are long, and the stakes feel high.In this episode, we’...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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13:51
Building Capacity from the Inside Out: A Conversation with Raquel Hopkins
Dear Educator,Discomfort isn’t a sign to detour—it’s often the doorway to growth.Whether it’s an unfamiliar math concept, a challenging conversation, or a new instructional shift, we are constantly navigating spaces that st...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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41:11
Permission to Pause: The Rest Teachers Deserve
Dear Educator,This one’s for you.You’ve poured yourself out this year—lesson after lesson, meeting after meeting, heart first, always. And now? You’re spent. But before you jump into the planning, prepping, and PD…...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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17:44
Work-Life Harmony Isn’t a Myth—It’s a Mindset
Dear Educator,You’ve given your all this year—lesson plans, data meetings, behavior logs, after-school duties, and more. And somewhere in the mix, you’ve tried to hold space for your own needs, your family, your friends, and your ...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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48:41
Unlocking Potential: The Power of High Expectations in Math
Dear Educator,What if the most powerful tool in your classroom isn’t a strategy, a curriculum, or a tech platform—but your belief?In this episode of PD for the Soul, I sit down with James Oneal for a timely and tra...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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58:31
Math Isn’t Magic—It’s Patterns Made Visible
Many educators believe talent is the ticket to math success, but the true driver is high-quality instruction. In this powerful solo episode—the final one of Season 1—we dive into Visible Learning and explore how surface, deep, and tran...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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21:11
Mistakes: A Luxury for Some, A Burden for Others
Dear Educator,What kind of space are you creating in your classroom?In this episode of PD for the Soul, we’re challenging ourselves—and you—to take a deeper look at the unequal weight of failure in our schools. Whi...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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56:34
Fighting the Forgetting Curve: Building Generalizations That Last
In this episode, we dig into one of the biggest hurdles students face in math learning: the forgetting curve. With so many distractions today, knowledge retention is harder than ever, making it crucial for us as educators to create opportunitie...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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16:51
Reading Between the Numbers: How Literacy Powers Math Success
Dear Educator,Math and literacy—two core subjects, often taught in silos, but deeply intertwined in practice.In this episode of PD for the Soul, titled “Reading Between the Numbers: How Literacy Powers Math Succ...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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43:41
Shortcuts or Setups? Teaching Math for the Long Game
As the school year winds down, this episode invites educators to pause and reflect: Are the rules we’re teaching setting students up for long-term success—or long-term confusion?From “keep, change, flip” to “move the decimal,” we explore...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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18:40
Closing Strong: Data-Driven Teaching for Maximum Impact
Dear Educator,As we enter the final stretch of the school year, this episode of PD for the Soul invites you to shift from information to transformation.You’ve gathered benchmark data, you've seen your students grow...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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30:21
Making Math Stick: The Power of Consistent Representations
In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most overlooked yet powerful elements of effective math instruction: consistent representations. Too often, in the rush to prepare students for tests, we skip over the very tools that help th...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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16:36
From Surviving to Thriving: How Maslow’s Hierarchy Shapes Teacher Well-Being
Dear Educator,Teaching is more than a profession—it’s a calling, a passion, and, at times, an all-consuming responsibility. We pour so much of ourselves into our students, our classrooms, and our craft that we often forget to ch...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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47:15
Do No Harm: Why Precision in Notation Is a Non-Negotiable
Join the Math Collective!Hey Educators, welcome back to the podcast! In this episode, we’re continuing our journey through The Math Pact: Achieving Instructional Coherence<...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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18:06
Teacher Moves: How Planning with Clarity and Purpose Leads to Impact and Growth
Dear Educator,We’ve all felt the pressure—the pacing guides, the curriculum maps, the looming deadlines. It’s easy to get caught up in the rush, covering as much content as possible in the shortest amount of time. But here’s the truth: d...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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44:35
Words Matter: How Consistency in Language Builds Math Understanding
Join the Math Collective!The words we use in math classrooms shape how students think about and understand mathematical concepts. In this episode, we explore how inconsistent l...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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13:05
Bridging Academic Gaps: Strategies for Equity and Engagement
Dear Educators,We all want our students to thrive, but what does it really take to bridge academic gaps and ensure equity in our classrooms? In this episode, we’re diving into the power of intentional teaching—because success in our clas...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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46:22
Maximizing Student Outcomes with the Final Three Formative Five Techniques
Join the Math Collective!In this episode, we’re diving into the final three strategies of The Formative 5: Show Me, Hinge Questions, and Exit Tasks—three powerf...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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18:05
Moving Towards Success for All: Harnessing Data to Empower Teachers and Transform Learning
Dear Educators,I see you. I see the dedication, the energy, and the passion you bring to your students each day. But I also see the weight of the work—the challenge of balancing instruction, engagement, and student growth while ma...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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49:01
The Role of Assessment in Student Learning
Go Straight to Part 2!In this episode, we’re diving into two powerful formative assessment strategies from The Formative 5 by Francis (Skip) Fennell, Beth McCord...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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14:12
Closing Gaps in Foundational Math Skills
Dear Educator,If you’ve ever felt the tension between where your students are and where they need to be, you’re not alone. Teaching grade-level content to students who aren’t quite there yet is one of the greatest challenges we fa...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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58:06