The Balance, by Dr. Catlin Tucker

Rethinking Our Approach to Education with Matt Miller

On episode 21 of The Balance, Dr. Catlin Tucker invites Matt Miller, blogger, author, speaker, and educator to discuss rethinking the approach to instruction, assessment, and creating a work-life balance to retain great teachers.

Reclaiming Personalized Learning with Paul France

On episode 20 of The Balance, Dr. Catlin Tucker invites Paul France  to share ideas from his book, Reclaiming Personalized Learning. They discuss personalized learning as a pedagogy for restoring equity and promoting humanity in the classroom. Listen now.

Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning with Andratesha Fritzgerald

What do we mean when we say Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? How can UDL support an antiracist learning environment? In this episode of Dr. Catlin Tucker’s podcast, The Balance, she invites Andratesha Fritzgerald, an inclusive practices implementation consultant and life-long educator, to offer clarity around these themes and questions. Listen now.

Innovating Inside the Box with George Couros

What is innovation? How can we empower teachers to drive their own innovation? Dr. Catlin Tucker and her guest, George Couros, an Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Consultant, tackle these questions with laughs and insights along the way. Listen now.

Mindset Shifts and Empowered Teaching with Angela Watson

What steps can you take to minimize stress and manage your workload to avoid burnout? What do we mean when we say human-centered teaching?  On this episode of Dr. Catlin Tucker’s podcast, The Balance, she invites Angela Watson, a productivity and mindset specialist with 11 years of classroom experience, to offer clarity around these themes and questions. Listen now.

Teacher Resilience with Elena Aguilar

How do we understand and engage with the overwhelming emotions we experience as educators—as humans? “I saw an incredible number of beautiful, passionate, committed teachers burn out and leave the profession,” says Elena Aguilar. So, she wrote a guidebook for teachers called Onward to help them build resilience. In this episode, she shares her own resilience journey as an educator with Dr. Catlin Tucker and gives advice on how to begin yours. Listen now.

Universal Design for Learning with Dr. Katie Novak

How can you create inclusive classrooms, design for learner variability, and remove barriers to learning? Dr. Catlin Tucker talks with Dr. Katie Novak, author and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a solution to the wide variety of student needs in a class. They discuss the belief system behind UDL, why it works well with blended learning, and how you can develop a framework that will drive your career until you retire. Dr. Tucker also announces she has authored an upcoming book with Dr. Novak on the intersection of blended learning and UDL. Listen now.

Designing Learning with Jay McTighe

Educators are often overwhelmed by the pressure to “cover it all” when it comes to content and curriculum. In this episode, Dr. Catlin Tucker talks with Jay McTighe about designing learning experiences for transfer—focusing on how students will apply their learning instead. By reframing and choosing specific long-term goals, teachers can let go of “covering it all” and make time for exploration of essential questions and performance-tasks. “What if we mapped out the curriculum,” says Jay, “not around input or content to be covered, but around rich, authentic tasks that reflect what we want students to be able to do with learning.” Listen now.

Project-Based Learning with Dr. Jennifer Pieratt

How can we reimagine project-based learning (PBL) for this moment in time? In this episode of The Balance, Dr. Catlin Tucker talks with PBL international expert and founder of CraftED Curriculum, Dr. Jennifer Pieratt about how project-based learning can increase student agency and engagement in online and hybrid classrooms. Dr. Pieratt dives into what is essential about PBL and what tweaks can be made during the pandemic to ensure student success with the model.  “The world is our curriculum,” says Dr. Pieratt. “It’s easy for teachers to shy away from the mess right now but the world is so ripe for kids to be finding solutions for the problems that are going on.” Listen now.

Leadership with Dr. Ivy Ewell-Eldridge

The pandemic is changing education. How will teacher preparation programs need to shift in response? How can administrators lead their communities at this time? Why doesn't society value the important work educators do? Dr. Ivy Ewell-Eldridge, current school site administrator in Southern California and Supervisor of Teacher Education and lecturer for UC Riverside's Graduate School of Education, tackles these questions and more with Dr. Catlin Tucker in this latest episode of The Balance. You can follow Dr. Eldridge on Twitter: @IEwellEldridge.