Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud

Supporting New and Untenured Teachers

Amber Chandler, the author of "Everything New Teachers Need to Know But Are Afraid to Ask," shares a program her district implemented to address that 140 out of its 478 teachers have been with the district four years or less—and the ranks of untenured teachers are expected to swell to 250 in the next five years. That’s approximately half of the teaching staff needing support, not just in year one, but also in years two, three, and four. Chandler sees the challenge but also an opportunity to create a community of educators from the ground up. How do instructional coaches support new teachers and mentors?

Red Amber's Ed Week Article, "Going NUTs: How One District Supports Its ‘New and Untenured’ Teachers" here. 

Find "Everything New Teachers Need to Know But Are Afraid to Ask" here. 

Contact Amber and visit her website here.

Supporting Emotional and Social Well-Being for School Staff and Students

The Executive Director of Counselling in Schools, Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, explores the environments needed for students to thrive in school and survive in life. A key to that environment is a staff that can manage their emotions personally and be resilient so that they support students authentically. What role do instructional coaches and school leaders play in supporting teachers’ emotional safety and relationships? How is SEL foundational to schools and classrooms and not an add-on? What should we be celebrating and where should we have an urgent focus?

Connect with Kevin and find his resources here.

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes! 

Belonging - Honoring Each Student

Every educator sends signals to students that, consciously or unconsciously, determine who experiences belonging—and who doesn’t. When students perceive they do not belong, they are at risk for a host of adverse consequences. Conversely, when students feel a sense of belonging, it can lead to an abundance of positive personal, social, and academic outcomes.

How can instructional coaches and school leaders support teachers in identifying unconscious actions that interfere with our intended message of valuing each learner? How can we intentionally plan actions that nurture a community that embraces differences?

In Powerful Student Care: Honoring Each Student as Distinctive and Irreplaceable, authors Kathleen Budge and Grant Chandler provide insights and practical support.

Read the article, "The Signals We Send About Who Belongs" here. 

Connect with Kathleen: parrettassociates@gmail.com

Connect with Grant here.

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes! 

Start the School Year with Awe, Wonder, and Curiosity

Research tells us that awe increases motivation and connection to learning, enhances critical thinking and careful information processing, encourages empathy and prosocial behavior, and supports creativity. What’s the plan for teachers and students first days of school? Are you more likely to hear ‘wow” and “awe” or “ Oh, no.” Explore some possibilities.

Find Steve's book "WOW! Adding Pizzazz to Teaching and Learning, Second Edition" here.

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Students and Teachers Maximizing the Value Feedback

Feedback doesn’t create learning by itself—learning happens when students reflect on, act upon, and integrate feedback into their work.  Teachers don’t cause student achievement. Students do. Our role as educators is to design environments, tasks, and relationships that enable students to produce the learning behaviors that generate achievement. One of those critical learning behaviors is knowing how and being willing to use feedback.

Instructional coaches and coaching leaders are supporting teachers to build opportunities for students to profit from feedback, they should be looking to create the same opportunities for their feedback to be profitable for teachers.

Watch the "Austin’s Butterfly" video here. 

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes! 

Coaching Teacher Leaders

Instructional Coaches and school administrators should be continuously mapping out how they support teacher leaders in their schools. Teacher leaders at grade levels or department chairs for curriculum, along with teachers leading programs or projects and those serving as mentors to new staff are all key to a school reaching its mission and vision of maximizing student success. Too often, there is no plan for the development of critical leadership skills and mindsets that are necessary for teacher leaders to support continuous teacher growth for a school staff. That lack of planning and process, I believe, also communicates a lack of value for the commitment and risk-taking teacher leaders assume.

Dr. Philhower - School as a Joyful Place podcast episode. 

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Plan for Playfulness, Connection, and Flow

Planning for the start of a new school year, we should intentionally design for playfulness, connection, and flow—the  elements that are core to fun and joy.  It’s not just about better lessons— but better experiences. Experiences that students will remember, that teachers will find energizing, and that build both engagement and joy. Whether it’s a surprise horse outside a classroom window or a red-carpet moment for staff, fun has the power to transform not just how we feel—but how we learn, connect, and grow.

Watch Catherine Price’s TED talk here.  

Hear the entire podcast with George Philhower here.

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes! 

Coaching Conversations that Promote Coachability

"Coachability is a crucial mindset that builds individual and teacher efficacy and thus student success. Coaching conversations should have a human connectedness built on hope, trust, gratitude, strength, and purpose." (Jennifer Fraser, 2025, Leading with Hope and Kindness)

Listen for human connections in a sample coaching pre-conference.

[podbean resource="episode=" type="audio-rectangle" height="200" skin="1" btn-skin="104" auto="0" share="1" fonts="Helvetica" download="1" rtl="0"]

Read the article, "Leading With Hope and Kindness: 5 Ways to Be a Better Leader" here.

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

Preparing Students for Their Future

Listen as an experienced post -secondary professor and Dean of Computing and Data Science shares her insights as she assumes the position of the Head of School at a 7-12 independent school, the New England Innovation Academy. Dr. Durga Suresh-Menon provides a definition of innovation and discusses the need for curriculum and instruction to be continuously relevant. How do students prepare for what comes next?  How do staff engage in the learning that supports their work with student?

Email Dr. Suresh-Menon: durga.suresh-menon@neiacademy.org

Learn more about the New England Innovation Academy here. 

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!

 

Instructional Systems Feedback: A “Moneyball” Approach

Patrick Mongrain, an experienced teacher and teacher coach, shares a message comparing the use of data to drive smarter decisions in the movie Moneyball to providing teachers with data to analyze their instructional classroom moves. He describes the role of 8 high level strategies such as building community and relationships, providing opportunities to respond, and positive and corrective feedback. Too often clearly defined instructional skills that are key to instructional strategies are not identified or coached.

Email Patrick: pmongrain65@comcast.net

Watch "The Why of the 8 practices" here.

Learn about the EdChanger Pro App here.    

Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new episodes!