Vicki A. Davis's Blog, page 10

The Best Advice on Teacher Self Care

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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I've had several people lately say “just breathe” and others say “take care of yourself.” But how? How do we take care of ourselves when things are so busy? How do we make the time? I typically listen to teachers but often the well-meaning advice of others falls short. So, in this episode of Cool Cat Teacher Talk I've put together excerpts from the most popular episodes of the 10 Minute Teacher relating to how to t...

NASSP Principal of the Year: Dr. Tracie Anderson Swilley

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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Dr. Tracie Anderson Swilley the Principal of Fairfield High School in South Carolina was named the 2025 Principal of the Year for the United States by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Today we're going to talk to her about the culture transformation at her school that improved their graduation rate and built a school pride that is promoting excellence in everything they do. She also talks abo...

An Interesting Interview with My Principal: Meet Jonathan Dyal

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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This episode of The 10 Minute Teacher was a lot of fun. Not only did I get to interview my principal, Jonathan Dyal, but my film class, the “Sherwood Showstoppers,” filmed the interview. (I'm so proud of how much they are learning!) After a tweet I sent out in October 2023, George Couros and Allyson Apsey invited me to write a chapter about Jonathan in their book What Makes a Great Principal: The Five Pillars of Eff...

Personalized Mastery-Based Learning: How to Guide

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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In this episode you'll learn about a whole school that moved to personalized mastery-based learning and then you'll meet three teachers from around the US who are implementing this in their classrooms. Every teacher will come away understanding more about the movement and how they can implement this approach for a lesson, a unit, or a whole school year.

This show will air at 4pm on Wednesday, October 2nd on WDJY...

How to Help Students and Schools Through Traumatic Times

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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In today’s episode, we discuss a critical issue many schools are facing—how to help students and staff heal from trauma. Whether it's a safety event, severe weather like Hurricane Helene, or individual traumas, schools across the nation are navigating unprecedented challenges. To help students learn, we must first help them process what they've been through. As Lana Penley says, “In moments of crisis, we need to pro...

How to Improve Student Engagement

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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In this episode of the Cool Cat Teacher Talk Show we explore how to engage students in learning with hands-on, playful and project based learning strategies. Additionally, we discuss the importance of “the hook” and ideas for engaging students into learning from the moment they come to class. For those who think that we need to get kids ready for the “real world,” David Gann discusses the importance of play in an un...

Fall for Learning! 4 Fantastic Fall Lesson Ideas

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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Here are some fall themed ideas for your classroom. One of my favorite ideas encouraging students “don't fall for this” and teach phishing and deep fake awareness using the resources below.

Just a note, these are from my email newsletter that went out this morning. If you'd like to join the weekly newsletter, sign up below.

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Things That Will Make a Truly Great Principal

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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In today’s episode of The 10-Minute Teacher Podcast, we sit down with well-known educator and author George Couros to dive into his latest book, What Makes a Great Principal: The Five Pillars of Effective School Leadership.

With insights from educators, principals, and contributors from around the world, George discusses how great ...

How to Make Schools Safer and Build Positive School Relationships

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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On September 18, episode 2 of Cool Cat Teacher talk will air on WDJY 99.1 in Atlanta at 4pm. These are the show notes for that episode. The following Wednesday, this show will air on the Cool Cat Teacher Channel on Youtube so subscribe at www.youtube.com/coolcatteacher so you don't miss an episode.

YouTube Video – Premiere Wednesday, September 25, 2024Show Notes

In today's episode, Vicki Davis speaks a...

What makes kids excited to learn?

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

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We want our students to be engaged and to want to learn. Particularly since the pandemic, many schools have struggled to engage learners. Today's episode shows us not only how we can creatively include play in our classrooms, no matter the age group or subject, but also why it's never too late to re-engage students. 

Additionally, Dr. Nash shares fascinating data from a re...