Best Library Overload Podcasts (2025)

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265: Growth Discourse: A Framework for Discussing Hard Topics with Students 1:10:08

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21d ago1:10:08

1:10:08

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 convers…

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264: How Schools Can Support Neurodivergent Teachers 1:20:33

1M ago1:20:33

1:20:33

Neurodivergent educators, like those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other forms of cognitive diversity, are essential voices in our schools. They bring innovation, empathy, and authenticity. Yet they often work within systems that weren't built with them in mind, and this can make the job of teaching especially challenging. In this episode, we'll…

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How Often Should I Declutter? 23:40

1M ago23:40

23:40

Send us a text Organizing isn’t a one-time event; it’s a rhythm. This episode breaks down realistic maintenance cycles — weekly resets, monthly check-ins, and seasonal sweeps — so your home stays peaceful without starting from scratch. 🗓 Stay accountable with the 30-Day Declutter List — your built-in reminder system. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Susta…

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263: Five Skills that Get Students to Take Ownership of Their Learning 42:29

2M ago42:29

42:29

If we're doing our jobs right as educators, students will gradually become independent, self-directed learners capable of monitoring, directing, and actively participating in building their own learning. But what if that's not happening? What if students continue to lean heavily on their teachers for step-by-step instructions on every task, never r…

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The Reading Relaxing Nook 21:38

2M ago21:38

21:38

Send us a text Carve out a corner for calm. Learn how to design a reading or reflection space that feels intentional without extra clutter — comfort, light, and personality included. 📚 Kick-start your cozy corner with the free Core 4 Declutter Challenge. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Sustain together. Stay connected and keep your organizing journey goi…

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Bedroom as a Rest Zone 22:25

2M ago22:25

22:25

Send us a text A truly restful bedroom is about boundaries — what stays, what leaves, and what sets the mood for calm. Explore lighting, scent, tech-free zones, and routines that protect peace even in small spaces. 😴 Unlock the Rest Zone Reset audio in the Hopeful Simplicity Library. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Sustain together. Stay connected and ke…

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Accessory Overload 22:25

2M ago22:25

22:25

Send us a text Small things add up fast. Learn a quick strategy for taming jewelry, belts, and bags with rotating systems and realistic limits. Streamlined accessories mean faster mornings and less visual noise. 👜 Use the 30-Day Declutter List to simplify one category per day. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Sustain together. Stay connected and keep your…

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What About Sentimental Stuff? 23:39

2M ago23:39

23:39

Send us a text Memories can be heavy — emotionally and physically. This episode teaches compassionate decluttering: how to honor your story without keeping everything, ways to display or digitize meaningful items, and questions that help you decide what truly matters. Practice gentle letting-go with the free Core 4 Declutter Challenge. Let’s Simpli…

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Under the Bed Secrets 19:58

2M ago19:58

19:58

Send us a text Out of sight shouldn’t mean out of mind. Explore what’s hiding under your bed and how to transform that space into intentional storage or a clean sweep zone. Practical ideas for bins, vacuum access, and minimizing the mystery. 📦 Get detailed audio guidance inside the Hopeful Simplicity Library. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Sustain toget…

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How Do I Stay Motivated? 26:50

2M ago26:50

26:50

Send us a text Mid-season slump? Melissa shares how to push through the “meh” phase with micro-goals, music, and grace. Real motivation is built, not found. ⚡ Stay consistent with the 30-Day Declutter List — one step a day keeps the momentum going. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Sustain together. Stay connected and keep your organizing journey going at …

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Nightstand Reset 16:37

2M ago16:37

16:37

Send us a text Nightstands should calm you, not clutter your sleep. Learn Melissa’s five-minute nightly habit that keeps surfaces clear and rest easy. 🌙 Start tonight with the free Core 4 Declutter Challenge — your first small-space win. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Sustain together. Stay connected and keep your organizing journey going at HopefulSimp…

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What If My Family Won’t Help? 32:35

2M ago32:35

32:35

Send us a text Teamwork — or lack of it — can make or break your organizing goals. Melissa shares mindset shifts, conversations, and boundaries that invite your family into the process (without nagging). 👪 Listen to bonus audio on family systems inside the Hopeful Simplicity Library. Let’s Simplify, Sort, and Sustain together. Stay connected and ke…

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Closet Chaos to Closet Calm 31:32

2M ago31:32

31:32

Send us a text A crowded closet can drain your energy before the day begins. This episode breaks down a simple process to create calm from chaos — letting go of what no longer fits your life, sorting what you actually wear, and building a rhythm that keeps order without constant upkeep. 💡 Get deeper guided support inside the Hopeful Simplicity Libr…

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The Dresser Declutter 26:40

2M ago26:40

26:40

Send us a text Drawers don’t have to be disaster zones. This dresser reset walks you through tackling one drawer at a time, creating quick wins that motivate the rest. You’ll find out how to categorize, fold, and maintain clothes without a total overhaul. 📋 Follow the 30-Day Declutter List to pair this episode with easy daily progress. Let’s Simpli…

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Do I Need to Buy Bins? 19:30

2M ago19:30

19:30

Send us a text Before spending money on storage, discover how to make your current setup work better. This episode explains why function beats fancy bins, how to repurpose what you have, and the mindset shift that turns “organizing” into problem-solving rather than purchasing. 🛒 Grab the free Core 4 Declutter Challenge and learn to simplify before …

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Where Do I Start? 32:01

2M ago32:01

32:01

Send us a text The hardest part of organizing is often the first step. This episode guides you through choosing a realistic starting point so you can build confidence instead of overwhelm. Learn how to spot the easiest win in your bedroom, use the 15-minute method to gain traction, and reset your mindset from perfection to progress. ✨ Download the …

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262: Three Fresh Strategies That Get Students Engaged With Texts 44:36

2M ago44:36

44:36

If your teaching requires students to read or work with texts, and things have gotten a little stale in the engagement department, this episode will give you some great new strategies to try. High school English teachers Susan Barber and Brian Sztabnik once felt the same way, so they curated tons of fun, interactive, interesting text-based activiti…

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Coming Up in the Season Three 3:43

2M ago3:43

3:43

Send us a text Welcome to a new season of simple, sustainable organizing! This time, the focus turns to the bedroom — the space meant for rest but often weighed down by clutter and unfinished tasks. Hear what’s coming over the next 13 episodes, from clearing closet chaos to reclaiming calm corners. 👉 Start fresh with the free Core 4 Declutter Chall…

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A Fresh Format for a Hopeful Reset 4:29

2M ago4:29

4:29

Send us a text It’s time for a refresh — and this one’s all about clarity, calm, and consistency. This transition episode walks through how the podcast is evolving into a more intentional, sustainable rhythm that fits real life. You’ll hear why the 15-Minute Finds are moving to weekly email wins and guided sessions inside the Hopeful Simplicity Lib…

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261: How and Why to Use Concept Maps 51:46

3M ago51:46

51:46

Concept maps are graphic organizers or visual representations of knowledge. They're simple, they're low-tech, and they're incredibly powerful tools for learning. In this episode, cognitive scientist Dr. Kripa Sundar explains why concept maps are so impactful, then shares a handful of specific practices that will help you make the best use of them. …

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260: Seven Teaching Practices that Nurture Student Voice 1:01:17

3M ago1:01:17

1:01:17

At a time when test-driven reform has quieted student voices and marginalized perspectives are being pushed aside, we need student voice and agency more than ever. In this episode, I'm joined by Shane Safir, Marlo Bagsik, Sawsan Jaber, and Crystal Watson, authors of the new book, Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency. The …

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259: Making Project-Based Learning Accessible for Everyone 1:00:23

4M ago1:00:23

1:00:23

Project-based learning can be a powerful instructional framework, but it is often structured in ways that exclude students who need a different approach. Too often, PBL becomes a space where accommodations and differentiation fall by the wayside. The good news is that we don't have to abandon PBL or dramatically overhaul it to make it work for dive…

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EduTip 33: Answer more questions with questions. 6:56

4M ago6:56

6:56

Answering student questions is faster in the moment, but redirecting is better in the long run. The next time a student asks you a question, pause before answering and see if you can point them toward finding the answer themselves. ------------------- Thanks to Brisk Teaching for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these…

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258: The Power of Centering Student Exemplars 46:58

4M ago46:58

46:58

Sometimes the best instructional materials are sitting right in our classrooms. At a time when AI threatens to make human writing obsolete, using students' own work as a teaching tool offers a wonderfully authentic alternative. In this episode, educator Marcus Luther joins me to share four ways he uses student exemplars to teach craft lessons, buil…

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257: Bringing Joy into Our Schools: A Conversation with Gholdy Muhammad 1:00:55

4M ago1:00:55

1:00:55

We're living in troubling times. When you're surrounded by so much chaos and confusion, it can be hard to figure out where to put your focus and energy. At a time like this, it might not make sense to talk about joy, but that's what were going to do in this episode. My guest is Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, author of the book Cultivating Genius and the 2023…

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256: Community Supplies in the Classroom: Clearing Up the Confusion 58:33

5M ago58:33

58:33

The practice of collecting supplies and distributing them to all students over the school year has become a common practice in elementary schools. Unfortunately, not all parents are happy with it, and much of the trouble stems from a few key misunderstandings. In this episode, my guest Julie Lause explains why schools use these systems and how they…

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255: Before You Decorate Your Classroom, Here's a Better Idea 49:02

5M ago49:02

49:02

If the thought of decorating your classroom fills you with anxiety, or if you're just ready to try something different, I have good stuff for you. In this episode, educator and author Tom Rademacher shares two simple activities he did at the beginning of every school year to get to know his students AND fill the walls of his classroom with beautifu…

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254: Dusting Off an Old Practice to Make Reading Fun Again 32:46

6M ago32:46

32:46

As a life-long reader, English teacher Dan Tricarico wanted to bring the love of reading to his high school students, but the constant, irresistible presence of digital media made for tough competition. Rather than seeking out a high-tech solution, he brought back simplicity in the form of daily silent reading, and to his surprise, most of his stud…

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EduTip 32: Don't put kids in Charlie Bucket situations. 5:54

7M ago5:54

5:54

Although most teachers understand that not all students have the same home life, sometimes we forget how big those differences can really be, and how humiliating it can be for a student to be asked to publicly share details about their lives outside of school. In this EduTip we'll talk about some situations where this comes up, and what you can do …

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253: Fully Seen and Fully Known: Teaching that Affirms Disability 1:01:53

7M ago1:01:53

1:01:53

Most special education efforts have focused on giving students with disabilities better access to the curriculum — but access alone isn't enough. In this episode, I talk with Amy Tondreau and Laurie Rabinowitz, authors of the book Sustaining Cultural and Disability Identities in the Literacy Classroom, about disability-sustaining pedagogy, a framew…

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EduTip 31: Be the first dork. 5:28

7M ago5:28

5:28

If you want to have the kind of classroom where students do more than just sit and listen, it's likely that your plans may include activities that require some social risk-taking. One way to help your students get more comfortable taking these small social risks is for you to be the first dork, the first one to do the thing that no one else wants t…

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252: Where Discipline Reform Has Gone Wrong (in Some Schools) 1:27:59

7M ago1:27:59

1:27:59

While the shift to restorative practices should be improving student behavior, that's not happening in every school. Some teachers say the discipline systems at their schools have completely broken down, creating an environment where students do whatever they want with no consequences. This has made teachers feel frustrated, angry, unsupported, and…

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EduTip 30: Do something after formative assessments. 3:53

8M ago3:53

3:53

If I give my students an exit slip to check their grasp of a particular skill, and a third of them don't do well, just moving forward with my original teaching plan is a missed opportunity. Ideally, my next steps should involve some kind of targeted response. Let's talk about what that looks like. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring…

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251: Holding Students Accountable in the Age of AI 1:09:48

8M ago1:09:48

1:09:48

Since ChatGPT's arrival in late 2022, the top concern I've heard from teachers is that students will stop doing their own writing and rely entirely on AI. While that worry is real, more teachers are recognizing that AI is here to stay and are looking for ways to work with it rather than against it. My guest today, Tony Frontier, offers one of the m…

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EduTip 29: Build relationships with a spreadsheet. 4:50

8M ago4:50

4:50

Lots of teachers give students some kind of questionnaire at the beginning of a school year to get to know them, but what do you do with that information after you get it? By putting responses into a spreadsheet, you'll have a relationship-building tool you can use all year. ------------------- Thanks to Studyo for sponsoring this tip. You can find…

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250: Nine Easy Ways to Add Retrieval to Your Lessons 1:02:59

8M ago1:02:59

1:02:59

Retrieval practice is the act of trying to recall something you learned from memory by doing things like taking a test or using flashcards instead of just looking at, rereading, or reviewing the information. When we study with retrieval, we learn and remember things much better than we do by other review methods. So how do we add more to our classr…

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249: A Close Look at Competency-Based Learning 1:19:15

9M ago1:19:15

1:19:15

We talk a lot about differentiating instruction, measuring growth, and preparing students for the real world, but how do you actually do that in a system still driven by grades? Maybe you need a new model altogether. In this episode, we're exploring an approach to school called competency-based learning. I'm joined by three educators — Susie Bell, …

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248: Why grammar instruction stinks, and how we can change that 54:32

9M ago54:32

54:32

Grammar has never been an especially popular area of study, and teaching it has frustrated many English teachers throughout time. It seems like no matter how hard we try, the concepts just don't stick as well as we'd like them to. In this episode, I'm talking to Matthew Johnson, author of the new book Good Grammar: Joyful and Affirming Language Les…

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EduTip 28: Add gestures to strengthen learning. 4:30

9M ago4:30

4:30

Research shows that adding physical or hand gestures to a learning experience, especially ones that have some meaning to them, can significantly boost how well students understand and remember the content. ------------------- Thanks to Class Composer for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edu…

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247: Five Listening Skills That Will Improve All of Your Relationships 27:08

10M ago27:08

27:08

This episode is for everyone and anyone. In it, I'll share five techniques that will encourage any person you're talking to to go a little more in-depth, share a little bit more, and most importantly, feel seen, heard, and understood. Thanks to Boclips Classroom and EVERFI for sponsoring this episode. For a written version of this episode, visit cu…

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EduTip 27: Get Better Participation with Icons 3:36

10M ago3:36

3:36

If you're doing an activity that requires students or participants to volunteer to participate, this is a fun way to choose them. ------------------- Thanks to Class Composer for sponsoring this tip. You can find written and video versions of these at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips.By Jennifer Gonzalez

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246: How to Keep Teaching Well When DEI is Under Attack 27:31

10M ago27:31

27:31

Recent executive orders have launched an attack on teaching for diversity, equity, and inclusion. How do you teach at this precarious time in history when so much work has been done to weave these values into so many of our materials and practices? The more I think about it, the more I think you may not have to change as much as it might seem. When…

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245: A System for Meeting Absent Students' Needs 35:04

10M ago35:04

35:04

You can create the most spectacular lesson plans, but if all of your students aren't in the room when those plans are executed, catching them up can be kind of a nightmare. And despite the fact that this has been a problem for generations, few teachers have ever figured out a foolproof plan for solving it. My guest today has an approach that can he…

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EduTip 26: Give lots of quizzes. 5:06

10M ago5:06

5:06

One of the best-kept secrets in teaching is that frequent quizzing leads to better learning. If you can incorporate more ungraded or low-stakes quizzes into your instruction, there's a good chance your students will start remembering more of what they're learning. Learn about the research behind this phenomenon in this EduTip. ------------------- T…

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244: Three Ways You May Be Cognitively Overloading Your Students 40:18

11M ago40:18

40:18

When we make certain choices, often without even realizing it, we can turn a teaching moment from one that should be clear into one that's confusing. Luckily, these choices are pretty easy to spot and fix once we know what to look for, and cognitive science can help us understand what's going on. In this episode I'm going to talk about three of the…

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EduTip 25: Use neutral language to keep things cool. 4:28

11M ago4:28

4:28

In a classroom that is emotionally "cool," no one is preoccupied with any kind of anger, hurt feelings, anxiety, or fear, and this frees them up to concentrate on academics. One way to make that happen is by using neutral language: By choosing words that are less judgy and more neutral, we keep things professional, calm, and cool. -----------------…

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243: Small Changes to Make Your Classroom More Neurodiversity-Affirming 1:09:56

11M ago1:09:56

1:09:56

As our understanding of the human mind gets more sophisticated and nuanced, we're learning how to identify neurodivergence, how to appreciate it, and how to help those who fit under that umbrella navigate the world better. In this episode I'm joined by Emily Kircher-Morris and Amanda Morin, authors of the new book Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools. …

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EduTip 24: Use "I" statements to promote your teaching ideas. 3:26

11M ago3:26

3:26

As you move through your career, you'll discover new ways of doing things that you're excited about — so excited that you want to share them with colleagues and convince them to try them, too. But trained professionals aren't always open to changing the way they work, and we don't want to come off as the know-it-all telling everyone what to do. So …

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242: How to Do a Close Reading Lesson in Any Subject Area 50:11

11M ago50:11

50:11

To become skilled readers, our students need reading instruction in all of their classes, not just English language arts. But if other subject-area teachers don't know how to support readers, how can they do this? In this episode, literacy expert Jen Serravallo walks us through the steps of a close reading lesson, one of nine re-usable lesson struc…

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EduTip 23: Calm an out-of-control class with a notebook. 3:57

12M ago3:57

3:57

When student behavior starts driving you bananas, and you feel like you're going to yell, this simple notebook technique can regulate your nervous system and calm your class down fast. ------------------- Thanks to Grouper for sponsoring this EduTip! You can find full written versions of these tips at cultofpedagogy.com/edutips. -------------------…