Amidon Planet is all about learning how to teach better. Each episode, Joel Amidon, PhD, will explore ideas from books, interviews, movies, other podcasts, etc. and apply those ideas to teaching better. The ultimate goal being to lead people to love others through teaching.
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In this episode, I talk with Dr. David Coffey, from Grand Valley State University, about Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and what a book about becoming a better writer can teach us about becoming better teachers. While King is writing about the work of a writer, many of the lessons in On Writing invite us to think differently about teaching as something we continually develop…
In this episode, I talk with Charlie Van Norman and Devin Santiago, from MathBreakers , a video game designed around curiosity, creativity, and mathematical thinking. Rather than asking players to memorize procedures or answer endless practice questions, MathBreakers invites them to experiment, solve problems, and discover how mathematics shapes the world around them. Together, we discuss what…
What happens when some of the most significant parts of a person's teaching and learning experience remain unseen? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Amanda Goodwin about her dissertation, INVISIBLE: An Autoethnographic Study of Teaching and Learning with Physical Disabilities and Neurodivergence . Through the lens of her own lived experience, Amanda explores how invisible disabilities and…
Coming this fall on Amidon Planet . In 1962, Keith and Natalie Yelnick were given 45 minutes to make a decision about their newborn daughter, Kristin, who was born with a developmental disability. What followed was not only a family story, but a story of social change. Over the next six decades, Keith and Natalie witnessed—and helped shape—the evolution of educational opportunities, community…
What does it mean to become more fully yourself? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jeremiah Sims about his new book, Finding the Beautiful Path: On Blackness, Multidimensionality, and Radical Becoming . Through personal reflection, scholarship, and storytelling, Jeremiah invites readers to consider identity not as something fixed, but as something continually unfolding. Our conversation explores…
What if puzzles were about more than finding answers? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jeff Wanko, Dean of the College of Education and Health Sciences at Bradley University, about how puzzles create opportunities for both community and reasoning. While puzzles are often viewed as individual challenges, Jeff shares how they can become powerful experiences that bring people together around…
Cynicism can feel like protection—especially for educators, leaders, and anyone who has experienced disappointment or burnout. But what if cynicism slowly distances us from the very relationships and possibilities we need most? In this episode, Dr. Gary Williams interviews Joel Amidon about the book Hope for Cynics by Jamil Zaki and the challenge of remaining hopeful in a world that often rewards…
Students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties often struggle with multisyllabic words—but explicit instruction in morphology can make a meaningful difference. In this episode, I talk with Amy Jackson and Kristi Livingston about their article DE+CON+STRUCT+ED: A Guide to Explicit Morphology Intervention and the role morphology plays in helping students both decode and understand complex…
Many educators and leaders carry powerful ideas, but sharing those ideas clearly and meaningfully can be challenging. In this episode, Dr. Marvin King, Associate Professor of Political Science & African American Studies at the University of Mississippi, and I talk about the book TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson and what it reveals about communicating ideas in…
How can mathematics connect meaningfully to the culture and communities students live in? In this episode we are learning to teach better with Dr. Siddhi Soni and Alyssa Harbin as we discuss their article, Barn Quilts Ethnomodeling Task , found in Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12. The task is a mathematics experience that connects geometric thinking with cultural traditions found…
It’s easy to feel like we have to manage everything - our students, our colleagues, our classrooms, our kids, and sometimes even how others think or respond. But what if some of that weight isn’t actually ours to carry? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Gary Williams about The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins and the simple but powerful idea behind it: letting people be who they are, while focusing…
