This 2025 year-end review of the Teachers’ Aid podcast highlights the conversations that helped educators rise to meet multiple challenges and find new ways to support students during one of the most chaotic and destabilizing years many of us have ever experienced. It captures the thinking behind another year of educators’ remarkable commitment, resilience, and perseverance under pressure. Mic Drop is a pilot project from BRN’s Gen AI Podcast Labs. We look forward to improving the channel as the technology evolves. See an error or have a suggestion? Leave your comments below.

Related Channel: Listen to Teachers’ Aid

Listen to all 2025 Mic Drop Episodes

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In this conversation, our guests discuss how retrieval practice can help all students learn, including those with ADHD and autism. For many teachers, this may challenge the assumption that retrieval practice only works for some learners. Instead, the discussion shows how, when used thoughtfully, retrieval practice can support diverse learning needs and help students build confidence, understanding, and long-term retention.

Follow on TwitteR: | @smorrisey | @effortfuleduktr | @bamradionetwork | @jonHarper70bd @SciInTheMaking

Blogs: Brain – Book – Buddy Reverse Engineering the Multiple Choice Question 5 Reasons I Begin My Class With Retrieval Practice Most Days Retrieval Is Communication.

Blake Harvard is an AP Psychology teacher at a public high school in Alabama. He is in his 20th year of teaching. He is very interested in reading research and applying findings from cognitive psychology in the classroom to improve instruction and learning.
Blake is the author of a new book: Do I have Your Attention: Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning
He is also the author of The Effortful Educator. A popular blog with over one million hits.

Sean Morrisey is a 5th-grade teacher at Pinehurst Elementary School, located just outside of Buffalo, NY. He brings over 25 years of experience as an educator. Before becoming a classroom teacher, Sean worked as a school psychologist, a role that shaped his understanding of how children learn. For the past 18 years, he has taught 1st, 4th, and 5th grade, focusing on building strong foundations in literacy and language.
Sean’s work in vocabulary instruction has been highlighted on numerous literacy podcasts and featured in science of reading resources, including The Literacy 50 and Know Better, Do Better: Comprehension. His passion lies in integrating vocabulary seamlessly across the school day, helping students connect words to meaning in authentic and engaging ways. Sean is currently writing his own curriculum called the Word Mapping Project: Linking Sound, Spelling, and Meaning for Word Mastery.

Marcie Samayoa is a 10th-year high school chemistry teacher that shares evidence-informed teaching strategies through her blog, Scientists in the Making. She connects cognitive science principles to classroom practices, inspiring both educators and students to deepen their understanding of science.
Blog: www.scientistsinthemaking.com
Substack: scientistsinthemaking.substack.com

The conversation explores cognitive load theory and why it matters for classroom learning, while also widening the focus to include practical teaching moves that help students learn more effectively. We talk about how working memory limits can affect what students remember, why some lessons don’t stick, and how teachers can design instruction that feels less complex and less overwhelming. Alongside cognitive load theory, the discussion touches on everyday strategies that support clearer, more manageable teaching and help more students experience real learning.

Follow on Twitter @AndrewWatsonTTB |@mrzachg |@laurapatranella | @DylanWiliam @StamStam193 | @bamradionetwork | @jonHarper70bd

Related Resources: Cognitive-load-theory-pt-1. Laura Stam

Dylan William‘s bedding formative assessment pack for schools and colleges to run their own two-year professional development programme on formative assessment is now available worldwide. In Europe, this can be ordered through SSAT, in Australasia through Hawker-Brownlow, and in North America from Learning Sciences International.

Zach Groshell, PhD is a highly distinguished teacher, instructional coach, and education consultant. Zach is based in Seattle, WA and works with schools nationwide and internationally to develop high quality instruction based on the science of how kids learn. Zach is the author of the book Just Tell Them, hosts the podcast, Progressively Incorrect, and is active on Twitter (@mrzachg).

Laura Stam is a 3rd-grade teacher in Thermopolis, Wyoming. She is a 2024-2025 Goyen Fellow and a founding board member of The Reading League Wyoming.

Laura Patranella is a 12th-year teacher with experience primarily in upper elementary and middle school literacy as both a dyslexia interventionist and classroom teacher. She currently teaches 5th grade and is passionate about maximizing outcomes for all students through research-based teaching methods.

Andrew Watson has been teaching since 1988, studying brains since 2008, and combining those fields since 2012. As a consultant and conference speaker, he works with students and teachers to make learning easier and teaching more effective. Author of three books, he writes frequently on memory, attention, motivation, and skepticism.