Welcome to the aggieTEACH Momentum Podcast brought to you be the aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences program at Texas A&M University.

This podcast is meant to provide a little more insight and information to those seeking a secondary content teacher certification in Texas.  We aim to provide episodes that help pre-service educators on the path to certification as well as leverage the experience of the current program coordinators and other guest speakers to support teachers in their first few years in the classroom.

The Momentum Podcast is hosted by aggieTEACH alumni and current aggieTEACH-Arts & Sciences Program Manager, Kenric Davies, MAT.  Most recently, Kenric was a high school physics and astronomy teacher in the north Texas area.  Learn more about Kenric HERE.

Listen anywhere you find your podcasts!

Release Date: Tuesday, August 26th

Guest Speaker: Kurt Lockhart, Senior Program Director of Data Insights for the Charles Butt Foundation & Christine Lowak, Director of Raising Blended Learners for the Charles Butt Foundation

Summary: Teacher burnout is real and new teachers need to go into the field with tools and knowledge to help weather through the difficult times. In this episode, we talk with representatives of the Charles Butt Foundation, Kurt Lockhart and Chris Lowak, about the data they collect about teacher retention in Texas. During our conversation, we touch on why teachers feel burn out and how they can manage the stress of the job especially in their first few years in the classroom.

Duration: 25:12

Mentioned Resources

• 2024 Texas Teacher Poll
• 2025 Texas Teacher Poll

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Release Date: Tuesday, September 9th

Guest Speaker: Sarah Braden, Bryan ISD Education Foundation Executive Director & Teresa Benden, College Station ISD Education Foundation Executive Director

Summary: Teachers have the opportunity to bring their passion for content and teaching to their students in a variety of ways. In this episode, leaders from local education foundations discuss how writing classroom grants can help teachers elevate student engagement and bring relevance to their content. Our conversation focuses on tips for writing great grant proposals and examples of previous teacher grants.

Duration: 33:12

Mentioned Resources

• Bryan Education Foundation Grant Ideas
• College Station Education Foundation Grant Ideas

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Release Date: Tuesday, September 23rd

Guest Speaker: Catherine Davies ‘ 10, Educational Diagnostician with Bryan Independent School District

Summary:  In this episode we discuss the expectations a general education teacher has when working with students in special education or Section 504. Many new teachers have little experience in this area and our guest helps give more practical resources and information.

Duration: 33:12

Mentioned Resources

• TEA – Special Education⁠
• ⁠Intervention Central⁠
• Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports

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Release Date: Tuesday, October 7th

Summary: In this episode, I dive into the various people that are part of the day-to-day work that a teacher does. Having a good relationship with these groups or individuals will greatly enhance the job satisfaction and effectiveness of a classroom teacher.

Duration: 24:12

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Release Date: Tuesday, October 21st

Guest Speaker: Elizabeth Stanley ’16, Assistant Principal at Navasota ISD

Summary: In this episode, we talk with a teacher turned assistant principal about the current teacher appraisal system in Texas. Our conversation covers the individual parts of the process as well as how new teachers can use this process to hone their craft and become more effective in the classroom.

Duration: 32:12

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Release Date: Tuesday, November 4th

Guest Speaker: Miguel Guhlin, Director of Professional Development at TCEA

Summary: In this episode, we discuss how technology can be integrated into a classroom to emphasis learning. Our guest speaker (Miguel Guhlin from TCEA) gives advice to new teachers about how to avoid the traps of introducing technology to your lessons at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons.

Duration: 34:12

Mentioned Resources

• Ed Tech Adoption Stages, Part 1
• AI and the SOLO Taxonomy: A Path to Deeper Learning
• Evidence-Based Teaching
• Online, Self-Paced Courses
• Free Resources for Teachers

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