{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders","title":"Why Better Lesson Planning Starts with Better Questions","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3073,"description":"Why Better Lesson Planning Starts with Better Questions\n\nFeaturing Lori Cohen\n\nLindsey and Tasha welcome Lori Cohen, educator, instructional leader, and co-author of The Science of Lesson Planning: High-Impact Practices That Deepen Student Learning, for a conversation about what happens when educators look beyond lesson-planning templates and ask better questions about how students learn.\nLori explores the connection between intentional lesson design, psychological safety, classroom culture, and school systems. Drawing on her experience as a teacher and school leader, she challenges educators to consider not only what they want students to do, but what students need in order to think deeply, take academic risks, and demonstrate meaningful learning.\nIn this episode, we discuss:\n\nWhy systems thinking helps school leaders anticipate how decisions affect teachers, students, and families\nHow coalition building and impact mapping can strengthen the implementation of school initiatives\nThe five phases of Lori's lesson-planning framework and why they provide a process rather than a prescription\nWhy psychological safety means supporting productive struggle, not removing academic challenges\nHow teachers can connect students' lived experiences to lesson content in meaningful ways\nWhy classroom culture must be continually revisited instead of established only at the beginning of the year\nHow cognitive load influences students' ability to concentrate and engage in deeper thinking\nWhy existing lessons can often be strengthened through one intentional adjustment rather than a complete redesign\nHow hinge questions provide immediate evidence of understanding and inform teachers' next instructional decisions\nWhy making student thinking visible matters more than simply observing engagement or correct answers\nHow relevance and curiosity influence students' willingness to engage with challenging content\nWhy teachers and students must protect their own critical thinking as AI becomes...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/dTOKoLexSWdGS9m1xLLhBBOf_FONz2hkdXtwCfQ_FHk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQxNTUwLzE2ODM5/MDYwNDAtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}