Phone addiction in teens is real — and Australian psychologist Dr. Brad Marshall has evidence-based strategies that actually work from treating 2,500+ families.

Dr. Brad Marshall, known as the Unplugged Psychologist and Director of Australia's Screen & Gaming Disorder Clinic, joins Vicki Davis to share what two decades of clinical work and university research reveal about helping kids break free from phone addiction — without shame or judgment.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why parental control software fails — and the "handbrake rule" that actually works
• What happened when Australia banned phones in every school
• Why sleep is the number one thing to protect from screen overuse
• Why expecting teens to self-regulate phone use is "neurologically ridiculous"
• How to have a non-judgmental conversation with teens about their phone habits

Show notes and resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e928

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Executive function strategies Kindergarten through 3rd grade teachers can implement today. Dr. Sarah Oberle shares science-backed ways to support working memory, inhibition, and focus in the classroom.

Dr. Sarah Oberle is a primary educator and cognitive science expert whose upcoming book, Executive Functions for Every K-3 Classroom, translates learning science into practical classroom strategies. In this episode, she breaks down the six executive functions developing in young children and explains why they matter more than content knowledge for student success.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The six executive functions and how they develop in K-3 students (core vs. higher-order)
• Why working memory is more limited than most teachers realize — and how to offload it with visual reminders, brief instruction bursts, and student-created notations
• How inhibition affects not just behavior but also attention and focus
• Why your classroom decor and seating arrangement may be taxing executive functions without you realizing it
• The science behind why music with lyrics creates a barrier to student focus

Show notes and resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e927

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Balanced class lists set students and teachers up for success. Principal Carrie Hetzel shares her team approach, time-saving tech tools, and advice for planning ahead.

Class Composer is sponsoring this podcast. Sign up now for your free trial of Class Composer. For elementary principals and guidance counselors, this is a must-use.

Creating balanced class lists is one of the most important — and labor-intensive — tasks elementary principals tackle each spring. In this episode, Carrie Hetzel, principal of Paradise Canyon Elementary School in California (a National Blue Ribbon School), explains how her team builds balanced class lists using a multi-stage revision process that combines data with deep knowledge of every student. She also shares how Class Composer, a class placement tool, cut hours off their workflow by updating data in real time.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What a truly balanced elementary class looks like beyond just numbers
• How a principal, teachers, and counselor collaborate through multiple revision rounds
• Why starting the class placement process in May — not June — makes all the difference
• How Class Composer provides real-time data analysis and built-in safety checks
• Why class placement should be seen as a positive, forward-looking process

Show notes and resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e926

Love the show? Rate and review on Apple Podcasts — it's the #1 way to help other teachers find us.