CPED Challenge Friday

Podcasting as Pedagogy: Reclaiming Voice, Fostering Belonging, and Building Cross-Cohort Solidarity in an EdD Program

Date: Friday, February 6, 2026

Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET 

What happens when students become the storytellers of their own doctoral journey? This session presents a podcast created within an EdD course as a liberatory pedagogical tool. Originally developed to synthesize course content, the podcast evolved into a living archive of resistance, healing, and solidarity, where second-year students connected with third-year scholar-practitioners navigating the final stretch of their dissertation journey.

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Presenters:

William Thomas IV

William N. Thomas IV, EdD joined the faculty at American University in 2021 as a Professorial Lecturer in the School of Education’s EdD program and currently serves as the program's Director. Dr. Thomas’s research interests focus on the application of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) through an African epistemological lens to better understand how marginalized stakeholders can gain equitable access, logical opportunities and authentic empowerment in public schools and university settings. Specific topics include Teacher Retention, Pop Culture & Implicit Bias, Culturally Relevant and Responsive STEM education, Global Immersive Educational Experiences and using African Semiotics as a lens for coding Motivational Awareness and Resilience. In addition, Dr. Thomas explores various antiracist, humanizing and intersectional methodologies and conducts Practitioner Action Research using Improvement Science as a tool to facilitate rapid cycles of testing and refining interventions to improve antiracist practices based on what works in practice, not just in theory.

Rachel Cason

Rachel Cason, Ed.D., American University, is an educational researcher and Assistant Principal. Over the past eleven years, she has worked as a special education teacher, department chair, instructional coach, and now school leader, all with a deep commitment to humanizing the learning experience for students. Her research focuses on culturally responsive coaching, reciprocal feedback systems, and the use of poetry as a tool for meaning-making, reflection, and increasing psychological safety, particularly in math classrooms. Guided by Black feminist and antiracist pedagogies, Dr. Cason’s work bridges the learning sciences with culturally responsive teaching to create instruction that honors identity, nurtures belonging, and elevates student voice. She is passionate about designing classrooms where all learners’ intersectional identities and lived experiences are seen, heard, and valued.

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