Trending In Education

Dr. Terri Givens returns to the show to talk about her newly released book Radical Empathy: Finding a Path to Bridging Racial Divides and its implications in higher education and society more broadly. We touch on Terri's personal story and how it taught her to be vulnerable and to get comfortable in her own skin. This involves empathy for yourself, your family, and your neighborhood as you progress to take action to effect change which is the radical part of Radical Empathy. We dive into Terri's perspectives on Higher Education and Education Leadership as a black woman confronting structural racism in a compelling and personal story that we hope resonates. If you like what you're hearing, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and. check us out at TrendingInEducation.com.

Kathleen Almy, CEO of Almy Education, joins Mike to talk about her experiences as an author, as math faculty, and most recently as a consultant helping community colleges develop effective and scalable developmental math programs that drive completion rates and student success. After hearing Kathy’s origin story, we explore the challenges and opportunities endemic to math education in 2021. Then we look ahead through the pandemic response and on into the years ahead. To learn more about what Kathy and team are doing, check them out at AlmyEducation.com If you like what you’re hearing, subscribe wherever you get four podcasts and follow us at Trendingineducation.com.

Dr. Sheryl Burgstahler joins Mike to talk about her work in access, Universal Design, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Sheryl shared how she got involved with accessibility in the early days of home computing and how that has evolved into her role at the University of Washington today. We talk about her book, Creating Inclusive Learning Opportunities in Higher Ed, and other great resources for educators who want to build products and courses that can be easily accessed in usable ways by the diverse range of learners who are out there. It’s a rollicking deep dive into an emerging field that you won’t want to miss! If you like what you’re hearing, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow us at TrendinginEducation.com

Ron Reed and Greg Rosenbaum from SXSW EDU return to join Mike just before SXSW EDU 2021 begins on March 9th. You can learn more about the conference at https://www.sxswedu.com/ We talk through our history together with this being the third time Ron and Greg have joined us on the show. We take time to reflect on the challenges and transformations of the past year and get their thoughts on the opportunities around moving online and the shifts in thinking required to make the most of the online format. Greg talks about the shift from "serendipity to intention" and Ron provides a broader read on the impact of the past year and how that will be reflected in the themes and topics of SXSW EDU 2021. And we also talk about Oprah Winfrey's Keynote with Dr. Bruce Perry on their upcoming book, What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing. It's a riveting conversation that gives a window into the many challenges we've faced and the new perspectives we're arriving at in difficult times. If you li

Geoff and Sky Marietta join Mike to discuss their book, Rural Education in America. We hear the Mariettas' story from rural roots to meeting at Teach For America in the Navajo Nation, to Harvard Yard, and then finally to Harlan County, Kentucky, where Sky and family have deep roots. We look at how rural America is perceived both from the outside in and also from the inside in as we learn the critical role education plays in knitting together rural communities. It's an eye-opening conversation that will help broaden your understanding of the problems, opportunities, and perspectives that drive rural students, teachers, families, and communities. In a time of polarization and risks of stereotyping rural America, this is a timely conversation that you won't want to miss! If you like what you're hearing subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow us at TrendingInEducation.com.

Mike welcomes Anurupa Ganguly, Founder and CEO of Prisms of Reality, a Virtual Reality solution for teaching K-12 algebra. As a student, teacher, and administrator, Anurupa was consistently frustrated by students’ lack of deep conceptual understanding of math and science. Find out how she’s leveraging the cutting-edge technology of VR to deepen and accelerate math learning in middle school. Anurupa describes what's involved in creating compelling VR experiences to provide emotional resonance and conceptual depth as she describes her vision for the future for Prisms. It takes a cross-disciplinary team of game designers, developers, UX, product, and content stakeholders to build experiences like their beta launch for Algebra which is now available. It's an imaginative conversation about how emerging VR capabilities can really make a difference in Math and STEM education that you won't want to miss. If you like what you're hearing, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and check us out at TrendinginEducation

Dr. Daniel Harrison joins Mike to talk about his latest book, Live at Jackson Station. We hear how Dan became a Sociology Professor at Lander University in South Carolina before we dive into the importance of storytelling as Dan tells the story of Jackson Station, a legendary blues bar in Greenwood, South Carolina in the 1980s and early nineties. We learn about the tolerance and diversity of the music scene at the bar before things take a “True Crime” turn with a bush ax attack in the parking lot at 3am. Along the way Dan and Mike muse about the relevance of sociology and the future of higher education. Then we touch on Dan’s first book, Making Sense of Marshall Ledbetter, which tells the story of a university student who broke into the Florida State Capitol in 1991 and holed up in the Sergeant-At-Arms office resulting in a standoff with police replete with a surprising list of demands and a climactic conclusion. We conclude by discussing Dan’s recent article titled “Sociology at the End of History”. In all,

Dr. John Giordano joins Mike to explain how he founded Semester For Change to help students and families navigate the transition from High School to the right career path for them. John shares the story of his career in Fine Arts Education that bridges from high school into colleges with strong ties to the community throughout. John describes his own experiences over the past year which led to him forming an alternative to a year of traditional higher education in these chaotic times. Semester For Change builds on John and team's experiences helping a diverse cross-section of students make choices and build projects that help them find their passion and apply design thinking principles to build their post-secondary pathway to steer towards productive and meaningful careers. How would you design a program to help students and families who are choosing to hit pause to reflect before leaning into what makes sense for them next? Listen in to find out. You can learn more about what John and team are doing at https

Mike welcomes Jeff Gothelf, author of Forever Employable: How to Stop looking for Work and Let Your Next Job Find You. Jeff starts by talking about his early days in rock’n’roll and Web 1.0. Leading a design team in the early days, he and his team had to find a way to match their processes to the then ascendent agile software development process. Jeff was then able to leverage this new approach into a book, Lean UX, and from there into teaching.   More recently, he has responded to his audience by expounding on a “continuous pull” model of letting clients come to you. You need to establish credibility with your audience, and then frequently and consistently provide them with what they want, adapting to the signals they send you. Jeff elaborates on finding the right focus, and how you can deal with “imposter syndrome” by just “shipping it”. Jeff also notes how you can learn from thought leaders both within your field and beyond. Mike asks about the future, and Jeff says he plans to continue deeper into the “

Miles Iton joins Mike Palmer to talk about how he's incorporated Hip Hop into his EFL (English as a Foreign Language) training programs. Miles is the Founder and Program Director at Lo-Fi Language Learning. Lo-Fi Language Learning is a version of n.e.Bodied Entertainment’s Freestyle + Floetry tutorial fitted to an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) curriculum. Founded in 2019 after winning Distinguished Honors (1st Prize) at the National University of Science & Technology’s Be Young Beyond Startup Competition in Taipei, Taiwan, Lo-Fi looks to shake up the landscapes of both classroom English learning and the hip-hop scene out East. We learn what brought Miles to this point in his career and explore how Hip Hop and relevance can really make a difference when trying to get students engaged and motivated in their language learning activities. We also explore the broader cultural impact of Hip Hop and how it can make a difference in the classroom before concluding with Miles' take on where things are heading in

Ryan Craig joins Mike to discuss his work at Achieve Partners and as a Senior Education Contributor to Forbes and other publications. He's the author of College Disrupted and A New U and is a forward-thinking voice on the future of post-secondary education. We discuss his articles about IUP and Quibi and the recent kerfuffle about Dr. Jill Biden, among other topics, as we zero in on the challenges higher education faces and how we can evolve both within and perhaps more importantly outside of it in a wide-ranging and informative conversation. Ryan and the team at Achieve Partners are focused on new and emerging models and ventures that focus on connecting high school students to their first good job. He explains how he was originally looking to find these pathways through traditional higher education but has since shifted his focus to models like apprenticeships and income share agreements that he sees as more efficient at achieving the critical outcome of landing a good first job. It's an insightful and tho

Mike is joined by Bryanne Leeming, CEO of Unruly Studios, and creator of Unruly Splats.   Bryanne begins by explaining the origins of Unruly Splats. Her early exposure to programming was key, as was the entrepreneurialism of her parents and her childhood involvement in sports. After graduating from college, she worked in product development. Seeing the interesting but often passive experiences offered by many Edtech products, Bryanne founded Unruly Studios. Bryanne describes Splats as “programmable floor buttons”. They’re stomped on by kids to cause interactions, and kids can program them to create new games. Originally prototyped while she was still in business school, Spats are now in hundreds of schools across the U.S. and Canada. Kids have stomped them more than 1 million times Mike asks about the impact of Covid on Splats, and Bryanne explains that even before the pandemic she and her team have been interviewing hundreds of teachers about their needs. As a result, they offer special challenges between sc

Michelle Weise is the author of Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don't Even Exist Yet. Michelle is also a Senior Advisor at the philanthropic investment group, Imaginable Futures. On this episode, she joins Mike Palmer to discuss her new book and how we can reimagine our learning ecosystem in response to longer lifespans, automation, and rapid transformation of the 21st Century. We begin with Michelle’s origin story, how she moved from being an English professor into educational technology including stints at Clayton Christensen’s Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Southern New Hampshire University, and Strada Education Network. Michelle notes the difficulty of predicting actual future careers, and how her book focuses on the type of worker and the type of problem solver we all need to become. We need to offload much of the current tasks that AI can do better while developing both our “human-plus” skills as well as the technical expertise required to exercise judgment. Mike and Michelle discuss “

Dr. Mordecai Brownlee proudly serves as the Vice President for Student Success at St. Philip’s College. St. Phillips holds the distinction of being the only institution granted both HBCU and HSI status. He also serves as adjunct faculty at Morgan State University School of Education & Urban Studies and the University of Charleston School of Business & Leadership. In addition, Mordecai is an education columnist with EdSurge and has authored recent articles on Financial Literacy and Co-Requisite Developmental Education that form the foundation of his conversation with Mike Palmer in this episode. We begin by hearing what got Mordecai to this point in his career journey and use that as the jumping off point to diving developmental education and the importance of teaching financial literacy. We explore the challenges students battling poverty face to achieve success and social mobility and warn of the challenges of taking on student debt. It's an in-depth view of the work Dr. Brownlee and team are doing in urban

In this episode, we're excited to welcome Dr. Bridget Burns to Trending in Education to talk about innovation in higher education. Named one of the “Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly, Bridget is the founding Executive Director of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA). The UIA is the groundbreaking national consortium of public research universities working together to test and scale innovations that close achievement gaps and improve outcomes for all students. Since its founding in 2014, the UIA campuses have increased their low-income degrees awarded by 37% (producing over 30,000 additional low-income graduates to date) and increased graduates of color by 73%. The Alliance has been featured in national outlets like 60 Minutes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Fast Company, and in the documentary "Unlikely". The UIA has inspired and supported the formation of more than 15 other university networks working to improve postsecondary success for low-income students. We b

Abby Schneiderman and Gene Newman from Everplans join Mike to talk about their new book In Case You Get Hit By A Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later. We begin by getting the origin story of Everplans based on Abby's experiences as a tech entrepreneur and as someone who faced unexpected challenges when her brother suddenly died at age 51. We learn how Abby and Adam Seifer, her Co-founder, created Everplans and how they brought in Gene to help write the book and begin to educate folks on how to navigate the difficult and complex challenges that emerge with the loss of a loved one. We touch on emerging trends around digital estate planning, scenario-based thinking, and capturing the "softer side" of one's legacy for families and friends to hold onto after your gone. With the massive shifts of thinking due to the pandemic, we also think through how planning mindsets are shifting and how much of the work the folks at Everplans are doing was ahead of trend and is now incredibly zeitg

Dr. April Willis joins Mike to talk about the work she and team are doing at the National Virtual Teachers Association (NVTA) to help teachers manage the difficult transition to teaching online. April recounts her experiences beginning in the classroom and then moving across various roles in education before joining the NVTA to help establish best practices for virtual instruction. What began prior to the pandemic accelerated quickly in response to the tremendous spike in demand. April shares her perspective on how virtual instruction will continue to play a critical role in the learning ecosystem long beyond the pandemic and how we can ensure we can get better at teaching online in new ways. If you like what you're hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.

After graduating from college, Mike Marriner travelled across America with two college friends in an old, green RV. Along the way, they interviewed leaders across a wide array of fields and occupations to learn how folks got to where they were. That first trip resulted in the book Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Road in Life and soon led to the founding of Road Trip Nation where Mike and team now provide that same experiential learning experience to other students. They've been regularly featured on PBS and across major media outlets over the past 20 years. In a wide-ranging conversation, we touch on how the lowering of barriers to entry is making it easier than ever to chart new career paths like Mike's. He reflects on recent work they've done to launch Roadtrip Nation's first Online Course allowing their tools and insights to reach a broader audience who might not be able to take to the road. Mike recounts stories from recent trips with community college students, and students with learning dis

In this special edition of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer shares the 21 Trends he's seeing on the horizon for 2021. Based on over 100 shows in 2020 talking to 75 different guests, we've been able to glean insights that help us get out ahead of what's emerging in the future of learning in 2021 and beyond. And this is the episode where we share that all with you! You want to discover what's emerging in learning in these transformative times? Then listen to this episode and join us in the conversation as we head into the rest of the 2020s. And be sure to follow us at https://trendingineducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts. To the Future!

Melissa Griffith and Dan Strafford join Mike Palmer for this special 2021 Kickoff show. What trends are top of mind for us as we lean into 2021? How will we turn the page from 2020 into the New Year? What have we learned? We talk Biotech, EdTech, Data Privacy, and the enormous opportunities emerging in Learning due to the forcing function of rapid digital adoption in 2020 due to the pandemic. Thanks so much for listening and here's to an incredible 2021 for all of our listeners both new and longtime! If you like what you're hearing, follow us at https://trendingineducation.com and wherever you listen to podcasts. And remember to spread the word as we continue to explore the future of learning in the New Year of 2021 and beyond!