Trending In Education

In a Special Fall 2020 K12 Education episode, Mike is joined by Sarah Darville, Matt Barnum, and Kalyn Belsha from Chalkbeat to talk through trends they've been seeing while reporting on K12 throughout the challenging year that is 2020. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of America's most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children, especially those who have historically lacked access to a quality education. Sarah is the Managing Editor for Chalkbeat and she shares a broad perspective on how they've navigated this complex year with a local focus that can coalesce into national themes over time. Matt brings a sharp focus on educational research and policy while Kalyn reports on stories from the perspective of educators, parents, and students. Both Matt and Kalyn are Reporters with the National Desk at Chalkbeat. As we all look ahead towards the 2020 US Presidential Election in the coming week, the Chalkbeat team helps us get out ahead of what might be on

For this episode, Dr. Eric T. Weber joins Mike to talk about the importance of educational philosophy, especially in schools of education. Eric is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. He's also one of the hosts of the radio show and podcast, Philosophy Bakes Bread, where he regularly raises relevant issues to explore with the help of a critical, philosophical mindset. Eric recently authored a 1-sheeter raising relevant philosophical questions about education in a time of crisis with further questions in which education is always in crisis. These questions were designed for a Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) event but they are relevant for any of us grappling with the role of education in these challenging times. Eric provides a heartfelt perspective on what John Dewey would think if he were around today. Eric edited a book of essays by Dewey that is due out at the end of the year. We hope you enjoy this conversation. Thanks as always for listening.

Dr. Lorne Buchman, the President of ArtCenter College of Design and host of the Change Lab Podcast, joins Mike this week to share his experiences as a maker and the leader of an esteemed College of Art and Design. Lorne shares his origin story that is deeply steeped in the practical application of his education in the theater at Stanford University where he earned his doctorate. We touch on the power of humanistic psychology and the importance of building a culture where creatives can truly thrive to do their best work. Then we dive into how Lorne and team have delivered on the mission statement of ArtCenter which is "Learn to Create. Influence Change" both historically and particularly in the context of the challenging year that is 2020. We also get some of Lorne's perspective as a podcaster since he's been hosting Change Lab going on seven seasons now. Lorne is a visionary who to this day still thinks like a theatrical director. We feel privileged to have gotten access to his unique perspective on this epis

Dr. Jonathan Cohen joins Mike this week to explore the global trend of social emotional learning (SEL) and violence prevention in schools. Jonathan recently co-edited the book Feeling Safe in School through Harvard Education Press where he and team studied school climate and violence prevention programs in schools across 11 cultures spanning the globe. In our conversation, we explore Jonathan's origin story before digging into what can be learned by understanding how different cultures conceptualize and address many of the challenges children face by feeling unsafe in their schools. Jonathan explains the work he's doing with the International Observatory of School Climate and Violence Prevention as we tease out what folks are getting right and what they might be missing in the realm of school safety and violence prevention. We're happy to showcase the important work being done here to provide educators and students with the tools and techniques needed to foster safer, more effective learning environments. We

Maria Andersen, the Founder and CEO of Coursetune, joins Mike to talk about the importance of good instructional design and curriculum development to effective online learning. Maria walks us through her extensive and varied experiences ranging from teaching math at a community college, to working at Canvas, the large LMS company, to leading instructional design at Western Governors University (WGU) before founding Coursetune three years ago. We dig into the benefit of having a central place where courses can be mapped to learning objectives and visualized in a way that helps everyone understand with some detail the design thinking that has gone into the course. We conclude with some thoughts about how the pandemic has accelerated movement to online and how this can ultimately be a good thing once we address issues of access and equity. Thanks as always for listening.

Dr. Chad Goldberg, Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, joins Mike to delve into the history and relevance of The Wisconsin Idea in understanding the role of a public university. Chad's written a book called Education for Democracy Renewing the Wisconsin Idea that is due out this Fall and we explore many of the relevant and timely themes covered in the book. Chad catches us up on the history of The Wisconsin Idea which dates back over 100 years and envisions the university's purpose as in service of the public and democracy. While it's called The Wisconsin Idea, the concept is broadly relevant to questions about the role of higher education today. Chad was the Instructor of Record when the course launched in 2016 and he's returned to lead the course again this year. We dive into how things have changed since 2016 and learn how the course design and related conversation have evolved in 2020. The public lecture series is accessible to everyone and can be found here. We hope you enjoy t

Dr. Neil Heffernan, the William Smith Dean Chair Professor at Worcestor Polytechnic Institute (WPI), joins Mike to talk about how his career interweaves great teaching, computer science, and "ASSISTments" - a set of digital tools designed to make homework assignment and evaluation more efficient. Neil tells us his origin story which includes meeting his wife Cristina while teaching and doing research in K12 Education right through their creation of the ASSISTments Foundation for which Neil serves as the Chair. We talk about the effective blending of artificial intelligence and human teaching to deliver next-level learning opportunities. We dive into the critical importance of the human elements of motivation, coaching, and inspiration in great teaching. We also discuss how Neil and team have been able to leverage a platform built on crowdsourced content to begin to truly scale ASSISTments to reach hundreds of thousands of students and how the pandemic has increased demand and usage. Neil and team are doing fa

Kelly Ryan Bailey, the host of Let's Talk About Skills Baby and the Director of Open Skills at EMSI, joins Mike to talk about the journey that brought her to where she is today as a mother, a podcaster, and a global skills evangelist. After exploring Kelly's personal journey, we dig into the three parts of the job skills marketplace: the employee, the employer, and the educator. How do they relate? And how can we as individuals learn to continue to acquire relevant skills, be grateful for small improvements, and stay motivated to learn throughout our lifecourses? Kelly brings a lot of energy and passion for the world of skill development and we've very happy to have gotten time to dive into this emerging trend with her. We hope you enjoy.

This week, Mike is joined by Prakash Nair, the Founder of Education Design International (EDI) and author of Blueprint for Tomorrow from Harvard Education Press. Prakash describes how the design of K12 schools can and should be completely rethought. School buildings and their institutional designs contribute to a "cells and bells" culture that stifles learning, creativity, and joy. Prakash provides alternative approaches to conceiving of school architecture that are less tied up in the expensive construct of a school building and classrooms. We explore how David Thornburg's four primordial learning spaces: campfire, watering hole, cave, and life can be designed into school environments. We also discuss the power of outdoor learning. Through our conversation with Prakash, we see how we can let go of legacy models of school architecture to genuinely reimagine how and where learning can be done. It's a fascinating conversation. We really appreciate getting a chance to talk with Prakash. We hope you enjoy.

This week Mike is joined by Bryan Alexander, Senior Scholar at Georgetown University and author of Academia Next , to talk about what happens when a Futurist gets a prediction right. In Bryan's recent book, he explores a possible future where a widespread pandemic akin to the 1918 Spanish flu hits and majorly disrupts higher education. Bryan's book was released prior to Covid-19 and it's received a lot of attention since. Although it's tragic and we empathize deeply with those impacted most severely, we use this as a jumping off point to explore how gaming, scenario-based thinking, and "futures work" help build out our ability to think through and manage the novel situations that life continues to throw at us. What does Bryan see on the horizon for Higher Education and the world more broadly? Listen in to find out!

David Adams, the Senior Director of Strategy at The Urban Assembly, joins Mike to explore the many facets of Social Emotional Learning or SEL. David shares his career journey which charts a path through many of the key centers of research in the field along with practical experience in schools in New York City and around the world. He recently co-authored a book titled The Educator's Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence. David expands on how he's established a cutting-edge SEL program at The Urban Assembly schools in New York and provides tips and insights for educators, parents and the rest of us on how to incorporate emotional learning into the educational experience. We also dig into the role of SEL in navigating a difficult and transformational year like this one. Of course, there are a few Whitney Houston and Star Wars references in there to keep things engaging. David's a tremendous resource in the field and we very much appreciate getting his perspectives on the show. We hope you enjoy and learn f

Mike Tringe and Sean Graham from CreatorUp, a Digital Media Studio and Training Company, join Mike Palmer to discuss the critical role of visual storytelling and video for brands, universities, and individuals. We explore how CreatorUp leaned into Live Online delivery and educational use cases as the pandemic response required agility and resilience. We conclude with advice for educators from media professionals with a keen understanding of the learning ecosystem. We hope you enjoy.

Evan Gappelberg, the Founder and CEO of NexTech AR Solutions, joins us this week to dive into the emerging megatrend of augmented reality (or AR). Evan describes how NexTech AR Solutions was formed and how it went public as the first publicly traded pure AR play. We then explore how the pandemic response has led to unprecedented growth both in AR and specifically in its educational applications. Evan outlines the recent work NexTech has done with Ryerson University as activities like lab session and other learning interventions have benefitted from use of their Augmented Reality as a Service platform ARitize. Mike picks Evans brain about new and emerging trends to be on the lookout for as we think through the instructional design opportunities that come with new technologies like Augmented Reality. Come join us for an imaginative ride on this week's cutting edge episode!

Warren Kennard, the Founder of ConnectED, returns to the show to describe his recent experience designing and building a crowdsourced 8-week course in EdTech and Strategy for Higher Ed. What problems was he trying to address when conceiving of this course? What elements of design thinking powered the approach? Who is it designed for and how has the COVID-19 pandemic increased the relevance and interest in online learning and innovative leadership in higher education? We answer all of these questions and garner insights from Warren based on his transformative experience building this course. Listen in and enjoy.

Kate Dalton and Dr. Eliot Chayt join Mike to talk about the critical importance of media literacy in today's world. Eliot and Kate are the founders of an EdTech startup called Mucktracker, which provides a platform for students and educators to co-create a critical understanding of news and media drawn from various sources. We discuss the origins of the concept of Muctracker and its ties to the storied history of investigative journalism and the muckrakers as we muse on the notion that all literacy is media literacy. The profusion and democratization of new media of late brings with it a responsibility to educate K12 students, as well as undergraduates and lifelong learners, to develop more mature critical understandings of the media we're all consuming.

Are you ready to get HYPE? We sure are. For the fourth year in a row, the team at Trending in Education digests and breaks down the Gartner Hype Cycle For Emerging Technologies which was recently released for 2020. Mike welcomes Melissa Griffith and Dan Strafford back to the show for the beginning of our fifth season to break down our favorite hype curve. What trends are emerging according to Gartner? How have they been impacted by COVID-19? What are the learning implications to the new and emerging technologies highlighted by Gartner? Which trends are rising to the Peak of Inflated Expectations? Which ones are headed to the Trough of Disillusionment? Listen in to find out!

Dr. Jon Shelton, Associate Professor of Democracy and Justice at UW-Green Bay, joins Mike for a special Labor Day edition where we dive into the history of Labor and Education in the US on today's show. Jon walks us through the history of the Labor Day holiday, expanding beyond barbecues and rules about when it's okay to wear white. From there, we delve into the long history of collective action among educators and other workers over the years. We draw parallels to the recent actions in the NBA and other sports leagues as we explore how Teachers and Teachers Unions have extended the focus of their actions to include acting in service of what's right not just for themselves as workers, but also for what is right for their students and communities. Today's episode will give you plenty to chew on beyond what you might get at your holiday barbecue. Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoy!

Dr. Terri Givens, CEO of the Center for Higher Education Leadership, returns to join Melissa and Mike in a wide-ranging conversation about what we see on the near-term horizon for Higher Education in the Fall of 2020. We touch on the "Corona Gap Year" phenomenon, put ourselves in the shoes of University Administrators and faculty navigating these uncertain times, and get advice based on Terri's experience as a Professor, an Administrator, and now as the Founder of a company focused on helping Higher Education navigate the complexities of this day and age. It's a Back To School special edition you won't want to miss on Trending in Education!

Youki Terada, Research and Standards Editor at Edutopia, returns to the show to revisit trends in K-12 Educational research in light of the tumultuous year in which we're living. The response to the pandemic has re-emphasized the critical role of social emotional learning along with issues of digital divides and Youki and team have been shifting Eduopia's focus in that direction. As Edutopia continues to provide tools and supports for teachers diving into remote teaching, Youki highlights some of the critical differences with online teaching, particularly with regard to receiving feedback. It's a fascinating conversation and you'll come away thinking of horses doing math problems in an entirely new way. You can find more of Youki and team's great work at edutopia.org . Thanks as always for listening.

In this emergency bonus episode of Running It Back, Tarlin and Mike dive into the transformative events of the past week beginning with the shooting of Jacob Blake and culminating in the walkout of NBA players led by the Milwaukee Bucks. As these actions set off a cascade of similar actions in Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and elsewhere, how can we put this into a broader historical context? We run through the long history of athletes as activists who have asserted their power by choosing not to play. Some have set off movements by pulling in others to follow. Others have been ostracized and mostly forgotten. Now as the games have started again in the Bubble, we take a moment to pause and reflect on the historical context of the momentous events of the week as we continue to monitor this developing situation. And fear not, fans of regular episodes of Trending in Education! We've got plenty of great content coming together there as well. Thanks as always for listening.