Trending In Education

Our fifth episode of the final season of The Citadel breaks down The Bells, Episode 5 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the third episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage.  Brandon, Mike, and Dan try to find bright spots in a season that's been headed in the wrong direction. We check in on the downward trend on Rotten Tomatoes and hope the final episode can correct the fall before the end of the series. How should we interpret Dany's actions? We see the prophecy of Varys' demise come true as he is put to death by the Dragon Queen and then she attacks King's Landing. Is she now, truly, the 'Mad Queen' or were these actions a necessary step to take Westeros and make it her own? Why didn't she lay waste to the Red Keep first, sparing the city? Will Jon's loyalty be put to the test with her actions? Jaime and Cersei are reunited and we get a brutal fight between the Hound and his brother the Mo

This week, we welcome Jeanne Allen, Founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, to the show to discuss school choice, innovation, and more. We dive into CER's history and goals on a national, state, and local level. Jeanne shares her views on what's wrong with our education system and how CER believes these problems can be fixed. She discusses where her organization spends its resources and time, as well as how they may find common ground they with folks on the other side of complex issues in educational policy and reform. We talk through what school choice means as CER sees it and what could help to provide all students with high quality education. As CER celebrates it's 25th anniversary, how might the next 25 years play forward for this organization and for learning and education as a whole? Tune in to find out!

Our fourth episode of the final season of The Citadel breaks down, The Last of the Starks, Episode 4 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the third episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage.  Brandon, Mike, and Dan make their way through what's been seen as a disappointing episode four of season eight. We begin in Winterfell for the victory toasts and celebrations, make our way through an uneven meeting betwen Bronn, Jaime, and Tyrion and a 'surprise' attack from Euron, and a meeting of the queens. Will Danaerys continue to be the chosen leader of those opposing Cersei or has Jon's revelation and popularity started to show cracks in her support? Have the show-runners lost their way? Rotten Tomatoes reviews continuing trend downward might answer that question for us. We talk through the coffee cup on set, Jaime and Brienne's time together, and much, much more. 

First, we say thank you to all the teachers out there as we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day! Then, we dive into the latest wearable technology, hearables. As Fitbits and Apple Watches continue to flood the market, what is the latest technology available for our ears? Apple's Air pods are a popular example of the growing product area of smart, wearable audio devices known as hearables which are changing media consumption and have broad implications to learning.  How can hearables be used for learning and personalization? How can clarity controls and amplification created for those suffering from hearing loss make audio lectures and learning in crowded spaces more engaging for everyone? Are our ears a pathway to tracking our brain functionality and health more closely and dynamically? Find out how a Stanford Neuroscientist describes the possibilities. How long until cochlear implants combine with hearables to further blend humans with smart tech? In sum, we get futurist with our learnholes this week. What mo

Our third episode of the final season of The Citadel breaks down, The Long Night, Episode 3 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the third episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage.  We begin by checking in with Mike and Dan to set the stage for the podcast now that everyone has had time to digest and process this epic episode. Then we share highlights from our Sunday night live stream that included Brandon, Frank Jones, and Ken Florence, in addition to Mike and Dan. Ken is the composer of all the great music you here in our theme music and on each Citadel episode. We close out the show by getting more perspective now that the dust is settling with friend of the show, Kristen Smith. We talk through the Battle of Winterfell and those who were lost, and those we did not lose, in the battle versus the Army of the Dead. Where did the over/under come in on the number of major characters who died in this

This week we dive into the topic of Summit Learning and some of the backlash it's seen in school districts across America. We react to a recent New York Times article that explores a spate of recents cases of community opposition to this program at high schools in Kansas.  How is local activism intersecting with broad educational initiatives like Summit Learning which is back by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)? How much of the reaction is in part driven by the perceived foreignness of Silicon Valley edtech and how much is tied to a mistrust of screen-based education? What's the role of the educator and how important is buy-in at all levels to the success of advancing ed tech and personalized learning in the classroom? We engage in a spirited discussion of a topic that we're expecting to remain an important part of the broader conversation about evolving our learning and educational models. Listen in and enjoy!  

Our second Episode of The Citadel breaks down Episode 2 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the second episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage.  This week we dive into the details of the episode that sets us up for the big battle of Winterfell that seems to be imminent heading into Episode 3. What was the significance of Jenny's Song? What happens now that Jon Snow revealed his news to Daenerys? Which characters are most likely to leave us next episode and what's the "over/under" on major character deaths in Episode 3? How did Episode 2 and the season overall thus far deliver against expectations? What's coming next in what is purported to be the most legendary battle sequence in television history?  Have a listen to this show to find out all this and much more on this week's installment of The Citadel. 

On this week's episode we tackle the topics of cryptomnesia and multiple discovery. Cryptomnesia occurs when a forgotten memory returns without it being recognized as such by the subject, who believes it is something new and original. Multiple discovery is the theory that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple scientists and inventors. What does it mean to be creative if we're really just pulling from our own experiences without being consciously aware? Does intent mark the difference between plagiarism and new work? With technology available, is it incumbent on the creator to confirm their new work hasn't been done before? How does curation factor into creativity and invention? We discuss all that as well as Twitter jokes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on a quick-paced, fun episode. Tune in!

We're back! Your friends at Trending in Education are relaunching our Game of Thrones breakdown show, aka The Citadel, to coincide with the final season of the legendary television series. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the premiere of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage.  This week, Brandon and Mike are joined by friend of the show, Frank Jones, to discuss the intricacies of Season 8, Episode 1, Winterfell. In addition, we make predictions about what will happen next as the narrative arc of the show enters into the end game. If you want to get the lowdown on the first episode and begin to flex your predictive prowess forecasting the rest of the final season, listen in and enjoy!

This week, we dive back into one of our favorite topics, robots. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have created and refined a robot who can sense and respond to human emotion in real time. While "Woody" is still being fine-tuned, his existence opens up questions of how socially and emotionally aware robots might further empower a human-led classroom? While it's easy to wax dystopic on the topic of robots, we find some positive signs in the emergence of this new age robot that senses human feelings. Why does this excite our imaginations? How else can robots like this help us relieve suffering and care for the elderly? Can therapeutic robots be used to combat an emerging loneliness epidemic?  We touch on all of this and even sing a little Whitney Houston on this week's show. Listen in and enjoy.

Were you a student who was frustrated by the amount of homework you had to do? Are you a parent who continually argues with your children about getting their homework done? Is it all worth it? On this week's episode, we dive into the debate on the true importance of homework for younger students. Should homework be banned in elementary school? Is homework truly helping reinforce what's happening in the classroom? Does the National PTA and National Education Association have it right that 10 minutes of homework per grade level (ie 10 minutes for first grade, 90 minutes for ninth grade) is the right amount? We tackle this and more as we discuss a recent Salon article on the subject. We also discuss the potential that homework at an early age helps prepare students for what's to come later on in their schooling.  Tune in to find out our points of view and be sure to let us know what you think about the importance of homework!

This week, we close out our 2019 Learning March Madness tournament. Over four rounds and 15 games, 16 of our favorite trends and topics were voted on by our listeners and now it’s time to dig into the results. Could JOMO make a Cinderella run from the 16-seed at the bottom of the bracket? Did Mindful Learning earn a coveted spot in the finals? How did Kidsolving fare defending its crown? We take some time to walk through some of the early round matchups and discuss the tournament overall. How does this year's group stack up against those from years past? What topics do we see as having lasting power throughout 2019? How can we best track or "score" these predictions to see which truly comes out ahead as the year ends? We conclude by revealing the winner of this year's Championship Game with a little Moonlightesque panache. The finals pitted Interactive Everything against Human-centered STEM. Which topic won out and claimed the top trend  spot in our 2019 tournament? Tune in to find out!

Dan and Mike chat with Russell Glass, co-author of Voting with a Porpoise. Voting with a Porpoise is a new children's book focused on fostering a discussion around civic engagement and voting with younger kids. The authors describe the purpose of the book as: to help change the culture around elections and voting. To that end, 100 percent of the profits for Voting With a Porpoise will be donated to 501(c)(3) non-partisan voting-related causes focused on getting more people of all backgrounds to the polls, such as Rock the Vote, Vote.org, TurboVote, and others. We talk to Russell about his own background and drive to write this children's story. He discusses his own experiences with voting and his family which helped shape his desire to join this conversation. How did he and co-author Sean Callahan decide on marine animals as the focus? How hard was it to land on a rhyming meter that worked? What are the long term goals for the book? Will Petey the Porpoise swim into our lives in a sequel? All that and a great

Mike sits down with Rohit Bhargava, author and Founder of the Non-Obvious Company, to discuss the 2019 edition of the Non-Obvious guide. Rohit, as a friend and influencer of our show, always provides surprising and insightful takes on where the world is heading and this year is no exception. Mike and Rohit engage in a free-flowing conversation that covers Non-Obvious 2019 trends like Strategic Spectacle, Muddled Masculinity, and Deliberate Downgrading and attempt to assess the relevance of many of these trends to the world of learning and education. In addition, they explore how the learnability and teachability of being non-obvious. How much of it is a mindset and how much of it can be developed by adopting a more omnivorous approach to consuming inputs, collecting insights, and curating trends? Listen in to find out!  

In this episode, we dive into the edutainment value of Game of Thrones as we gear up for the final season of the show which debuts in just a few weeks. We discuss how GoT provides good foundations for political science, leadership and management, language learning, and even epidemiology curricula. What are the advantages of using timely, relevant entertainment content when designing instruction? How has Bruce Craven of Columbia University incorporated the blockbuster HBO show and George RR Martin novels into a popular leadership and management course. Can we learn from the leadership styles of the characters in this story or is designing lesson plans around GoT the instructional equivalent of clickbait? Do popular narratives like this series provide learners with hooks to which they can affix new learning or do they add too much distraction and cognitive load that interfere with learning? Then we dig into a fascinating Smithsonian article about Australian epidemiologists who are predicting the outcomes of the

Mike Palmer is joined by Frank Jones and Kristen Smith to discuss the sprawling college admissions scandal known as Operation Varsity Blues. What does this scandal say about the current state of selective higher ed admissions in the US? How is this scandal and its coverage a reflection of broader trends we’re seeing in our society? Why are Aunt Becky from Full House and Felicity Huffman from Desperate Housewives the “poster moms” for this scandal and how does it all tie to “bulldozer parenting” and “affluenza?” We also take the time to discuss how the collective outrage in response to the scandal can be harnessed for more positive outcomes. What steps can we all take to help ensure individuals who deserve the opportunity get a fair shot at an undergraduate education? Tune in for a lively discussion on a trending educational topic that will likely remain in the zeitgeist for quite some time. 

This week, we tackle the topic of "unlearning." We begin by defining what unlearning has meant across psychology, organizational change, and in the classroom and dig into the debate about whether it is truly part of the learning process. Can we truly "unlearn" something or do we build upon or reframe our understanding as new data and insights come to light? How much of a part does our own humility play in being able to learn new things? Which fields could benefit the most from the concept of "unlearning" and how might it tie to growth mindset, addiction, and related ideas? We discuss all of this and tie back to previous shows and related themes as we talk through this deep and interesting topic. Listen in to begin to figure out how, when, and whether to get your unlearn on!

Mike Palmer and Melissa Griffith sit down with Aaron Dignan to talk about his new book, Brave New Work. Aaron walks us his story of writing the book before focusing in on what isn't working in current organizational environments and how anyone within any organization can help bring about the type of change that is so desperately needed.  Aaron discusses getting to the heart of organizational, department, or team issues and working on change by focusing on the people. What's the difference between complicated and complex systems? What parallels can be drawn to world of learning and education? Why is Aldous Huxley so important to all of this? Aaron, Melissa, and Mike have an engaging, entertaining, and illuminating discussion around all of this and more. Listen in to enjoy!

We take you to our live presentation of our podcast at SXSWEdu 2019. Mike and Brandon were joined on stage by Ashley Mannka-Suydam, Director, Learning Products at ACT to talk about the top trends at the conference. We also discussed through our brand new March Madness bracket. After our live show, you'll hear two interviews from the Expo floor. Dan talks to a company called In My Shoes. They are looking to use video and in-person mentors to help at-risk and minority students visualize themselves as successful in the business world. Mike then catches up with Vincent Routhier, CEO of LU Interactive, to discuss their interactive physical education technology. Can a re-imagined gymnasium help keep kids get active and reinforce classroom concepts?  Tune in for a sense of what’s emerging at SXSW EDU.  

We had the great pleasure of sitting down with Ron Reed, Founder and Executive Producer,  and Greg Rosenbaum, General Manager, of the learning conference SXSW EDU. Ron and Greg share the origin story of SXSWEdu and explore the emerging trends they've seen over the first nine years of the conference. We talk community building, the power of convergence zones and the ways in which innovation in learning and education is evolving. We also touch on mindfulness, social and emotional learning, and the whole teacher movement as core parts of the emergent zeitgeist of festival. If you made it to SXSW EDU this year, this is a wonderful capstone conversation for the experience. If you didn't make it, listening is a fantastic way to get a sense of what Greg and Ron are trying to accomplish and how it feels to be a part of it.