Getting Smart Podcast

This episode is an overview of a recent contribution to a publication from the Hoover Institute written by Tom Vander Ark. This publication takes a look at the shift from print to digital in light of the 40th anniversary of A Nation At Risk. This era marked a shift from information scarcity to abundance, a shift from searching to sorting. It changed what, how, and where people learn, and not always for the better. In American schools, the shift to digital learning was gradual, uneven, often chaotic, expensive, and, while there was observed improvement in engagement, largely ineffective at boosting traditional outcomes.  The shift to digital learning was marked by four phases: computers in the back of the room, introduction of the World Wide Web, the rise of blended learning, and remote learning. The rise of generative AI in 2022 marks a new era of human-computer interaction.   Links: View Publication  A Nation at Risk +40 | A Review of Progress in US Public Education AI for Education Publication Amanda Bi

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Nate McClennen is joined by Rachna Mathur, Senior STEM Strategist, CEO/Founder of Stemology Club and Meg Grothman, Director of Arizona Impact and Mathematics Innovation at ASU Prep. We have worked with ASU Prep and ASU over the years, and they both continue to live up to their reputation as innovative organizations that are inclusive rather than exclusive in who they serve. They are organizations that say yes to any solution that will help all students succeed.  Links: Rachna Mathur Website Megan Grothman LinkedIn Rachna Mathur LinkedIn ASU Prep Digit  Teach AI - AI Strategy Deck Si Se Puede Foundation Tempe Innovation Center  

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Shawnee Caruthers is joined by Sharif El-Mekki, Founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development. A proud alum of Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, PA and the former principal of Mastery Charter, Shoemaker Campus, Sharif sees education as activism and teachers as civic leaders. Sharif is also the co-host of the 8 Black Hands podcast. His mantra, “We Need Black Teachers” is more than a rallying cry, but a deep desire to give voice to the over 8 million black learners that need to see themselves in their classrooms and community. Links: Center for Black Educator Development Phillys7thWard 8 Black Hands podcast Teaching Pathways LinkedIn Center for Black Educators 2022 Report Dr. Gregg Carr Fugitive Pedagogy by Dr. Jarvis Givens Education of Black People by W.EB Dubois Speeches to the Youth by Malcolm X Black Teachers on Teaching by Dr. Michelle Foster  Dr. Vanessa Siddle Walker Dr. Gholdy Muhammad Dr. Zaretta Hammond

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Charles Fadel, Founder of Center for Curriculum Redesign. Center for Curriculum Redesign is a leading authority on elementary and secondary outcomes and they recently published a great new book called Education for the Age of AI.  This book is one of the most thoughtful explorations of what skills humans will need to learn to do uniquelly meaningful work alongside AI. It explores how many of the 21st century skills will be impacted by AI while also taking a look at Drivers of meaningful work.  Links:  Education for the Age of AI Portrait Model | Getting Smart Center for Curriculum Redesign  Cajon Valley  

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is part of a new short monthly series where Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins, a previous guest and a friend of the podcast, to speak with indigenous leaders and academics to discuss how indigenous ways of knowing and leading can, and should, shape the education system. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins and Dr. Hollie Mackey to discuss her incredibly important work in field building, policy and research and getting beyond marginality.  Dr. Hollie J Mackey is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne nation presently located in Southeastern Montana and Associate Professor of Education at North Dakota State University. Her scholarship empirically examines the effects of structural inequity in Indigenous and other marginalized populations in educational leadership and public policy using multiple critical frameworks and methodologies. As an experienced policy consultant, public speaker, program evaluator

How might we design new school models to better serve all young people? What are the skills, and jobs of tomorrow? IFTF’s Foresight Essentials course is great for those looking to build something new or trying to innovate within their current role.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Amanda Bickerstaff, the Co-Founder and CEO of AI for Education. Amanda has been involved in 10 edtech and impact startups over the past two decades and continues to drive important work to further teacher learning.  Links: Amanda Bickerstaff LinkedIn AI for Education Interview with Amanda The Way It Is by William Stafford Marcus Buckingham Red Threads Wellbeing For Learning OfCom Online Nation Report 2023  

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Nate McClennen is joined by Derek Wenmoth, Founder of Futuremakers, teacher, principal, distance educator and educational policy adviser in New Zealand and internationally. He’s also joined by Annette Thompson, Chief Executive Officer at Inquire Innovation and, previously, an elementary school teacher and principal for 37 years. She was named Arkansas Elementary Principal of the Year and an NAESP National Distinguished Principal in 2017. Together, Derek and Annette were two of the four co-authors of Agency By Design, a new playbook supported by the Aurora Institute, Future Makers and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.  Links: Research on Agency Agency By Design Playbook Annette Thompson Site Derek Wenmoth Site Derek Wenmoth LinkedIn  

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Mason Pashia is joined by two individuals from America’s Promise Alliance (APA), an organization that weaves people and organizations together for a positive impact. Mike O’Brien, CEO of America’s Promise Alliance, and Parvathi (Parv) Santhosh -Kumar their VP of Community Impact. Together, they talk about the importance of field building, how uniquely bi-partisan and longstanding organizations like APA can drive change through radical collaboration, what they learned from a 180-organization listening tour across the U.S. and much more.  Links: America’s Promise Parvathi Santhosh-Kumar LinkedIn Mike O’Brien LinkedIn Baratunde with Jon Alexander Kim Smith on Getting Smart Podcast

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is a part of our New Pathways campaign. In partnership with American Student Assistance (ASA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stand Together and the Walton Family Foundation, the New Pathways campaign will question education’s status quo and propose new methods of giving students a chance to experience success in what’s next.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast we’re joined by Dr. Michael Matsuda, Superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District and author of the great new book: Educating for Purposeful Life: A New Conception of Schooling for the 21st Century. The mission of the Anaheim Union High School District is to prepare high school graduates who possess a clear sense of purpose and the capacity to achieve their goals … talk about a pathways vision.  Links: Michael Matsuda Bio Educating for Purposeful Life: A New Conception of Schooling for the 21st Century Career Preparedness Systems Framework Anaheim Union High School Distri

On this Getting Smart Town Hall, we took a look at apprenticeship pathways and tried to answer some of the following questions: What does a modern apprenticeship system look like? How might we set up the necessary systems to create earn-and-learn opportunities in technology and teaching pathways.  We were joined by Erin Mote, InnovateEDU and Maureen Tracey Mooney, Department of Education who talked about Teacher Apprenticeships and Ryan Craig, author of Apprentice Nation as well as Chip Linehan, Co-CEO of Building 21 and Launchpad who discussed tech pathways for secondary students. Our presenters shared great slides overviewing the critical apprenticeship work across the nation.  Links  

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is part of a new short monthly series where Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins, a previous guest and a friend of the podcast, to speak with indigenous leaders and academics to discuss how indigenous ways of knowing and leading can, and should, shape the education system.   Awaachiáookaate’, or Jason Cummins Ed.D is an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke Nation, and recently served as the Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities, Office of the Secretary. Previously, he was the principal at Crow Agency Public School. As an Indigenous scholar and school leader he has innovatively worked to lead schools towards authentically serving Native American students PreK-12 and their communities by implementing culturally sustaining, trauma-informed, and restorative approaches.  We are joined by Alex Red Corn, Ed.D, a citizen o

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Jean Eddy, CEO of American Student Assistance (ASA) and author of Crisis-Proofing Today’s Learners: Reimagining Career Education to Prepare Kids for Tomorrow’s World. Links: Crisis Proofing Today’s Learners Jean Eddy American Student Assistance Cajon Valley Tacoma Washington Schools  

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is a part of our New Pathways campaign. In partnership with American Student Assistance (ASA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stand Together and the Walton Family Foundation, the New Pathways campaign will question education’s status quo and propose new methods of giving students a chance to experience success in what’s next.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Dr. Amanda Stent, director of the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and Dr Taniya Mishra, founder and CEO of SureStart. Administered by Colby’s Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship, the summer-long SureStart curriculum at Colby evolved from a longtime friendship between the two guests.  The Davis Institute for AI  facilitates interdisciplinary, human-centered scholarship using rich datasets with real-world consequences and prepares students for a future where AI is transforming industries, careers, and mo

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by our recent publication Green Pathways, and makes the case for why ALL pathways need sustainability and green embedded. Find out more here. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Mason Pashia is joined by Shiva Rajbhandari, a current freshman at UNC Chapel Hill and avid climate and education activist who is, to date, the first student on a school board in the state of Idaho.  Links: School Board Activist Shiva Rajbhandari  Idaho Climate Justice League The Sierra Club Green New Deal for Public Schools Act  

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Victoria Andrews is joined by Producer Mickey Breeze, the 10-time Beat Battle Champion of the Twin Cities. He is also a former teacher for the “Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project.” and a DJ for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Twins. He’s a proud alumni of the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, MN.  We’re also joined by Dr. H. Bernard Hall an Assistant Professor of Urban Teacher Education at Drexel University in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum. His teaching and research interests include urban teacher education and development, social justice-oriented approaches to secondary English education, hip-hop pedagogy, anti-Black educational policy and practice, and critical qualitative research.  Links:  Mickey Breeze H. Bernard Hall HipHopEd Conference IG: Mickey. Breeze  

On this episode of Getting Smart Podcast Victoria Andrews discusses student entrepreneurship with an awesome group from Frisco ISD. Tommy Thompson teaches Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Finance Classes, as well as the DECA sponsor in Frisco ISD. Before teaching he worked in the corporate world for 18 years, started his own business, and served as an industry volunteer in the INCubatoredu program at Centennial High School which he now teaches.  We’re also joined by two students: Rupa Kumaran, the founder of Infiniti Board, a Board Game for Neurodiverse individuals and Esha Bandi, the founder of MyCourseWay, a company that digitizes a school’s entire course catalog.   Links:  Business Incubator Uncharted Learning Tommy Thompson Frisco ISD MyCourseWay MyCourseWay Website Getting Smart Podcast on Uncharted Learning Frisco ISD Business Incubator Infiniti Board Game  

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is part of a new short monthly series where Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins, a previous guest and a friend of the podcast, to speak with indigenous leaders and academics to discuss how indigenous ways of knowing and leading can, and should, shape the education system.   In this episode, they are joined by Dr. Susan Faircloth to discuss the relationship between education and sovereignty, the National Indian Education Study, identity and home, and indigenous leadership. Awaachiáookaate’, or Jason Cummins Ed.D is an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke Nation, and recently served as the Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities, Office of the Secretary. Previously, he was the principal at Crow Agency Public School. As an Indigenous scholar and school leader he has innovatively worked to lead schools towards authentic

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast  Tom Vander Ark is joined by our friend Dr. Chris Unger, a Teaching Professor in the Graduate Programs in Education including the Doctor of Education program and author of the great new book A Revolution in Education: Scaling Agency & Opportunity for All.  Links: Viva La Revolucion Blog Post Amazon Link Season 1:  https://arevolutionineducation.buzzsprout.com Season 2:  https://arevolutionineducation2.buzzsprout.com Season 3:  https://arevolutionineducation3.buzzsprout.com LinkedIn Difference Making at the Heart of Learning One Stone Living in Beta Design 39 Iowa Big NAF Palisades High School Charlotte Lab School High Tech High Tacoma Public Schools Purdue Polytechnic Purdue Polytechnic Podcast - THIS… is the Revolution Podcast Purdue Polytechnic - Getting Smart Podcast Northern Cass School District Project Leo  

On this Getting Smart Town Hall, we took a look at our latest publication, Support & Guidance For All New Pathways Journeys and spoke with practitioners and policy experts to get an overview of the current state of advisory models in U.S. schools. Together, we highlighted some exemplars in the space and discuss how support, guidance and advisory systems are critical parts of building New Pathways that serve all learners. Be sure to check out some of the links that were shared in the deck and the chat at the button below: Watch Recording View Links View Recap Blog

How might we design new school models to better serve all young people? What are the skills, and jobs of tomorrow? IFTF’s Foresight Essentials course is great for those looking to build something new or trying to innovate within their current role.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Shawnee Caruthers is joined by Sharhonda Bossier, CEO of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and Carmita Seeman, Founder of the Surge Institute.  EdLoC “supports talented leaders of color in education and related fields to thrive as disruptive and innovative agents of change.” The Surge Institute is “the preeminent pipeline addressing the dearth of leadership of color at decision-making tables. Surge educates, empowers and energizes leaders of color who will create transformative change in the communities they serve.” Links: Sharhonda Bossier Carmita Seeman EdLoC Surge Bridgespan Fellows