Fishing For Problems

A former public school educator of 22 years, Will has spent the last 15 years developing an international reputation as a leading thinker and writer about the intersection of social online learning networks, education, and systemic change. Most recently, Will is a co-founder of The Big Questions Institute which was created to help educators use "fearless inquiry" to make sense of this complex moment and an uncertain future.

In 2017, Will was named one of 100 global "Changemakers in Education" by the Finnish site HundrED, and was named one of the Top 5 "Edupreneurs to Follow" by Forbes. He has given keynote speeches, lead breakout sessions, and provided coaching services in over 30 countries on 6 continents. (Come on Antartica!) He has also authored six books, and given TEDx Talks in New York, Melbourne, and Vancouver.

Dr. Stovall is Professor of African-American Studies and Criminology, Law & Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His scholarship investigates three areas 1) Critical Race Theory, 2) the relationship between housing and education, and 3) the intersection of race, place and school. In the attempt to bring theory to action, he works with community organizations and schools to address issues of equity, justice and abolishing the school/prison nexus. During our conversation, Dave and I discuss critical race theory, the intersection of housing and education, and charter schools.

Ora D. Tanner is the Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer at The AI Education Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit centering equity and accessibility in AI education. The AI Education Project educates students, especially those disproportionately impacted by AI and automation, with the conceptual knowledge and skills they need to thrive as future workers, creators, consumers, citizens, and leaders of emerging technologies.

Ora holds both a B.S. and M.S. in physics and is completing doctoral studies in instructional technology and educational measurement. She has completed fellowships with the Aspen Tech Policy Hub, the Alliance of Democracies and the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity, and is currently a Visiting Senior Fellow with The German Marshall Fund based in Washington D.C.

This episode highlights the work of Dr. Amanda Datnow, Professor in the Department of Education Studies and Associate Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Amanda’s research focuses on educational reform and policy, particularly with regard to issues of equity and the professional lives of educators. I was drawn to Amanda’s work as I searched through research on data use and equity in the K12 space, and this serves as the foundation for our conversation. Amanda has done extensive research on how to use data to address issues of inequity in elementary and secondary classrooms. She has published numerous books, her most recent being Professional Collaboration with Purpose: Teacher Learning for Equity and Excellence (2019), which she co-authored with Vicki Park.