By Annalies Corbin & NOVA Media
We hear, frequently, that the global education system is broken, and as a result, we spend billions of dollar trying to fix it. But the K-12 system isn’t actually broken at all – it’s working exact
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When Jessica Fields carries a PAST Foundation Portable Innovation Lab (PILs) box into a school, kids’ eyes light up. They know they’re about to do something cool and fun. What they probably don’t realize is that they’re also going to be learning standard-aligned content that keeps them on-track with their curriculum. Jessica is a 21st Century Learning Coach for Grandview Heights Schools and she is our guest on the show today.
Jessica describes how PILs helps her schools jumpstart innovative education. Just one lab can help students come alive to learning and help teachers trust this approach to teaching. Multiple labs can build a culture of inquiry-based learning.
If you’re a teacher, school leader, after-school programmer, or workforce development specialist, take a listen to this episode and discover what PILs can do for your students.
To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org
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Microschools are positive disruptors of our modern education ecosystem. Today, CEO of Changemaker Microschools, David K. Richards, joins the show to help us dig a little deeper into the phenomenon.
We discuss the ingredients to starting and sustaining a microschool: finding the right teachers; navigating facility and funding options; and deeply engaging student families. We also talk about microschools’ position in the wider education ecosystem.
All signs point to the growth of microschooling, so tune in and see if this model might work for your community.
To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org
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The most important part of a child’s education is developing a love of learning. That’s Amir Nathoo’s motto and what led him to co-found OutSchool. Amir joins the show today to talk about future-proofing education by allowing students to engage with what they are most interested in.
OutSchool is a marketplace for live online classes for K-12 learners. It has helped over a million students explore their interests with live online classes in nearly any subject you can think of: learning social skills through Minecraft, to gaming clubs, to learning veterinary topics.
As both parents and teachers are increasingly unhappy with the traditional education system, OutSchool hopes to act as a disruptive force to bring much needed change from outside the system. Tune in to hear Amir’s thoughts about the future workplace, technology, and happiness.
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Welcome to our new mini-series on our Portable Innovation Labs (PILs). Here at the PAST Foundation, we’ve been working hard to make this offering a reality. Now we want to tell you all about it! Our own Brianna Agomessou joins the show today to give an overview of our PIL program.
The PIL program is made up of over 40 labs that educators can borrow for 2-3 weeks for free. The labs come with equipment, materials, and even curricula. The best part: They’re completely free.
Besides talking about the nuts and bolts of PIL, we also dive deep into topics about partnering with companies, diversity in STEM, and how to scale up this initiative.
Stay tuned for the next episode where we have an educator discuss their experience with PILs!
To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org
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Dr. Keeanna Warren, CEO of Purdue Polytechnic High School, says her school is a school without walls. She means that metaphorically of course, but it did physically come to fruition through a student project at one point. Dr. Keeanna Warren joins us on the show today to explain.
Purdue Polytechnic High School is a school without walls in the sense that it has strong relationships with industry partners. Industry partners are always welcomed in the school and students are always going out to industry partner sites. But it’s also a school without walls –or at least a few less walls– because a few years ago students successfully advocated tearing down some of the classroom walls that were hindering learning.
That’s the essence of Purdue Polytechnic High School. They empower their students to engage in real world problems and have their voices heard. Tune in to hear all the details from Dr. Keeanna Warren.
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There are lots of conversations today about AI’s role in education. To help us more deeply discuss it, we have invited Ian Zhu on the show today. Ian is the co-founder and CEO of SchoolJoy.
We have a conversation about SchoolJoy, an AI-powered education management platform that provides dynamically updated personal learning preference plans, as well as a comprehensive extended learning program management. We dig into issues of bias, data protection, data fidelity.
Ian suggests we analyze AI’s value not by what it can do, but what it can support. In the case of his SchoolJoy project, AI supports teachers building strong relationships with students and better organizing student data.
Tune in and let us know what you think about AI’s role in innovative, student-centered education.
To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org
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There’s a good chance your state’s policies actually allow for more innovative and student-centered learning than you think. Sonn Sam is the National Director of Partnerships at Big Picture Learning and he’s our guest on the show today. He explains how they have been able to create more space for innovative student-centered over the last 30 years.
Big Picture Learning’s mission is to activate the potential of schools, systems, and education through student-driven, real-world learning with a vision that all students live lives of their own design, nurtured by supportive mentors, meaningful relationships, and equal opportunities to succeed. Big Picture Learning now has 111 schools in the US and 150 internationally.
Sonn explains Big Picture Learning’s emphasis on locally-infused school design, working through everyday obstacles to community-based learning like transportation issues, and helping teachers become well-connected generalists.
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Andrea Vescelius is a Ohio public school teacher who has eliminated homework and limited grades to just quarterly marks for her students. In this episode, we ask her how she pulled this off and what impact it has had on her students.
Andrea takes us on her 24-year teaching journey. She notes when and why her thoughts on homework and grades changed. She also describes the small steps she took, and continues to take, to make her teaching more centered on student needs.
If you’ve ever dreamed of making your classroom less checkbox-driven and more student-led, this episode is for you.
To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org
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Laksh Dhir’s goal is to revolutionize how informal education is being done in classrooms around the world. Laksh is the CEO and Chairman of Youth for STEM Equity, and he is our guest on the show today.
Laksh explains that informal education has three main strengths. It helps students imagine themselves in the professional field they are learning about. It deeply engages students in key educational subjects. It also connects students with professionals in the industries they are learning about.
Youth for STEM Equity harnesses the power of informal learning through an escape room model. Take a listen as Laksh describes some of the STEM-based escape rooms they have put on. You’ll want to jump in and do one yourself!
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Usually, one-on-one coaching is reserved for business executives, but Joel Nicholson’s mission is to bring it to students. Joel is the co-founder of Youthfully, a coaching and development platform for students. He’s our guest on the show today.
Joel explains Youthfully’s holistic and non-directive coaching philosophy. He walks us through their process, starting with an intake assessment all the way through application of the student’s stated goal. He also lays out his vision for scaling up the platform so more families can benefit from it.
Bloom’s 2 Sigma problem has been around for a few decades now– how do we achieve the outcomes of one-on-one teaching while being limited by resources. Joel is tackling this problem head-on and has a lot to teach us about the lessons he’s learned along the way.
To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org
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The podcast currently has 270 episodes available.
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