Learning Unboxed

Prior to the impacts of COVID-19 on teaching and learning many of us likely took facial expressions, hearing, listening, and general communication for granted. But distance, face masks, and lack of hugs in elementary settings and so many more daily disruptions have made it difficult to communicate effectively with those we are trying to teach. Join Alyssa and Ashely as they talk about strategies to stay engaged. 

As teachers, parents and out of school caregivers scramble in the midst of modified pandemic driven learning - many are reporting having to modify content almost on the fly. This special edition of Learning Unboxed is packed with tips and tricks for modification in a moment! 

There has been so much angst about teaching and learning over the past six months as COVID-19 traverses the globe. How do we teach effectively in a virtual environment, how do we asses, how do we ensure relevant content and how do we effectively communicate with our students. Join Alyssa and Ashely as they talk about communication strategies while providing high quality virtual instruction.  

Today we’re talking to three guests who are involved with the Cultivating Creative & Civic Capacities project, “a 3-year research-practice collaboration between the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) and Project Zero-Harvard to investigate and document ways to catalyze young people’s capacities for creative and critical thinking and a sense of community with room for divergent perspectives, and the conditions that promote young people’s curiosity about complex issues, openness to engaging multiple, often divergent, viewpoints, and a sense of social responsibility about actions they may take.”

And a lot of that comes down to answering these two questions: What does it look like to cultivate creativity toward more sustainable and equitable worlds? How do we cultivate imagination, thinking with complexity, and taking action?

Our guests are Jennifer Lehe, Jason Blair, and Britanie Risner, and they have some interesting answers for those questions. Jennifer is the Manager of Strategic Partnerships of the Columbus Museum of Art, calls herself a recovering right-answer seeker, and is fascinated by how we can create the conditions that encourage discovery and curiosity in kids; Jason is an 18-year veteran arts educator who says that, every day, he learns from the creative geniuses that he teaches; and Britanie is a 19-year veteran teacher staunchly believes in children's abilities to think and act in ways that move the world to be a better place. All three are educators who should be celebrated in their own right, but together, they’re really doing something special.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

Resources:

• Columbus Museum of Art
• Learn more about Cultivating Creative & Civic Capacities
• "Back-to-School Creativity Resources for Teachers"

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Today we’re getting an international perspective on the evolution of educational systems. Specifically, we’ll be looking at a Finnish program called StarT that invites schools, kindergartens, families, and extracurricular activity groups from all around the world to share ideas, inspiration and the joy of collaborative learning.

Our guest is Outi Haatainen, who is a doctoral candidate in the chemistry department at the University of Helsinki and one of the facilitators for the StarT program created by LUMA Centre Finland.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

Resources:

• Learn more about StarT: start.luma.fi
• Learn more about LUMA Centre Finland: luma.fi

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and the world started shutting down, people suddenly had a whole bunch of new needs that they didn’t have before. As a result, people and organizations were forced to pivot and innovate so that they could not only survive the crisis but help people with their unique set of skills.

So, what does that kind of forced pivot look like within a big organization? And how can we prepare kids now to be able to think more flexibly and respond positively to a crisis? That’s what we’re going to find out in this episode with Mike Wiseman, the Senior Chief Engineer of Strategic Research at Honda R&D Americas.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

Resources:

• Check Out STEMStreaming! A FREE online resource for educators and parents to engage in virtual learning! 
• Read: “Honda Responds to COVID-19 with Support to Customers, Honda Associates, Business Partners and Local Community Organizations”

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Camp Invention is a STEM summer program for grades K-6 that turns curious students into innovative thinkers, and it’s a program that our host Annalies has a personal love and connection with — because, after her son attended Camp Invention, he came back with absolutely rave reviews.

Our guest today is Krissy Hostetler, Education Team Specialist at the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) in Akron, Ohio, which hosts Camp Invention in addition to a number of other fantastic programs for children of all ages. Krissy is a problem-solving powerhouse, with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a M.Sc. in Urban and Regional Planning.

Krissy also included a fantastic tidbit in her bio that we wanted to share with you, to help you get a better idea of just how awesome she is:  "There are days where I am under a desk in the dark to observe LED brightness and other days where I'm building hydraulic cranes using paper cups, duct tape, and aquarium tubing." You just have to love a girl who can make anything happen with duct tape and paper cups.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

Resources:

• Learn more at www.invent.org
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/NationalInventorsHallofFame_NIHF
• Twitter: twitter.com/InventorsHOF
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/nihf

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

We’re frequently talking about how we can broaden a student’s perspective of the world and their role in it, particularly through the lens of STEM education, but how do we get kids thinking about social change? And then, how do we get kids to start taking action to change the world?

It was asking himself that question—how can I make an impact?—that led Adam Morris to his current career as a social impact coach who is inspiring greater social change in the world through Wild Tiger Tees and the People Helping People podcast.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

Resources:

• People Helping People: peoplehelpingpeople.world
• Wild Tiger Tees: www.wildtigertees.com
• Instagram: @adam_s_morris
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/amorris
• Twitter: @adam_s_morris

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Our guest and our host have something in common this week: they both started exploring technology and the world of STEM after their parents brought home a Gateway 2000 PC! It really can’t be understated how impactful just being exposed to the idea of new technology — and being encouraged to play with it — can change what you think is possible with your life.

That’s why Olu Ibrahim created Kids in Tech, a nonprofit that strives to excite, educate, and empower children to acquire skills and confidence in technology through interactive after school programs. Their programs focus on helping kids develop the necessary tech skills and aptitudes to participate in and be future leaders of the 21st-century innovation economy.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

Resources:

• Kidsintech.org
• Instagram: instagram.com/kidsintechorg
• Facebook: facebook.com/kidsintechorg

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

We first talked about BioEYES — a K-12 science education program that aims to foster enthusiasm for science by offering students opportunities to explore life science through real-world applications using a hands-on approach to learning — back in episode 51 with the wonderful Jamie Shuda. Today, we're going to dive deeper into the nuts and bolts of the program with a conversation featuring a teacher and a couple of students who've actually lived and experienced BioEYES.

Katie Benton is a 20-year veteran teacher, and she helps bring programs like BioEYES into Barrington Elementary School. Katie is joined by Louise and Evren, two rising fifth-graders who had the opportunity to participate in BioEYES in Katie’s classroom. We’ll learn what it was like for Katie to bring this program into her class, what it was like for the students who participated, and how being exposed to the program changed the students’ perspectives.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

Resources:

• www.bioeyes.org
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bioeyes
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bioeyes

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio