If assessments measured how a student is smart, not if a student is smart, our education system would be in a better place. That’s the future Sonn Sam and Big Picture Learning are building towards. And they already have examples of it working.

In this conversation, we do a deep dive into learner-centered assessment. We talk about the resistance to it, but also about where it’s finding support with families and businesses who care about the future workforce.

Learner-centered assessment demands change for the better. It’s a path toward more culturally relevant and locally derived education. And increasingly, it looks like the best path for the future.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• Big Picture Learning’s trifecta model: semi-savvy student, semi-savvy advisor, and semi-savvy mentor
• What it means for assessment to be learner-centered
• The power of slowing down for authentic reflection

Resources:

• Listen to Episode 247. Learner-Centered Schools in Every State with Sonn Sam
• Learn more at BigPicture.org
• Learn more about the Aurora Institute

Produced by NOVA 

Imagine if instead of having to cram for tests and sit through lessons, high schoolers could graduate by navigating six “passages” that prove their practical, creative, and logical skills. Fifty years ago in Jefferson County, Colorado, a group of parents and educators created a school just like that and it’s still thriving today. Melyssa Dominguez and Jenny Long from the Open School join us today to talk about their unique program.

Melyssa and Jenny describe the “Walkabout” high school program. They explain each of the six “passages” and show how the model is supported by an advisory system and authentic evaluation process. 

Not only do Open School’s Walkabout graduates get eagerly accepted by colleges and universities, but the skills the students develop during their “passages” make them more likely to finish their diplomas than the national average. 

Listen in to learn what aspects of “Walkabout” you can apply to your own learning environment. 

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• The six “passages” Open School student must finish to graduate
• How the Open School does self-evaluation and transcripts
• The Open School’s advisory system

Resources:

• Learn more at jcos.jeffcopublicschools.org/curriculum/walkabout
• Read “To Create the World That Ought to Be: Memoirs of a Radical Educator” by Arnie Langberg

Produced by NOVA Media

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

We unbox:

• How PILs help connect private partners with schools for workforce development
• Why starting the school year with a lab-based lesson can help build a collaborative classroom culture
• How PILs better connect families to their kid’s learning 

Resources:

• Learn more about Portable Innovation Labs

Produced by NOVA Media

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

We unbox:

• Recruiting and training teachers for self-directed learning models
• Family engagement in opening new microschools
• How microschools obtain funding

Resources:

• Learn more at DavidKRichards.com
• Check out MicroSchoolingCenter.org

Produced by NOVA Media

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.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• How to future-proof education
• Why developing a love of learning is the most important part of a child’s education
• Ways to address the teacher shortage

Resources:

• Learn more at OutSchool.com
• Follow OutSchool on Instagram: @outschool
• Check out OutSchool’s YouTube channel
• Connect with OutSchool on Facebook

Produced by NOVA Media

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

We unbox:

• What Portable Innovation Labs are
• Who can use Portable Innovation Labs
• How Portable Innovation Labs are scaling up

Resources:

• Learn more about Portable Innovation Labs

Produced by NOVA Media

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.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• What’s needed for successful private-public partnerships
• How Purdue Polytechnic High School achieves diversity by design
• How Dr. Keeanna Warren seeks to elevate the role of teachers

Resources:

• Learn more at pphs.purdue.edu

Produced by NOVA Media

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

We unbox:

• The role of AI in EdTech
• How teachers can help each other better understand individual students
• Addressing bias and data protection in EdTech

Resources:

• Learn more at SchoolJoy.com

Produced by NOVA Media

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.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• The difference between a school model and a school design
• What it means to say “the student is the curriculum” 
• Why it’s important for teachers to be well-connected generalists

Resources:

• Learn more at BigPicture.org
• Read Education Reimagined’s research, “Progress and Possibilities to Support Learner-Centered Education and Ecosystem Design.” 
• BPL Guided Experience
• Getting to Know BPL: a document that can help explain who BPL is, what they value, and how they do their work for and with young people. 
• BPL OARIA

Produced by NOVA Media

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

We unbox:

• The benefits of no homework and no grades
• Andrea’s journey to not assigning homework and limiting graded work
• How other teachers can move in the direction of no homework and grades

Produced by NOVA Media