The Harvard EdCast

The latest research on COVID and schools emphasizes the importance of reopening but far too many schools remain closed. Harvard Professor Meira Levinson discusses how efforts to reopen often stall due to a lack of trust in the school district. Levinson, who co-authored The Path to Zero Report, which provides guidelines on how to safely reopen, emphasizes how even with the best safety protocols, ventilation, and adequate supplies in place that districts face an even bigger issue: how to rebuild trust among the many key players it serves. 

Introducing the new podcast Pivot Out Loud -- stories of education and life in a year of disruption. In this episode, Harvard EdCast host Jill Anderson recounts what it's like staying and working from home with a young child. She shares the struggle of trying to balance her child's academics and play along with working full-time. 

Listen to more episodes: https://pivot-out-loud.simplecast.com/

What does education look like in a world turned sideways? Covid-19 forced teaching and learning to change overnight, transforming what it means to be a student, an educator, and a parent. How did people adapt and adjust? Pivot Out Loud explores — telling stories of education and life in a year of disruption. Hosted by Lory Hough, editor of Ed Magazine, and brought to you by the producers of the Harvard EdCast at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Educator's have always benefitted from self-care, and in today's challenging times, it is especially important. Harvard Lecturer Jackie Zeller discusses the what it means to practice self-care and how it can benefit more than just the educator. Zeller, a licensed psychologist, will be teaching a new course this spring at the Harvard Graduate School of Education on self-care and wellness. In this episode, Zeller discusses the benefits of self-care, ideas for how to create a practice of self-care, and a growing awareness in the education field around supporting wellness. 

Disclaimer: This piece is meant to be solely informational in nature.  It is not meant to provide professional care or recommendations. This piece includes general considerations, but people should contact their own providers for individualized advice and recommendations. 

Educational sociologist Anindya Kundu recognized that students need more than grit to succeed in school. He studies the role of student agency, and how focusing on student potential can lead to growth and success in life, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In this episode of the Harvard EdCast, Kundu, a Senior Fellow of Research at Labor Market Information Service, at the Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center, CUNY, defines agency and offers ways for school leaders and educators to take steps toward developing student agency. 

How does the world solve complex problems like climate change? One answer may be to teach science in more complex and personal ways. Through the research project, Learning in Places, Professors Megan Bang and Carrie Tzou are developing innovative and equitable field-based science lessons. In this episode of the EdCast, Bang and Tsou share ways to make science more personal and how to better connect children's learning to the natural world. 

In this episode, Kristi Nelson, the executive director of a Network for Grateful Living, discusses why some people have an easier time finding gratitude than others, the role of education in being grateful, and how to implement strategies and education in order to cultivate more grateful living. 

In this encore episode of the Harvard EdCast, which originally aired on February 13, 2019, Tony Jack discusses the consequences of conflating access and inclusion — and the barriers that low-income students face when they get to college -- a situation even more important in the wake of campus closures due to COVID.