The Perkins Platform

Our show on February 17 features a well-respected psychologist, Dr. Art Markman.  Dr. Markman is the Annabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also the Founding Director of the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations.  Art's research explores thinking.  He has studied the way people form and use analogies, the mechanisms of decision making, the modes that allow people to form categories, and the influences of motivation on reasoning.   He consults for companies interested in using Cognitive Science in their businesses.  Art is also on the scientific advisory boards for the Dr. Phil Show and the Dr. Oz Show.  He got his ScB from Brown University and his PhD from the University of Illinois.  Before coming to the University of Texas, Art taught at Northwestern University and Columbia University.  Join us at 2pm on February 17 for what promises to be a dynamic show!

School reform is often thought of in terms of school and district initiatives.  Our guest this month, Gene Thompson-Grove, will discuss how her career working with teachers and leaders to inact change at the classroom level in schools and district has made a difference.   She will also discuss the challenges to this work in the way schools are currently configured and operate.Gene Thompson-Grove’s work focuses on building the capacity for transformational learning. She has 35 years of experience leading seminars on creating professional learning communities, coaching collaborative learning groups, examining student work collaboratively, developing facilitative leadership skills, and designing and facilitating adult learning experiences. She is a founding Board member of the School Reform Initiative (SRI).  Ms. Thompson-Grove began her career in Watertown MA as a high school and middle school English teacher.  She has a B.A. in English and Secondary Education from Boston College and received her M.Ed from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Join us for what will be a great discussion.

Our January 13 show features Dr. Kati Haycock, President of the Education Trust in Washington, DC.Kati Haycock is one of the nation's leading advocates in the field of education.  She currently serves as President of The Education Trust. Established in 1996, the Trust works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-kindergarten through college.  The organization’s goal is to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement that consign too many low-income students and students of color to lives on the margins of the American mainstream. Known for years as a powerful force on education policy, The Trust is often described as “the most important truth teller” in American public education.  But the organization also works hand in hand with educators and civic leaders in their efforts to transform schools and colleges into institutions that serve all students well.Join us for a fantastic show on January 13 at 2pm for what promises to be a very informative show!  Call in and "be the conversation".

Our December 2015 show features Dr. Seth Gershenson's research on how student-teacher demographic match effects teacher expectations.Seth Gershenson is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy in American University’s School of Public Affairs and a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA Bonn). His primary research interests are in the economics of education, specifically issues relating to teacher labor markets, parents’ and students’ time use, summer learning loss, the development of character skills, and the role of expectations in the education production function.  Dr. Gershenson’s research has been supported by the W.E. Upjohn Institute, the Spencer Foundation, and the American Educational Research Association and has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Economics of Education Review, American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Education Finance and Policy, and Educational Researcher. More information about his research is available on his website: http://www.sethgershenson.com/. Join us at 2pm on December 16 for a powerful discussion on some groundbreaking research.

Join us for a special double feature broadcast.  On December 9, our special guests will be Dr. Gary Orfeld of the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles and Ms. Abby Norman, Guest Writer for the Huffington Post and Public School Teacher.  During the first half hour, we will talk with Dr. Orfield about the status of the desegregation efforts as a matter of public policy in the United States.  We will also discuss trends and future expectations as well as public concern over our public schools. And in the 2nd half hour, we will hear from Abby in her reflections on teaching in "black" schools and what she has learned as a white educator.  She has published two thought-provoking articles in the Huffington Post that are sure to stir emotions.Gary Orfield is Distinguished Research Professor of Education, Law, Political Science and Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Orfield's research interests are in the study of civil rights, education policy, urban policy, and minority opportunity. He was co-founder and director of the Harvard Civil Rights Project, and now serves as co-director of the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA. Abby Norman lives in the city of Atlanta. By day she teaches in a suburban school, and by night mothers her two daughters in partnership with her husband. She has taught in a variety of schools and has witnessed first hand the inequality of education in America. She is currently seeking representation for her book about being a failing teacher at a failing school. Join us - Call In - Be The Discourse.  December 9: (2 - 3pm) EST.

If you’re a black student or you’re poor, you’re far more likely to be punished than offered behavioral treatment when you misbehave.Electric!! - The word that comes to mind when you describe the show planned for you in November.  Our guest, Dr. David Ramey is going to discuss the findings of a recent study of more than 60,000 schools.  More details to be posted as we get closer to the broadcast date - Stay tuned.

Major media outlets have been dominated by the incident captured on cell phone videos at Spring Valley High School where a student was forcibly removed from a classroom.  Views on this incident has placed civil rights advocates, school and district leaders, student advocates, school officers and education experts at odds.  We have confirmed Dr. Jared Scherz and Mr. Curt Lavarello to participate with us on a discussion about the SC school incident and what we might learn from it.Dr. Jared Scherz is the founder of TeacherCoach (www.teachercoach.com), an online platform that integrates personal growth with professional development.  As a clinical psychologist, author, and educational consultant, working with educators for over twenty five years, Dr. Scherz believes in the paradoxical theory of change, in that a greater understanding of what keeps a person or system stuck is needed before sustainable change is possible.  His work includes a number of issues including school violence prevention, the organizational health of schools, and the personal wellness of educators.We also have Mr. Curt Lavarello - Executive Director of School Safety Advocacy Council. Curt Lavarello served as a 25+ year Law Enforcement Executive in South Florida. During his tenure as a police officer, Curt has held assignments on road patrol, detective bureau, gang task force unit, traffic division and 18 years as a school resource officer (SRO) and Patrol and SRO Supervisor. This will be an open, but guided forum.  Listeners are encouraged to phone in to express your opinions and suggestions.

*SPECIAL BROADCAST*It is greatly anticipated that around the date of this broadcast, we will have learned or expect any day the decision of the NY State Supreme Court on the matter Lederman v. King.  Dr. Carol C. Burris, former NY State principal and author, shares her opinion about VAM and the courts pending or expressed opinon. *Stay tuned for more details*Join us for what is guarranteed to be a lively discussion of the case and public sentiment about teacher performance and evaluation! Wednesday, October 21 - 2:00pm.

Join us on October 14 (2pm EST), when our guest, Dr. Damon Jones, discusses the findings of a recently published study in the American Journal of Public Health. This study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation suggests that kindergarten students who are more inclined to exhibit “social competence” traits—such sharing, cooperating, or helping other kids—may be more likely to attain higher education and well-paying jobs. Damon Jones, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Associate at Penn State’s Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, serving as a program evaluator and methodologist for several family and youth behavioral interventions and prevention programs.  A focus of his research has been toward understanding the public costs associated with behavior disorders, which has included authoring several publications on the potential economic value of effective efforts to improve developmental outcomes in children and youth.   He has several years of experience with cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit assessments as well as overseeing several project resource evaluations.  His work has also included investigations of health and mental health service needs for at risk populations, involving design of data collection streams for collecting detailed health services use information.  He received his Ph.D. in Quantitative Methods from Vanderbilt University in 2002.This promises to be an amazing discussion.  Listen in and participate!  October 14 - 2:00pm EST.

Our September show features, Dr. Jordan Shapiro from Temple University in Philadelphia. Jordan Shapiro, Ph.D teaches in the Intellectual Heritage Program at Temple University, where he's also the Associate Director for Digital Innovation for the College of Liberal Arts. He is a Forbes' leading columnist on global education, game-based learning, kids and culture. An internationally known speaker and consultant on education technology, school reform, and 21st Century child-rearing, his unique perspective combines psychology, philosophy, social theory, and mythology in unexpected ways. His book: FREEPLAY: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss looks at the way the video games of the past (and present) impact our sense of identity. His next book: One Player, Multiplayer, We: How Digital Play Will Put Community Back at the Center of Education will be released soon. (Twitter: @Jordosh).His recent article in Forbes provokes us to think about the essential definition of education.  Is it access to information, facts and figures or is it something else?  Join us on Wednesday, September 23 at 2pm EST for this thought-provoking discussion on what achieving equity in education will take.