This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is part of a new short monthly series where Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins, a previous guest and a friend of the podcast, to speak with indigenous leaders and academics to discuss how indigenous ways of knowing and leading can, and should, shape the education system. Awaachiáookaate’, or Jason Cummins Ed.D is an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke Nation, and recently served as the Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Ed...
Dec 15, 2023•46 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Jean Eddy, CEO of American Student Assistance (ASA) and author of Crisis-Proofing Today’s Learners: Reimagining Career Education to Prepare Kids for Tomorrow’s World . Links: Crisis Proofing Today’s Learners Jean Eddy American Student Assistance Cajon Valley Tacoma Washington Schools...
Dec 13, 2023•28 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is a part of our New Pathways campaign . In partnership with American Student Assistance (ASA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stand Together and the Walton Family Foundation, the New Pathways campaign will question education’s status quo and propose new methods of giving students a chance to experience success in what’s next. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Dr. Amanda Stent, director of the Davis Instit...
Dec 06, 2023•30 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by our recent publication Green Pathways, and makes the case for why ALL pathways need sustainability and green embedded. Find out more here . On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Mason Pashia is joined by Shiva Rajbhandari, a current freshman at UNC Chapel Hill and avid climate and education activist who is, to date, the first student on a school board in the state of Idaho. Links: School Board Activist Shiva Rajbhandari Idaho ...
Dec 01, 2023•31 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Victoria Andrews is joined by Producer Mickey Breeze, the 10-time Beat Battle Champion of the Twin Cities. He is also a former teacher for the “Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project.” and a DJ for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Twins. He’s a proud alumni of the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, MN. We’re also joined by Dr. H. Bernard Hall an Assistant Professor of Urban Teacher Education at Drexel University in the Department of Teaching, Learnin...
Nov 29, 2023•37 min
On this episode of Getting Smart Podcast Victoria Andrews discusses student entrepreneurship with an awesome group from Frisco ISD. Tommy Thompson teaches Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Finance Classes, as well as the DECA sponsor in Frisco ISD. Before teaching he worked in the corporate world for 18 years, started his own business, and served as an industry volunteer in the INCubatoredu program at Centennial High School which he now teaches. We’re also joined by two students: Rupa Kumaran, the...
Nov 22, 2023•18 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is part of a new short monthly series where Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins, a previous guest and a friend of the podcast, to speak with indigenous leaders and academics to discuss how indigenous ways of knowing and leading can, and should, shape the education system. In this episode, they are joined by Dr. Susan Faircloth to discuss the relationship between education and sovereignty, the National Indian Education Study, identity and home, an...
Nov 17, 2023•36 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by our friend Dr. Chris Unger, a Teaching Professor in the Graduate Programs in Education including the Doctor of Education program and author of the great new book A Revolution in Education: Scaling Agency & Opportunity for All . Links: Viva La Revolucion Blog Post Amazon Link Season 1: https://arevolutionineducation.buzzsprout.com Season 2: https://arevolutionineducation2.buzzsprout.com Season 3: https://arevolutioninedu...
Nov 15, 2023•38 min
On this Getting Smart Town Hall, we took a look at our latest publication, Support & Guidance For All New Pathways Journeys and spoke with practitioners and policy experts to get an overview of the current state of advisory models in U.S. schools. Together, we highlighted some exemplars in the space and discuss how support, guidance and advisory systems are critical parts of building New Pathways that serve all learners. Be sure to check out some of the links that were shared in the deck and...
Nov 10, 2023•45 min
How might we design new school models to better serve all young people? What are the skills, and jobs of tomorrow? IFTF’s Foresight Essentials course is great for those looking to build something new or trying to innovate within their current role. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Shawnee Caruthers is joined by Sharhonda Bossier, CEO of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and Carmita Semaan, Founder of the Surge Institute . EdLoC “supports talented leaders of color in education and r...
Nov 08, 2023•40 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Bob Schwartz to talk about pathways to opportunity and the role of college, specifically community colleges. Bob’s new book is America's Hidden Economic Engines: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity , which argues that community colleges need to be in the center of any national education and skills strategy. “At their best, community colleges are the most nimble, flexible, market-oriented institutions in our ...
Nov 01, 2023•39 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Ben Wildavsky to discuss his new book The Career Arts: Answering Big Questions About College and Career . This book makes the case for building career success through broad education, targeted skills, and social capital. Ben is also a visiting scholar at UVA and hosts the Higher Ed Spotlight podcast. Links: Amazon Link LinkedIn New Pathways Brookings Institution Higher Ed Spotlight Podcast Ryan Craig on Apprenticeships Link...
Oct 25, 2023•28 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is part of a new short monthly series where Mason Pashia is joined by Dr. Jason Cummins, a previous guest and a friend of the podcast, to speak with indigenous leaders and academics to discuss how indigenous ways of knowing and leading can, and should, shape the education system. Awaachiáookaate’, or Jason Cummins Ed.D is an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke Nation, and recently served as the Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Ed...
Oct 20, 2023•35 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Elliot Washor, the co-founder of Big Picture Learning and author of the great new book Learning to Leave: How Real-World Learning Transforms Education . This book is the followup to the great Leaving to Learn: How Out-of-School Learning Increases Student Engagement and Reduces Dropout Rates . Elliot is also the co-founder of The Met Center in Providence, RI and has been involved in school reform for more than 50 years as a...
Oct 18, 2023•41 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by repeat guest Kim Smith to discuss a landscape analysis, the rise of learner-centered education and the three horizons. Kim is the founder of LearnerStudio , a nonprofit intermediary accelerating progress towards a flexible, rigorous, equitable, and learner-centered education system, to ensure all our young people are inspired and prepared to thrive in life, career, problem-solving, and citizenship. Previously, Kim was also ...
Oct 11, 2023•46 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is a recording of the latest Getting Smart Town Hall — Agriculture Technology Pathways. On this episode, we heard from a great panel of guests who are running a wide range of programs to help young people connect with the growing field of agriculture technology. Links: Town Hall Recap Video Link Links...
Oct 06, 2023•50 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Dr. Justin Reich, ED of MIT Teaching Systems Lab , host of the Teach Lab Podcast and author of Iterate: The Secret to Innovation in Schools. On this episode, they discuss the two paths to coherence: Invitational Leadership: inviting people into a shared vision Transformational Leadership: As Dr. Reich says, this is ”Bringing People Together around Ideas They Care About;.....start[ing] with understanding, honoring, and resp...
Oct 04, 2023•40 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Nate McClennen is joined by Sharon Laidlaw, Director of Place Network at Teton Science Schools, to discuss place-based education, a movement that was articulated in the 1990’s and now has become a centerpiece of education innovation everywhere. This movement is rekindling purposeful and agency filled learning experiences for young people. And while not explicitly named as place-based, these learning experiences that are unbundled, project-based, and r...
Sep 27, 2023•38 min
We’ve recently released a new publication that synthesizes years of research on AI and its impact on teaching and learning. You can find it at GettingSmart.com/artificial-intelligence/ On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Nate McClennen is joined by Anant Agarwal, MIT Professor, Chief Platform Officer at 2U and Founder and CEO of edX, an online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT. In 2020, Anant shared the story and vision for EdX from inception to present and its effort to inc...
Sep 22, 2023•42 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is a part of our New Pathways campaign . In partnership with American Student Assistance (ASA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stand Together and the Walton Family Foundation, the New Pathways campaign will question education’s status quo and propose new methods of giving students a chance to experience success in what’s next. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, New Pathways Senior Fellow Trace Pickering is joined by Dr. Tasia Chatman...
Sep 20, 2023•37 min
We’ve recently released a new publication that synthesizes years of research on AI and its impact on teaching and learning. You can find it at GettingSmart.com/artificial-intelligence/ On the recent Getting Smart Town Hall, we were joined by leaders who are thinking about generative AI and its implications and uses in the classroom. Throughout the conversation, we focused on how to ensure that your school is a safe and constructive place that embraces AI, while doing the work to set the proper a...
Sep 15, 2023•45 min
Are you interested in attending one of the field’s largest gatherings of K-12 education innovators? The Aurora Institute Symposium 2023 promises community, lessons about education innovation from the field, and the latest research and policy to support education transformation. Find out more here. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Rebecca Midles is joined by Laurie Gagnon, CompetencyWorks Program Director and an author on some recent publications from the Aurora Institute: Next Genera...
Sep 13, 2023•32 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Shawnee Caruthers is joined by Eduardo Briceño, speaker, author and facilitator. His new book, The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset into Action , was selected as a “Must-Read” by the Next Big Idea Club, which is curated by Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, and Dan Pink. This conversation unpacks what happens when we stay in cycles of performance rather than growth and learning. Links: Eduardo Briceño The Performance Paradox W...
Sep 06, 2023•30 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Nate McClennen is joined by Morgan Camu , Head of Programs at Outschool.org and Justin Dent , founding Executive Director of Outschool.org. This non-profit branch of outschool.com is working to ensure not only access to all of outschool.com’s resources to those who are racially or economically marginalized - but is also thinking about how to support this unbundled ecosystem as a whole. Links: Outschool.org Outschool.com Previous Podcast with Outschool...
Aug 30, 2023•47 min
Are you interested in attending one of the field’s largest gatherings of K-12 education innovators? The Aurora Institute Symposium 2023 promises community, lessons about education innovation from the field, and the latest research and policy to support education transformation. Find out more here. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Nalukai program director Aaron Schorn and a high school student Sherry Jiang from Kealakehe high school. The Nalukai Academy Sta...
Aug 23, 2023•26 min
On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Nate McClennen is joined by Thanasi Dilos, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Civics Unplugged . Thanasi has been an explorer with Nat Geo, a Venture Fellow and is also the Co-Founder and Founding Champion of DreamDAO - and he is 20 years old. Links: LinkedIn Civics Unplugged Dream DAO Personal Site MIT Talk Design it For Us Sneha Revanur Encode Justice VELA Education Fund...
Aug 16, 2023•43 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by our recent publication Green Pathways, and makes the case for why ALL pathways need sustainability and green embedded. Find out more here . On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined again by Navid Nathoo, a former guest on the podcast . Navid joined us a few years ago to discuss The Knowledge Society, (TKS), one of the most revolutionary problem-based high school supplements that we’ve seen. This time we’...
Aug 09, 2023•41 min
Are you interested in attending one of the field’s largest gatherings of K-12 education innovators? The Aurora Institute Symposium 2023 promises community, lessons about education innovation from the field, and the latest research and policy to support education transformation. Find out more here. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Kelly Smith, CEO and Founder of Prenda and author of the great new book A Fire to be Kindled: How a Generation of Empowered Lea...
Aug 02, 2023•38 min
This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by our recent publication Green Pathways, and makes the case for why ALL pathways need sustainability and green embedded. Find out more here . On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by repeat guest Jamie Merisotis, CEO of Lumina Foundation, a foundation committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We spoke with Jamie in 2020 right after the publication of Human Work ...
Jul 26, 2023•34 min
On the recent Getting Smart Town Hall, we were joined by NGLC to discuss their recent report focused on what comes after a school district adopts a Portrait of a Graduate. We also featured two of the educators highlighted in the report, not to mention countless others in our audience who are doing important work on the subject. These districts have been hard at work on aligning to their Portrait and ensuring that it is a living, breathing document and they had great ideas for how to keep revisit...
Jul 21, 2023•53 min
