Dr. Neil Heffernan, the William Smith Dean Chair Professor at Worcestor Polytechnic Institute (WPI), joins Mike to talk about how his career interweaves great teaching, computer science, and “ASSISTments” – a set of digital tools designed to make homework assignment and evaluation more efficient. Neil tells us his origin story which includes meeting his wife…
Category Archives: Blog
Kelly Ryan Bailey, the host of Let’s Talk About Skills Baby and the Director of Open Skills at EMSI, joins Mike to talk about the journey that brought her to where she is today as a mother, a podcaster, and a global skills evangelist. After exploring Kelly’s personal journey, we dig into the three parts…
This week, Mike is joined by Prakash Nair, the Founder of Education Design International (EDI) and author of Blueprint for Tomorrow from Harvard Education Press. Prakash describes how the design of K12 schools can and should be completely rethought. School buildings and their institutional designs contribute to a “cells and bells” culture that stifles learning,…
This week Mike is joined by Bryan Alexander, Senior Scholar at Georgetown University and author of Academia Next , to talk about what happens when a Futurist gets a prediction right. In Bryan’s recent book, he explores a possible future where a widespread pandemic akin to the 1918 Spanish flu hits and majorly disrupts higher…
In a Special Fall 2020 K12 Education episode, Mike is joined by Sarah Darville, Matt Barnum, and Kalyn Belsha from Chalkbeat to talk through trends they’ve been seeing while reporting on K12 throughout the challenging year that is 2020. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of America’s most important stories: the effort…
For this episode, Dr. Eric T. Weber joins Mike to talk about the importance of educational philosophy, especially in schools of education. Eric is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. He’s also one of the hosts of the radio show and podcast, Philosophy Bakes Bread, where he regularly raises…
Dr. Lorne Buchman, the President of ArtCenter College of Design and host of the Change Lab Podcast, joins Mike this week to share his experiences as a maker and the leader of an esteemed College of Art and Design. Lorne shares his origin story that is deeply steeped in the practical application of his education…
Dr. Jonathan Cohen joins Mike this week to explore the global trend of social emotional learning (SEL) and violence prevention in schools. Jonathan recently co-edited the book Feeling Safe in School through Harvard Education Press where he and team studied school climate and violence prevention programs in schools across 11 cultures spanning the globe. In…
Maria Andersen, the Founder and CEO of Coursetune, joins Mike to talk about the importance of good instructional design and curriculum development to effective online learning. Maria walks us through her extensive and varied experiences ranging from teaching math at a community college, to working at Canvas, the large LMS company, to leading instructional design…
Dr. Chad Goldberg, Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, joins Mike to delve into the history and relevance of The Wisconsin Idea in understanding the role of a public university. Chad’s written a book called Education for Democracy Renewing the Wisconsin Idea that is due out this Fall and we explore many of…