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  • Justin is an associate professor of digital media in the department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing at MIT and the director of the Teaching Systems Lab. He is the author of Iterate: The Secret to Innovation in Schools and Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education, and he is the host of the TeachLab Podcast. He earned his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a past Fellow at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society.

    Highlights from the conversation include: an opening segment reacting to the wave of student protests on college campuses across the United States and Canada; how generative AI skipped the adoption phase and arrived in classrooms with little to no preparation; a technical overview on what generative AI is and how it works; why AI is sometimes just a label to make things seem more "magical than they are;" how experts and novices can have very different experiences with Chat GPT; where the technology as a co-pilot may or may not fit within various industries; the importance of implementing guardrails as AI becomes more prevalent in the education space; why students should be central to conversations about how to navigate the changing technology landscape; and a lighting round offering a science fiction summer reading list (see recommendations below).

    Science Fiction Reads:

    Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

    The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

    Anything written by N.K. Jemisin

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Ron Berger is Chief Academic Officer for EL Education, an organization that partners with districts and charter boards to found public schools in low-income communities. EL Education’s core work is building teacher capacity in schools and districts through professional coaching, resources and open-source curriculum. He is an Annenberg Foundation Teacher Scholar, received the Autodesk Foundation National Teacher of the Year award, and is the author of six books.

    Highlights from this unique exploration of craftsmanship include: remembering a time when we aspired to make quality, tangible things instead of living in a rushed, transactional and mostly disposable society; a beautiful carpentry analogy that challenges the way we prepare teachers; the importance of a "crew" for learning in all aspects of life; how a calligraphy lesson from Ron turned into a transformational experience; why models and critique can be powerful tools in the classroom; tying the theme of craftsmanship back to improving educational systems; and the long-awaited return of the lightning round!

    Learn more about Ed Camp

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  • Alisa Berger was the founding principal at both the NYC iSchool, a New York City public high school, and the Mott Hall II school, a NYC public middle school. She currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Professional Education Program, and is Co-Director of The Deeper Learning Dozen. In this unique format, Alisa, Rod and Jal will build a roster of "bad educational innovations," and then both defend their choices and challenge each others. Some of the selections include: high stakes testing and assessment, computers in the classroom, mastery-based learning, recess, start time and scheduling, and even school itself. But don't worry, it isn't all negative. Everyone will share a positive innovation to close out the episode along with a plug to join Rod, Jal and Alisa at this summer's Deeper Learning Ed Camp.

    Learn more about Ed Camp

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

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  • Diana Hess has been dean of University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education since Aug. 1, 2015. She is only the ninth dean of the School of Education since its founding in 1930. Since 1997, Hess has been researching how teachers engage their students in discussions of highly controversial political and constitutional issues, and what impact this approach to civic education has on what young people learn. Her most recent book, “The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education,” co-authored with Paula McAvoy, won the American Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Book Award in 2016 and the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in 2017.

    Highlights from her interview include: an amazing opening biography challenge; how student and teacher preparation is key to meaningful conversations in the classroom; the difference between a discussion and a debate - removing the element of a winner and a loser; why we need to teach "inauthentic" political discourse that goes against what we often see portrayed in the media; how to manage conversations when you don't know how they may affect students personally; the evolution of issues being "settled"; the importance of learning from history; and a powerful example of real-time discussion related to the September 11th tragedy.

    Check out Diana's Book: The Political Classroom

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Jo Chrona is an education consultant, speaker, and author, supporting professional learning opportunities in the areas of Indigenous education and anti-racism. She has more than 25 years teaching in both K-12 (secondary) and post-secondary education, and played a vital role in developing First Peoples Principles of Learning in British Columbia. This powerful conversation covers several topics including: the story behind Wayi Wah! as a book title and how to properly say it; a thoughtful look at the journey of incorporating Indigenous knowledge into the education system; several anecdotes that illustrate the tension of the process and the resistance that continues to exist; the importance of balancing anger with a willingness to invite those that resist into the conversation; a new twist on the "I used to think, and now I think" exercise; why educators should never stop learning but occasionally may have to unlearn things as well; and one of the most efficient lightning rounds to date!

    Check out Jo's Book: Wayi Wah! Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Cresta Mcintosh is the Associate Superintendent for the Monterey Public Schools in California, and Jocelyn Fletcher Schuech is the Associate Director of Teaching and Learning in Burlington Vermont. Alisa Burger currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Professional Education Program, and is Co-Director of The Deeper Learning Dozen. This marks her third appearance on the podcast! The conversation features a very open and honest discussion on what it takes to lead systems change, and highlights include: the power of shadowing students and seeing the education experience through their eyes; a deep dive into Margaret Wheatley's idea of "hero to host;" the challenges of moving form co-construction to sustained action and change; how it is not only important to get the right people to the table, but to then make sure those voices are heard - the idea of excavating voices in different spaces; a moving commentary on what its like to be a female change agent in education, especially when leadership positions are still male-dominated; and a touching close that features each person's favorite end of school year tradition.

    Read more about "Hero to Host"

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • James Thompson is the designer behind Black Badger, a creative design agency that specializes in using advanced materials in new and exciting ways. He's previously done special edition pieces with luxury watch brands De Bethune and MB&F. He’s mucked about with everything from McLaren supercars to next-generation submarine design. Born in Vancouver, Canada, James relocated to Gothenburg, Sweden in 2002 and is now co-owner of the Copenhagen-based watch brand Arcanaut. This lively conversation features: an opening reflection on new legislation disrupting Florida's school systems; a look at the creative process using a Beatles analogy, Pixar examples, and several sports references; a raw and honest reflection on James' approach to creativity, along with the successes and failures of his journey; how collaboration fits with creativity; where creativity fits within the school system; and a lightning round that questions whether James is the most exciting toy in his home!

    Check out James' Site: Black Badger

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Chris Kennedy is the Superintendent of Schools/CEO with the West Vancouver School District (West Vancouver, British Columbia). He has taught secondary English and Social Studies, and been both an elementary and secondary school principal. In addition, he runs a blog entitled "The Culture of Yes" where you can find several articles on the most pressing and timely issues in education. Highlights from his conversation with Rod and Jal include: the origin of the "Culture of Yes" mentality; how Chris became known as an "elder statesmen" in the BC school system and what makes him a truly free range human; the importance of saying yes to new ideas and then allowing those innovations to grow and scale; how student leadership is more than just representation, it's about hearing as many voices as possible, especially those marginalized by past and current systems; an insightful conversation about the emergence of AI technology, specifically ChatGPT, and what it means for the future of education; what COVID taught us about the allocation of time in schools; a look at gender in sports, especially during the earliest years of playing; everyone answering the question about how their teaching and coaching has changed over time; and a lightning round featuring impromptu sound effects!

    Check out Chris' blog: The Culture of Yes

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Shawn Ginwright is a leading innovator and scholar of African American youth, youth activism, and youth development. He currently holds the title of Professor of Education in the Africana Studies Department at San Francisco State University, and starting this fall, will join Jal as a Professor of Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Highlights from their conversation include: a little back story about the origin of the book that involves wine and a black table; the importance of looking inward and dealing with inner turmoil in order to work successfully on social problems; the value of balance and clarity and how Rod, Jal, and Shawn all found their own versions of it; why a lack of true equilibrium among activists can lead to strained relationships, burn out, and failure; why empathy and healing need to be core to any transformational movement; a powerful reaction to yet another wave of school shootings in the U.S.; and a lightning round that puts the quality of east coast Mexican food to the test!

    Check out Shawn's book: The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • This powerful conversation features four guests from the Nisga’a Nation and the Nisga’a School District: Sayt Gibuu (Lydia Stephens) - Nisga’a Lisims Language and Culture Program Manager, Luu-MisMaakskw (Esther Adams) - Nisga’a Lisims Director of Language and Culture, Galksi-De'entkw (Peter McKay) - District Principal Indigenous Education, and Jill Jensen - Superintendent. Highlights from the episode include: an opening from Peter; examining the importance of the land and how it is incorporated into the student experience; how language and culture can become focal points of the education system; the delicate balance of indigenous education and ministry requirements; what other systems and districts can learn from Nisga'a; and a lightning round heavily focused on nature.

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Doannie Tran was a middle and high school teacher, and was assistant superintendent for academics and professional learning for Boston Public Schools, and currently is a partner at the Center for Innovation in Education. Landon Mascareñez describes himself as educator, writer, and democracy builder. He works at the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) and is the vice chair of the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education. Doannie and Landon have been close since their time together at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and have since co-founded the Open System Institute. Their conversation with Rod and Jal includes: a deep discussion on the attractiveness of closed systems; why open systems would be better, but are a challenge to implement - classic fear of change; what unlearning was needed in order to fully embrace the concept of open systems; the importance of having all of the stakeholders, including skeptics and political actors, in the room in order to build trust in a community; sound advice on how to move from the theory of an open system to concrete action; and a lightning round that assesses the change tolerance of our guests and hosts!

    Pre-Order Doannie and Landon's book: The Open System: Redesigning Education and Reigniting Democracy

    Learn more about the Open System Institute

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Dr. Pam Moran is a recently retired superintendent of thirteen years and has also worked as a teacher, staff developer, elementary principal, and assistant superintendent. She was the 2010 president of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and the 2016 Virginia Superintendent of the Year, one of four finalists for the national superintendent of the year. Ira Socol is a Principal of Socol/Moran Partners and serves as Senior Provocateur, while leading work in the transformation of spaces, technologies, and library services. Highlights from their conversation include: opening mini-biographies based on a podcast homework assignment; an incredible story about Pam's first day as a teacher; how being a police officer changed the way Ira viewed classroom observation; the importance of giving everyone in the school system room to make mistakes; a look at why we need transformational change, and then examining the what and how of actually making it work; amazing examples of what transformation looks like for students, teachers and administrators; why the definition of engagement is different for every student; and a vast list of book recommendations during the lightning round.

    Check out Ira and Pam's book: Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change Schools

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Jal Mehta is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and also holds the title of faculty co-chair for the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology program. His research explores the role of different forms of knowledge in tackling major social and political problems, particularly problems of human improvement. He has also written extensively on what it would take to improve American education, with a particular focus on the professionalization of teaching. Our guest co-host, Ron Berger appeared in season one, episode 13: "Our Kids are Not Broken" and returns as a self-described "super-fan" of the podcast. Highlights from a very dynamic conversation include: an opening story about optimism in the face of a suddenly politicized education world; a look back at where it all began for Jal as he grew up in suburban Baltimore; unpacking the complexity of identifying and scaling deeper learning in all education systems; balancing the colonial nature and history of Harvard University with promoting a progressive approach to education; how having kids changes your view on teaching; and a fast moving lightning round that features a "scary story."

    Listen to Ron's Season 01 Episode

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Amanda Datnow is Professor and Chancellor’s Associates Endowed Chair in the Department of Education Studies and Associate Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Amelia Peterson is currently part of the founding faculty at the London Interdisciplinary School. Previously, she was a fellow in the Social Policy department at the London School of Economics. Both were recently involved in research that led to the latest Brookings Report: "Transforming Education for Holistic Student Development: Learning from Education System (Re)Building Around the World." Highlights from their conversation with Rod and Jal include: a quick history of their involvement with the Brookings Report project; whether taking on research during maternity leave is a good or bad idea; looking at how some leading systems and jurisdictions around the world are creating educational shifts in the direction of deeper, more equitable, more student-centered learning; defining infrastructure and the role it plays in systems change; the value of combining centralized and distributed forms of leadership; and a concise lightning round where we discover Jal's strange reading habits.

    Full Brookings Report and Case Studies

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Dream a Dream empowers children and young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and thrive in a fast-changing world. Since 1999, they have helped over 3 million young people thrive in the 21st century through innovation labs and strategic partnerships with governments in five states across India. Vishal Talreja is the co-founder and Trustee of Dream a Dream, and Dr. Connie Chung is the former Associate Director of Harvard Graduate School of Education's Global Education Innovation Initiative, and recently has worked with the OECD Education 2030 project. Highlights from their conversation with Rod and Jal include: an introduction to the Dream a Dream organization and how their work is creating real change in India; the inspiration for Connie and Vishal's book collaboration; how they are trying to rewrite what success looks like in the classroom and what that shift might mean for society at large; the amazing power of storytelling; and a lightning round featuring lessons from COVID and some great reading recommendations (see links below).

    Trauma-Responsive Schooling: Centering Student Voice and Healing

    Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education

    What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

    Decade of Anxiety – Transformed by Faith, Courage and Authenticity

    AZADI

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Alisa Berger was the founding principal at both the NYC iSchool, a New York City public high school, and the Mott Hall II school, a NYC public middle school. She currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Professional Education Program, and is Co-Director of The Deeper Learning Dozen. Throughout the conversation, Alisa will argue for schools, Rod will argue for districts, and Jal will serve as the moderator, while also reflecting on the overall debate. Highlights from the episode include: why context is so important to the change conversation; the various roles schools and districts play when trying to transform education systems; how size and scale can create both challenges and advantages; reasons for tension between schools and districts - sometimes a painting schedule becomes problematic; how the two entities can help each other; and an opening segment that ponders whether Producer Gino would make a good speaker of the house!

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Shanna Peeples is the Dr. John G. O’Brien distinguished chair in education at West Texas A&M university. In 2015 she was awarded USA National Teacher of the Year for her work at Palo Duro High School, and also found her way to Harvard where she attended classes taught by our co-host, Jal Mehta!

    Highlights from this episode include: why schools have become a target for whipping up moral panic in the political arena; the importance of tackling difficult issues, including race, head on and creating spaces where civil and constructive dialogue can take place across ideologies; results from a recent Ed Week poll capturing top concerns for teachers in the classroom; how building relationships with parents can help the community better understand what really goes on in schools; strategies for overcoming the noise created by extremes and elevating the voices of the "middle of the road folks;" and the elements of today's system that give us hope for the future.

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • During their trip to Kentucky, our hosts sat down with Lu Young, Jason Glass, Justin Bathon and Caleb Bates, of Kentucky's United We Learn Coalition. This group is building a vision for the future of public education in Kentucky, with the goal of everyone in the commonwealth – educators, families, students, community members and business leaders – working together to support public schools in bringing about deep and authentic learning experiences for all students. As Rod and Jal spoke with the team, the following themes emerged: the importance of who is at the table when building a coalition around education reform; connecting past and present policies through grassroots initiatives; building common ground among all stakeholders to overcome the political polarity; the incredible value of the student perspective being deeply involved in the process; how the expectations of colleges and universities have driven education design; and whether designing K-12 education to get students to elite universities is even the best approach. No lightning round, but a small tangent focused on the Kentucky delicacies of mac and cheese and bourbon is sure to entertain.

    Check out the full United We Learn report.

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Charles Leadbeater is a self-proclaimed “intellectual odd-job man,” with a background in journalism, entrepreneurship, and most recently, large-scale systems change. As the co-director of the System Innovation Initiative at the Rockwool Foundation in Copenhagen, he is helping to develop practical approaches to shifting big public systems. His conversation with Rod and Jal focuses on what is needed to make transformational change in the massive system we know as education. Highlights from the episode include: a reflection on recent test score releases in the U.S.; how being a mediocre student shaped Charles’ career path; defining student agency and why it is integral to learning transformation; how systems can support agency across all stakeholders instead of limiting it; why learning should be about acquiring a sense of purpose - focusing on possibilities not problems; a fun boat analogy that will test your movie knowledge; and a lightning round that sparked ideas for a spin-off “foodie” podcast!

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

    Email us at [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219

  • Timothy Knowles is the 10th president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Prior to joining Carnegie, he served as founder and managing partner of the Academy Group, an enterprise designed to prepare extraordinary young people from under-resourced communities to own and operate successful companies nationwide; reduce economic disparities and; serve as a human capital engine, built on a sustainable business model, to unlock human potential at scale. His conversation with Rod and Jal covered several areas including: how working as a history teacher in Botswana during Apartheid shaped his career; why he thinks the work of schools is one of the most important elements of societies; a deep analysis of the transformation of education systems in Chicago school districts; the definition of a "Carnegie Unit" and why it may be obsolete; how he plans to use his position within the Carnegie Foundation to better education; and a controversial take on deep dish pizza during the lighting round!

    Questions? Thoughts? Feedback?

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    Check out the "Street Data: Imagining the Next Generation of Education" podcast: https://streetdata.podbean.com