The Learnit Podcast: Recent Episodes

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With 4,000 students on campus and 180,000 online, President of Southern New Hampshire University, Paul LeBlanc aims to transform lives at scale by putting students at the centre of the education experience.In this episode, we talk a lot about the power of love, the difference between belonging and mattering, and why competency based education is finally taking off.

Show notes:
* More about Southern New Hampshire University, https://www.snhu.edu/ * More about Gregory Elliot’s work at Brown University:, https://www.brown.edu/academics/sociology/people/gregory-elliott * More about David Graeber’s work: https://davidgraeber.org/ * Favourite book about learning: ‘Death at an Early Age’, Jonathan Kozol * Favourite book: ‘Anna Karenina’, Leo Tolstoy

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As Co-founders of Class Dojo, Sam Chaudhary and Liam Don have built a community of 51 million teachers, parents and students, to share kids’ learning moments. They’re now building a virtual sandbox for kids who already know each other, to hang out, create and play. We discuss their recent funding, privacy and data and how they continue to make progress on the mission they defined in 2011: to give every kid on the planet an education they love.

Show notes:
Class Dojo: https://www.classdojo.com/
Previous successes: https://qz.com/791388/meet-mojo-a-monster-stanford-helped-create-to-teach-your-kids-that-effort-matters-more-than-iq
Favourite books about learning: ‘Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching’, Jo Boaler and ‘Theory of Fun for Game Design’, Ralph Koster
Favourite books: ‘A Mathematical Theory of Communication’, Claude E. Shannon and ‘The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World’, David Deutsch

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As co-founder and CEO of tiney, a venture capital backed social enterprise, Brett Wigdortz is looking to fix the very broken child care market. We discuss the exodus from the profession, the needed changes to government policy and how his tech platform provides support and a community for those caring for society’s smallest and most vulnerable.

Show notes:

• tiney’s website: https://www.tiney.co/
• Early years framework: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2
• Favourite book about learning: ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’, Daniel Kahneman
• Favourite book: ‘Never Let Me Go’, Kazuo Ishiguro

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As Founder and CEO of Apna, an Indian jobs and networking platform, Nirmit Parikh believes employment is the tool to addressing poverty and accelerating education. In this episode we discuss how Apna matches their 25 million job seekers with employers, how they raised $190 million, and how Nirmit balances being both a pirate and a navy captain.

Show notes:

• More about Apna: https://apna.co/

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With a career spanning education minister and employment minister, to digital technology executive, the Rt Hon Lord Jim Knight of Weymouth is advocating for greater climate education. We discuss a number of models of sustainable citizenship, changes to national funding formulas, the new British natural history GCSE and the role of legislation to make sustainable citizenship more equitable.

Show notes:

• Suklaa Education: https://www.suklaa.org/

• Teach the Future: https://www.teachthefuture.uk/

• Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education: https://www.eauc.org.uk/home

• Lorenzo Fioramonti’s work: https://lorenzofioramonti.org/the-author/

• The Eden Project’s teaching resources: https://www.edenproject.com/learn/schools/teaching-resources

• Aim Hi Earth: https://www.aimhi.earth/

• David Dixon, ‘Leadership for Sustainability: Saving the Planet One School at a Time’: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59205119-leadership-for-sustainability

• Stephen Heppell’s Learnometer: https://gratnellslearnometer.com/

• Favourite book about learning: Ken Robinson, ‘Finding Your Element’

• Favourite book not about learning: Vikram Seth ‘A Suitable Boy’

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Building on our last episode, this week we talk to Sbusisiwe Myeni, Co-founder and CEO of Imbeleko Foundation, a South African charity based in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, running after-school programmes for children with academic promise but who face challenges getting an education. We discuss creative ways non-profits like hers can partner with platforms like UCT Online (a digital high school in partnership with the University of Cape Town) to fill critically important gaps, the difficulties of bringing online education to poor, rural communities, and what works (and what doesn’t) for vulnerable children.

Show Notes:

• More about Imbeleko Foundation: https://www.imbeleko.org/?mkt_tok=MzQ0LUFFWi04OTEAAAGFMDF0s6bpP9aVLVVJ9l8dTG6ds4GGE9Yki9RhPReSqxaprZwpZKbGFWFG4dfoCRRYIegh8MKdEaDeNO8odpA
• More about UCT Online High School: https://www.uctonlinehighschool.com/
• Our previous episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/48-robert-paddock-valenture-institute-addressing-the/id1518322612?i=1000565743400

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With the need for new schools far outstripping the available budget to build them, how can South Africa meet the needs of its growing student population? As Founder and CEO of Valenture Institute, Rob Paddock is working to address this imbalance by scaling quality education through online learning. We discuss how the rise in online schooling during Covid resulted in a pivot in their business model, how their solution addresses the massive teacher shortage, lightens the load on teachers and how a coordinated partnership with University of Cape Town gets high quality learning to thousands of students across South Africa, at an affordable price point.

Show notes:

• More about Valencia: https://www.valentureinstitute.com/
• More about UCT High School: https://www.uctonlinehighschool.com/
• More about GetSmarter: https://www.getsmarter.com/
• Favourite book about learning: ‘The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle’ by Steven Pressfield
• Favourite book not about learning: ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’, Paramahansa Yogananda

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Does the UK education system help learners develop a love of learning, acquire life skills and develop knowledge? As High Mistress of St Paul’s Girls’ School, a high achieving independent school in London, and Co-Director of Big Education, a multi-academy trust and social enterprise, Sarah Fletcher and Peter Hyman are convinced we need to change the way we assess students in the UK. We examine the condemning data which backs the case for change, what we should be assessing and what we can do to get closer to an education of head, heart and hand.

Show notes:

• More about St Paul’s Girls’ School: https://spgs.org/
• More about Big Education: https://bigeducation.org/
• More about School 21: https://www.school21.org.uk/
• HMC survey on curriculum and assessment: https://www.hmc.org.uk/blog/hmc-survey-finds-curriculum-and-assessment-is-no-longer-fit-for-purpose/

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As CEO of Coursera, Jeff Maggioncalda has witnessed the open online course provider grow from 42 million learners pre pandemic to over 80 million. We discuss the future of learning and work, the ways the two intersect and the impact increased remote working has had on diversifying workforces. We also examine the edtech market, current valuations and Coursera’s own stock price.

Show notes:

• More about Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/
• Coursera’s 2021 Global Skills Report: https://www.coursera.org/skills-reports/global
• Favourite ‘book’ about learning: ‘Learning How to Learn’ course on Coursera, https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn
• Favourite book not about learning: ‘The Big Picture’ by Sean Carroll, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26150770-the-big-picture

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Awarded North Carolina’s 2022 Superintendent of the Year, Dr. Valerie Bridges’ is dedicated to innovation and providing students with the rich experiences to inspire their learning and give them a voice in their education. As Superintendent of Edgecombe County, a rural, high needs district serving 14 schools and 6,000 students, Valerie discusses how their micro school has allowed them to test some of their ideas - a different kind of school day, a different kind of curricula - and how she is scaling that success.

Show notes:

• Case study on Edgecombe County Public Schools & Transcend: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pI5MECv2g7ayKpWN26UnPoWYiM2sB4W1/view
• Case study video: https://www.ednc.org/we-drive-it-inside-the-north-phillips-school-fo-innovation-short-film/
• More about Edgecombe County Public Schools: https://www.ecps.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1637934&type=d&pREC_ID=1779439
• Twitter: @ECPS_DrB
• Favourite book about learning: ‘The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation’, Shane Safir
• Favourite book not about learning: Anything by John Grisham
• “Leading with love”, Learnit Podcast episode featuring Michael Sorrell: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-michael-sorrell-leading-with-love-during-a-time-of-crisis/id1518322612?i=1000477785314

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As Director General of Alianza Educativa, a non-profit organization which runs 11 charter schools across Colombia, Pablo Jaramillo Quintero provides examples of what's been lost during the pandemic and ideas on how to regain it. Serving 12,000 children in some of the most challenging neighbourhoods, Pablo discusses rebuilding trust, supporting teachers and finding the balance of assisting students in need whilst re-establishing high expectations and behavioural norms.

Show notes:

• More about Alianz Educativa: http://alianzaeducativa.edu.co/actualizacion/
• Reflections on reopening schools: https://www.globalschoolsforum.org/page/LessonsfromschoolreopeninginColombia
• More on social and emotional learning for teachers - The Learnit Podcast with Ellen Mahoney: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/29-ellen-mahoney-ceo-co-founder-circulus-institute/id1518322612?i=1000526769666
• Favourite book about learning: ‘Visible Learning’, John Hattie, https://visible-learning.org/
• Favourite book not about learning: ‘100 Years of Solitude’, Gabriel García Márquez, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/320.OneHundredYearsofSolitude
• Binge watching: Encanto, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2953050/

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As Partnerships Director at ACS International Schools, Graeme Lawrie is transforming what partnership in schools can be. Having established the UK’s largest school-based festival of science, he’s now organising a STEAM day for 10,000 children at the amusement park Thorpe Park. We talk about how his autism is a superpower which enables him to focus and prepare for the scale of these projects, his video series documenting neurodiversity from all perspectives and the many useful hacks he developed to support his autistic son Joe.

Show notes:

• More about Graeme Lawrie: https://www.acs-schools.com/graeme-lawrie-mbe
• More about ACS schools: https://www.acs-schools.com/
• Live link to International Space Station: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKMKGSt8W4k
• More about neurodiversity video project: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F7Zxjuyphd6MNYF4E0HOlSCvHyk4SXX6WiJQ38LXU/edit

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aeioTU, a social enterprise in Colombia, provides high-quality early childhood education and care, trains educators, creates resources and advocates for early learning to local regional and national governments.

As Executive Director, Maria Adelaida Lopez talks about how they’ve scaled to reach over half a million children, how they work outside the formal system to drive change within and how their vision of learning that is anchored in play, looks to transform communities in an innovative and sustainable way.

Show notes:

• More about aeioTU - https://www.aeiotu.com/
• More about Maria’s work: https://www.globalschoolsforum.org/news/465501/Maria-Adelaida-Lopez-on-the-power-of-early-childhood-education-to-transform-lives.htm
• More about early education in Colombia: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/9789264250604-en/1/2/2/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/9789264250604-en&_csp_=d30737202605961d33149cd3306c57f3&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book
• Longitudinal study on impact in EC - https://nieer.org/research/aeiotu-longitudinal-study
• Favourite book about learning: ‘How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum’, Keri Smith, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3090109-how-to-be-an-explorer-of-the-world
• Favourite book not about learning: ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’, Gabriel García Márquez, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/320.One_Hundred_Years_of_Solitude

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As former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham and former Head of Wellington College, Sir Anthony Seldon is one of Britain’s leading voices calling for radical change in education. He wants to move from what he calls the third education revolution – which was marked by homogenisation, heavy administrative burdens and little social mobility – to a fourth education revolution, one that embraces AI to personalise learning and frees up teachers to focus on relationships, developing student agency and offering everyone more autonomy. We talk about why he’s confident the pace of change is accelerating, why every human should get to experience university and why wellbeing must be a priority.

Show notes:

• More about Sir Anthony Seldon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Seldon
• More about Action For Happiness: https://www.actionforhappiness.org/
• 10 days of happiness programme: https://10daysofhappiness.org/
• The Fourth Education Revolution: How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Face of Education: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40093369-the-fourth-education-revolution
• Books by Anthony Seldon: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/211589.Anthony_Seldon
• Favourite book about learning: ‘Le Grand Meaulnes’ by Alain-Fournier https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/794779.LeGrandMeaulnes

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Why do university faculty at Carnegie Mellon University - an institution renowned for its learning sciences and advances in technology enhanced learning - so often fail to adopt them? As anthropologist at CMU, specialising in faculty culture and use of technology, Lauren Herckis offers key insights, and useful advice on how leaders might navigate reluctance from their own teams to embrace new technologies. We talk about her many surprising findings and whether the recent acceleration of edtech will be sustained.

Show notes:

• More about Lauren Herckis: http://www.laurenherckis.com/
• Lauren’s research: http://www.laurenherckis.com/research/
• Favourite book about learning: ‘How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching’, Susan A. Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett, Marie K. Norman, Richard E. Mayer https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7036409-how-learning-works
• Favourite book not about learning: ‘The Gold Bug Variations’, Richard Powers https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23012.TheGoldBug_Variations

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Transcend is a non-profit addressing the lack of R&D departments for education, by working with schools to figure out what they want to change and then helping them do it. Jeff Wetzler, Co-Founder and Jenee Henry Wood, Partner, discuss how their guiding principles will shift schools from an industrial model of mass production which sorts and ranks, to one whose purpose and design point toward equity and positive student experience.

Show notes:

• More about Transcend: https://www.transcendeducation.org/
• Edgecombe County & Transcend case study (incl. academic success, page 9): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pI5MECv2g7ayKpWN26UnPoWYiM2sB4W1/view
• Book: Forrest Carter, ‘The Education of Little Tree’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/116236.TheEducationofLittleTree
• Book: Frederic Laloux ‘Reinventing Organisations’. https://www.reinventingorganizations.com/
• Book: John Steinbeck, ‘East of Eden’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4406.EastofEden
• Book: Mark Twain, ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2956.TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn

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The Luminos Fund is an education non-profit that aims to get the most marginalized students into mainstream schools in Ethiopia, Liberia, Lebanon, and Ghana. Caitlin Baron and Alemayehu Hailu Gebre shed light on how the accelerated learning program packs 3 years of learning into 10 months by building a learning mindset and involving the community in a successful, joyful learning process.

Show Notes:

• More about Luminos: https://luminosfund.org/
• UNESCO’s research on the number of teachers required to teach those out of school: http://uis.unesco.org/en/document/world-needs-almost-69-million-new-teachers-reach-2030-education-goals
• Favourite books about learning: ‘Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning’, Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel and ‘The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures’, Anne Fadiman
• Favourite books not about learning: ‘The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant’, Graham Hancock & ‘Homegoing’, Yaa Gyasi

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Launched in September 2021, Boris Walbaum founded Forward College, a pan-European university designed to develop all forms of human intelligences and skills. Students learn in small groups with full-time teachers, a high dose of formative assessment, and one-to-one tutoring. Boris believes that education should be the most meaningful experience for students but also for the world at large. With students demanding an opportunity to have an impact, and with a sense of urgency, Forward College aims to help them develop the skills to practice this.

Show notes:

• More about Forward College: https://forward-college.eu/

• Favourite book about learning: Jo Boaler, Limitless Mind, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42940498-limitless-mind

• Marcel Proust, À la recherche du temps perdu,

https://www.goodreads.com/series/55129-la-recherche-du-temps-perdu

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As former acting education minister of Afghanistan, Rangina Hamidi committed to reforming teacher training, modernizing the massive education department, and implementing a national education policy. We discuss her decision to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover, and how to effect change from outside the system, when she had so clearly decided the best way to reform Afghanistan was internally.

Show notes:

• Hamidi’s considerations on whether to remain in Kabul: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/08/14/npr-afghan-education-minister-talks-about-future-of-afghanistan
• Hamidi’s reflections on the future for Afghanistan: https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1426930398546776070
• U.S. exit from Afghanistan: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/us/politics/zalmay-khalilzad-afghanistan.html

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As former head of Wuhan Yangtze International School, Erika Carlson now heads up iSC Academy, an all online school, primarily for Chinese nationals abroad, which has since attracted many Chinese families too. Erika and I talk about how to better integrate digital learning, how to achieve community and relationships online, and what's driving the most recent crackdown in the education sector in China.

Show notes:

• More about iSC Academy: https://learnwithisca.com/en/about/overview
• More about international schools consortium: https://ldi.global/isc
• More about Leadership International Development: https://ldi.global/leadership

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As founder of GoStudent, a 1:1 video tutoring platform operating in 17 countries, Felix Ohswald believes the biggest problem in education is a lack of access to great teachers. Having raised €291M, the platform connects 7000 tutors to 18,000 students. We discuss whether online 121 tutoring is more effective than in-person, whether tutoring can reduce equity gaps rather than exacerbate them and how GoStudent analyzes its data to understand what makes for effective learning.

This episode is sponsored by SMART Technologies: https://www.smarttech.com/education/profile

Show Notes:

• More about GoStudent: https://www.gostudent.org/en
• Favourite ‘book’ about learning: the Richard Feynman Lectures, https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/

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As Co-founder and Co-CEO of MeeToo, Suzi Godson has built an app that allows young adults aged 11 to 25 to anonymously seek and offer advice from peers in their age range. With real life moderators making sure the advice is sound and supported, 50k students now use MeeToo and they’ve recently launched a mirror version, to support teachers. We discuss what different age groups are worried about and the support teachers need, for themselves and to better support their students.

This episode is sponsored by SMART Technologies: https://www.smarttech.com/education/profile

Show Notes:

• MeeToo app via the NHS site: https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/meetwo/
• MeeToo Connect App (for teachers): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.uk.meetwo.connect&hl=en_GB≷=US
• More about Suzi Godson: http://suzigodson.com/about-the-site/
• Details of their data on mental health stats in the UK: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/mental-health-statistics/
• Favourite books: ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernadine Evaristo, https://bevaristo.com/girl-woman-other/. ‘Shuggie Bain’, by Douglas Stuart https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52741293-shuggie-bain and ‘Detransition, Baby’ by Torrey Peters, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48890225-detransition-baby

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As Principal of rural comprehensive Ansford Academy, Shonogh Pilgrim spent the last 7 years designing for and around student agency. We discuss how the pandemic accelerated the move toward giving students independence, why every school should have a flexi schooling option and an entirely different approach to student exclusion.

This episode is sponsored by SMART Technologies: https://www.smarttech.com/education/profile

Show notes:

• More about Ansford Academy: https://www.ansford.org.uk/
• More about Whole Education: https://www.wholeeducation.org/about-us/
• More about Ansford’s coaching model: https://www.wholeeducation.org/watch-how-ansford-academy-develops-student-agency-and-independence-with-coaching/
• More about Kunskapsskolan: http://kunskapsskolan.com/aboutus.4.1d96c045153756b0c14d5714.html
• Favourite book about learning: ‘Craft of the Classroom’, Michael Marland https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/3272096-craft-of-the-classroom
• Favourite book: ‘Start With Why’, Simon Sinek, https://simonsinek.com/product/start-with-why/

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Omega Schools is a network of 35 low cost, pay as you go, private schools in Ghana, serving 8,500 students. Joining as interim CEO in 2014, Alain Tanefo was brought in to turn around the business. Last year, Rising Academies bought Omega. We discuss the challenges with the low fee private school model, ways they stay committed to the most marginalized kids, and how Omega managed to increase its enrolment after the pandemic.

This episode is sponsored by SMART Technologies: https://www.smarttech.com/education/profile

Show notes:

More about Omega Schools: https://omega-schools.com/

More about Rising Academy Network: https://www.risingacademies.com/

Rise of expenditure on education: https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/507681613998942297-0090022021/original/EFWReport2021219.pdf

Favourite book about learning: James Tooley, ‘The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6147197-the-beautiful-tree

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At 3:30pm every day, thousands of teachers answer three multiple choice questions via the Teacher Tapp app, about their day or their opinions on teaching. Teacher Tapp then analyses and shares the resulting real time data from frontline education workers. Co-founder Laura McInerney shares their reasons for starting the app, what she’s learned from listening to teachers and how we might improve schools as a result.

This episode is sponsored by SMART Technologies: https://www.smarttech.com/education/profile

Show notes:

• More about Teacher Tapp, https://teachertapp.co.uk/
• More about Laura McInerney, https://lauramcinerney.com/
• Weekly Teacher Tapp blog, https://teachertapp.co.uk/blogs/
• Sutton Trust research on lockdown learning, https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Remote-Learning-The-Digital-Divide-Final.pdf
• Parent Ping, https://parentping.co.uk/
• Nuffield Research, https://teachertapp.co.uk/teacher-anxiety-alcohol-stress-christmas/
• Favourite book about learning, Seymour Sarason, ‘The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2334063.The_Culture_of_the_School_and_the_Problem_of_Change
• Favourite book John Irving ‘World According to Garp’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7069.TheWorldAccordingtoGarp

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The Circulus Institute offers the first competency based, adult social and emotional learning certification; a set of courses and coaching built around teacher well being. As CEO and Co-founder, Ellen Mahoney’s work supports teachers in order to better support children. We discuss the motivations behind their work, navigating resistance and the impact of Covid-19.

This episode is sponsored by SMART Technologies: https://www.smarttech.com/education/profile

Show Notes:

• More about Circulus Institute - www.circulusinstitute.org
• More about Sea Change Mentoring - www.seachangementoring.com
• Mentoring work by Dr Carla Herrera - https://greatlifementoring.com/team/dr-carla-herrera/
• The Hemingway scale, Dr Michael Karcher - http://adolescentconnectedness.com/
• The work of Michael J. Nakkula - https://www.gse.upenn.edu/academics/faculty-directory/nakkula
• The abuse of Devonte Hart - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/us/hart-family-crash.html
• Adultification of Black girls - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/parenting/adultification-black-girls.html
• Teacher well being index - https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/resources/research-reports/teacher-wellbeing-index-2020
• RAND Corporation, report on teacher related stress - https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-1.html
• More about CASEL - https://casel.org/

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Opening in September 2021, the London Interdisciplinary School radically challenges a lot of assumptions within higher ed. As the first new university (with degree awarding powers) in Britain since the 1960s, their curriculum is designed around solving real-world problems. With faculty from Oxford and Harvard, Co-founder and CEO Ed Fidoe discusses the need to teach skills employers want and their attempt to dismantle the traditional system - or at least offer an alternative to it.

Show notes:

• More about LIS: https://www.londoninterdisciplinaryschool.org/
• Importance of studying everything: https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/long-reads/london-interdisciplinary-school-omniscience-study-b1800801.html
• Teaching the skills employers want: https://qz.com/1781574/the-london-interdisciplinary-school-takes-a-new-real-world-approach/
• More about School21: https://www.school21.org.uk/
• Favourite book about learning: ‘Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge’ by Edward O. Wilson, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55981.Consilience
• Favourite book not about learning: ‘The Years of Lyndon Johnson’ by Robert Caro, https://www.robertcaro.com/the-books/
• Binge-watching: 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills', https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1720601/

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Money is pouring into edtech. In 2010 there was $500 billion of venture funding; last year it was 32 times that. As Co-founder and Managing Partner of Juvo Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early stage technology-enabled education companies, Maia Sharpley makes a compelling case for why this acceleration is here to stay. We discuss everything from how frothy the upskilling and corporate market is, to the tutoring and test prep market, to why she left an established firm to start her own venture.

Show notes:

• More about Juvo Ventures: https://www.juvovc.com/

• Global edtech unicorns: https://www.holoniq.com/edtech-unicorns/

• Growth of edtech market: https://www.holoniq.com/notes/global-education-technology-market-to-reach-404b-by-2025/

• Portfolio companies: Onramp, https://www.onramp.io/ NewCampus, https://www.newcampus.co/ SchooLinks, https://www.schoolinks.com/

• Favourite book about learning ‘Grasp: The Science of transforming how we learn’, Sanjay Sarma, Luke Yoquinto https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49348224-grasp’

• Favourite book not about learning: ‘ Cleopatra: A Life’, Stacy Schiff https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7968243-cleopatra

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Renowned for being progressive, Elvebakken VGS is one of Oslo’s biggest public schools. As Rector, Camilla Leirvik shares their approach to building skills such as collaboration and time management, and how this approach generates success for all students, not just high achieving ones. We also unpack her claim that Elvebakken is a “not a regular school, it's an environment.”

Show notes:

• More about Elvebakken VGS: https://elvebakken.vgs.no/

• More about Camilla Leirvik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla-hauren-leirvik-605191104/?originalSubdomain=no

• Favourite book about learning: ‘Dybdelæring’, Michael Fullan, Joanne Quinn, Joanne Mceachen https://www.ark.no/boker/Michael-Fullan-Dybdelaering-9788202595746?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuaX1y-ij8AIVwxB7Ch1UoACWEAQYBCABEgKAIPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

• Binge-watching: 'Eventyrlig oppussing' / 'Adventurous renovation' https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10373928/

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India’s new education policy proposes huge changes for the country's 472M children. As Director-Principal at Nehru World School and part of the Central Board of Secondary Education, responsible for setting the standards of national education policy, Arunabh talks about the required shift in mindset, the previous attempts to reform India's curriculum and what needs to happen to get this policy from paper into reality.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @SinghArunabh

• More about Nehru World School: https://www.nehruworldschool.com/

• Anganwadi Functions: https://womenchild.maharashtra.gov.in/content/innerpage/anganwadi-functions.php

• Continuous & Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ContinuousandComprehensive_Evaluation

• Wren & Martin: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71722.High_School_English_Grammar_and_Composition

• Favourite book about learning: The Third Teacher, http://www.thethirdteacher.com/

• Favourite book: Made In Japan, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1008101.MadeinJapan

• Binge-watching: The Blacklist, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2741602/

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Valued at $1 billion, digital study platform Quizlet has 50 million active users in 130 countries, and has seen growth of 300-400% during Covid. CEO Matthew Glotzbach discusses the perils and possibilities of self-directed learning, shocking insights from Quizlet’s data on how the pandemic has affected study habits by country and how to address the very real mental health issues of young people today.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @quizlet & @mglotzbach

• More about Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/en-gb

• Series C funding round: https://www.uktech.news/featured/quizlet-raises-24m-series-c-20200514

• How pandemic has shaped how we educate: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/digital-learning-covid-19-changed-way-we-educate-children/

• Favourite book about learning: Benedict Carey, ‘How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19288640-how-we-learn

• Favourite book not about learning: Ijeoma Oluo, ‘So You Want to Talk About Race’, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35099718-so-you-want-to-talk-about-race

• Binge-watching: Jack Ryan, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5057054/

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As CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All, Wendy Kopp leads a global network of over 50 independent organisations cultivating leadership through locally rooted social entrepreneurs. We talk about successful innovations from around the world, the nature of leadership, what this moment means, and whether she thinks we will decide to do anything with it.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @wendykopp, @TeachForAll

• More about Teach For All: https://teachforall.org/

• Recent blogpost on Medium: https://medium.com/teach-for-all-blog/how-we-can-ensure-that-covid-19-does-not-cast-a-lifelong-shadow-over-todays-young-people-fa962351fee9

• Favourite book about learning - ‘Mindset: The New Psychology of Success’, by Carol S. Dweck: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40745.Mindset

• Favourite book not about learning: ‘Humankind: A Hopeful History’, by Rutger Bregman: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52879286-humankind

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We could all use strategies to help us cope, and where possible, positively navigate the continual stresses of pandemic life. Dr. Laurie Santos, Head of Silliman College, Professor of Psychology at Yale University, and founder of The Happiness Lab, is a leading specialist on human cognition and the cognitive biases that can negatively impact our life choices and decision making. Her course, “Psychology and the Good Life” is Yale’s most popular course in the university’s 300+ year history. Dr. Santos wants her students to be more grateful, procrastinate less and increase social connections in order to decrease mental health issues, increase motivation, and ultimately, increase happiness.

This session was recorded as part of a wider workshop and audience Q&A at Learnit Live.

Show notes:

• Dr. Laurie Santos’ work: https://psychology.yale.edu/people/laurie-santos

• Twitter: @lauriesantos

• ‘The Science of Wellbeing’ course, Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being

• ‘The Happiness Lab’: https://www.happinesslab.fm/

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As Co-founder & CEO of Summit Public Schools, a network of 11 public charter schools in Washington State and California, Diane has built a model focused on mentoring, building student agency and supporting learning through projects. We talk about how their focus on self-directed learning paid off during the pandemic, whether tech can be used to build connection and the risks of too much emphasis on learning loss.

Show notes:

• More about Summit Public Schools, https://summitps.org/

• More about Summit Learning Programme, https://www.summitlearning.org/

• Favourite book about learning: Linda Darling Hammond, The Right to Learn, A Blueprint for Creating Schools That Work, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/321109.The_Right_to_Learn

• Favourite book not about learning: Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51152447-caste

• Binge-watching, Bridgeton, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8740790/

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As President of one of Israel’s largest teaching colleges, Yuli is reforming their entire teaching curriculum, focusing on resilience and adaptability, to allow teachers to be more autonomous and build the support system they need for an age of uncertainty. We talk about Israel’s cautionary tale of how not to open schools, their vaccination programme, the risks of inequality and what Covid-19 has taught us about ourselves.

Show notes:

• More about Yuli Tamir, https://yaelyulitamir.com/
• More about Beit Berl College: https://www.beitberl.ac.il/english
• Favourite book about learning, Charles M. Payne, So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3229041-so-much-reform-so-little-change
• Binge watching The Crown: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4786824/

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A network of 21 affordable, globally competitive independent schools in Gauteng and the Western Cape regions of South Africa. We talk about their values-led model; what that means, how they measure it and how it positively impacts academic performance. We also talk about navigating COVID and the importance of relationships when keeping a private school afloat while families are facing unprecedented levels of hardship.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @SPARKSchools

• More about SPARK Schools: https://www.sparkschools.co.za/

• More details on Sparks Fly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyN0S4EdP0c

• Bailey’s TEDxJohannesburg talk on their core values: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tFe-Xn7Ipo&t=29s

• Launch of their vision, "South Africa leads global education": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOU0TYnNsZo&t=9s

• Favourite book about learning: The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Jon R. Katzenbach, Douglas K. Smith, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/170486.TheWisdomof_Teams

• Favourite book not about learning: The Book of Embraces, Eduardo Galeano, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9490.TheBookof_Embraces

• Binge-watching: New Girl, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1826940/

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With 53k students and a budget of $13 million, University of the People provides a nonprofit, tuition free, online university. And last September, they established the first Arabic language, online degree program, after seeing students, in particular refugees, flocking to their program. We discuss their peer to peer learning model, their liberal arts foundation and how they manage to keep costs down.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @ShaiReshef @UoPeople

• Find out more about University of the People: https://www.uopeople.edu/

• More about Arabic language programme: https://www.uopeople.edu/about/worldwide-recognition/press-releases/university-of-the-people-launching-first-arabic-language-program-in-september/

• Favourite book about learning: John Sexton, Standing for Reason: The University in a Dogmatic Age, https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/41833036-standing-for-reason

• Favourite book not about learning: Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens-2/

• What are you binge watching? Queen’s Gambit, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10048342/

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Frustrated at the lack of market intelligence for the education sector, Maria co-founded HolonIQ, to synthesize the billions of data points into rich global insights. We explore how Covid-19 has affected the education market, and discuss five predictions about the future of learning - including what people hope will happen versus what they expect to happen.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @marialspies1 @holoniq
• More about HolonIQ - https://www.holoniq.com/
• 2021 Global Learning Landscape (Periodic Table) - https://www.holoniq.com/notes/the-2021-global-learning-landscape.-an-open-source-taxonomy-to-map-the-future-of-education/
• 2030 Education Project - https://www.holoniq.com/2030/
• Favourite book about learning is Clayton Christensen, https://claytonchristensen.com/ideas-in-action/books/
• Currently binge-watching The Crown, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4786824/

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Having spent two decades as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, Pamela’s work with Turnaround for Children translates scientific knowledge about how children develop and learn, so that teachers and schools can support children where they are, and help them get where they need to be. We talk about the relationship between our genes and what we become and designing schools for the whole child rather than sorting based on narrow academic measures.

Content Warning: Please note, there are references to sexual abuse in this episode.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @Turnaround @DrPamelaCantor
• More about Turnaround For Children: https://turnaroundusa.org/
• More about Pamela Cantor, M.D.: https://turnaroundusa.org/team/pamela-cantor/
• Book, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook, Bruce D Perry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/129909.The_Boy_Who_Was_Raised_as_a_Dog
• More about the building blocks for learning: https://turnaroundusa.org/what-we-do/tools/building-blocks/
• Benjamin S. Bloom’s The 2 Sigma Problem http://web.mit.edu/5.95/www/readings/bloom-two-sigma.pdf
• The 180 Podcast: https://turnaroundusa.org/the-180-podcast-dr-pamela-cantor/
• Favourite book: Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., Brainstorm. The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain https://drdansiegel.com/book/brainstorm/
• “A Talk to Teachers”, by James Baldwin: https://www.spps.org/cms/lib010/MN01910242/Centricity/Domain/125/baldwin_atalktoteachers_1_2.pdf
• Binge watching, Queen’s Gambit, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10048342/
• Binge watching, The Biggest Little Farm, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8969332/
• Binge watching, My Octopus Teacher, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12888462/

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Over the last 15 years, Remake Learning has invested $100M, making a series of "small bets" to support and invest in a network of people igniting change, and empowering those ready for it. Their first annual Remake Learning Day saw 30,000 families take part in what he calls an “amusement park of innovative learning”, bringing to life what the future of education could look like. We talk about measuring the success of those small bets and how to mobilize a community around the future of learning.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @remakelearning, @RemakeDays, @greggbehr

• More about Remake Learning: https://remakelearning.org/

• More about Remake Learning Days: https://remakelearningdays.org/

• More about Grable Foundation: https://grable.org/

• Remake Learning Playbook: https://playbook.remakelearning.org/

• Book: Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, Philip Paul Hallie https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/167405.Lest_Innocent_Blood_Be_Shed

• Bingewatching: Vikings, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2306299/

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Wisdom and Olivia founded Empower High School to develop young leaders who can transformatively resist systems of oppression and build new systems of liberation. With a school led by students, guided by educators and co-created with the community, things can get messy, but they’re committed to being comfortable with continual change and to resisting the impulse to revert to a broken system.

Show notes:

• Twitter - @EmpowerHS, @BrotherAmouzou - More about Empower High School - https://empowerhighschool.org/

• Education as a means of liberation - https://globallearninglab.teachforall.org/video-page/465/wisdom-amouzou-education-is-a-means-for-liberation

• Explanation of transformative resistance - https://empowerhighschool.org/blog/2019/10/28/what-do-we-mean-by-transformative-resistance

• Teaching Community, Bell Hooks - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/833590.Teaching_Community

• Pedagogy of the oppressed by Paulo Freire - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/72657.Pedagogy_of_the_Oppressed

• Another Country, James Baldwin - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38474.Another_Country

• This is How you Lose Her, Junot Diaz - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13503109-this-is-how-you-lose-her

• Queen’s Gambit - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10048342/

• The Mandalorian - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8111088/

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With a map of global learning innovations and a Learning Hub in Barcelona, Chris aims to give educators a vision of what the future of education might look like, as well as a plug and play toolkit to allow educators to pick and choose the ideas, practices and mindsets they want to put into their own schools and communities.

Show notes:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/christopherpomm?lang=en

• More about LearnLife: https://learnlife.com/

• More about RE:Learn, LearnLife’s festival of learning: https://relearnfestival.com/

• More about Learning Hub in Barcelona: https://learnlife.com/barcelona

• More about the new learning paradigm: https://learnlife.com/alliance/learning-paradigm

• LearnLife’s research on global innovation: https://learnlife.com/alliance/learning-from-the-best

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With 4.2 million paid subscribers, BYJU’S is one of the largest global edtech companies and has seen students’ time on their platforms increase from 71 to 110 minutes during Covid-19. Having raised $2 billion, company founder Byju’s ambition is to harness students’ innate curiosity and enable students to learn, unlearn and relearn in order to thrive in an ever-changing world.

Show Notes:

• Find out more about BYJU'S - https://byjus.com/

• More details about Byju's acquisitions and expansion plans - https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/15/indian-decacorn-byjus-ceo-talks-about-future-acquisitions-coronavirus-and-international-expansion/

• Find out more about BYJU'S partnership with Disney India - https://byjus.com/disney-byjus-early-learn/

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At a time when technology is essential to remote learning, Jim believes there has never been a more important time to hold tech companies accountable. As founder of Common Sense Media & author of "Which Side of History?”, Jim campaigns to ensure tech is used for good, to protect our kids, families & the future of democracy.

Show notes:

• Details of Jim’s new book ‘Which Side of History?’ https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/news/press-releases/common-sense-launches-which-side-of-history-campaign-to-challenge

• Find out more about Common Sense Education: https://www.commonsense.org/education/

• Find out more about Common Sense’s initiative, ‘Wide Open School’: https://wideopenschool.org/#grades-3-5/

• Find out more about Common Sense’s Digital Citizenship course: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

• Find out more about Common Sense’s Edtech ratings and reviews: https://www.commonsense.org/education/search?contentType=reviews

• Author Nicholas Lemann, ‘The Big Test, The Secret History of the American Meritocracy’: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374527518

• Author Paul Tough, ‘The Years That Matter Most’: https://www.paultough.com/books/years-that-matter-most/

• Author Paul Tough, ‘Helping Children Succeed’: http://www.paultough.com/helping/

• Author Pat Conroy, ‘The Prince of Tides’: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16735.The_Prince_of_Tides

• Sacha Baron Cohen’s 'The Spy': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UijUOy0MmE

• Sacha Baron Cohen’s 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm': https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201021-borat-2-review-fascinating-and-urgently-satirical

• TV show 'The Bureau': https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4063800/

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With the risk of inequities growing, Miyashiro is committed to ensuring all families, not just wealthy ones, have choices. Looking to the world of business for solutions, Cajon Valley Union School District remains committed to innovation & is trialling new approaches to keep kids in classrooms.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @davidmiyashiro

• Details about Cajon Valley Union School District: https://www.cajonvalley.net/

• How One District Got Its Students Back Into Classrooms, New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/us/school-covid-reopening.html?smid=tw-share

• Cajon Valley’s regular flash mob: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGhwNrNVh1A

• Cajon Valley’s Work of Work curriculum: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanderark/2018/10/17/the-world-of-work-in-elementary-school/#3c65924dd128

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Until now, tutoring has been out of reach for most children - too expensive, hard to access and largely an opportunity for the privileged few. With an online offer, working with both schools and parents, and government investment to deliver tutoring to those who need it most, MyTutor is growing. Fast.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @Bertie_Hubbard @MyTutor

• Benjamin Bloom, The 2 Sigma Problem: The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as Effective as One to One Tutoring http://web.mit.edu/5.95/readings/bloom-two-sigma.pdf

• Teacher Tapp survey - How much learning are pupils doing remotely? https://teachertapp.co.uk/who-could-return-to-school-if-it-were-possible/

• National tuition programme, £350 million investment in tutoring to most disadvantaged students: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/online-tuition-pilot/

• MyTutor raises €4.4 million to expand: https://www.eu-startups.com/2020/06/uk-edtech-mytutor-raises-e4-4-million-to-expand-its-online-tutoring-platform-post-covid/

• The Name of The Wind - Patrick Rothfuss: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind

• Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

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Veteran educator and activist Kaya Henderson has launched Reconstruction, an organisation providing unapologetically Black education to help kids understand their rich history and empower them to see themselves positively in school and in life.

Will building safe and culturally connected communities catalyze young adults to lead the change that is so desperately needed?

Show notes -

• About Reconstruction - https://reconstruction.us/
• Fred Rogers 'Look for the Helpers' quote - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LGHtc_D328
• Artist Leroy Campbell - https://www.leroycampbelloriginals.com/
• Author Derrick Bell, Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/466460.Faces_at_the_Bottom_of_the_Well
• Author Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities, Children in America's Schools - https://www.jonathankozol.com/savage-inequalities
• Author Amanda Ripley, The Smartest Kids in the World & How They Got that Way - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259960-the-smartest-kids-in-the-world
• TV show Lovecraft Country - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6905686/

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Elite jobs are hard to get. Tech startup WhiteHat is working to democratise access to the best careers through offering an alternative to university; apprenticeships. Despite a national reduction in apprenticeship applications in 2020, WhiteHat’s UK applications are increasing, and fast. As VP Learning & Delivery, Lisa Barrett shares some of the WhiteHat ‘secret sauce’; building community, recruiting for super powers and world class remote teaching. As we enter a global downturn, will students abandon the dream of a university degree and opt for a WhiteHat type apprenticeship?

Show notes:

• Twitter: @WhiteHatGB

• WhiteHat's audacious goals: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/university-shouldnt-gatekeeper-great-careers-isabelle-roughol/

• Ken Robinson 'Do Schools Kill Creativity?': https://www.ted.com/talks/sirkenrobinsondoschoolskillcreativity?language=en

• Rodham, Curtis Sittenfeld: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50253429-rodham

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As a feminist activist, Chernor Bah’s work as CEO and Co-Founder of Purposeful focuses on giving girls the curriculum, the social capital and the space, to find, develop and use their voices. We explore how learnings from the Ebola epidemic have shaped Sierra Leone’s response to COVID-19 and how a transformative approach has resulted in 21% of the country’s GDP being consistently spent on education.

Show notes -

• Twitter: @Cee_Bah

• More about Chernor's work: www.wearepurposeful.org/

• Remote learning through radio broadcasting: www.unicef.org/wca/stories/covid-19-sierra-leone-education

• Karo Kura, creative drama series: https://avstudios.com/project/corona-lan-de-trut - John Kenndey Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces: www.goodreads.com/book/show/310612.AConfederacyof_Dunces

• Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me: www.goodreads.com/book/show/25489625-between-the-world-and-me

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As head of Surrey Square Primary School at 29, Liz Robinson was the youngest headteacher in England. She champions values as a route to achieving positive impact, for the children but also the communities the school serves. As Co-Director at Big Education, this work has continued, helping headteachers deliver a more holistic education, focused around the principals of Head Heart and Hand. In this episode we discuss her work, values and how COVID-19 has driven the movement to achieve a more balanced approach to education.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @LizzieRobinson3 & @jandersonQZ
• Big Education: https://bigeducation.org/
• London Interdisciplinary School: https://qz.com/1781574/the-london-interdisciplinary-school-takes-a-new-real-world-approach/
• Carl R Rogers, On Becoming a Person: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/174879.On_Becoming_a_Person
• Madeline Miller, Circe: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35959740-circe

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Today we talk to Pia Pakarinen, Deputy Mayor for Education, City of Helsinki.

Finland has long been viewed as an educational success story, and appears to be the outlier during COVID-19; teachers had the tools they needed, and the training and support to respond, parents felt equipped to help their kids, and children fared well as a result. We discuss these areas, alongside the extensive data collection underway and the resulting changes being put in place as a result.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @Pia_Pakarinen | @jandersonQZ
• PISA Education Survey: https://finland.fi/life-society/finland-remains-among-top-nations-in-pisa-education-survey/

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During the pandemic, demand for Khan Academy sky-rocketed, with usage of the site rising to 75 million minutes a day. With a huge sense of purpose and endless energy, Sal has led his team to build further ways to help students, parents and teachers during this time. Today we discuss the COVID-19 learning loss, 'in terms of like progress around equity, I think we could lose decades', what works and doesn’t with online learning, the range of ‘back to school tools’ they’re developing and the role tutoring can play, and how he came to his decision to establish the company as a non-profit.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @salkhanacademy
• One World Schoolhouse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUHRaoD7d34
• Schoolhouse.World: https://coda.io/@schoolhouse/welcome
• The Diamond Age, Neil Stephenson: https://www.nealstephenson.com/the-diamond-age.html
• Isaac Asimov, Foundation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29579.Foundation
• Avatar, The Last Airbender: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN_u5w69V9wUZYG8WeJWuNg

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If you want to start a heated discussion in global education circles, mention the name Andreas Schleicher. As head of the OECD’s education unit, he is the face of PISA, a test administered to 15 year olds around the world every 3 years. Depending on who you ask, Schleicher, a German data scientist, is responsible for launching a global education arms race, or he is one of education’s most enlightened reformers, committed to changing what is measured in education so it better reflects the world in 2020.

In this episode, we talk about how different countries are trying to battle COVID-19 learning loss, the elevated role of wellbeing during the pandemic, where online learning has and hasn't worked, the role of motivation and self-regulation, parents as faculty, the future of assessment and how tutoring could help the most disadvantaged kids catch up, if designed and funded well.

Show notes:

• Twitter: @SchleicherOECD | @jandersonQZ | @Learnit_World
• More information on the OECD's work: http://www.oecd.org/education/
• OECD Report 'Schooling Disrupted, Schooling Rethought'
• Yuval Noah Harari, '21 Lessons for the 21st Century'

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Thirteen years ago Michael Sorrell saved Paul Quinn College, a historically Black Methodist college in Dallas, Texas, from financial collapse, transforming it to America’s first urban work college. Today, he explains why he won’t welcome students back on campus this fall unless he can keep them safe, what America’s anti-racism protests mean for higher ed, and why the single best piece of advice he ever got was to “lead with love.”

“At the end of the day we are fighting for something bigger than the perpetuation of our selves as an institution. We are fighting for the salvation of our students. That’s a bigger cause.”

Show notes:

• Twitter: @michaelsorrell | @jandersonQZ
• Paul Quinn College website for more information on their work: https://pqc-edu.squarespace.com/
• More details regarding the reality of social mobility in US college system, available via corresponding Quartz article, written by Jenny Anderson: https://qz.com/1706334/college-admissions-are-a-game-that-still-favors-rich-over-poor/
• Michael Sorrell, ranked 34 in Fortune's 50 Greatest Leaders: https://fortune.com/worlds-greatest-leaders/2018/michael-sorrell/
• Michael Sorrell's SXSW Edu 2018 talk: https://www.sxsw.com/news/2018/watch-michael-j-sorrell-sxsw-edu-2018-tuesday-keynote-video/