PODCAST EPISODE 13: In March, 2018, we asked a deceptively simple question: does the future need schools? As we look 10, 20, or 50 years into the future, will ‘school’ be relevant? Our survey consisted of a simple yes/no question, together with an optional why/why not follow-up response. The responses were rich, and, in this episode, John and Kelly Moravec share their findings.
PODCAST EPISODE 12: An introduction to the Knowmad Café.
As an extension of the World Café conversation activity into a qualitative research procedure, the Knowmad Café is a structured process in which groups of people discuss a topic at several tables, with individuals switching tables periodically and getting introduced to the previous discussion at their new table by a “table host.”
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 11: John and Kelly Moravec discuss Diane Ravitch's book, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools, which asks the questions: Is American education in crisis? Is the education system failing or declining? What actions should we take today to ensure positive futures?
From one of the foremost authorities on education in the United States, former U.S. assistant secretary of education Diane Ravitch, this book provides an incisive, comprehensive look at today’s American school system that argues against those who claim it is broken and beyond repair; an impassioned but reasoned call to stop the privatization movement that is draining students and funding from our public schools.
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 10: John and Kelly Moravec discuss recent headlines in the news of importance to teachers in the United States, looking at how Ohio is thinking about approaching professional development and how Education Secretary Betsy DeVos seems to be communicating her view of teachers as professionals. They also share what’s inspired them, including this chart of an organizational leader as a social architect.
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 9: We spoke with Peter Hartkamp, author of Beyond Coercive Education: A plea for the realisation for the rights of the child in education. Many children and parents experience problems with school and in politics education is an often recurring subject. Hartkamp argues that discussions on how education can be improved have not changed over the last 100 years. They focus on the details of the educational practice and do not result in the necessary and fundamental change. The underlying assumptions of education are almost never discussed.
Hartkamp's book shows that the essence of the current education system is based on the needs of the society of 200 years ago. It describes a number of myths in education, such as: more education is better, teaching is learning, tests lead to better education, children need guidance, teachers are regarded as a professionals and children do bully. These myths cause great suffering for children and inhibit learning and development. It seems, he argues, the Rights of the Child stop at the front door of the school.
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 8: We chatted with Dr. Cristóbal Cobo, director of research at the Ceibal Foundation in Uruguay. He is an expert on Big Data in education, and he shared his thoughts in our exploration of Cathy O’Neil’s provocative book, Weapons of Math Destruction: How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy.
O’Neil exposes the opaque, black box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society. These “weapons of math destruction” score teachers and students, sort résumés, grant (or deny) loans, evaluate workers, target voters, set parole, and monitor our health. In an era where we are obsessed with measurement, there are some huge implications for the world of education!
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 2: Kelly and John Moravec share highlights from their recent Facebook/Twitter book club discussion of Sir Ken Robinson’s Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education. They connect major themes from the conversation to an interactive exercise to sketch what schools are for and what curricular experiences should be embedded so that all students in all grades receive what they need for successful futures.
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 3: Can we bring free play, through electronic games, into the classroom? The social media universe is ablaze with ideas on how to harness Minecraft and the Pokémon Go craze in the classroom. But, do these tools really belong in schools? We debate some of the pros and cons, and invited 7th grader Hillel Killorn and MineGage founder Garrett Zimmer to weigh in.
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 4: We learned from Dr. Pasi Sahlberg, a world-renowned expert on the country’s approach to education. He has worked as schoolteacher, teacher educator, researcher and policy advisor in Finland and has examined education systems around the world. His expertise includes school improvement, international education issues, classroom teaching and learning, and school leadership. He is the author of the best-selling book, Finnish Lessons 2.0: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland, and numerous professional articles and book chapters.
We ask, what works in the Finnish approach to schooling that we can learn from? What misconceptions are out there? And, to take what we’ve learned from Finland a reality elsewhere, would it take a revolution? Or is there another way?
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 6: Self-regulation in the classroom focuses on how students manage, coordinate, and adapt how they think, feel, and behave to become successful.
Social and emotional challenges in kids have been receiving a lot of attention lately. Students who struggle with self-management, often do poorly in school. We wanted to learn more about this, and we met up with Dr. Richard Cash, a gifted and talented expert, and author of Self-Regulation in the Classroom: Helping Students Learn How to Learn. He taught us the process of developing self-regulation as easy as ABC: Affect (how you feel), Behavior (what you do), and Cognition (how you think). Teaching students to balance these three elements builds motivation, resilience, and college and career readiness.
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
PODCAST EPISODE 7: Free play is our focus for this professional development opportunity that builds from the Education Futures Podcast. Adults often assume that it is their job to keep children busy all the time, but evidence suggests that children learn best when afforded great amounts of free time and opportunities for free play: activities that are freely chosen and directed by participants for their own sake. This can involve exploring, making new friends, playing games, being bored, and rescuing one’s self from boredom.
We wanted to learn more. And so we interviewed Dr. Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. In his book, Peter Gray argues it’s time to stop asking what’s wrong with our children, and start asking what’s wrong with the system. Is schooling the most responsible thing we can provide?
Course designer: John Moravec, Ph.D.
