Learning Unboxed Annalies Corbin & NOVA Media

The traditional educational ecosystem is not built to reflect kids’ lived experiences and development. It has almost arbitrary divisions: School, after school, and summer; school districts and nonprofits; test scores and behavior. Byron Sanders and Big Thought want to change that ecosystem.
Big Thought is a Dallas-based organization that creates youth programming, convenes other educational organizations, and consults on best practices. Through experiential learning, they provide kids from marginalized communities the opportunities they need to identify and pursue their passions, build 21st skills, and exercise their agency.
Byron explains everything in terms of an ecosystem: How direct youth feedback of programs eventually impacts systems change, how creating more opportunities for youth changes the way they interact with the current system, etc. How he talks about our field might just change the way you look at everything.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
How youth’s program feedback should inform advocacy for systems changeWhy skills should supplement gradesUnderstanding the education as an ecosystem 
Resources:
Learn more at BigThought.orgRead “Ecosystems for the Future of Learning” report commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Produced by NOVA Media

Lesley Slaughter’s job as Senior Vice President of Soliant is to examine how to close the gap between the number of healthcare professionals and the increasing number of patients requiring care. Recently she has been focusing on school settings as the location of care and health professionals like speech pathologists, sign language interpreters, special ed teachers, etc.
According to a survey conducted by Soliant, 50% of these school-based professionals were considering leaving their field altogether. At the same time, 90% of schools believe that the number of students with IEPs will continue to increase, and 26% of students will need some kind of mental or behavioral health counseling by 2028.
So how do we retain these professionals in the education setting? Lesley’s research has led her to some suggestions. One is to allow professionals to remote work when appropriate. Another is to allow more professionals to be contract-based instead of district employees, allowing them more autonomy and flexibility.
We dive into these solutions and discuss how we can better think about and act on this topic.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
Causes of burnout in school-based health professionalsOngoing impacts of COVID on studentsThe importance of agility and autonomy for professionals
Produced by NOVA Media

Getting to see a live wild animal up close beats staring at a screen for just about anybody, big or small. Our guests today have witnessed that firsthand and are building out their family education program based on it. 
We are joined today by Seth Oglesby and Susan Zelinski from Arc of Appalachia’s Nature is Neat program. They are in the early growing stages of the South-Central Ohio program, bringing on more volunteer naturalists and a full-time education coordinator. Their passion is palpable.
We dive into all the segments they include in their once-a-month programming: An activity, interactive learning, themed hikes, meeting a live animal, and a craft kids can take home to continue their learning. They emphasize that the program is for the whole family, creating meaningful moments of nature immersion and learning that will have a long term impact on everyone.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
How nature lends itself to immersive learningThe power of volunteer naturalists in educationCreating a program that is great for kids and parents alike
Resources:
Learn more about Nature is Neat
Produced by NOVA Media

Play is powerful. Not only is it critical to the individual development of children, but it can create schoolwide cultures of inclusion, celebration, and healthy conflict resolution. No one knows this better than our guest on the show today, Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks. 
For almost 30 years, Playworks has worked to give kids a safe, healthy, inclusive recess experience. They partner with schools, starting with a Great Recess Framework evaluation. Then they place Playworks staff at the schools for recess, implementing the basics: Rock, paper, scissors as a conflict resolution tool; high fives; and positive language coming from adults. Plus, they train near-peer mentors as Junior Coaches, allowing kids to shine as leaders at their school.
Beyond discussing the importance of play, both for kids and adults, we also dive into Playworks’ approach to sharing its practices with other organizations. Often nonprofits hesitate to share their “secret sauce” with other nonprofits, not wanting to risk their piece of the funding pie. Elizabeth explains how, for the sake of helping as many kids as possible, Playworks moved past this.
In fact, you can check out Playworks’ free YouTube resources after you listen to the show!

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
How recess can set the tone for the whole dayThe basics norms Playworks establishes for recesses Why Playworks now makes its practices available to other organizations
Resources:
Watch hundreds of instructional game videos on the Playworks YouTube channelTake the Recess Checkup at RecessLab.org
Produced by NOVA Media

Almost ten years ago, Tom Thorpe wanted to create a learning environment that was embedded in the community and shaped around individual students. Today, REDI Lab, a “school within a school,” is physically located in a Denver Housing Authority neighborhood and sees over 100 students create their own learning path every year.
As our guest today, Tom tells us the origin story and evolution of the Research Entrepreneurship, Design, & Inquiry Lab at Colorado Academy. He walks us through the trimester-long program: Teaching self-empathy and self-discovery, letting students dwell in problem-solving stages, and putting process over product.
We also talk about the importance of developing teacher agency alongside student agency, including what that may look like in terms of experimentation and assessment.
Tom does an excellent job weaving together his real world experience and pedagogical theory. Enjoy!

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
Teaching students self-empathy and self-discoveryREDI Lab’s emphasis on process over productWhy teacher agency must grow alongside student agency
Resources:
Learn more at ColoradoAcademy.org/REDI-lab-at-ca

Produced by NOVA Media

If a student misses even a single building block in their math education, they will struggle in future lessons. In math, every concept builds on itself. That’s why developing an excellent math curriculum is so critical… and so difficult.
Today our guests are Tammy and Marc Goldberg, education innovators with Mathnasium. They’ve helped the company revamp its curriculum to help both instructors and students. Every concept is broken down into sequential pieces. Instructors assess where the student needs to (re)start, and each student gets all the time and individualized attention they need until they master that building block. 
But that kind of individualization can be hard to come by in traditional education systems. We discuss the challenges of creating math curriculums in schools. But Tammy and Marc do have some suggestions for a path forward: Get rid of timed number fact tests. Treat math like we treat reading in the early grades. Use precise language when teaching concepts. 
Tune in for this tough, but important conversation.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
How math concepts build on themselvesThe emotional and social stigmas attached to struggling in mathKey changes that could make a big difference in math curriculums
Resources:
Learn more at Mathnasium.com/Mathnasium-Method
Produced by NOVA Media