Learning Unboxed Annalies Corbin & 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

Christian Martinez knows firsthand what it’s like to be a young immigrant in America: The language barrier, financial stress, feeling alone and hopeless. That’s why he does what he does today. Christian is the founder and community innovator for The Camino Program and he’s our guest on the show today.
Christian tells us  about the Camino program, not just what it does, but how it makes its participants feel. The program offers support in professional development, mental health, peer support, and career navigation for teens transitioning into adulthood. While it’s only four months long, it’s just the jumpstart of creating a lifelong network.
The most important impact of the program is one that’s hard to measure, but is foundational to success: Hope. The Camino is literally “a path forward” for youth who have finally found a place where they can connect.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
How immigrant youth experience disconnectionThe critical importance of hopeMeeting youth where they are at– especially when they’re not at school
Resources:
Learn more at CaminoProgram.orgFollow the Camino Program on Instagram: @CaminoProgram
Produced by NOVA Media

In 2015, Norris School District came to Johnna Noll with a learner-centered educational consultant’s dream request. The tiny school district’s residential population consisted of a treatment center for kids, and it asked Johnna to help it transform into a learner-centered, trauma-invested, constantly evolving program. Of course, she said yes.  
Johnna joins the show today to tell us about what the school district has built. It uses a very clear learning design process: Profile, Plan, Pathway, Progress, and Proof. Students create their own unique learning paths based on their hobbies, talents, and interests. Then it’s up to the learning specialists to make sure academic competencies are tied into it.
The foundation of the entire learning environment is students and staff deeply learning about each other, building agency and confidence. From there students are connected to resources in the community to learn about what they are specifically interested in. 
We also talk about how truly empowering students and staff goes hand-in-hand with scaling up. Authentic success stories for students and communities, plus a healthy workplace for educators, is necessary to sustain the growth rate needed to one day benefit all students across the state, country, and world.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
Building student and staff profiles Tying academic competencies in with community-based learningChanging job descriptions and workplace policies to support learner-centered education
Resources:
Learn more at NorrisAcademyWI.org
Produced by NOVA Media

How do you even begin to create systems change in education? Our guest today is Rob Collins. He manages the Innovative Learning Network in the Kentucky Department of Education. Rob gives us a peek into what systems change looks like right now for the state of Kentucky.  
We dive into the teaching initiatives that the Kentucky Department of Education is undertaking in this area. Rob tells us about how the Innovative Learning Network provides institutional support and learning opportunities for school leaders and teachers. For example the network has brought in PBLWorks, a community organization, to successfully train a third of Kentocuky teachers on project-based learning.
We also cover efforts to change assessment and accountability. For example, two districts in Kentucky now release accountability dashboards along with state test scores to show there’s more to education achievement than standardized exams. Also, at the state level, there’s now a Kentucky United We Learn Council that includes legislators in exploratory discussions.
Changing systems happens across different levels and through different dynamics. Rob’s stories are excellent examples we can all learn from as we try to change the education system around us.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
What diverse stakeholders want out of the education systemProviding organizational structure while encouraging free-form growth among leaders in education innovation The importance of connecting innovative educators so they don’t feel like they are on an island
Resources:
Learn more at Kentucky’s Innovative Learning Network 
Produced by NOVA Media

It’s time to get free from oppression, both inside the classroom and out: internalized oppression, interpersonal oppression, ideological oppression, institutional oppression. That’s what Dr. Michelle Sadrena Pledger is here to talk with us about today.
Michelle is the Founder of Living for Liberation and is also the Director of Liberation at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. Her specialty is liberatory project-based learning. That’s when young people experience a learning environment that’s culturally responsive and centered in knowing and improving the world around them. 
We talk about how to incorporate equity stances, identity, belonging, place, dialogue, and democratization in teaching practices— even if you have to stick to a standardized curriculum. 
And there’s absolutely no expectation of being perfect! So please enjoy this episode with Michelle and enjoy liberatory learning.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:
Michelle’s Notice, Name, Navigate frameworkThe importance of student agency and action in liberatory learningHow liberatory learning leads to deeper learning
Resources:
Learn more at LivingForLiberation.comRead: Three Steps to Success with The Human Experience GPSRead LIBERATE! Pocket-Sized Paradigms for Liberatory LearningPodcast: Unapologetic & Uninterrupted with Dr. Michelle Sadrena Pledger (Available on all platforms)
Produced by NOVA Media