Big Ideas in Education

BIIE 242: Supporting Neurodivergent Students’ Transition from K-12 to College with Dr. Tara Williams  This week, Ryan sits with Dr. Tara Williams, the Founder of Innovative Collegiate Consultants, an organization that specializes in supporting students with things like accommodation management, learning system support, internship and job searching, and more. She is also the author of The Neurodive...

BIIE 241: Future-Ready Learning through Worldschooling with Rekha Magon  This week, Ryan sits with Rekha Magon, the Co-Founder & Chief Education Officer at Boundless Life, an organization that aims to help families learn while exploring the world. Rekha describes how worldschooling can transform how students learn and be a whole family experiential adventure, future readiness, more about Bound...

BIIE 240: Defying Academic Achievement Stereotypes through Chess with Kevin Cripe   This week, Ryan sits with Kevin Cripe, a former 27-year veteran of the Modesto County Schools, author, and motivational speaker. Kevin shares his experiences in creating an award-winning after-school chess program for students who came from socio-economically challenged backgrounds, his perspective on school techno...

BIIE 239: eSports as Competitive Athletic Programs with Johny Mantello  This week, Ryan sits with Johny Mantello, the IT Coordinator for the Lethbridge School Division in Alberta, Canada, who has encouraged eSports initiatives to help students who are seeking opportunities to grow in this booming industry. They discuss starting an eSports program, how programs function compared to other athletics,...

BIIE 238: Building Literacy in Students and Reading Education featuring Dr. Carolyn Brown  This week, Ryan sits with Dr. Carolyn Brown, the Chief Academic Officer and co-founder of Foundations in Learning, an organization whose mission is to unlock educational opportunity for all students by providing teachers and students with best-in-class literacy tools that leverage the science of learning. Th...

Big Ideas In Education 237: A Guide to Project-Based Learning with Bob Lenz and Dr. Lisa Mireles  This week, Ryan sits with Bob Lenz, CEO of PBL Works and Dr. Lisa Mireles, Managing Director of Digital Curriculum of PBL Works, to announce their new book “Project Based Learning For All: A Leader’s Guide” from PBLWorks. The book offers a guide for educators to create a gold standard PBL in their cla...

BIIE 236: Building Math Confidence in Students with Dr. Aditya Nagrath  This week, Ryan sits with Dr. Aditya Nagrath, acclaimed mathematician and the best-selling author of Treating Mathematics Anxiety: Inclusive Strategies for Working with Students Exhibiting Mathematics Anxiety. Dr. Nagrath discusses the gap in kindergarten math learners, helping students understand the subject at an early age,...

BIIE 235: Preparing the Next Generation of Students for the Workplace with Audrey Hametner This week, Ryan sits with Audrey Hametner, founder of The Bedrock Program, a social enterprise focused on growing, developing, engaging, and supporting tomorrow's future leaders. Audrey discusses how schools are preparing students for their future in the workforce, gaps in curriculum to career placement, the...

BIIE 234: Empowering Children, Families, and Educators with Financial Literacy featuring Dr. Darla Bishop This week, Ryan sits with Dr. Darla Bishop, a former high school educator and the creator of the multilingual financial literacy platform Piggy Bank Pathways. Dr. Bishop shares how she became interested in financial literacy, “Madeline’s Money Adventure” (a children’s book Dr. Bishop co-wrote...

BIIE 233: Increasing Drug Awareness in School with Rachael Bischel This week, Ryan sits with Rachael Bischel, the Program Manager of Victoria’s Voice, a foundation founded by David and Jackie Siegel after losing their 18-year-old daughter, Victoria, to a drug overdose. Rachael shares the mission of Victoria’s Voice, Florida state holidays that bring awareness to fentanyl and drug overdose, communi...

BIIE 232: Effective Strategies for Principals to Succeed featuring Jorge Rivas This week, Ryan sits with Jorge Rivas, a longtime educator and current principal at the Cornerstone Charter Academy in Central Florida. Jorge is the author of the book “Principals Matter: Highly Effective Leadership Strategies”, which came out earlier this year. Jorge shares his extensive experience in the education fie...

BIIE 231: The Growth of Microschools with David K. Richards This week, Ryan sits with David K. Richards, a nationally recognized education leader and the founder and CEO of Changemaker EDU, a growing network of microschools and an incubator for school founders across the country. Microschools are small schools that vary in funding and location, have an enrollment of 5 to 150 students, and foster a...

Big Ideas In Education, Ep. 230: What is ESTEAM® and How It Can Energize the Classroom with Scott Mann This week, Ryan sits with Scott Mann, the Director of Education and Training at VentureLab, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating the next generation of diverse innovators and changemakers through entrepreneurial learning. ESTEAM®, a version of STEAM learning that infuses entrepreneurshi...

BIIE 229: Managing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom and Beyond with Gerry White This week, Ryan sits with Gerry White, the Dean of Academic Technology at ECPI University and the founder of MyTutorPlus. They discuss Gerry’s view of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across education and a variety of careers, positive uses for AI in education, areas to be cautious, advice for teachers who integrat...

BIIE 228: Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Data Analytics with Emily Chase Coleman This week, Ryan sits with Emily Chase Coleman, the co-founder and CEO of HAI Analytics, a renowned education consulting firm. They discuss factors in K-12 teacher and administration turnover, how turnover affects schools financially, solutions, the impact of artificial intelligence on data analytics, and more. Tu...

BIIE 227: Today’s Education Field and Advice with Dr. Jodi Blinco This week, Ryan sits with Dr. Jodi Blinco, the founder of The U School and a sought-after education consultant and leader. They discuss challenges facing schools today and staying resilient, cultivating an effective staff and minimizing turnover, her mantra “controlling the controllables,” advice for young education professionals, a...

BIIE 226: Mentorship for K-12 Students with Jermaine Myrie This week, Ryan sits with Jermaine Myrie, the CEO of MENTOR, a national nonprofit that focuses on fueling high-quality relationship-centered practices for young people and uniting, expanding, and strengthening the mentoring movement. They discuss examples of effective K-12 mentorship, impacts on student outcomes, internal and external ment...

BIIE 225: K-12 Risk Management and Insurance with Jonathan Schreter This week, Ryan sits with Jonathan Schreter, the Executive Vice President at IMA Financial Group and a leading insurance broker for charter and independent K-12 schools. Jonathan is also a Certified Insurance Counselor with the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Resource. They discuss why insurance is a must-have for ch...

BIIE 224: Addressing the Teacher Shortage Today with Nicola Soares This week, Ryan sits with Nicola Soares, the President of Kelly Education, the country’s largest staffing provider. Nicola has advanced a wide range of potential solutions to address educator shortages. They discuss where the shortage stands today, strategies to find new talent and retain veteran educators, professional development...

BIIE 223: Trauma-Informed Classrooms with Dr. Robyn Koslowitz  This week, Ryan sits with renowned clinical psychologist and parenting educator Robyn Koslowitz. Dr. Koslowitz is also the host of the Post-Traumatic Parenting Podcast, a program that helps parents navigate giving their children a healthy childhood in the face of traumatic events. Dr. Koslowitz shares how the COVID pandemic exacerbated...

BIIE 222: Supporting Students Through Reading Fluency featuring Lyn Wetzel  This week, Ryan sits with Lyn Wetzel, the Curriculum Specialist at the Sequoia Pathfinder Academy at Eastmark, a public charter school in Arizona that specializes in STEAM Learning. Lyn shares about Sequoia Pathfinder and its tight-knit atmosphere, building foundational reading skills and fluency, programs such as Science...

This week, Ryan sits with Dusty Moore, CEO of CTE learning solutions provider iCEV, and Dr. Jeff Crapper, award-winning STEM & CTE educator. Dusty and Dr. Crapper share how they got started in the CTE field and the current state of the healthcare industry. Dr. Crapper shares examples of hands-on learning opportunities in the classroom and Dusty discusses iCEV’s curricular offerings to get star...

This week, Ryan sits with Ulysses Navarrete, the Executive Director of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS). Ulysses talks about his journey to this role, his extensive private sector experience, and how he plans to apply it in advancing ALAS's mission. Ulysses also talks about his leadership mantra, "Make It About Them Always," and discusses his top priorities as th...

This week, Ryan sits with Nate Moore, the Director of Technology at Kearsley Community Schools in Flint, Michigan. Nate talks about the challenges and opportunities that come with managing school technology, strategies for getting reluctant teachers on board with new tools, and some of the most impactful tech adoptions that are easy for teachers to implement. Nate also shares his favorite examples...

This week, Ryan sits with Eric Walters, the Director of STEM Education at Marymount School in New York City. Eric shares his insights on the importance of engaging girls in STEM and how he leverages real-world applications to make STEM subjects more relatable and impactful. Eric also talks about the role of Vernier’s video analysis software in enhancing STEM learning experiences at Marymount and d...