Free Range Humans

Ron Berger is Chief Academic Officer for EL Education, an organization that partners with districts and charter boards to found public schools in low-income communities. EL Education’s core work is building teacher capacity in schools and districts through professional coaching, resources and open-source curriculum. Ron teaches a course at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he is an Annenbe...

Sarah Fine is co-author of "In Search of Deeper Learning: The Quest to Remake the American High School." She teaches a deeper learning course at Harvard, and is the director of the San Diego Teacher Residency, which was formerly the High Tech High Graduate School of Education Teaching Apprenticeship program. Sarah and Jal share how they decided to pursue the project, what it was like to conduct re...

Tyler Thigpen is the head of the Forest School and Institute for Self Directed Learning. He also teaches at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School. Tyler has led several schools and is one of the foremost champions of agentic learning in the U.S., a model that puts students at the center of learning design. Highlights from the conversation include: how Tyler's background as a minister help...

Dr. Suzanne Dillon is the governmental representative for Ireland in the OECD Future of Education 2030 project, which she has been involved in since 2016. She has also been Chair of the project's Advisory Group since Spring 2018. Suzanne trained as a second-level teacher and worked in schools for 15 years before joining the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland as a school inspector. Her r...

David is a Senior Associate at Innovation Unit. As a co-founder and previous Board Director, David has helped shape the organization and its strategy since its foundation in 2006. For over two decades, David has consulted and advised on forming and implementing strategies and policies for transformation and innovation in education, early learning, healthcare and other public services. Interview hi...

Houdda Balouch and Shannon Guglielmo are teachers at Landmark High School in New York City, part of the New York State Performance Standards Consortium that values student voice and ownership of learning tasks over standardized exams. They are both part of the Equity in Curriculum team that conducts action research on how a white supremacist system impacts our school in the day to day, as well as...

In this week's episode, Rod and Jal are joined by Yong Zhao, a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas, and a professor in Educational Leadership at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education in Australia. Yong has published numerous articles and over thirty books to date! Throughout the conversation topics include problems with the Chinese approac...

In this week's episode, Rod and Jal are joined by Jeff Hopkins, Founder and Principal Educator at the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry in British Colombia, Canada. Jeff has been an educator since 1993 and has experience as a teacher of English, English Literature, Social Studies, History, Psychology, Physics, Math, and Independent Directed Studies blending almost every discipline. Througho...

In this week's episode, Rod and Jal are joined by Kevin Godden, Superintendent of Schools and CEO of the Abbotsford School District in British Columbia, Canada. Kevin is also involved in the Deeper Learning Dozen, and  shares how his work with the organization has helped shape policy in Abbotsford. Throughout the conversation Kevin opens up about race and how he first discovered he was black; what...

In this week's episode, Rod and Jal are joined by Jason Glass. Jason  is the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education, and prior to that, served as superintendent for Jefferson County (Jeffco) Public Schools in Colorado.  The discussion covers how Jason developed his own view of what education and deeper learning should be; the conundrum of balancing top-down vs. bottom-up approaches;...

In this week's episode, Rod and Jal are joined by two guests, Valerie Hannon and Amelia Peterson. Valerie co-founded Innovation Unit and currently leads their international education work, and is also the Co-Chair of the Global Education Leaders Partnership (GELP). Amelia holds the title of LSE Fellow at the The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and is a member of the foundin...

Lillian Hsu is the Principal at Latitude High School in Oakland, CA, and Chris Lehmann is  Principal at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA. Highlights from the interview include: Changes made by both schools when transitioning to an online space. Positive takeaways during the pandemic. The importance of valuing both the adults and kids in a learning environment. What it means to le...

Denise Augustine is the Director of Aboriginal Education and Learner Engagement at School District 79 Cowichan, in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada.  Highlights from the interview include: How to make our schools more equitable. Reflections on the role of indigenous people in education systems. What makes good learning. Should we be concerned about "learning loss" due to the pandemic? Preparing fo...