Getting Smart Podcast

Today on the podcast, Tom Vander Ark is speaking with Anant Agarwal, the founder and CEO of edX. In 2012, Anant founded edX, which was created in partnership between MIT and Harvard to extend open access to the courses taught by the best professors in the world. On top of this, Anant is also a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. He has also served as the Director of CS...

With schools in a majority of states closes, more than  36 million  of about 50 million American students are learning remotely. The pandemic is posing a huge challenge for students and parents. Some parents are trying to figure out how to stay at home with the kids. Others are trying to figure out how to work at home with the kids there. Some are scrambling for child care.  Stress and uncertainty...

This week on the podcast, join Tom Vander Ark, Dr. Emily Liebtag, and Nate McClennen as they discuss their newly published book, The Power of Place: Authentic Learning Through Place-Based Education ! They speak about the main themes they cover, the experiences and examples they share throughout it, and the defining principles of place-based education.   As a refresher, Emily Liebtag is the recentl...

In today's episode, Tom Vander Ark is continuing the conversation about starting career education early with Ed Hidalgo and Dr. David Bluestein! If you haven't already, be sure to tune into that conversation first and then come back here to listen to Part Two!   After almost two decades of leadership and high tech human resource staffing, Ed Hidalgo led the development of the career education prog...

In this week's episode, Tom Vander Ark is talking with Dr. David Blustein, a Professor of Counseling Psychology at Boston College. Dr. Blustein's 2006 book, The Psychology of Working, made him a leader in the emerging field of vocational psychology. His newest book, The Importance of Work in an Age of Uncertainty, discusses the eroding work experience in America and how to prepare young people to...

Today, the Getting Smart team is going to learn about a school that is taking student-centered learning global! Rebecca Amis is the co-founder of MUSE School in Calabasas, California. MUSE is a small student-centered P-12 school with a robust sustainability agenda, a great Seed-to-Table program, a vegan kitchen, and climate action integrated across the curriculum. Rebecca and her team are also lau...

Today the team is talking with Patricia DeKlotz. Dr. DeKlotz has been Superintendent in the Kettle Moraine School District since 2006. And for the last 10 years, she has been recognized as a national leader in personalized and competency-based learning for students and teachers. In 2016, Dr. DeKlotz was named Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year. It's also interesting to note that Dr. DeKlotz, lik...

This week on the podcast, the Getting Smart team is talking about the past and future of EdTech with Larry Berger!   After his Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, Larry Berger served as a Whitehouse Fellow working on educational technology at NASA. In 2000, he co-founded Wireless Generation, an early leader in reading assessment. After being acquired in 2010, the company then became Amplify....

In today's episode, Emily is speaking with Beth Anderson. Beth leads the Hill Learning Center, a K–12 non-profit based in Durham, North Carolina, that has an innovative approach to meeting the needs of students with learner differences. Their mission is to transform students who have learning differences through a variety of programs that are research-based and distinguished by being highly differ...

Whether you're a parent, an educator, or someone who has worked alongside youth, you probably understand the confusion that comes up for learners and their parents when it comes time for college. They're trying to figure out where to go, what to major in, and how to pay for it. But that's why American Student Assistance, the non-profit also known as ASA, provides advice and support starting in mid...

Today's episode is all about limitless learning and learning math that really matters with Dr. Jo Boaler!   Dr. Boaler is a Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University and the author of fourteen books. Her newest book, Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers , shares the benefits of a growth mindset, collaboration, and learning from mistakes with a general audience. Ba...

Today, Tom Vander Ark is speaking with Chad Dorsey about modeling and data science in STEM education! Chad grew up a science geek; he loved the lakes and meadows of summer camp, he studied physics in college, and he did doctoral work in geophysics at Oregon. Later on in life, he taught science in Maine and Vermont before taking on the leadership of the Concord Consortium. For more than a decade, C...

Today, the Getting Smart team is bringing you another fantastic throwback episode from the Getting Smart Podcast vault! And given that it's the holiday season, it only makes sense to share an episode that's all about giving the gift of place.   This special episode was recorded while Tom and Emily spent time in Jackson, Wyoming, at a writing retreat with Nate McClennon, the VP of Education and Inn...

Today the Getting Smart team is bringing back a past episode of an interview they did with Dr. Pam Moran.   Last summer, Pam wrapped up 32 years with Albemarle County Public Schools. Starting as a science teacher and concluding with a dozen years as superintendent, Dr. Moran quietly became one of America's leading educators because the work she leads is so compelling. With two of her Albemarle col...

Today, the Getting Smart team is bringing you an episode with an innovative leader and celebrated education disrupter for more than two decades, Julie Young! Julie is the CEO of ASU Prep Digital and Deputy Vice President of ASU Educational Outreach. Before leading ASU Prep Digital, Julie was the founding CEO and President of Florida Virtual School, the world's first statewide virtual school and on...

This week, Tom is speaking with Terry Grier! Terry is known as America's Superintendent coach and was a big district superintendent for over 20 years in four different states. He made Houston the best big urban district in the country. And as Tom says, has done more to develop educational talent than anyone in history! But, his most important legacy is that, to-date, 81 women and men who have work...

In today's episode, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Rebecca Parks and Dr. William Nicely. Dr. Nicely is the Superintendent of Kearney School District and Rebecca is the leader of two schools within the district — S outhview Elementary and LENS. Southview is a great K-5 school, serving 550 learners, and LENS (Learning and Exploring through Nature and Science), located just right next door, is a new pla...

Today on the podcast, Tom Vander Ark is speaking with Dr. James Lane, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction at the Virginia Department of Education. Dr. Lane started his career in education serving as a band teacher, a school leader, and then System Head in two districts before finally ending up at the Virginia Department of Education. He really wanted to see more engaging approaches to l...

Today's topic is all about trends! Tom is flying solo this episode to outline 20 global trends that learning leaders need to consider. These trends are impacting not only elementary and secondary but higher education as well! This podcast summarizes a blog series Tom wrote in August in September (linked below) — so be sure to check out the blog series after you're done listening to today's episode...

Today's episode is coming to you right from Getting Smart's backyard — Bellevue, Washington! Recently, the Getting Smart team went to Bellevue to talk with DreamBox Learning's CEO and President, Jessie Woolley-Wilson. Jessie has been with DreamBox since 2010 and has been a leader in ed tech for more than two decades! She has always been driven by a singular belief that all children need and deserv...

Today's episode is all about contribution and empowering all students to make meaningful contributions to the world! At Loudoun County Public Schools that is their motto! LCPS is a big Virginia district west of Washington, DC, serving about 84,000 students in 94 schools.   In today's episode, Tom Vander Ark gets to speak with the Superintendent of Loudoun, Dr. Eric Williams. Dr. Williams has been...

Today on the podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Michael Horn! Michael has been a thought leader in education from the day Clayton Christensen took him on as a co-author of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns. After the book came out in 2008, Michael went on to lead the education practice at the Christensen Institute for a dozen years. Four years ago,...

Today the team is speaking with Scott Looney, the Head of School at Hawken as well as the founder of the Mastery Transcript Consortium (better known as MTC). MTC is made up of 150 schools that are working together to change the high school system of assessment, crediting, and transcripting.   Recently, MTC has had the super exciting announcement that in 2020, the Mastery School of Hawken will open...

Today's episode features the story of Eagle Rock School — a residential high school for young people that haven't been successful in other environments. Located on a square mile of mountain wilderness in Estes Park, Colorado, Eagle Rock is supported by American Honda Motor Co. Inc.   In 1995, Dan Condon was an intern at the innovative new school. Today, he holds the title of Associate Director of...

Today we're listening in on a conversation Tom had with Katherine Prince. Katherine leads the foresight practice at KnowledgeWorks as the Vice President of Strategic Foresight. In this role she has held for the last 9 months, Katherine leads their exploration of the future of learning, creates the strategy for their strategic foresight work, speaks and writes about the trends shaping education ove...