High Tech High Unboxed

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Linzi Golding, Erin Asselin, and Melanie Gonzalez about keeping things simple, celebrating small changes, smart ways to share data with schools, and how to recognize and celebrate effort, even when it doesn’t lead to the outcomes we were hoping for. To see an example of a driver diagram (and get a transcript for this episode) click here Brandi Hinnant-Crawford, I...

Episode Notes Alec talks to Cary Sabados (national director of teacher leadership development at Teach Plus) and Morgan Hython (fourth grade math and science teacher at Piccolo School of Excellence, a public preK-to-8 school in Chicago) about their work in the Teach Plus Network for School Improvement. Learn more about Teach Plus Learn more about the National Coalition for Improvement in Education

Episode Notes Stacey Caillier talks to Michelle Pledger and David Montes de Oca about the ways that school districts are using Michelle's book, "Liberate: Pocket-Sized Paradigms for Liberatory Learning" You can find Michelle's book, and Montes's study guide, here You can find Michelle's podcast, Unapologetic and Uninterrupted, here Learn more about the High Tech High Graduate School of E...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Deeper Learning 2025 keynote speaker Dr. Heather Michel about about her difficult experience with school as a kid, her own career as a teacher, and the strategies that she’s developed to help teachers take care of themselves. If you want to try a body scan, try this 11-minute guided body scan by meditation teacher Tara Brach. You can find journal prompts and affi...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Jason Nious, founder of the stepping and body percussion crew Molodi, about the journey that brought him here, and about what he’s learned from dance and body percussion about connecting to young people in school. Learn more about Molodi Learn more about the Deeper Learning Conference Learn more about the High Tech High Graduate School of Education

Episode Notes In this special live episode from the 2025 Deeper Learning Conference, educator Ron Berger talks to two Japanese educators and their two brilliant children, who have experienced education across cultures in Japan, the United States, and Europe. Learn more about the Deeper Learning Conference Learn more about the High Tech High Graduate School of Education

Episode Notes In this episode, Alec talks to Nichelle Woodson, the Chief of Network Success at RISE Eileen Mezzo, an Assistant Principal at Naugatuck High School in Connecticut. They talk about how the RISE Network has achieved remarkable gains in ninth-grade on track rates (for example, on-track for Black students has risen by 27 percentage points since 2015). The RISE Network Website The RISE Da...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to fifth grade teacher Jeff Govoni about a project he and his fifth grade colleagues did last year, in which students designed and built dog houses and cat condos for animals seeking adoption. Read Jeff Govoni's article for Unboxed , about this (and other) projects, "Deconstructing Construction Projects" For more ideas about assessing projects, che...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Sara DeMartino, an English Language Arts Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Learning (IFL), about how schools in the IFL's network for school improvement increased 8th grade on track for Black and Latine students by more than 25 percentage points, and improved on-track rates for Emerging Bilingual Students from 35% to 80%, since 2018. Check ou...

Episode Notes Alec talks to Shelley Glenn Lee, director of High Tech Elementary North County, and Durrell Kapan, a Senior Research Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences, about how the Silvery Blue butterfly is filling the ecological niche left by the extinction of the Xerces Blue butterfly in San Francisco... with some help from Durrell and his team Check out this video about the sIlvery bl...

Episode Notes Sofía Tannenhaus talks to Julie Smith, co-founder of Community Design Partners, and Casey Chiofolo, an Assistant Principal at Respect Academy, an Alternative High School in Denver, about how Respect Academy dramatically improved first period attendance by talking to kids about what they wanted from school, and what was keeping them from getting there on time. Community Design Partner...

Episode Notes Alec Patton and Nuvia Ruland talk to artist Scarlett Baily about her life, her art, and in particular the process of collaborating with 200 elementary school students Check out a photo gallery of Scarlett's murals here Scarlett Baily's website Kumeyaay Community College Website Learn more about the High Tech High Graduate School of Education

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Amiee Winchester and Zack Jaffe about their continuous improvement work on improving literacy at Baltimore City Public Schools. Learn more about the High Tech High Graduate School of Education

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Dr. Simon Breakspear about the book he co-wrote with Michael Rosenbrock, "The Pruning Principle: Mastering the Art of Strategic Subtraction Within Education" Our other episode with Simon Breakspear, “ If It Doesn’t Work for Teachers, It Doesn’t Work ” You can find great free tools (and order The Pruning Principle) at pruningprinciple.com Simon mentions...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Sean Mortimer, co-author of autobiographies by Tony Hawk, Rodney Mullen, and Joe Namath, about how to help people figure out how to tell the stories of their achievements—whether they're pro skaters or educators. Hawk: Occupation Skateboarder The Mutt: How to Skateboard and Not Kill Yourself All the Way: My Life in Four Quarters Learn more about the High Tech Hig...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to Ron Berger about why learning targets put kids in charge of their own learning, and how to make sure they are a success in your class. Leaders of Their Own Learning by Ron Berger, Leah Woodfin, and Leah Rugen Other podcast episodes featuring Ron Berger: Ron Berger on Presentations of Learning Ron Berger on Student-Led Conferences Ron Berger on Whole-Class Close R...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to physics teacher Ted Cuevas about why portfolios and badges are a better way to assess student learning, and how he does assessment in his class. Learn more about the “Light on Literacy” project Check out the platform that Ted uses for student portfolios, Inkwire We have another scouting-connected podcast episode! Eduard Vallory: What School Can Learn From Catalon...

Episode Notes Stacey Caillier and Curtis Taylor talk to Dr. Brandi Hinnant-Crawford about what Septima Clark, Ella Baker, and Bayard Rustin can teach us about continuous improvement. Learn more about Dr. Brandi Hinnant-Crawford’s work here Brandi’s other episodes on this podcast: Dr. Brandi Hinnant Crawford, Improvement as a Tool for Our Collective Liberation (High Tech High Unboxed podcast) Dr. B...

Episode Notes Alec Patton talks to High School teacher John Santos about how he and his students explored AI together, and how it became a tool for building curiosity. John Santos's other episodes on the podcast: Rigor shouldn't mean Some Kids Fail (a better grading strategy—easy to implement too!) How to Design a Great Project Launch The AI project-planning tool that John talks about is...

Episode Notes Alec talks to High Tech High Graduate School of Education president Ben Daley about one of the most powerful (and simplest) data-collection tools in the world: the “by-name list.” We start the episode by talking about the book Upstream by Dan Heath . It's really good—you should read it. You can find more find more podcast episodes, articles, and videos about Continuous Improvement he...

Episode Notes Kelly Wilson, HTH GSE Dean, talks to Louis Lacour, an eleventh grader at Green School in Bali, about project-based learning, local renewable energy infrastructure, and his plan to transform reef conservation with biodegradable zip ties! You should also listen to Kelly's interview with Benjamin Freud, head of Green School's Upper School You can see the 2023 Greenston...

Episode Notes Kelly Wilson, HTH GSE Dean, talks to Benjamin Freud, head of Upper School at Green School in Bali, about doing socially-meaningful, student-driven PBL grounded in the local community, in a school with bamboo buildings and no walls. Cofounder John Hardy’s Ted Talk about the Green School Green School website Coconut Thinking Learn more about the High Tech High Graduate School of Educat...

Episode Notes Alec talks to Partners in School Innovation CEO Derek Mitchell and Executive Director of California Academy of Sciences Scott Sampson about what "regenerative education" is, and why the world needs it right now. The Nature article about the dinosaur Masiakasaurus Knopfleri Smithsonian article about Majungasaurus To find out about Derek’s history with cockroaches listen to t...

Episode Notes Alec talked to 23-year-old keyboard player, band leader, public speaker, and Akron, Ohio native Kofi B mere hours before Kofi kicked off the 2024 Deeper Learning conference with an incendiary set! Kofi B’s opening performance at Deeper Learning 2024 Kofi B’s Closing Keynote at Deeper Learning 2024 Where to find Kofi B's music: Instagram TikTok Youtube Facebook Website Made in Akron d...

Episode Notes At Deeper Learning, Alec just started recording this interview to show Jessica how the mics worked—but once she started talking, he knew it was going to be an episode! Learn more about Nowell Academy Here Learn more about the Deeper Learning Conference here Find all the podcast episodes from Deeper Learning 2024 here Learn more about the High Tech High Graduate School of Education