Learning Unboxed

Today, we're honored to have Nick Salmon, founder and president of the Collaborative Learning Network, join us as we discuss the topic of extreme innovation in the education space. As a ninth-generation educator and self-certified 'educational furniture whisperer,' Nick is deeply committed to positively influencing the lives of 1.6 billion young people worldwide. Together, we'll de...

Welcome to another exciting episode of "Learning Unboxed" where we’re talking about zoo schools as transformative educational institutions. We're joined by four distinguished guests from the world of zoo education and conservation: Chris Edelen, a career tech teacher at Cincinnati Public Schools' Hughes STEM School and a former zookeeper at the Cincinnati Zoo, brings in over two de...

Welcome to another episode of Learning Unboxed, where we dive into the innovative and transformative world of education. Today, we're thrilled to have Catherine Gray, the founder of Na'atik School in Mexico. Na'atik is an intercultural school that has been disrupting traditional education models by blending local and foreign learning experiences for over 12 years. In this episode, Cath...

In this episode of Learning Unboxed, we explore the transformative power of student agency and autonomy in education. Our guest is Mike Nicholson, principal of Learning Inspired Ed, a forward-thinking education consultancy agency dedicated to supporting the development of student agency across school districts. Mike shares his passion for moving from a compliance-based education system to one wher...

In this episode of Learning Unboxed, we're exploring the innovative world of self-directed learning with April Huard, the Executive Director of Clonlara School, a K-12 institution that empowers students to take charge of their own education. Starting as a small homeschooling collective, Clonlara School has expanded to multiple campuses across the United States with a mission to transform educa...

We're diving into the fascinating realm of global citizenship through the lens of a fantastic program called World Savvy. Our esteemed guests are Dana Mortenson, co-founder and CEO of World Savvy, a national education nonprofit working to educate and engage youth as responsible global citizens, and KK Neimann, World Savvy's Director of Professional Learning, with an impressive 20 years of...

Welcome to today's episode of Learning Unboxed! In this episode, we're excited to have an incredible conversation with our guest, Michael Stone, from the Public Education Foundation, based in Tennessee. Michael has an impressive career journey, including being an Albert Einstein Educator Fellow with the National Science Foundation and spending 10 years as a high school mathematics and comp...

Dr. Trevor Soponis is the Founder and Chief Learning Officer of The Sustainable Learning Projects, a lifelong education professional with experience in leading transformative education projects. The purpose of The Sustainable Learning Projects is to provide students with meaningful work that is relevant to their lives and to provide teachers with the curriculum and support they need to make their...

In this episode of Learning Unboxed, we're diving into the exciting world of STEM Games with Josip Torić, the Director of Sports at STEM Games. STEM Games is an international competition that allows students to showcase their knowledge, athletic abilities, and gaming skills across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Josip Torić, who has been instrumental in the growth of STEM Ga...

Today's episode is a special takeover, hosted by Ibrahim Aly, a Metro High School junior participant in the PAST Foundation's Workforce Development Program. Ibrahim previously joined us on episode 165 to talk about using internships to encourage STEM careers, and we're thrilled to have him back to lead the conversation about fusion splicing. A panel of experts will join Ibrahim to disc...

In this episode of Learning Unboxed, our guest is Bo Ryan, the principal of Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Elementary Magnet School in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and the author of “The Brilliance in the Building”. Bo is a passionate advocate for professional learning communities (PLCs) and believes in the power of collaborative teams in schools. In our conversation, Bo shares his insights into what P...

We're taking you on a virtual journey to Denmark, where innovation and collaboration are at the forefront. Our special guests today, Allan Kristensen and Josefine Strandgaard, are both part of the Innovation Center Denmark Silicon Valley, an organization that facilitates collaboration between Denmark and the US since 2006 as part of the Danish government's initiative to tap into the world&...

Are we doing enough to prepare our children for the future? As the world becomes increasingly complex, academic success alone is no longer enough to guarantee a bright future. Today on the podcast, we have David Adams, the CEO of the Urban Assembly, an organization leading the charge in bringing social and emotional learning (SEL) into classrooms across its network. With the Resilience Scholars Pr...

Today, we have Marcy Raymond joining us, an innovative educator in the STEM space. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Marcy was the first guest we had on this program. Marcy has started multiple schools and transformed existing ones into high-quality, fully-applied STEM schools. We will discuss the concept of mastery learning, which often arises in the transformative school space. To lear...

Dr. Mandy Smith is the Director of Research at PAST Foundation. She has a wealth of experience in the K-12 education system, including teacher preparation and the intersection of science and technology. In this episode, we will be discussing the concept of STEM identity. The lack of diversity and opportunity in STEM careers has been a topic of debate and conversation for over a decade. The "le...

Kelly Preheim has done incredible work as a teacher, but she knows it's important to push herself to step out of her comfort zone. In this episode, we talk to Kelly about her experience as part of the National Geographic Grosvenor Teaching Fellowship cohort and how she balances the everyday pieces of being a teacher with the need to try new things. Don't miss Kelly's insight into how s...

Dawn Heideman and Carla Hegyi are the founders of Be the One, a program aiding at-risk youth in schools in the central Ohio region, both by improving students’ lives and the lives of those around them, through relationship-building and service programs. Most of the time, when a student experiences trauma, they are only aided for a few days or weeks before everyone returns back to their daily lives...

Financial empowerment is incredibly important for those who want to manage their wealth properly, and it’s critical for students to get a headstart on that journey  We're talking about Wemblr Ed, a gaming simulation app that engages students in financial scenarios and events to teach the value of critical thinking, personal finance, and strategic planning.  Joining us today is Wemblr's fou...

Carla Neely is currently a fifth and sixth grade science and computer science teacher at Warner Girls’ Leadership Academy for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, OH. Carla has been a teacher for twenty-three years in urban classrooms. She is certified and has experience teaching all subjects, with specialization in science and math. She has a passion for urban education. Carla...

Rebecca Morningstar has been teaching animal science and zoo management courses at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan since 2013. Potter Park Zoo is going above and beyond the minimum requirements to provide the highest possible welfare for its animals, employees, and guests. Its mission is to inspire conservation of animals and the natural world. And people can’t make a difference in the world...

Tony Wagner is a globally-recognized expert who is currently a senior research fellow at the Learning Policy Institute founded by Linda Darling-Hammond in 2015. Prior to that, he held a variety of positions at Harvard University for more than twenty years, including a few years as the expert in residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab and the founder and co-director for more than a decade at the Ch...

You can’t talk about rethinking education for long without hearing Montessori come up. In fact, several past guests on the show have mentioned it, either as an inspiration or having been brought up in that educational philosophy themselves. While we’ve scratched the surface before, we’ve never had the opportunity to dig into it until now. Joining us to help us get a clear picture of this popular e...

Buddy Berry is the superintendent of Eminence Independent Schools, a rural district with approximately 850 students located 400 miles east of Louisville, Kentucky. Buddy is a fourth-generation alumnus of Eminence which offers him a unique perspective, coming from the place that he now leads. Five years ago, Eminence was facing a decline in enrollment and a dropoff in funding. Thanks to Buddy and m...

Our traditional school system has always grouped students by age, but we’re coming to see the benefits of mixed-age learning. When you take kids of different ages and have them learn together, they both grow exponentially faster. Jason Blair is in his 20th year as an elementary school art teacher, currently teaching at Dublin City Schools. He was a previous guest on Learning Unboxed when we spoke...

We know that the modern school wasn’t designed for education and that it’s woefully inadequate at meeting the needs of today’s students and the work environment of the future. So much so that small tweaks aren’t enough to fix it — it has to be redesigned completely. Nathan Gorsch, Founding Principal of Village High School in Academy School District 20 in Colorado Springs. Like us at the PAST Found...