Speaking of Education Podcast

In this episode we experiment with a different format. Co-host Dr. Maria Piantanida offers a review of  The Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Muller a professor of history at the Catholic University of America. Dr. Piantanida highlights key ideas in the book and recommends it as useful reading for anyone concerned about the inappropriate and oppressive use of narrow performance measures. It can serve as...

This episode features our conversation with Josie Barnes who is beginning her junior year in high school. The school Josie attends structures its calendar so that students are able to take a multi -week intensive course a couple of times a year. We talk about Josie's experience during January 2023 when she chose a course on global health. She focused her writing project on health issues of Native...

From an early age, Duncan Barnes has had a passionate interest in animals. Emerging from this passion has been a desire to pursue a career in veterinarian medicine. During this episode, we talk with Duncan about his interest and what he has been doing to prepare himself to study veterinarian medicine. Now entering his senior year in high school, Duncan shares how he has begun to pursue this career...

This episode features Tyler Samstag who jointly is the director of Remake Learning and also leads transformED , an initiative at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit that supports schools in starting, scaling, and sustaining transformational change. During our podcast Tyler discusses the mission of Remake Learning and also provides information about the Moonshot Grants and the Tugboat Grant and much mo...

This episode features the work of the PEAL Center , a statewide organization that provides support for parents of children with disabilities . Through a wide array of resources, training, a helpline, and advocacy, PEAL Center staff and volunteers work to educate parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs as well as professionals who work in these fields.   During our conve...

This episode features Paige Joki, a staff attorney at the Pennsylvania Education Law Center. After graduating from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, Joki was selected as an NAACP LDF Earl Warren Fellow and a Temple University Beasley School of Law Rubin-Presser Social Justice Fellow. In recognition for her notable contributions to public service at Temple University and for pursuing a le...

This episode features Dr. Susan Moore Johnson, author of the book, Where Teachers Thrive: Organizing Schools for Success . During the conversation we explore features that contribute to successful schools, even in socio-economically distressed communities where many think improvements are not possible. Dr. Moore Johnson is the Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor in Education at the Harvard graduat...

This episode features Deborah Gordon Klehr , Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Education Law Center (ELC). During the conversation we explore the founding and purpose of the ELC, who can access resources and assistance from the Center, and ways in which individuals can support the Center's work. Klehr is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law school. In addition to her work at the...

Currently an Associate Adjunct Professor in the School of Education of the University of Pittsburgh with a particular focus on social and political dynamics of education, Dr. Van Shura has coordinated presidential, U.S. Senate, state legislative, and municipal campaign activities. She served as the Teller for the 2020 E lec toral College for President-elect Joseph Biden and as an Elector for Presi...

This episode features returning guests, Ryan and Camden Banks. In April 2022, these students shared their experience of learning when school closed due to the COVID pandemic. From the end of their third grade and all during their fourth grade they learned remotely from home. During their first podcast they offered many important insights about what it was like to live through and learn during COVI...

This is the third of a continuing conversation about team teaching at Corbett Prep, a non-profit, private preK3 -8 school.  During the last episode we heard from a number of teachers about the rewards and challenges of teaching with colleagues in the classroom. One teacher, Samantha Borosh , was not able to participate in that conversation, so she joins Dr. Maria Piantanida and D r. Helen Hazi to...

In this episode we continue our conversation about teacher teaming within the context of Corbett Prep, a non-profit, private preK3-8 school. In the previous episode we heard the story of how team teaching came to define Corbett's structure and heard an administrative perspective on the value of teaming. In this episode, we hear directly from teachers what it is like to work in close collaboration...

In this episode we explore the concept of teaming within the context of Corbett Prep, a non-profit, private preK3-8 school. Dr. Karolyn Snyder offers a brief history of teaming as developed in collaboration with Dr. Robert Anderson. Dr. Kristen Snyder describes how the school's culture of collaborative teaming allowed for a rapid and effective response to the COVID pandemic. She also explains how...

This episode features our conversation with Sister Roberta Campbell, Sister Evelyn Dettling, and Sister Susan Merrie English three Benedictine sisters of Pittsburgh who are the Founding Directors of Benedictine Coaching of Pittsburgh which includes the "Leadership and Life Coach-Training for Women in Faith-Based Ministries" program. This program is accredited by the International Coaching Federati...

This episode features Maura McInerney , Legal Director at the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania. Attorney McInerney provides a detailed overview of a landmark lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Commonwealth's approach to the funding of education. She paints a compelling description of the inequities between high wealth and low wealth school districts. The latter districts face ina...

This episode features our return ing guest, curriculum scholar Dr. William Schubert , Emeritus Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at UIC, Dr. Schubert has served as Chair of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Director of Graduate Studies, Coordinator of the Ph. D. Program in Curriculum Studies, and Coordinator of the M.Ed. in E...

This episode features Dr. Robin Grubs, Associate Professor of Human Genetics in the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health. During our conversation, we discuss the nature of genetic counseling and how the field is expanding. We also explore the decision by the genetic counseling profession not to institute a doctorate as the entry-level credential. This decision is quite unlik...

This episode features Dr. Aisha White, Director of P.R.I.D.E., a program within the Office of Child Development, which is part of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. This organization promotes positive racial identity development in early educatio n. The program helps parents, caregivers, educators, and community leaders learn about the many ways race impacts young children, as well...

This episode features Deborah Peterson, Emerita Professor at Portland State University.  Dr. Peterson received the 2022 David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award from CPED. CPED is a consortium of universities that has been working to establish the EdD as the highest quality professional practice doctorate in education. Improvement science is one of the key , founding principles of CPED and Dr. Pe...

This episode features our conversation with long-time friend and colleague, Dr. Helen Hazi, Professor Emerita at West Virginia University . Through extensive reviews of literature on the role of feedback in teacher evaluation, Dr. Hazi challenges the persistent assumption that feedback, when properly given, will lead to the improvement of teaching , and in turn, to improved student outcomes . She...

This episode features Jacqueline Hesse and Christine McCartney, co-founders of Global to Local, an international service-learning program for high school students. Jackie is the founding English language arts teacher at a Pathways in Technology school in Newburgh, New York. In addition, she serves as a teacher consultant with the Hudson Valley Writing Project. Christine began her teaching career a...

T his episode features Dr. Tom Meyer and Maya Projansky and their work with the Institute for Leadership in the Teaching of Writing, a program offered under the auspices of the Hudson Valley Writing Project. Dr. Meyer is a full professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz and co-founder of the Hudson Valley Writing Project. Maya Projansky taught 5 th grade for 20 years at the Earth S...

This episode features Dr. Cara Furman, Associate Professor of Literacy at the University of Maine at Farmington and member of the Graduate Faculty at University of Maine. Dr. Furman's scholarship focuses on integrating qualitative data and philosophy at the intersection of teacher development, descriptive inquiry, asset-based inclusive teaching, and progressive literacy practices. At the heart of...

Our guest today is Joseph Stewart. We invited Stewart to join us on Speaking of Education to hear his perspective as an educator with many years of experience within different contexts and age levels. He taught high school History and Social Studies for close to 15 years in Florida and Ohio. Stewart served as an assistant principal for six years where his responsibilities included Director of Curr...

Our guest today is Sister Janice Vanderneck, the Founding Director of Casa San José. She is a Catholic religious sister with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania. Sister Janice has worked in Latin America, educating and organizing community members to think critically about power structures, oppression, and political engagement. In the United States, she worked for decades as a religio...