The Learning Curve

This week on  The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts DFER-MA's  Mary Tamer  and  Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick , educator and noted   Mark Twain scholar , interview Trinity College  Prof. Joan Hedrick , author of  Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life . During Women’s History Month, Prof. Hedrick discusses Harriet Beecher Stowe's wide literary influence on U.S. history. From her abolitionist activism to the publicati...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts University of Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Dr. Adrian Mims , founder of The Calculus Project. He delves into his mission to enhance math education for minority and low-income students, drawing inspiration from Bob Moses's Algebra Project and Jaime Escalante's teaching legacy. Dr. Mims navigates through the contentious "mat...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Charlie Chieppo interview Yale Prof. Beverly Gage , author of G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American . Gage delves into the enigmatic life and career of J. Edgar Hoover, tracing his formative years in Washington, D.C., his rise to prominence as director of the FBI, and his enduring influence on American law enforceme...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson interview UK University of Warwick Prof. Benjamin Smith . Prof. Benjamin Smith, author of The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade provides insights into various aspects of the Mexican drug trade, including its historical context and the e...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Charlie Chieppo interview Mary Tamer , executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, Massachusetts. She focuses on the historic impact of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act on the commonwealth’s students’ high achievement on national and international measures. She explores the politics of the Massachusetts Teacher...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Alisha Searcy interview University of Tennessee Prof. Robert Norrell . He explores Booker T. Washington's early life in slavery, his transformative leadership at Tuskegee Institute amidst Jim Crow racism, and his advocacy for vocational education as a means for racial uplift. Prof. Norrell also di...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Charlie Chieppo interview the executive director of TIMSS & PIRLS, Dr. Matthias von Davier . Dr. von Davier explores his educational background and its influence on directing TIMSS & PIRLS, shedding light on psychometrics and standardized testing. He discusses the shift in education policy's focus, the global education data...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Charlie Chieppo interview Vice President of Policy for ExcelinEd, Dr. Cara Candal . Dr. Candal delves into the evolving landscape of K-12 education in the U.S., examining the expansion of private school choice programs in the wake of two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. She then discusses the changing political dynamics around...

This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Alisha Searcy interview New York Times best-selling biographer of MLK, Jonathan Eig. Mr. Eig delves into MLK's early spiritual leadership, the influence of Langston Hughes on his speeches, and his relationship with his wife, Coretta Scott King. He also discusses the Southern Christian Leadership Co...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Alisha Searcy interview Gabby Thomas , a world-class track sprinter and Olympian, originally from the Pioneer Valley in western Massachusetts. She shares her journey from the Williston Northampton School to Harvard, where she balanced neurobiology studies with winning 22 track titles. Transitionin...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Charlie Chieppo interview two-time Pulitzer Prize winner T.J. Stiles . Mr. Stiles delves into the life of America’s first tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, exploring his rise to historic wealth in steamboats, shipping, and railroads. He discusses Vanderbilt's legal battles, philanthropy, and enduring...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Alisha Searcy interview Smith College Prof. Carol Zaleski. She discussed her co-authored book, The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings including J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, renowned for their literary and moral impact. Prof. Zaleski covers Tolkien's life, the success of The Lord of t...

Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Alisha Searcy interview journalist Emily Hanford , host of the hit podcast Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong . Ms. Hanford discusses how she became interested in the science of reading, the growing consensus around phonics as the best way to teach children to read, the impact of the digital age on learning, and the importance...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Andrea Silbert , president of the Eos Foundation, interview Francine Klagsbrun , the author of Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel . They discuss the story of the woman who left Kiev as a child, grew up in Milwaukee, emigrated to Mandatory Palestine, was a signatory to the declaration of...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Mariam Memarsadeghi , interview Hillsdale College's assistant provost for K-12 Education, Dr. Kathleen O’Toole . Dr. O'Toole explores Hillsdale's mission and its impact on K-12 education, delving into classical education, Greco-Roman ideals, Enlightenment principles, and the college’s efforts to e...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Charlie Chieppo , interview the National Alliance’s Nina Rees . Rees discusses her 11-year tenure at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, highlighting policy gains, the growth of charter school enrollment, and the challenges of charter school politics. She explores debates on growth,...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Mariam Memarsadeghi , interview Harvard Prof. Leo Damrosch . Delving into the life of Jonathan Swift, Prof. Damrosch explores Swift's satirical brilliance in works like Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal . Analyzing his sharp critiques of politics and society, Dr. Damrosch emphasizes Swift's...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Ian Rowe , the founder of Vertex Partnership Academies in NYC, interview Dr. Carol Swain , an award-winning political scientist. Dr. Swain discusses her background growing up in rural Virginia, experiences with racial discrimination and segregation in K-12 schooling, and changes in the intellectua...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Charlie Chieppo and Alisha Searcy interview Leslie Klinger , annotator of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Mr. Klinger discusses Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; the creation of the Sherlock Holmes character; Holmes' relationships with Dr. Watson, Irene Adler, and Professor Moriarty; and famous Holmes cases. He also explores Edgar Allan Poe's influence on the de...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Charlie Chieppo and Prof. Albert Cheng interview Pioneer’s Chris Sinacola , co-editor of Restoring the City on a Hill: U.S. History & Civics in America's Schools . Sinacola explores our new book, which addresses the state of history and civics education in K-12 schools in the United States. He shares the book’s insights about the decline in hist...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Mariam Memarsadeghi and MN Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson interview Prof. Jeff Broadwater author of the biography George Mason: Forgotten Founder . Prof. Broadwater explores George Mason's pivotal role in opposing British policies during the American Revolution, his authorship of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and Constitution and his stan...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Charlie Chieppo and Mary Tamer of DFER- Massachusetts interview former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty . Mayor Fenty discusses the historic school reforms implemented during his and Michelle Rhee's tenure in Washington, D.C., focusing on taking over the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS). He highlights the challenges of overcoming the DCPS bureaucracy, navigating p...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Charlie Chieppo and Professor Albert Cheng interview Dr. James Stigler , a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He’s the co-author of the long-noted books The Teaching Gap and The Learning Gap . Professor Stigler discusses the enduring teaching and learning challenges in U.S. STEM education, internation...

This week on The Learning Curve , guest co-hosts Mariam Memarsadeghi and Mary Connaughton interview Laura Thompson , a New York Times bestseller and the award-winning author of Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life . Ms. Thompson provides an overview of Agatha Christie's life and career, gaining insights into her literary contributions and the enduring popularity of her detective novels. She explores...

This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Charlie Chieppo and Derrell Bradford interview John Steele Gordon , the author of 10 books on business, economic, and technology history. They discuss the keys to America’s transformation into the world’s foremost economic power, from its grounding in British legal, political, and financial institutions into the political economy of the Founding era,...