What's the Big Idea?

In which Dan spends an afternoon at Design39Campus in San Diego to find how they're doing education differently. Dan explores the campus, talks to teachers and students, and discovers an impressive amount of flexibility, teacher and student autonomy, and community buy-in. As always, comments and questions are welcome on Twitter @BigIdeaEd.

In which Dan interviews Sara Gilliam, co-author of the new edition of 'Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls'. Dan and Sara discuss the differences between adolescent girls in the 90s and now (5:15), over scheduling (14:00), how girls view school (23:30), and the effects of school shootings on teen girls (30:00). As always, we welcome comments and questions on Twitter @...

In which Dan discusses the social and emotional well-being of our students with two school psychologists. We start off with a discussion about student sleep (or lack thereof) before moving on to academic pressure on the modern student. We also talk the difficulties of parenting in this high-pressure world, vulnerable students, and tell a few stories about our own kids. As always, we welcome commen...

In which Dan examines the place of civics education in a democracy and the state of civics ed in America today. First he's joined by Emily Cardinali, who reported for NPR last year, to talk about what we mean by 'civics' and where civics in American classrooms stands today (3:50). Then he speaks with Joel Westheimer, researcher and professor at the University of Ottawa, to talk abou...

In which Dan interviews Julie Stern, one of America's foremost experts and advocates of concept-based teaching and learning. They discuss how Julie got into this (2:15), education's obsession with topics (6:55), how a concept focus leads to deeper learning (9:30), the importance of being open and transparent with students (14:30), the pace of learning (18:30), and the nature of assessmen...

In which Dan explores concept-based education and how it can drive deeper learning and critical thinking in the classroom and beyond. Relying on the work of Lynn Erickson and Julie Stern, Dan breaks down what we mean by 'concept-based' learning (2:10) and how it's different from the more common topical approach found in schools. Then Dan interviews Trevor Aleo, an English teacher ma...

In which Dan discusses gun violence--and the fear of it--in American schools today. After an overview of the stats and the recent increased spending to stop guns in schools (2:15), Dan weighs in on the idea to arm teachers in the classroom (6:50). Then he's joined by three high school students who have done some serious thinking and taken action on guns in schools (8:30). As always we welcome...

In which Dan explores the value and limitation of bringing more education research into the classroom. Can evidence-based practices elevate education, and if so, how much? Dan breaks down what we mean by evidence and discusses some arguments for and against more evidence-based teaching (0:55). Then he's joined by Zach Groshell, a teacher in Nanjing and Ph. D student to discuss this topic (8:0...

In which Dan discusses the potential of using digital portfolios as a meaningful, holistic measure of student success and a more accurate guide in college admissions. Dan talks about the recent Varsity Blues scandal (1:00), what we mean when we say 'digital portfolio' (3:55), and then speaks with educators from Animas High School in Colorado about their experience with portfolios (8:30)....

In which Dan discusses what it means to teach the Holocaust in 2019. Given the recent behavior by a group of high school students in Newport, California, now is a great time to reconsider how the Holocaust is taught and why we even do it in the first place.  Dan talks about that incident in Newport (1:10), some bizarre Holocaust education stuff from the Middle East (2:50), and research about teach...

In which Dan spends 15 minutes discussing the wonders of interdisciplinary learning. Do you really understand the term? Have you tried it out and missed the mark? Dan talks about the why (6:30) and the how (10:30) of helping students connect subjects and see the world for the complex place that it is. Leave feedback on the show on Twitter: @BigIdeaEd Comments, personal experience, complaints, and...