Wildfire Education

In this episode, Doris talks with Michael Hudecek of St. Clair Superior Development Corporation. He shares his “overwhelming success” in piloting Korda’s model in one of Cleveland’s most impoverished neighborhoods.  Doris: Okay. Hey, Michael, how are you doing? Michael: I’m doing great. It’s good to see you again, Doris. Doris: It’s great to see you. It’s been such a short time and such a long tim...

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the themes that emerged from this season’s conversations with 62 entrepreneurial educators who have courageously ignited change in how we do school. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education - Listen to more episodes here Alison: Hey, Doris. Doris: Hey, Alison.   Alison: How are you doing? Doris: I’m great. Alison:...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Jeremy Wickenheiser, Founder and Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at DSST Public Schools. He shares his journey from teaching high school science four years ago to building an entrepreneurship program that has scaled across the large network of urban schools in Denver, Colorado. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education - Listen to...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Kesha Conway who has been piloting Korda Method across the Ashtabula Area City Schools District. They discuss a recent project in Lisa Raffa’s high school Government class at Lakeside High School, where students found their agency while identifying solutions to community problems. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education - List...

Learn more about the METHOD Discover more about our educator TRAINING In this episode, Doris speaks with Nicholas Timms from Hillfield Strathallan College. He shares the story of how transforming a traditional small business course grew into a student-run Design Studio, with high school students marketing and creating solutions for local businesses. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Pam Reed, Humanities teacher at Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls. Pam shares how different it is to teach with this radically different method, as students learn history and critical thinking by solving contemporary problems that they find meaningful. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education - Listen to more episodes here D...

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the journey that led to a recent workshop with educators in Slovenia. Also featured in the episode are excerpts from some of the entrepreneurial educators and students who came to the workshop in Slovenia. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education - Listen to more episodes here Alison: Hey, Doris. Doris: Hey, Alison. Alison: Ho...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Michael Hudecek about the youth entrepreneurship program he developed as Program Manager for St. Clair Superior Development Corporation, an organization devoted to transforming one of the poorest neighborhoods in Cleveland. Michael discusses what he learned in his second iteration of the program. Michael shares his work to spread the method to local schools, incl...

In this episode, Doris talks to Terry Chou, science teacher at Joaquin Miller Middle School in California. Terry shares details about her students learning innovation in her Science Enrichment and Research (SEARCH) class. Listen to what she has discovered about teaching at the intersection of science, business and technology. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education -...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Regina Rosi, Assistant Division Director & Dean of Student Life at Marlborough School, an all-girls school in Los Angeles, CA. They discuss the need to modernize leadership education in K12 schools. Regina shares the entrepreneurial approach required to design courses like these and what she has learned from using community partners to create her curriculum....

In this episode, Doris speaks with Dr. Rand Harrington and Phil Klein of Kent Denver School in Colorado. Rand is Head of School and Phil is Instructor of AP Economics, Director of the Hunt Family Institute for Entrepreneurial Education and Director of Development. They discuss creating structures in the school to leverage expertise both in and out of the building to allow for authentic learning. T...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Katy Yan, instructor of AP Environmental Science and Honors Biology at The College Preparatory School and former Science Teacher at The Bentley School. Katy explains the shift from research papers to real world problem solving that resulted in meaningful learning about food systems and climate change. She also shares how this led to students developing better res...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Chad Williamson, Co-founder of Noble Impact. Chad shares his journey to teaching at the intersection of entrepreneurship and public service. He explains how the Sandy Hook School tragedy has influenced their work around social emotional learning. Doris and Chad also discuss the importance of leadership when embedding innovation in schools. Do School Better: A Pod...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Sarah Jensen, High School Entrepreneurship Teacher at Nichols School. Sarah brings an extensive business background to the classroom and discusses the value of students developing the skills they’ll need when they enter the workforce. Sarah and Doris discuss the realities behind the trendy but misleading notion of learning through failure. Do School Better:...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Oliver Smith, Business and Economics teacher at Singapore American School.  Oliver discusses the depth of learning his students experienced while solving problems for real businesses in his entrepreneurship and AP Economics courses. He describes the liberation that comes from teaching students without an answer key. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want...

In this episode, Doris interviews Sarah Swain, former Science and Entrepreneurship teacher at St. Anne’s Belfield School in Virginia and the incoming Assistant Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at Hawken School. Sarah describes the integration of environmental science into her entrepreneurship course and entrepreneurial skills into her core science courses. They discuss the importance of s...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Adam Lang, a Teaching Chair and Instructor of Economics at Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Adam shares how his students took ownership over their learning and developed skills by solving problems for community partners in his Design for Social Impact class. He also describes his plan to bring elements of the Korda Method into his AP Economics courses this year....

In this episode, Doris speaks with Julia Griffin, Humanities teacher and Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning at Hawken Upper School. Julia shares how her humanities department adopted a new academic method that transformed the way their students learned ancient world history and better equipped them with skills like writing, research, critical thinking and public speaking. Do School Better...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Mel McGee, Founder and CEO of We Can Code IT.  Mel shares how she applied Korda Method in Coding Bootcamps that are making the tech industry more diverse and inclusive by preparing unemployed and underemployed adults to be skilled software developers. She explains how the innovative curriculum is directly impacting student’s employability after graduation....

In this episode, Doris speaks with Paul Chiment and Blake Dorfman of Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara, California. Paul is a veteran high school Math and Economics teacher and Blake an early career middle school English and Digital Art teacher who created an innovative Entrepreneurship program. Learn how their journey to teach entrepreneurship led to deeper student learning, changed teaching...

In this special episode, educators who recently attended the Workshops for Entrepreneurial Studies share their inspiring plans for courses and programs in entrepreneurship, history, economics, math, science and more. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education - Listen to more episodes here Alison Tanker: Hey, Doris! Doris Korda: Hey, Alison. Alison Tanker : Just came of...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Rachel Mullen, Upper School Spanish Teacher at Hawken School. Rachel shares how her students advanced their Spanish communications, cultural awareness, and collaboration skills by working on a creative project for a multicultural marketing agency. Doris: Hi, Rachel. Rachel: Hi, Doris. Doris: How are you? Rachel: I’m doing very well. How are you? Doris: I’m great....

In this episode, Doris Korda speaks with Janez Gorenc, an English teacher at Gimnazija Novo Mesto in Slovenia. Janez shares his journey to teach entrepreneurship in order to change education for his students so that they develop practical, essential skills and knowledge. Do School Better: A Podcast for People Who Want to Transform Education - Listen to more episodes here Doris: Hi, Janez. Janez: H...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Ben Leslie-Bole, environmental science educator at Athenian School in Danville, California. He discusses how his student’s work on a water retention project led to collaborative skill-building, meaningful discoveries about science, and informed solutions for their school’s CFO. Doris: Thanks for talking to me, Ben. I’m very excited to talk to you. Can you tell th...

In this episode, Doris speaks with Alethea Tyner Paradis, history professor at Santa Barbara City College and Director / CEO of Peace Works Travel, a socially conscious study abroad program where students learn through meaningful local problem-solving designed to foster critical thinking, empathy, and innovative solutions for a more peaceful world. Doris: Hello, Alethea. Alethea : Hi, Doris, thank...