Trending In Education

This week we dive into the topic of Summit Learning and some of the backlash it's seen in school districts across America. We react to a recent New York Times article that explores a spate of recents cases of community opposition to this program at high schools in Kansas.  How is local activism intersecting with broad educational initiatives like Summit Learning which is back by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)? How much of the reaction is in part driven by the perceived foreignness of Silicon Valley edtech and how much is tied to a mistrust of screen-based education? What's the role of the educator and how important is buy-in at all levels to the success of advancing ed tech and personalized learning in the classroom? We engage in a spirited discussion of a topic that we're expecting to remain an important part of the broader conversation about evolving our learning and educational models. Listen in and enjoy!  

Our second Episode of The Citadel breaks down Episode 2 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the second episode of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage.  This week we dive into the details of the episode that sets us up for the big battle of Winterfell that seems to be imminent heading into Episode 3. What was the significance of Jenny's Song? What happens now that Jon Snow revealed his news to Daenerys? Which characters are most likely to leave us next episode and what's the "over/under" on major character deaths in Episode 3? How did Episode 2 and the season overall thus far deliver against expectations? What's coming next in what is purported to be the most legendary battle sequence in television history?  Have a listen to this show to find out all this and much more on this week's installment of The Citadel. 

On this week's episode we tackle the topics of cryptomnesia and multiple discovery. Cryptomnesia occurs when a forgotten memory returns without it being recognized as such by the subject, who believes it is something new and original. Multiple discovery is the theory that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple scientists and inventors. What does it mean to be creative if we're really just pulling from our own experiences without being consciously aware? Does intent mark the difference between plagiarism and new work? With technology available, is it incumbent on the creator to confirm their new work hasn't been done before? How does curation factor into creativity and invention? We discuss all that as well as Twitter jokes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on a quick-paced, fun episode. Tune in!

We're back! Your friends at Trending in Education are relaunching our Game of Thrones breakdown show, aka The Citadel, to coincide with the final season of the legendary television series. Be forewarned, we discuss numerous details of the show so if you're not a GoT fan or if you haven't seen the premiere of Season 8, steer clear for fear of spoilage.  This week, Brandon and Mike are joined by friend of the show, Frank Jones, to discuss the intricacies of Season 8, Episode 1, Winterfell. In addition, we make predictions about what will happen next as the narrative arc of the show enters into the end game. If you want to get the lowdown on the first episode and begin to flex your predictive prowess forecasting the rest of the final season, listen in and enjoy!

This week, we dive back into one of our favorite topics, robots. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have created and refined a robot who can sense and respond to human emotion in real time. While "Woody" is still being fine-tuned, his existence opens up questions of how socially and emotionally aware robots might further empower a human-led classroom? While it's easy to wax dystopic on the topic of robots, we find some positive signs in the emergence of this new age robot that senses human feelings. Why does this excite our imaginations? How else can robots like this help us relieve suffering and care for the elderly? Can therapeutic robots be used to combat an emerging loneliness epidemic?  We touch on all of this and even sing a little Whitney Houston on this week's show. Listen in and enjoy.

Were you a student who was frustrated by the amount of homework you had to do? Are you a parent who continually argues with your children about getting their homework done? Is it all worth it? On this week's episode, we dive into the debate on the true importance of homework for younger students. Should homework be banned in elementary school? Is homework truly helping reinforce what's happening in the classroom? Does the National PTA and National Education Association have it right that 10 minutes of homework per grade level (ie 10 minutes for first grade, 90 minutes for ninth grade) is the right amount? We tackle this and more as we discuss a recent Salon article on the subject. We also discuss the potential that homework at an early age helps prepare students for what's to come later on in their schooling.  Tune in to find out our points of view and be sure to let us know what you think about the importance of homework!

This week, we close out our 2019 Learning March Madness tournament. Over four rounds and 15 games, 16 of our favorite trends and topics were voted on by our listeners and now it’s time to dig into the results. Could JOMO make a Cinderella run from the 16-seed at the bottom of the bracket? Did Mindful Learning earn a coveted spot in the finals? How did Kidsolving fare defending its crown? We take some time to walk through some of the early round matchups and discuss the tournament overall. How does this year's group stack up against those from years past? What topics do we see as having lasting power throughout 2019? How can we best track or "score" these predictions to see which truly comes out ahead as the year ends? We conclude by revealing the winner of this year's Championship Game with a little Moonlightesque panache. The finals pitted Interactive Everything against Human-centered STEM. Which topic won out and claimed the top trend  spot in our 2019 tournament? Tune in to find out!

Dan and Mike chat with Russell Glass, co-author of Voting with a Porpoise. Voting with a Porpoise is a new children's book focused on fostering a discussion around civic engagement and voting with younger kids. The authors describe the purpose of the book as: to help change the culture around elections and voting. To that end, 100 percent of the profits for Voting With a Porpoise will be donated to 501(c)(3) non-partisan voting-related causes focused on getting more people of all backgrounds to the polls, such as Rock the Vote, Vote.org, TurboVote, and others. We talk to Russell about his own background and drive to write this children's story. He discusses his own experiences with voting and his family which helped shape his desire to join this conversation. How did he and co-author Sean Callahan decide on marine animals as the focus? How hard was it to land on a rhyming meter that worked? What are the long term goals for the book? Will Petey the Porpoise swim into our lives in a sequel? All that and a great

Mike sits down with Rohit Bhargava, author and Founder of the Non-Obvious Company, to discuss the 2019 edition of the Non-Obvious guide. Rohit, as a friend and influencer of our show, always provides surprising and insightful takes on where the world is heading and this year is no exception. Mike and Rohit engage in a free-flowing conversation that covers Non-Obvious 2019 trends like Strategic Spectacle, Muddled Masculinity, and Deliberate Downgrading and attempt to assess the relevance of many of these trends to the world of learning and education. In addition, they explore how the learnability and teachability of being non-obvious. How much of it is a mindset and how much of it can be developed by adopting a more omnivorous approach to consuming inputs, collecting insights, and curating trends? Listen in to find out!  

In this episode, we dive into the edutainment value of Game of Thrones as we gear up for the final season of the show which debuts in just a few weeks. We discuss how GoT provides good foundations for political science, leadership and management, language learning, and even epidemiology curricula. What are the advantages of using timely, relevant entertainment content when designing instruction? How has Bruce Craven of Columbia University incorporated the blockbuster HBO show and George RR Martin novels into a popular leadership and management course. Can we learn from the leadership styles of the characters in this story or is designing lesson plans around GoT the instructional equivalent of clickbait? Do popular narratives like this series provide learners with hooks to which they can affix new learning or do they add too much distraction and cognitive load that interfere with learning? Then we dig into a fascinating Smithsonian article about Australian epidemiologists who are predicting the outcomes of the

Mike Palmer is joined by Frank Jones and Kristen Smith to discuss the sprawling college admissions scandal known as Operation Varsity Blues. What does this scandal say about the current state of selective higher ed admissions in the US? How is this scandal and its coverage a reflection of broader trends we’re seeing in our society? Why are Aunt Becky from Full House and Felicity Huffman from Desperate Housewives the “poster moms” for this scandal and how does it all tie to “bulldozer parenting” and “affluenza?” We also take the time to discuss how the collective outrage in response to the scandal can be harnessed for more positive outcomes. What steps can we all take to help ensure individuals who deserve the opportunity get a fair shot at an undergraduate education? Tune in for a lively discussion on a trending educational topic that will likely remain in the zeitgeist for quite some time. 

This week, we tackle the topic of "unlearning." We begin by defining what unlearning has meant across psychology, organizational change, and in the classroom and dig into the debate about whether it is truly part of the learning process. Can we truly "unlearn" something or do we build upon or reframe our understanding as new data and insights come to light? How much of a part does our own humility play in being able to learn new things? Which fields could benefit the most from the concept of "unlearning" and how might it tie to growth mindset, addiction, and related ideas? We discuss all of this and tie back to previous shows and related themes as we talk through this deep and interesting topic. Listen in to begin to figure out how, when, and whether to get your unlearn on!

Mike Palmer and Melissa Griffith sit down with Aaron Dignan to talk about his new book, Brave New Work. Aaron walks us his story of writing the book before focusing in on what isn't working in current organizational environments and how anyone within any organization can help bring about the type of change that is so desperately needed.  Aaron discusses getting to the heart of organizational, department, or team issues and working on change by focusing on the people. What's the difference between complicated and complex systems? What parallels can be drawn to world of learning and education? Why is Aldous Huxley so important to all of this? Aaron, Melissa, and Mike have an engaging, entertaining, and illuminating discussion around all of this and more. Listen in to enjoy!

We take you to our live presentation of our podcast at SXSWEdu 2019. Mike and Brandon were joined on stage by Ashley Mannka-Suydam, Director, Learning Products at ACT to talk about the top trends at the conference. We also discussed through our brand new March Madness bracket. After our live show, you'll hear two interviews from the Expo floor. Dan talks to a company called In My Shoes. They are looking to use video and in-person mentors to help at-risk and minority students visualize themselves as successful in the business world. Mike then catches up with Vincent Routhier, CEO of LU Interactive, to discuss their interactive physical education technology. Can a re-imagined gymnasium help keep kids get active and reinforce classroom concepts?  Tune in for a sense of what’s emerging at SXSW EDU.  

We had the great pleasure of sitting down with Ron Reed, Founder and Executive Producer,  and Greg Rosenbaum, General Manager, of the learning conference SXSW EDU. Ron and Greg share the origin story of SXSWEdu and explore the emerging trends they've seen over the first nine years of the conference. We talk community building, the power of convergence zones and the ways in which innovation in learning and education is evolving. We also touch on mindfulness, social and emotional learning, and the whole teacher movement as core parts of the emergent zeitgeist of festival. If you made it to SXSW EDU this year, this is a wonderful capstone conversation for the experience. If you didn't make it, listening is a fantastic way to get a sense of what Greg and Ron are trying to accomplish and how it feels to be a part of it.

It's time for our 2019 Learning and Education March Madness! Mike and Brandon draft eight topics each to go head to head in round one of this year's tournament. Which of our best episodes made this year's field? What didn't make the cut? Tune in to find out how we break down the field for this year's tourney! Join in the fun with by entering your predictions here

After much ado, fanfare, and aplomb, it's finally time for our hosts to put forth their own predictions for trends in learning and education for 2019. What important topics do we see on the horizon that will change the way students and lifelong learners acquire knowledge and skills in the year ahead? Brandon shares his thoughts on Education2020 and how politics, the presidential race, and education will all intertwine throughout this year into next. Mike hypes the rising importance of the Whole Teacher Movement as well as Mindful Learning as the key trends he's tracking this year. And Dan shares his thoughts on the new MA (M&A) in higher education, merger and acquisitions as his key trend to track this year. All this and more on a great look forward to prognosticate what is on the horizon for the upcoming year in learning and education. Tune in to hear where we think things are heading on this week's episode!

In this week's extra, Mike catches up with new author Logan Thompson on his book Beyond the Content: Unlocking the Other Half of Test Prep with a Tailored Mindfulness Approach.  Logan talks about his own path to becoming more mindful and self-aware and how good mindfulness practices have helped to shape who he is as a teacher and a person. Logan discusses how performing on a standardized test doesn't just involve understanding the content and the strategies, it also involves managing one's cognitive and emotional states. Throughout the conversation, Mike and Logan explore the analogy of consciousness as both a Driver and Passengers. Logan provides techniques to manage the presence of the interruptive, distracting, or self-limiting thoughts, aka Passengers, without giving them too much power or attention, while empowering the Driver to get to where she wants to go. We also discuss how Logan's focus on mindfulness and being present connects to social and emotional learning, cognitive and emotional empathy, and

We dive into learning and education trends to watch in 2019. Using two Forbes.com articles as our jumping off point, we talk trends in STEM, K-12, and higher education. How will teacher shortages influence the learning and education landscape? Does STEM help lead the way on the whole child learning experience? Can national and local legislation help change the higher education space in the US? Are income-share agreements a viable solution to ballooning student-debt? We discuss all of these topics and more. Listen in and enjoy!

Just in time for Valentines Day, we're joined by KS Wiswell, author of Full Frontal Nerdity - Lessons on Loving and Living With Your Brain. In addition to being an author, KS is also a screenwriter, an improv performer, and also a Kaplan instructor. We dive into the thought process behind her launching a blog and how that grew into publishing her first book. How did a background in improv help her connect topics that few others see as common? What is it like to share personal stories about love and life for everyone to see? How is improv like teaching and how can we use surprise, narrative, and relevance to make instruction more entertaining and compelling. KS walks us through all this and much more with plenty of laughs along the way.