Silver Lining for Learning

Still Searching for the NSSE? Reflections on the National Survey of Student Engagement

Episode #269 | Still Searching for the NSSE? Reflections on the National Survey of Student Engagement will be recorded on April 24, 2026 at 11 am (EDT). Every week and sometimes each day. we encounter debates about student engagement and overall learning experiences in higher education. Just open the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, the Conversation, the New York Times, the Guardian, etc. It does not matter which news resource you are wedded to, there will be someone penning an article that bemoans the passive participation of students in schools, colleges, and universities and any educational setting or environment. And such articles have become even more pervasive in their digital leanring age. Is there data out there that addresses such concerns and debates? Fortunately, there is. In fact, for over two decades, the National Survey of Student Engagement developed and administered at Indiana University (IU) (https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/index.html) [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/index.html] has collected important information from hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about the first-year and senior students' participation in various programs and activities provided for personal learning and development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. The NSSE team gathers such data each year from its student survey, The College Student Report. [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/survey-instruments/index.html] Watch or listen to Episode #269 and learn about the history of the NSSE as well as the current objectives and expanded uses of it. We will also discuss the Center for Postsecondary Research at IU. This panel will include the original developer of the NSSE, Dr. George Kuh, as well as Dr. Leonard Taylor who is currently the Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Also on this episode of SLL will be Dr. Jillian Kinzie, the Associate Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in the Center for Postsecondary Research in the Indiana University School of Education. Dr. George Kuh is Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at Indiana University (IU). George founded IU’s Center for Postsecondary Research and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and related instruments for law students, beginning college students, and faculty. He also is the founding director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) as well as the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), the first-ever in-depth look at the factors that help or hinder the careers of graduates of arts-intensive training high schools and postsecondary institutions. At Indiana University, he served as chairperson of the department of educational leadership and policy studies (1982-84), associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Education (1985-88), and associate dean of the faculties for the Bloomington campus (1997-2000). Dr. Jillian Kinzie is Associate Director, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University School of Education. She conducts research and leads project activities on effective use of student engagement data to improve educational quality, and serves as senior scholar with the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) project. She is co-author of Transforming Academic Culture & Curriculum: Integrating and Scaffolding Research Throughout Undergraduate Education (2024), Radical Reimagining for Student Success (2023), Delivering on the Promise of High-Impact Practices: Research and Models for Achieving Equity, Fidelity, Impact and Scale (2022), Assessment in Student Affairs (2016), Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education (2015), Student Success in College (2005/2010), and One Size Does Not Fit All: Traditional and Innovative Models of Student Affairs Practice (2008/2014). She was awarded the NASPA George D. Kuh Outstanding Contribution to Research in 2024 and received the Robert J. Menges Honored Presentation by the Professional Organizational Development (POD) Network in 2005 and 2011. Kinzie earned her PhD from Indiana University in higher education with a minor in women’s studies. Prior to this, she served on the faculty of Indiana University and coordinated the master’s program in higher education and student affairs. She also worked in academic and student affairs at Miami University and Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Leonard Taylor is the Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Dr. Taylor’s research focuses on investigating and improving how student success commitments are enacted at higher education institutions. Using various organizational theories and methodological approaches, he works to understand and interrogate how administrators, faculty and staff members, and other post-secondary stakeholders use research, data and promising practices to enhance post-secondary outcomes. His work has been funded through the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, College Student Educators International (ACPA), as well as other national and local entities. Dr. Taylor earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and Policy Development from the University of Minnesota. More data and resources can be found below. * The National Survey of Student Engagement, Indiana University: https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/index.html [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/index.html] What Does NSSE Do? Through its student survey, The College Student Report [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/survey-instruments/index.html], NSSE annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. NSSE provides participating institutions a variety of reports [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/reports-data/sample-report/index.html] that compare their students' responses with those of students at self-selected groups of comparison institutions. Comparisons are available for ten Engagement Indicators [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/survey-instruments/engagement-indicators.html], six High-Impact Practices [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/survey-instruments/high-impact-practices.html], and all individual survey questions. Each fall, NSSE also publishes its Annual Results [https://nsse.indiana.edu/research/annual-results/index.html], which reports topical research and trends in student engagement results. NSSE researchers also present and publish research findings throughout [https://nsse.indiana.edu/research/publications-presentations/index.html] the year. Bachelor's degree-granting institutions are invited to participate in NSSE to assess the quality of undergraduate education—providing institutions diagnostic, actionable information that fosters and catalyzes evidence-based improvement efforts. NSSE registration [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/registration-pricing/index.html] opens in late summer and closes in fall for the following spring administration. Quick Facts * About NSSE: https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/about-nsse/index.html [https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/about-nsse/index.html] Join the conversation at silverliningforlearning.org  [https://silverliningforlearning.org ]

From Learners to Co-Creators, Rethinking AI Education at Thunderbird

How can students move beyond learning about AI to actively shaping it? In this episode, Kellie Kreiser and Euvin Naidoo share how the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU is engaging students as co-creators of AI tools, research, and real-world applications. As Generative AI (GenAI) rapidly reshapes industries and knowledge work, educational institutions face a critical question: should students be trained to use AI, or empowered to help build and define its role in society? At Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU, a new model is emerging, one that positions students not just as learners but as active contributors to the evolving AI ecosystem. In this conversation, Kellie Kreiser and Euvin Naidoo discuss a series of initiatives that bring this philosophy to life. These include a recent AI conference and hackathon where students used AI tools to rapidly develop case studies in high-stakes contexts; the Principled Innovation for Global AI Fellows program, where students collaborate with faculty on research into the ethical and practical dimensions of AI; and student-led workshops that teach peers how to integrate AI into their career development processes. Looking ahead, they also introduce the concept of an “AI Hatchery,” a model that connects students with real-world AI projects, providing training, tools, and opportunities to build solutions with real impact. The discussion will also focus on the Thunderbird Case Lab, its newly released Global AI Case Collection announced at the annual Thunderbird AI Case Conference, and the planned new immersions for global educators on “Teaching with AI”.  Together, these efforts reflect a broader shift: from teaching AI as a subject to embedding it as a participatory, practice-based experience. This conversation explores what it means to design learning environments where students are not just prepared for the future, but are actively shaping it. ABOUT OUR GUESTS: KELLIE KREISER Kellie Kreiser is Executive Director of Global Impact and AI at Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. She leads initiatives that integrate artificial intelligence into global education, workforce development, and social impact programs. Over nearly two decades at Thunderbird, she has designed and scaled programs that have reached more than 285,000 learners across 180+ countries, often in partnership with organizations such as Goldman Sachs, the U.S. Department of State, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Her work focuses on building platforms and partnerships that expand access to entrepreneurship, education, and opportunity worldwide. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Arizona State University, where her research explores the intersection of AI, creativity, and emerging technology adoption. * https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelliekreiser/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelliekreiser/] EUVIN NAIDOO Euvin Naidoo is Distinguished Professor of Practice in Global Accounting, Risk and Agility at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. He teaches financial reporting and controls (Accounting) and leads one of the school’s flagship programs on artificial intelligence and the future of work. He also serves as Chairman of Thunderbird’s Curriculum and Learning Outcomes Committee (CLOC) and directs the award-winning Thunderbird Case Series and Lab, which, under his leadership, has been ranked Top 10 in the US and Top 20 globally for the past three years in a row. Prior to joining Thunderbird, Euvin served on the full-time faculty at Harvard Business School, his alma mater, where he pioneered the school’s first Agile Short Intensive Programs focused on best practices for enterprise-wide agile transformations. A global consulting and banking veteran, Naidoo brings deep industry experience to shape programs—he was previously a Partner and Managing Director at the Boston Consulting Group, co-leading banking, insurance, and public sector practices across Africa, and served on the senior leadership team at Barclays Africa as Head of Strategy, supporting and helping manage a 10+ country banking ecosystem across retail, business, investment and private banking. In 2024, Prof. Naidoo received the global award from the UK’s Case Centre for Outstanding Professor for Case Teaching, recognizing the world’s most innovative management and business school professors in the classroom. In 2025, he was recognized by Poets & Quants as one of the Top 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors globally. Selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, he has served two terms on the WEF's US Global Agenda Council focused on supporting US competitiveness across education, energy, and digital innovation, and most recently on the WEF's Global Future Council on the Future of Job Creation, examining the impact of AI and other frontier technologies across sectors. * https://poetsandquants.com/2025/12/21/the-50-best-undergraduate-business-school-professors-of-2025/ [https://poetsandquants.com/2025/12/21/the-50-best-undergraduate-business-school-professors-of-2025/] * https://www.weforum.org/people/euvin-naidoo/ [https://www.weforum.org/people/euvin-naidoo/] * https://www.ted.com/speakers/euvin_naidoo [https://www.ted.com/speakers/euvin_naidoo] * https://www.linkedin.com/in/euvinnaidoo/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/euvinnaidoo/] Join the conversation at silverliningforlearning.org  [https://silverliningforlearning.org ]

Exploring Students Exploring in a "Week Without Walls"

As we start off our seventh season of Silver Lining for Learning (SLL), it is important to reflect back on all of our episodes to date. One of the SLL Co-Hosts, Punya Mishra from ASU did just that. He partnered with Claude to analyze our six years of podcasting and look for themes and trends over time. Take a look: Analyzing Silver Lining for Learning [https://punyamishra.com/sll/]: Conversations on the Future of Learning; See https://punyamishra.com/sll/ [https://punyamishra.com/sll/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExVFNTVmk4V0RGc2RCN0hlYXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5JKUSnYhVqdwknZQmzF9sb5M1KIWGgEWrUlo1U6N8XzWe81DYPQaZoiBWX2w_aem_EDORBOlQYPTHYzGvyRw5Gw]. In addition, Punya brilliantly posted an additional reflection this past Saturday March 21 on the 6-year journey of Silver Lining for Learning (using some of the data generated by Claude). His blog post was titled, “Six Years, 266 Episodes, and One Persistent Question,” [https://punyamishra.com/2026/03/21/six-years-264-episodes-and-one-persistent-question/] March 21, 2026, by Punya Mishra; https://punyamishra.com/2026/03/21/six-years-264-episodes-and-one-persistent-question/ [https://punyamishra.com/2026/03/21/six-years-264-episodes-and-one-persistent-question/]. Notably, SLL has had over 500 guests from 30+ countries and 265 shows during the past 6 years. These shows have generated 2.6 million words. In Episode #267 of Silver, we continue our journey into Year #7 of Silver Lining for Learning. In particular, we will talk to students and teachers in a secondary school in Jeju Island, Korea about their a week-long educational program called a “Week Without Walls [https://weareworldchallenge.com/international/week-without-walls/]” (WWW). A Week Without Walls is an annual program which allows students to step out of their traditional student roles in 4-walled classrooms and begin to engage in experiential, hands-on learning. Week Without Walls is one part community service, and one part adventure learning in outdoor learning environments. It is also one part a cultural immersion program which is intended to foster life skills like teamwork and collaboration, empathy and global perspective taking, resilience, self-directed learning, and overall personal growth and perhaps even transformation. Recently, there have been many different locations and environments for students to choose from for their adventures including Chiang Mai, Thailand, Japan, Bali, Indonesia, Italy, etc. One of the people we will talk with during the hour is Tim Bray. A decade ago, he was Director of EdTech at a school in Incheon, Korea where he established the first Educational Technology Department. From 2020-2022, Tim was the Director of Professional Development at Cheongna Dalton School in the Seo district in Incheon, Korea. In 2022, Tim was an International Principal at Westview Cambodian International School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Next, he was appointed Founding Principal of American STEM Prep (ASP) Daegu in South Korea where he served from 2022-2024. Currently, Tim Bray is Director of Technology at St. Johnsbury Academy, Jeju Island, Korea. He can be contacted via LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-bray-b0438511/]. With several students and teachers from St. Johnsbury Academy in Jeju Island, this promises to be a rich and exciting show. Week Without Walls (WWW): https://weareworldchallenge.com/international/week-without-walls/ [https://weareworldchallenge.com/international/week-without-walls/]   Join the conversation at silverliningforlearning.org  [https://silverliningforlearning.org ]

Celebrating 6 years of Silver Lining for Learning

Celebrating 6 years of Silver Lining for Learning Join the conversation at silverliningforlearning.org  [https://silverliningforlearning.org ]

Pioneering People with a Pioneering Book from the Pioneer Institute

At some point in your lives, you likely wanted to be a pioneer at something and you likely wanted it to be impactful. In this episode of Silver Lining for Learning, we are joined by three online learning pioneers and digital education leaders, Julie Young, Julie Petersen, and Kay Johnson. Notably, in 1997, Julie Young was the founding President and CEO of Florida Virtual School; one of the largest virtual schools in North America. The three of them will discuss their new book, "Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America published in November 2025 by the Pioneer Institute. This edited book attempts to uncover what works and what falls short in the online learning arena; in particular, in digital K-12 education. Their overarching learning philosophy is a learner-centered one. And their advice is directed at a range of stakeholders including those forming policies, educators teaching online courses, families making decisions about online education, students thinking about enrolling in online courses, and others in the online education landscape. Importantly, these three pioneers have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon as they trace the rapid evolution of online learning over the past three decades from early forms of distance learning to the increasingly complex and multifaceted hybrid and HyFlex models. They have come to the conclusion that the most effective and powerful forms of online education rely on thoughtful pedagogical and instructional design practices. Listen or watch this episode and discover the possible achievements of learners in online educational environments as well as the many challenges and limitations. Julie Young is an edupreneur, an educator, innovator, and visionary leader renowned for pioneering virtual, blended, and technology-enhanced learning models. As founding President and CEO of Florida Virtual School in 1997, Young didn't just embrace virtual schooling, she helped create an entire industry. Over 17 years, she transformed FLVS from a startup serving 77 students with a $200,000 grant into the largest state virtual school in the US, reaching over 2 million students globally. Her work established Florida as the epicenter of virtual school innovation and set precedents for digital education that continue shaping the field today. She went on to serve as a VP at Arizona State University. In that role, she served as CEO and Senior Advisor to ASU Prep Academy, founding ASU Prep Digital and ASU Prep Global. Her north star is and always has been designing learning models that put the student at the center of every decision. Today, she leads Julie Young Education LLC, partnering with and advising organizations on educational innovation and strategic initiatives. Julie Petersen (Co-Editor) is a freelance writer and editor based in California. As a former nonprofit communications director and journalist, her work has been published by Stanford Social Innovation Review, Harvard Education Press, EdSurge, and Education Next. Julie began her career as a venture capital reporter for Red Herring Magazine, where her print cover story on educational technology was featured in Best Business Stories of the Year. She went on to lead communications at venture philanthropy firm NewSchools Venture Fund. Since 2012, Petersen has written and edited papers, articles, case studies, strategic plans, grant proposals, impact reports, and other publications in partnership with more than 40 education nonprofits, companies, philanthropists, and government agencies. Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Kay Johnson (Co-Editor) is a strategic communications leader with over two decades of experience at the intersection of education, policy, and innovation. She has supported national initiatives that shaped the early growth of online learning, including legislative efforts that led to the first statewide virtual school funded through public education dollars. Kay has led executive communications, research, and thought leadership for education organizations across the K–12 and higher education spectrum, including Florida Virtual School. Her work spans policy analysis, internal and external communications, and strategic advising for executive teams. A seasoned ghostwriter and editor, she has contributed to numerous articles, white papers, and books on digital learning and education reform. Kay currently serves as Director of Strategic Communications for ASU Prep Academy, where she supports national partnerships, research, and storytelling that advance future-ready learning models. * Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America, Pioneer Institute * Video [https://pioneerinstitute.org/book/virtual-schools-actual-learning-digital-education-in-america/] (2:26): https://pioneerinstitute.org/book/virtual-schools-actual-learning-digital-education-in-america/ [https://pioneerinstitute.org/book/virtual-schools-actual-learning-digital-education-in-america/] * Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America * Video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt_qRCBZBxA&t=68s] (2:26): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt_qRCBZBxA&t=68s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt_qRCBZBxA&t=68s] “Virtual Schools, Actual Learning helps explain what online learning and schooling have and have not accomplished and lays out a vision for its potential to level the playing field for all kinds of learners.”— Sal Khan, CEO of Khan Academy Join the conversation at silverliningforlearning.org  [https://silverliningforlearning.org ]