Education ReMade

16. Presenting: Sprint to Success with Design Thinking

Today I have a special treat for you all. Some of you might recall episode 10 on this podcast where I interviewed Dr. Sabba Quidwai [http://www.askmsq.com/] who has a podcast of her own called "Sprint to Success with Design Thinking” [https://askmsq.com/podcast-2], where she interviews researchers and practitioners about their stories and strategies for navigating change with design thinking.  Today I'm going to feature an episode Sabba did on her podcast called "Revolutionizing the Public School System: A Design Sprint Case Study" because it really gets into the nitty gritty of how to apply the design thinking methodology. Sabba interviews Daniel Andor, Founder and Lead Product Designer at Durran, where they run Design Spring workshops for their clients. He discusses a case study with an edtech company serving 650 schools and 100,000+ users and more broadly the role of design sprints in education. AND, I can't believe we're already at episode 16! This is the last episode in Season 1 of the Education ReMade podcast! I hope you're finding these conversations valuable. Please email me at najia@educationremade.com [najia@educationremade.com] and let me know what you think about the pod! Links Mentioned: * To read the full case study Daniel references in the podcast clickhere [https://www.durran.co/blog/revolutionizing-the-public-school-system-a-design-sprint-case-study]. * To connect with Daniel visit hiswebsite [https://www.durran.co/]where you’ll also be able to find links to all his social channels. * Daniel’s “Startup Strategy Bundle [https://www.durran.co/durran-startup-ux-strategy-bundle]” is really insightful and it’s a free download. * Find Sabba at askm sq.com [http://askmsq.com/] Follow Najia on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/najialupson/]

15: The Future of Smart with Ulcca Joshi Hansen

On today's episode, how a first generation American envisions an education system that actually values who kids are and supports them to become their best selves. Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen [https://educatingpotential.com/about/] is a Chief Program Officer at Grantmakers for Education [https://www.edfunders.org/], a member organization that serves as a trusted partner for education philanthropists. Ulcca is a first-generation American who began school as an English-language learner; she was the first in her family to complete college and graduate school.  Her own experiences have fueled her desire to interrogate and advocate for an expanded vision of what it means to ensure every child has access to a high-quality education in America. Ulcca is especially committed to bringing a racial justice and equity lens to the expansion of this educational approach, one that has been largely inaccessible to lower-income and BIPOC communities within America’s public education system. Ulcca's new book, The Future of Smart [https://www.amazon.com/Future-Smart-Education-System-Change/dp/195492013X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=], is out today!! The book traces the deep roots of America’s dominant approach to education and illuminates why so many reform and innovation efforts over the last three decades have fallen short of our aspirations for children AND it proposes a different path forward. Links Mentioned: * Next Generation Learning Challenge [https://www.nextgenlearning.org/] * Education Reimagined [https://education-reimagined.org/] * Transcend [https://www.transcendeducation.org/] * Find Ulcca on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulcca/] | Twitter [https://twitter.com/Ulcca] | Website [https://educatingpotential.com/] Follow Najia on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/najialupson/]

14: Funding in Education Today with Jason Weeby

On today's episode, how a former teacher turned education innovation leader navigated remote education for his kids and the trends he's seeing that will impact the sector moving forward. Jason Weeby [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonweeby/] is an independent consultant who helps senior education leaders make high-stakes decisions about the future of their organizations so all students have access to high-quality learning opportunities. He advises foundations, nonprofits, school systems, and government agencies that believe innovation can be a force for equity using his 18 years of education sector experiences ranging from a middle school teacher to venture philanthropist. We talk about how education is woefully underfunded and what some of the obstacles to innovation in the education sector have been. We also talk about the $122B of federal funding coming to schools from the Biden administration as part of the American Rescue Act and how that money can be used. For example, did you know that it can be put towards decarbonizing schools through infrastructure improvements like new electric HVAC systems or heat pumps, solar panels, and even composting toilets. Jason also shares some of what he's learned doing empathy interviews with parents, teachers and students as part of a consulting engagement he's been working on, and I LOVED hearing how honest students were about how they've found remote education to be compared to traditional, pre-pandemic school. If you're an education leader or a policy maker, I think this episode provides some great big picture context in which schools today are operating. Links Mentioned: * Article about $122B federal investment from the Biden administration [https://medium.com/sam-labs/122b-in-education-funds-esser-iii-whats-it-about-a226c34de397] * Article on New Schools Venture Fund's $200M Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (AERDF) [https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/7/21/22587262/education-funders-gates-czi-walton-breakthroughs-aerdf-research-and-development] * National Parents Union [https://nationalparentsunion.org/] * Find Jason Weeby on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonweeby/] | Twitter [https://twitter.com/jasonweeby] Follow Najia on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/najialupson/]

13: Reimagining Education with Kelly Young

On today's episode, how a mother sought out a different approach to education for her son which led her to build a national community around learner centered education. Kelly Young [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-young-5564a6112/] is the President of Education Reimagined [https://education-reimagined.org/], a non-profit organization committed to making learner-centered education available to every child in the US. Education Reimagined unites and ignites learner-centered leaders including young people, educators, administrators, policy advocates,  and leaders across higher education, business, unions and philanthropy – who are ALL building the models, systems, public will, and policy conditions to transform education in the U.S. For Education Reimagined [https://education-reimagined.org/] the shift to community-based ecosystems of learning is also a shift to learner-centered education where young people are supported to discover and pursue their interests and curiosities in caring, supportive relationships and community. Kelly believes we need inventors who are ready to act on this new vision for education and she's really proud to lead an organization that is bringing these folks together from across the country. As many of us just started or are getting ready to start a new school year with uncertainty around the pandemic, I think the ideas Kelly shares are even MORE relevant because we continue to be faced with having to figure out flexible ways for kids to keep learning. Links Mentioned: * The Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein [https://www.amazon.com/Teacher-Wars-Americas-Embattled-Profession/dp/0345803620/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1Q3W4XA7XY5EQ&dchild=1&keywords=the+teacher+wars+by+dana+goldstein&qid=1629557428&sprefix=the+techer+wars%2Caps%2C221&sr=8-1] * Education Reimagined's vision document: A Vision for Transformational Education in the U.S. [https://education-reimagined.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/A-Transformational-Vision-for-Education-in-the-US.pdf] * The Met High School [https://www.themethighschool.org/] * Iowa Big [https://iowabig.org/] * Workspace Education [https://www.workspaceeducation.org/] - Homeschool co-learning space * Education Reimagined [https://education-reimagined.org/] on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram * Education Reimagined's Voyager [https://education-reimagined.org/articles/] magazine Find Education Reimagined on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/edreimagined/?hl=en], Twitter [https://twitter.com/EdReimagined], and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/EdReimagined]. Follow Najia on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/najialupson/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/najia.lupson/?hl=en] or Twitter [https://twitter.com/najialupson].

12. Education Will Have a Renaissance with Dr. Zak Stein - Part 2

On today's episode, how a Writer, Educator & Futurist imagines how education can have a renaissance and what it could look like. Dr. Zachary Stein [http://www.zakstein.org/cv/] is a philosopher of education working at the interface of psychology, metaphysics, and politics. He has published two books, including Education in a Time Between Worlds [https://www.amazon.com/Education-Time-Between-Worlds-Technology/dp/0986282677/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35BXO2W2BBOBC&dchild=1&keywords=education+in+a+time+between+worlds&qid=1629555561&sprefix=education+in+a+%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1]. Zak is also the co-founder of a non-profit and think tank called The Consilience Project [https://consilienceproject.org/], has taught graduate students at Harvard, and consults with technology start-ups. In Part 2 of this 2 part episode, we start off talking about the purpose of education, which is more complicated than you might think. But I think this is such an important question if you're a teacher or an education leader, because all your work flows from what you believe is the answer to this question. We also talk about Zak's book, Education in a Time Between Worlds [https://www.amazon.com/Education-Time-Between-Worlds-Technology/dp/0986282677/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35BXO2W2BBOBC&dchild=1&keywords=education+in+a+time+between+worlds&qid=1629555561&sprefix=education+in+a+%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1]. In it, Zak talks about creating decentralized education hub networks located in and led by communities. Imagine learners moving fluidly between topics of interest and a digital back end measurement system that gives learners a sense of what they're learning and where they might have gaps. This is an episode that might have you re-thinking how we do school. Links Mentioned: * Michael Tomasello, Comparative Psychologist, Max Planck Institute [https://www.eva.mpg.de/psycho/index/] * Deschooling Society [https://www.amazon.com/Deschooling-Society-Open-Forum-S/dp/0714508799/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G77WHMA9QOZX&dchild=1&keywords=deschooling+society&qid=1629308288&sprefix=deschool%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1] by Ivan Illich * Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Schools [https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Goliath-Passionate-Resistance-Privatization/dp/0525564764/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=diane+ravitch&qid=1629307843&sr=8-3] by Diane Ravitch * Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling [https://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Mass-Instruction-Schoolteachers-Compulsory/dp/0865716692/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AG1XO1NAPI2W&dchild=1&keywords=john+taylor+gatto&qid=1629308071&sprefix=john+tay%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-3] by John Taylor Gatto * Finnish Lessons 3.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? [https://www.amazon.com/Finnish-Lessons-3-0-Educational-Finland/dp/0807764809/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=finnish+lesson&qid=1629308351&sr=8-1] by Pasi Sahlberg * Basic Income Guarantee [https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/basic-income.asp] Find Zak at zakstein.org [http://zakstein.org/] and consilienceproject.org [http://consilienceproject.org/]. Follow Najia on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/najialupson/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/najia.lupson/?hl=en] or Twitter [https://twitter.com/najialupson].