Jim Hollis founded Calculus Roundtable to make higher-level math classes like calculus more accessible, especially for minority students who face barriers. His hands-on, experiential approach aims to change the perception that math is intimidating or only for some people.Instead of lectures and worksheets, students do creative, collaborative projects making rollercoasters and video games that relate math concepts to the real world. Peer mentors and role models from their own communities build confidence in themselves as "math people." Group work and embracing failure as part of the learning process make his classes engaging.Partnering with local STEM businesses for learning outside the classroom shows students how math applies in various careers. While some see AI as a threat, Jim believes the younger generation will find productive ways to use it we can’t yet imagine. His goal is to open students' eyes to the math all around them if they take the time to look.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of learning.

Michelle Cheang is the Program Director of the Catalyze Challenge. She joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about the career-connected learning grants offered through Michelle's organization. Catalyze aims to fund innovation in career exposure and preparation for ages 11-22 through grants, shared learning, and storytelling.Michelle explains how Catalyze takes an equity lens, seeking to expand opportunities for historically excluded groups. The new Catalyze Challenge runs through September 22nd and will fund exploratory projects on two themes: career exploration for young teens and meaningful employer partnerships. So there's still time to submit. Michelle stresses the application process is simple, just clearly explain the problem and your proposed solution. She predicts education will need to coordinate more closely with employer needs, as skills gain importance over degrees. Her advice: always keep students at the center and consider their full context. Don't miss this informative look at Catalyze's efforts to spur promising new career-connected learning programs for youth.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of learning.

Mike Palmer and Robin Naughton explore coding and robotics for kids with Michelle Acaley, Senior Director of Product at Sphero. They discuss how Sphero's coding toys teach critical thinking, collaboration, and grit through play. Michelle shares how products like Sphero's Indi allow kids 4-8 years old to learn coding concepts by directing a robot car activated by colored tiles. She explains how Sphero's modular robotics kit for high schoolers aims to make engineering feel approachable and easy to use.As Mike and Robin share their experiences with their 4-year-old playing with Indi, the hosts talk about modeling failure and perseverance as parents and educators. Michelle offers advice for bringing more technology into the classroom through hands-on learning. She discusses the importance of ingraining confidence in young girls pursuing STEM. Overall the episode looks at how coding robots can boost kids' creative problem-solving skills.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of education.

Inspired by architect Buckminster Fuller and the Kindergarten movement, Mike Acerra designed Lux Blox to reimagine the building blocks of learning. Co-founder and President of Lux Blox, Acerra brings an interdisciplinary background spanning art, architecture, physics, and education. His unique system aims to develop children's spatial skills, creativity, and confidence through intuitive play with forms based on nature.Lux Blox provides an open-ended platform for educators and parents to engage students kinesthetically. The blocks encourage insight and exploration using complex geometric shapes not found in typical toys. Acerra designed Lux Blox to align with principles from science and art to help strengthen spatial thinking. As host Mike Palmer discusses with Acerra, hands-on learning tools like Lux Blox develop the flexible mindset needed for the future of education and work.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of education.

Reuben Ogbonna is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Marcy Lab School. He joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about why he founded the school and how they are reimagining post-secondary education to design pathways for students traditional higher education has left out.We begin by hearing how Reuben's upbringing in Shreveport, Louisiana, and his experience with Teach for America inspired him to create an alternative career-focused postsecondary option. Reuben explains how Marcy Lab School operates as a one-year program for underserved young adults interested in tech careers like software engineering. The curriculum balances technical skills with liberal arts and civic engagement recognizing the challenges of the current system. Outcomes focus on job placement, with average starting salaries in the low six figures. Then Reuben discusses how they have navigated challenges like the pandemic and hiring climate shifts in the tech industry in recent years. Looking ahead, we hear his vision for adapting their program to leverage AI and emphasize real-world problem-solving. He shares how access to more equitable postsecondary pathways centered on skills, not just typical college routes, can change the lives of students and their communities. Don't miss this chance to learn how all students can have diverse, high-quality options to find the right fit to land that great first job.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of education.

Note: the following show notes were created using Anthropic's Claude.ai - It seemed a propos after all:How should we prepare students for a rapidly automating world? On this episode, host Mike Palmer explores that question with Dr. Tim Dasey, author of Wisdom Factories: AI, Games, and the Education of the Modern Worker.Dasey explains why traditional educational models focused on expertise are becoming less relevant. As AI handles more routine analytical tasks, humans will need to excel at higher-order skills like critical thinking, creativity, and managing complexity.Dasey advocates revamping curricula to teach these “wisdom” capacities. He sees great potential for problem-based and collaborative learning approaches, as well as leveraging gaming to provide meaningful experiences with complex systems.However, Dasey notes most education debates focus narrowly on how AI will impact current roles, rather than reevaluating foundational priorities. He argues we need broad input from business and technology leaders to reorient systems toward the abilities humans uniquely bring.Tune in to hear Dasey’s compelling case for education reform in the AI age. Gain insights from his decades developing AI, then pivoting to human-centered design. Discover why developing wisdom, not just expertise, is key to long-term success.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcast. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more.

Mike shares his thoughts coming out of the Smithsonian Institution's National Education Summit that was recently held in Washington, DC. We hear what it's like to bring a 4-year-old to an education conference and learn more about the Palm Court Podcast whose launch is coinciding with the release of this episode!We reflect back on Dr. Monique Chism's previous appearance on Trending in Ed before diving into three key sessions from this year's summit. Mike talks about the tradeoffs of blending a family getaway with an education summit built around the theme of Together We Thrive: Fostering A Sense of Belonging. We hear what Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch had to say on his panel and learn of Mike's family's experience at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which Secretary Bunch played a key role in establishing. Then we reflect on the work of National Teacher of the Year Rebeckah Peterson and how her concept of "one good thing" contains lessons both for educators and for the rest of us. We conclude with thoughts on Dr. Pamela Cantor's keynote on the neurochemistry of belonging as we process lessons learned from the conference and from family travel in the summer.Mike concludes with some thoughts on the launch of the Palm Court Podcast which is a new dedicated feed focused on New College of Florida, his alma mater, that has been thrust into the national spotlight as our culture wars are now on campus.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more and be sure to visit PalmCourtPod.com for deeper perspectives on New College's role in our cultural reckoning around academic freedom and the role of public education.

Tony Wan is the Head of Platform for Reach Capital. He is also one of the CoFounders of EdSurge. He rejoins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about what it's like to write and think about venture capital in Ed Tech at a time when AI is everywhere.We begin by hearing Tony's thoughts on writing while experimenting with GPT where he was able to train a bot to write like him. What does this mean for writing? Is it about the product or the process? From there, we explore his latest article exploring the cooling of EdTech investment in the first half of 2023. What's driving these trends and how does it relate to AI, Web 3, and AR/VR? Tony highlights two Ed Tech companies that are catching his eye and we conclude with his thoughts on how AI might be able to help solve big problems around durable skills and well-being. As we provide some perspective about the future of work, Tony suggests we check out Benedict Evans' article on the automation of work. Don't miss this insightful interview with a prominent thought leader in educational technology and venture investing.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of education.

Tom Adams is The Chair and Co-Founder of Pedago Studios and the President and Co-Founder of Quantic Business School. He's also the former CEO of Rosetta Stone. He joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about the strategic approach he and team are taking in building new learning programs informed by the impending revolution in interactive learning.We hear how Tom got his start in the early days of EdTech, successfully taking Rosetta Stone public as CEO. From there, we learn what drew him into the new initiative that is driving the work at Quantic and beyond. Tom paints a vision of what truly interactive learning products are, with the learner responding to novel stimuli on average every 8 seconds. This contrasts much of the video-based content that is prevalent in the MOOCs and elsewhere. Tom shares why Pedago focused on business education and technology as we zero in on who Quantico’s target market is. We also get a sense of how interactive content powered by the emerging capabilities of AI may transform educational experiences for years to come. Don't miss this visionary exploration of business education and the emerging category of interactive learning with an industry leader with a proven track record in the field.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on the future of education.

Alan Safran is the CEO and Chair of Saga Education and AJ Gutierrez is its Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer. They join Mike Palmer in a conversation about the work they are doing at Saga to bring evidence-based high-impact tutoring interventions to students who need them.We begin by hearing how Saga got started and how AJ and Alan met. AJ shares his personal experiences in school when he was attending Alan's charter school where high-impact tutoring was integrated into the program. From there, we learn how they've grown with Saga as the effectiveness of the program has become more widely understood and they've begun to unpack what makes it work. They share how they integrate tutoring into the rest of the educational program with a focus on 8th-grade Algebra to move the needle in outcomes for students, schools, and districts. Alan provides his vision for the future of education while AJ explores how AI and the right human capital approaches can scale solutions to address fundamental challenges to equity and the promise of education. Don't miss this deep dive into the critical role tutoring will play in the future of learning.Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on education and beyond.