Trending In Ed with Mike Palmer

This week, Mike and Dan are joined by Holly Garner, one of the Editors for the Journal of Applied Testing Technology, to examine the news that LinkedIn has launched skills assessments as part of their platform. How should assessments like these be designed? Does passing an exam truly signal proficiency or mastery? As this type of credentialing matures, what might be the implications for higher education?Will you be quizzed on all this? Maybe a lil bit. But it should help you learn a little. Enjoy!  

Dan and Mike catch up on a recent new book release, The MVP Machine: How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players, and accompanying Harvard Business Review article, What Baseball Can Teach You About Using Data to Improve Yourself. What techniques from the advanced metric and quantified self approach of players like Trevor Bauer can be leveraged for everyone's personal and professional growth? How do the themes of grit and growth mindset fit into this discussion? Is there a true tension between the folklore and history of baseball metrics and the new revolution sabermetrics and next-level analytics? Get the peanuts and crackerjacks and get ready to come back for more Trending in Education.

This week Mike and Dan are joined by Angela Siefer and Xandi Wright to discuss Digital Equity and Inclusion. Angela is the Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and has been focused on providing access to digital resource for those who may not have this in their homes. Xandi recently studied Digital Inclusion in graduate school and is beginning her practice in the field. We explore the concepts of digital inclusion, digital equity, digital readiness, and the homework gap and provide recommendations on how to learn more and get engaged in beginning to raise awareness and bridge these divides around access to and awareness of technology as an enabling force in the lives of students and adults. 

In yet another Back to School Extra, Mike sits down with journalist, author, and teacher, Robert Pondiscio to discuss his provocative new book, How the Other Half Learns: Equality, Excellence, and the Battle Over School Choice.Robert shares his experiences from spending a year embedded in the Bronx 1 school in the Success Academy charter system. We touch on the discipline and commitment required of students, parents, and teachers to gain access and to stay in a Success Academy school. And we also explore challenging questions of fairness and equity that arise when some families gain access to programs like Success Academy while others do not. We wind up raising more questions than answers about this complex set of issues and look forward to continuing to examine what is the impact to those in these programs as well as those who don’t get in or get bounced for various issues. And with dedicated families exiting public schools for programs like Success Academy, what are the implications for public schools who must provide education to all students and families?Listen in and let us know what you think!

Mike and Dan sit down with Dennis Morgan, a member of the District 3 Community Education Council in Manhattan, to discuss how parents can become engaged and activated in their local schools. Using Dennis's story as an example, we discuss how Dennis became actively engaged in his children's public school to address challenges we face in New York and across the US. We follow Dennis’s story from when he was first connecting with other parents when his son was in Universal Pre-K to where he is now building programs to encourage parents of all backgrounds to keep their children in the public schools of Harlem. Listen in to hear a one parent’s journey as we explore the real challenges of engaging parents in the educational lives of their children. 

This week, Mike sits down with Kate Eberle-Walker, CEO of Presence Learning, to explore the emerging field of teletherapy. Kate explains the history of screen-based therapy and related interventions and the growing role that organizations like Presence Learning are playing in bridging access gaps to licensed professionals in underserved schools through live online delivery. How might this help address the growing mental health crises kids, families, and K-12 schools are facing these days? Listen in to find out. 

This week we have the pleasure of welcoming world renowned author and thinker, Michael Horn to the show. Michael recently authored Choosing College: How to Make Better Learning Decisions Throughout Your Life in which he and co-author, Bob Moesta, identify the five jobs that learners hire college to do for them. Michael is a cofounder and distinguished fellow of The Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation and is Head of Strategy for the Entangled Group. In addition to Choosing College, Michael has also written Disrupting Class and Blended and he has explored many topics relevant to the future of education and disruption. On this week's show, Mike sits down with Michael to dig into how to make great learning decisions about college and ongoing education throughout our lives. We discusses the benefits and drawbacks of a Gap Year, the importance of understanding the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and exactly when college is and is not the best choice for individuals.The conversation covers themes relevant to learners of all ages, their parents and friends, and professionals in the learning and ed tech industries. Listen in and enjoy!

In a letter just released in August, the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group made up of many of the nation’s leading CEOs, may have changed the course of corporate America. The letter asserts that a business’s purpose is more than generating profit for its shareholders. Instead it is to deliver value to all of its stakeholders. Generating profit and shareholder value have been the prime directive of large corporations since the days of Milton Friedman. Is this signaling a change?Maybe Gordon Gecko was wrong. Greed may not be good if it isn’t tied to a purpose. But as we explore a scorecard beyond the bottom line, how should we track this newfound sense of success in business? Mike, Dan, and Tarlin dive into what this could mean for the future of corporations, workforce engagement, and professional development as explore the potential impact of this memo from the 181 on this TiE Extra!

What is an "Inverted Yield Curve" and why was it trending on Twitter of late? We take a stab at providing a little financial education as we explore this trend and what it means to all of us. How have the recent forecasts of a potential recession been amplified by social media? Has social media helped educate people on what's going on or simply fed mass hysteria and panic? How might we teach personal finance and other financial matters in K12, at home, and throughout our lives?Get out your crystal ball as we try to get a read on the financial future while digging into a once arcane economic concept, the Inverted Yield Curve. 

Mike Palmer and Frank Jones revisit a hot topic from earlier this month on what a group of eight to 11 year-olds want to be when they grow up. Are American kids no longer fascinated by space travel? Is it all Youtube and Vlogging from here forward?Frank shares his perspectives on this topic as we continue to dig into the recent attention generated by a survey launched by Harris Polling and Lego. Is this pointing to bigger trends in learning and education? Listen in to find out.