Learning Unboxed

When we spoke to members of The Willowell Foundation, Jen Olson & Tasha Ball, about the Wren’s Nest, we realized there’s so much more to this story that needs to be explored. How we contextualize our relationship with nature is so important, and getting kids interested in it at the ground level may have far-reaching implications.Matt Schlein is the founder and director of The Walden Project and The WIllowell Foundation. As you may know, Willowell offers nature-based education programs and activities to help connect communities to the natural world. While Wren’s Nest is their preschool program, The Walden Project offers alternative public education for grades 10-12. We talk about the origins of the foundation, why connecting with nature is so important, and how we can get this level of education across the world.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:The origins of The Walden Pond Project and The Willowell FoundationCreating a K-12 experience where students are immersed in natureHow Willowell is allowing kids to recontextualize natureFinding the universal in the particularResources:waldenprojectny.comwillowell.orgLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-schlein-33a47b19156. Connecting Kids to Their Community & Environment with Jen Olson & Tasha Ball

There’s a lot to learn by taking the time to understand things that kids are invested in, even if it doesn’t seem to relate to education. Take esports, for instance: Could this thing that so many adults pass off as a waste of time actually teach our kids valuable life skills?North American Scholastic Esports Foundation (NASEF) is the world’s first academic approach to esports, providing opportunities for students to learn STEAM skills and prepare themselves for the work of the future. In 2018, Gerald Solomon created and launched NASEF when he recognized the possibility of reaching disenfranchised learners through a pass time that kids love. Kevin Brown was a lifelong gamer himself and wears many hats at the foundation under the title of Chief Academic Officer. We talk about the unlikely bond between gaming and education, how to open up skeptics to these opportunities, and how to scale programs like this across the globe.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:Taking STEAM skills already present in esports and making them visible to kidsHow they scaled the NASEF program across statesPushing back against the negative connotations of video gamesTalking to “digital native” kids in a language they understandResources:Learn more at nasef.orgLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/geraldsolomonLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevinthierrybrown

In previous parts of Hacking School, we’ve taken a look at our education system, the role it’s played, and what could happen if we allow ourselves to imagine other possibilities. Change is difficult—especially getting started—and once you’ve decided to make a change, picking a direction to go in can be even harder. We’re joined by August Majtenyi, a member of PAST’s research team, to have a conversation about the single biggest question I get when we start talking about ways to hack school: How do we know problem-based learning even works?To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:Acknowledging the work ahead of usThe evidence behind problem-based learningHow we can improve the research supporting PBL and combat hesitancyResources:startSOLE.orgedutopia.org

If the role of school is to prepare students for their adult lives, then academics are only a part of what they need to learn. We’re going to look at an innovative program that is working hard to bring SEL (social emotional learning) to the forefront of our thinking as we look at transforming our school structure.Bridget Durkan Laird is the chief executive officer at Wings for Kids, an organization that recognizes how emotional intelligence was a missing component in schools and sought out to give kids these skills by the time they’re teenagers. We discuss why Wings for Kids was founded, their approach toward teaching SEL, and the impact they are hoping to have.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:The goal of Wings for Kids and the importance of social emotional learningHow Wings for Kids works to bring SEL into the classroom in engaging waysPartnering with teachers who are passionate about SELThe importance of adult buy-in when teaching kidsFinding the kids that need the most helpResources:Learn more at wingsforkids.orgsoarwithwings.com

We’re speaking to a number of people from one of Ohio’s leading STEM schools, the National Inventors Hall of Fame School, including Sam Crews, a founding teacher at the school with over 20 years of experience in schools. Joining him are two former students, Mar Lin and Camryn Woodley. They share their learning experiences at the National Inventors Hall of Fame School and how what they learned there has carried with them throughout their young adult lives.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:The story behind the National Inventors Hall of Fame SchoolHow the school’s strong founding ethos carries on throughout the yearsCreating meaningful experiences for studentsRolling out STEM education to the broader school communityMaking the decisions that are best for kidsResources:invent.orgLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sam-crews-bb795512a

Many schools are excited by the idea of collaborative maker spaces, putting large amounts of funding into getting them built. But once those spaces have been built they start to struggle. What do we do with these spaces to make them a success? Nikil Ragav is the founder and CEO of inventXYZ, a program devoted to bringing high-tech, hands-on education to students everywhere by setting up maker workspaces at partner schools across the country. We talk about how he’s working with schools to make the process of building and using maker spaces more streamlined, and how schools everywhere can get involved.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:The problems districts face when building maker spacesHow inventXYZ is making it easier to put maker spaces in schoolsAccelerating the rate of teaching standard educationBecoming involved with inventXYZResources:inventxyz.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nikil-ragav

With a wicked problem in mind, choosing relevant issues tied to a school, a community partnership, technical apprenticeship, or continuing education reveals many paths that lead down numerous avenues of inquiry—all relating back to the issues at hand. Sustainability, world health, and local environments are larger issues with multiple facets, with the potential to generate years’ worth of projects for students. We can use this approach to create a new model for learning that increases the motivation of students, supports teachers’ professional development, and engages community industry partners. It would be a system that prepares students for the future and serves us all far better.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:The benefits of addressing local or current problems in educationThe extraordinary results that come from partnering industry experts with educatorsCreating a new, problem-based model of education and learningRecalibrating our education system to be relevant to the future

Education starts from the moment we take our first breath, but we often only give it our full attention as kids get closer to their careers. Today we’re going to be talking about our littlest learners and how to prepare them for further education and their futures.Willowell Foundation’s “Wren’s Nest” program, a holistic, interdisciplinary, and sensory-based approach to learning, and a companion program to Willowell’s nationally-recognized outdoor high school program The Walden Project. The goal of Wren’s Nest is to foster students’ independence and an initial understanding of their interconnectedness with the whole world.Joining us are Tasha Ball, the administrative director of the Willowell Foundation, and Jen Olson, an early childhood educator and teacher at the Wren’s Nest. We talk about embracing kids’ natural curiosity and desire to explore, getting them immersed in nature, and how we can scale outdoor education.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:What Wren’s Nest does and how it worksThe value of learning outside the classroomTrusting kids to rise to their capabilitiesHow Willowell incorporates state-required learningScaling outdoor classroom programsResources:willowell.orgLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jennifer-olson-b7842384

Original summarization of the episode. Greet the reader and/or introduce the guest. Preview the person’s area of expertise, qualifications, accomplishments, or hook for being on the show. One sentence to connect relevant subject matter to the audience. Consider finishing with a list rounding out other included topics. Quick sign-off CTA. Educational, open-minded tone.Part of our core philosophy at Learning Unboxed and the PAST Foundation is how the current educational system fails to prepare students for the future of work. We spend a lot of time focused on the educational aspect of that, but we rarely get a chance to dive into the workplace.Marie Gervais is the CEO of SHIFT Management, which specializes in helping supervisors learn to lead with confidence by developing their people skills and supporting their teams in meeting business objectives effectively. We discuss the ways in which we consider how the workplace and education relate to each other and their futures.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:What it means to participate in the workforceThe diversity of the workplace and how to work collaborativelyGiving workers a sense of purposeThe importance of emotional regulationBringing students into your passionsResources:shiftworkplace.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leaderstrainingTwitter: @ShiftWorkPlace

There’s a severe disconnect between the preparation of students coming out of K-12 education and career success. Though the founders of the PAST Foundation each came from diverse areas of science, they each found they were seeing the same problem in students and young employees who worked in their labs: As intelligent as they were, when it came down to rolling up their sleeves and working there were some key skills and understandings that were missing. That is largely because the K-12 education system was rooted in a 19th-century factory-based model—one that is now obsolete. We need a complete overhaul of the system—so what’s that going to look like? Let’s discuss it together.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:Why our education system is failing usHow the PAST Foundation is bringing education closer to reflecting real lifeThe opportunity presented in wicked problems