Learning Unboxed

Today, we’re talking about the role of invention in education – and why design thinking and problem-based learning should, ultimately, have a much greater role in our classrooms than they currently do.To illustrate the value of invention, we invited two amazing guests, Robin Hilsmeier and Jim Bruner, to discuss how the Ohio Invention League gives students the opportunity to practice design thinking by creating, marketing, and pitching solutions to societal problems.We describe the Invention League, as well as the national Invention Convention program, in detail in the episode, but Jim provides a wonderful explanation that will help you understand the high-level concept: “Invention Convention is a science fair with purpose. The kids have to create something that is an answer to a problem; it's a product, and then they sell, market, and promote that product with data.”To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at inventionleague.orgRobin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinhilsmeierJim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimbruner/Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

On Learning Unboxed, we like to share case studies of the projects and programs that are revolutionizing education; great new ideas that have already been tested, the lessons that we've learned along the way, and where there are opportunities for other communities to do similar things as they think about education. That’s why, today, we are excited to introduce you to Energy4Learning, a program that transforms school buildings into learning tools by leveraging real energy data to engage students in problem-based learning. Joining the show to teach us about this new program is Ryan Prestel and Kat Deaner. Ryan is the co-founder and CEO of JadeTrack, a cloud-based analytics platform powering some of the world’s most robust energy and sustainability programs. They empower stakeholders – and, for this program, students – to create impact by making complex energy usage data simple. Kat is PAST’s very own Director of School Design and Online Learning, and she leads all the efforts associated with school transformation projects, including Energy4Learning. To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org Resources: Learn more about Energy4Learning Check out www.jadetrack.com JadeTrack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jadetrack  JadeTrack Twitter: https://twitter.com/jade_track Kat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-deaner/ Download the Comprehensive Sustainability Tracking Handout Download the JadeTrack Product Sheet  Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

I’m often asked question about internships for high school students, so it’s clear that the subject is top of mind in many schools, communities, businesses, and industries. So, in this episode, I want to shine a spotlight on a partnership that exemplifies the benefits of high school internships, for both students and businesses, and encourage other communities to adopt a similar model.Joining us are Meka Pace, the Executive Director and Superintendent of the Metro Schools network, and Vanessa Jester, the Workforce Development Manager at Turner Construction.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more about Metro’s Learning Labs: https://www.themetroschool.org/about/learning-centers/Meka on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meka-pace-48309285/Meka on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mekapaceVanessa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-jester-a41172106/Read: “Take 5 Steps to Find an Internship During High School”STEM Industry Council (SInC): http://www.sinccentralohio.org/Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Dr. Kimberlee Kiehl is a passionate supporter of education in the Columbus area, and she has been for a number of years. She actually started a career in formal education, but she left to focus on informal education – and that’s what makes her the perfect person to teach us about how informal education spaces are disrupting the education world and how teachers can utilize local resources and opportunities in the everyday classroom. Dr. Kiehl currently serves as Senior Vice President of Operations and Experience at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, which she claims is “the best science museum in the world” (and we might be a little biased, but we’re inclined to agree). To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org Resources: COSI: https://www.cosi.org/ Big Science Celebration (FREE on May 4, 2019): https://cosiscifest.org/bsc/ The 95 Percent Solution: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-95-percent-solution  Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Josh Bernstein and Mike Schott are responsible for an awesome new program designed to get kids excited about science: Explorer At Large.Their mission is to engage, inspire, and educate PreK-12 students around the world with standards-driven content that sparks curiosity, playfulness, and wonder. XAL is now placing its educational content in school systems around the country, with help from partners like the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and we can’t wait to share what they’re doing with all of you. To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org Resources: Learn more at https://www.exploreratlarge.com schottfoundation.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exploreratlarge Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exploreratlarge  Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Giving students more experience solving real-world problems is critical to their development as future problem solvers, and that’s why the Ohio Stem Learning Network hosts statewide design challenges. This year, OSLN is asking students to imagine, prototype, and design a solution to food insecurity in their life, community, or world.Luckily, we have two amazing women joining us to unbox this huge topic: Heather Sherman and Jeanne Gogolski. Heather is the Director of Ohio's STEM Learning Network and Stem Relationship Manager for Battelle Education and Jeanne is the Founding Partner of educationprojects.org, one of the industry partners for this year’s challenge.Follow @OSLN on Twitter for updates as they visit many of the students and classrooms tackling this challenge. You can also follow the hashtag #STEMFeedsOhio to see what students are coming up with, and if you’re participating, we’d love you to use the hashtag so we can see what you’re working on, too!To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more & sign up at sign up www.osln.org/designTwitter: @OSLNEducationProjects.orgAgriculture resources for teachers: GrowNextGen.org | Feed the World Ohio |  Feed the World Nebraska | ohiocornandwheat.orgLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

One of the things that we love here at the PAST Foundation is having the opportunity to watch incredible young adults learn and grow; these amazing students are rock stars in our eyes, and giving them a space to stretch their wings is one of the most rewarding experiences we have.And today, we want to introduce you to three of the rockstars that lead the Metrobots, Metro Early College High School’s (MECHS) FRC robotics team. Metrobots and several other robotics teams are housed at the PAST Innovation Lab, one of several co-created learning labs hosted at PAST.We want to introduce you all to: Fatima Bainazar, a senior from Metro Early College and the project manager for the Metrobots; Melissa Olvera, a senior at Metro and the Administrative Project Manager for the Metrobots; and Elizabeth Drake, a junior at Metro who is interested in mechanical integration and engineering.Collectively, these three ladies represent students from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, opportunities, and passions – just like Metro Early College.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Metrobots: https://www.3324metrobots.orgStart A FIRST Robotics Team: https://www.pastfoundation.org/start-a-first-robotics-teamLearn more about Metro: https://www.themetroschool.orgLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Today’s guest is an educator, a counselor, a researcher, an author, an advocate, a mentor, a creative thinker, a community changer, an amazing entrepreneur, and a change agent in the lives of girls around the country. Dr. Lisa Hinkelman has spent nearly fifteen years researching girls and educating counselors as both as a professor at The Ohio State University and as the founder and CEO of Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX), and we are so happy to have her on the show.We know that there won’t be a better future without the practitioners who are on the ground day-to-day, in schools, working with kids, getting folks ready to be the next great citizens in our world – but they need to know about the great case studies that can inform practices and decision-making on the local level. We need people to guide conversations about teaching, learning, and the future of work, and, certainly, Dr. Hinkelman and ROX are part of that.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at https://rulingourexperiences.com/ The Girls’ Index: New Insights Into the Complex World of Today’s Girls Girls Without Limits: Helping Girls Achieve Healthy Relationships, Academic Success, and Interpersonal StrengthLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Stacie Boord and Nick Wilson join us to unbox Shadowbox Live, a non-profit performance troupe whose top managers also operate as the primary creators, producers, and performers for their self-produced shows.As we think about learning through a new paradigm, Shadowbox Live represents an amazing story mechanism that not only brings the arts alive, but more importantly, takes the ethos of the arts industry and demonstrates what the entire ecosystem can bring to bear, across multiple careers. For over 20 years, this creative force has produced world-class productions, including original rock operas, traditional musicals, fine art exhibits, contemporary dance, and video.We unbox:What was Stacie thinking when she helped start ShadowboxCreating diverse art with a rock aesthetic: ballsy, uninhibited, courageous, and boldWhen Shadowbox started giving back to and supporting the communityCollaborating with Metro Early College High School (which you might recognize from episode two) to bring arts into the STEM schoolNick first encountered Shadowbox in high school... and then never left!How Nick’s experiences at Shadowbox translate back into his educational journeySTEM Rocks the Box: an opportunity for students to get field experience as a performing artistWhat Stacie and Nick have learned from working with studentsThe broad impact this program has had and can have on all types of educational programsThe next iteration of education: what’s possible and what might it look like?Resources:Learn more at http://www.shadowboxlive.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shadowboxlive/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShadowboxLiveTwitter: https://twitter.com/ShadowboxLiveYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ShadowboxLiveVideoLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

21st century education is a very different beast than the education of the past because our world is vastly different, and the pace of change just keeps increasing. As as result, we have to take a very different approach to learning if we want to prepare our children to thrive in the digital age.So today, we talk to Jeff McClellan, the Founding Director of StartSOLE, an organization that is transforming education through SOLE (Self-Organized Learning Environments).SOLE is a process-based approach to education, as opposed to results-based, that helps prepare students for success in today’s era of technology and information. By providing an early intervention in education, SOLE can level the academic playing field and increase equity among all students, while helping kids develop the skills they they need for a modern digital society.We unbox:What education should be preparing students for and, at the end of the day, what our true purpose is as educatorsTurning the city of Cleveland into the campus for a STEM high schoolJeff’s uncanny ability to hire exceptional staff and how he makes those decisionsThe difficulty many organizations have had implementing project-based learning, mastery-based grading, and other new approaches to education (and how StartSOLE makes those things easier to implement)How you can take small chunks of these newer educational design philosophies and integrate them into more traditional educational environmentsThe essence of StartSOLE and its broad applications in the education spaceHow StartSOLE allows teachers to do the thing that they’re already doing, but betterWhere resources should be allocated for future educationJob-ready skills: creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaborationResources:Get the free StartSOLE app: https://startsole.org/StartSOLE on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StartSOLEJeff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-mcclellan-509b6959/Watch: “Kids can teach themselves” by Sugata MitraLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio