Learning Unboxed

Humans think in story. Story is not just a way to connect with others, it’s how we connect to ourselves and how we navigate our world. At Just Bloom School, adults and children learn how to tap into their innate story-telling abilities to develop creativity and resilience. Head educator Sarah Lagrotteria joins us today to tell us more.Sarah has trained Special Ops members, business leaders, and third graders in how to think in story to come up with creative problem-solving solutions. She gives us an example of how she has kids come up with a kind of “Pokemon card” for someone who thinks differently than them, and then asks the kids to solve problems thinking like that person.Sarah explains that the ongoing practice of story-based creativity leads to significant results in individuals’ self-efficacy and resilience. Individuals feel confident that they can come up with several different solutions to fix a problem rather than giving up after one.We discuss how this kind of creativity education can be integrated in schools, afterschool programs, and summer camps.  To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:Story as a mode of thinkingDeveloping creativity from story-based thinkingHow creativity increases resilience Resources:Sign up for the Bloom & Grow NewsletterContact Sarah at Just Bloom Produced by NOVA Media

The traditional educational ecosystem is not built to reflect kids’ lived experiences and development. It has almost arbitrary divisions: School, after school, and summer; school districts and nonprofits; test scores and behavior. Byron Sanders and Big Thought want to change that ecosystem.Big Thought is a Dallas-based organization that creates youth programming, convenes other educational organizations, and consults on best practices. Through experiential learning, they provide kids from marginalized communities the opportunities they need to identify and pursue their passions, build 21st skills, and exercise their agency.Byron explains everything in terms of an ecosystem: How direct youth feedback of programs eventually impacts systems change, how creating more opportunities for youth changes the way they interact with the current system, etc. How he talks about our field might just change the way you look at everything.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:How youth’s program feedback should inform advocacy for systems changeWhy skills should supplement gradesUnderstanding the education as an ecosystem Resources:Learn more at BigThought.orgRead “Ecosystems for the Future of Learning” report commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of TeachingProduced by NOVA Media

Lesley Slaughter’s job as Senior Vice President of Soliant is to examine how to close the gap between the number of healthcare professionals and the increasing number of patients requiring care. Recently she has been focusing on school settings as the location of care and health professionals like speech pathologists, sign language interpreters, special ed teachers, etc.According to a survey conducted by Soliant, 50% of these school-based professionals were considering leaving their field altogether. At the same time, 90% of schools believe that the number of students with IEPs will continue to increase, and 26% of students will need some kind of mental or behavioral health counseling by 2028.So how do we retain these professionals in the education setting? Lesley’s research has led her to some suggestions. One is to allow professionals to remote work when appropriate. Another is to allow more professionals to be contract-based instead of district employees, allowing them more autonomy and flexibility.We dive into these solutions and discuss how we can better think about and act on this topic.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:Causes of burnout in school-based health professionalsOngoing impacts of COVID on studentsThe importance of agility and autonomy for professionalsProduced by NOVA Media

Getting to see a live wild animal up close beats staring at a screen for just about anybody, big or small. Our guests today have witnessed that firsthand and are building out their family education program based on it. We are joined today by Seth Oglesby and Susan Zelinski from Arc of Appalachia’s Nature is Neat program. They are in the early growing stages of the South-Central Ohio program, bringing on more volunteer naturalists and a full-time education coordinator. Their passion is palpable.We dive into all the segments they include in their once-a-month programming: An activity, interactive learning, themed hikes, meeting a live animal, and a craft kids can take home to continue their learning. They emphasize that the program is for the whole family, creating meaningful moments of nature immersion and learning that will have a long term impact on everyone.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:How nature lends itself to immersive learningThe power of volunteer naturalists in educationCreating a program that is great for kids and parents alikeResources:Learn more about Nature is NeatProduced by NOVA Media

Play is powerful. Not only is it critical to the individual development of children, but it can create schoolwide cultures of inclusion, celebration, and healthy conflict resolution. No one knows this better than our guest on the show today, Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks. For almost 30 years, Playworks has worked to give kids a safe, healthy, inclusive recess experience. They partner with schools, starting with a Great Recess Framework evaluation. Then they place Playworks staff at the schools for recess, implementing the basics: Rock, paper, scissors as a conflict resolution tool; high fives; and positive language coming from adults. Plus, they train near-peer mentors as Junior Coaches, allowing kids to shine as leaders at their school.Beyond discussing the importance of play, both for kids and adults, we also dive into Playworks’ approach to sharing its practices with other organizations. Often nonprofits hesitate to share their “secret sauce” with other nonprofits, not wanting to risk their piece of the funding pie. Elizabeth explains how, for the sake of helping as many kids as possible, Playworks moved past this.In fact, you can check out Playworks’ free YouTube resources after you listen to the show!To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:How recess can set the tone for the whole dayThe basics norms Playworks establishes for recesses Why Playworks now makes its practices available to other organizationsResources:Watch hundreds of instructional game videos on the Playworks YouTube channelTake the Recess Checkup at RecessLab.orgProduced by NOVA Media

Tom Thorpe, co-founder of the REDI Lab at Colorado Academy, dives into the evolution of a unique educational model designed to enhance student autonomy. He shares the journey of creating a community-focused learning environment where over 100 students each year chart their own paths. Key topics include fostering self-empathy and self-discovery, the critical balance of teacher and student agency, and the value of process over product in learning. Tom's insights merge real-world experience with innovative pedagogy to inspire future educators.

If a student misses even a single building block in their math education, they will struggle in future lessons. In math, every concept builds on itself. That’s why developing an excellent math curriculum is so critical… and so difficult.Today our guests are Tammy and Marc Goldberg, education innovators with Mathnasium. They’ve helped the company revamp its curriculum to help both instructors and students. Every concept is broken down into sequential pieces. Instructors assess where the student needs to (re)start, and each student gets all the time and individualized attention they need until they master that building block. But that kind of individualization can be hard to come by in traditional education systems. We discuss the challenges of creating math curriculums in schools. But Tammy and Marc do have some suggestions for a path forward: Get rid of timed number fact tests. Treat math like we treat reading in the early grades. Use precise language when teaching concepts. Tune in for this tough, but important conversation.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:How math concepts build on themselvesThe emotional and social stigmas attached to struggling in mathKey changes that could make a big difference in math curriculumsResources:Learn more at Mathnasium.com/Mathnasium-MethodProduced by NOVA Media

Christian Martinez knows firsthand what it’s like to be a young immigrant in America: The language barrier, financial stress, feeling alone and hopeless. That’s why he does what he does today. Christian is the founder and community innovator for The Camino Program and he’s our guest on the show today.Christian tells us  about the Camino program, not just what it does, but how it makes its participants feel. The program offers support in professional development, mental health, peer support, and career navigation for teens transitioning into adulthood. While it’s only four months long, it’s just the jumpstart of creating a lifelong network.The most important impact of the program is one that’s hard to measure, but is foundational to success: Hope. The Camino is literally “a path forward” for youth who have finally found a place where they can connect.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:How immigrant youth experience disconnectionThe critical importance of hopeMeeting youth where they are at– especially when they’re not at schoolResources:Learn more at CaminoProgram.orgFollow the Camino Program on Instagram: @CaminoProgramProduced by NOVA Media

In 2015, Norris School District came to Johnna Noll with a learner-centered educational consultant’s dream request. The tiny school district’s residential population consisted of a treatment center for kids, and it asked Johnna to help it transform into a learner-centered, trauma-invested, constantly evolving program. Of course, she said yes.  Johnna joins the show today to tell us about what the school district has built. It uses a very clear learning design process: Profile, Plan, Pathway, Progress, and Proof. Students create their own unique learning paths based on their hobbies, talents, and interests. Then it’s up to the learning specialists to make sure academic competencies are tied into it.The foundation of the entire learning environment is students and staff deeply learning about each other, building agency and confidence. From there students are connected to resources in the community to learn about what they are specifically interested in. We also talk about how truly empowering students and staff goes hand-in-hand with scaling up. Authentic success stories for students and communities, plus a healthy workplace for educators, is necessary to sustain the growth rate needed to one day benefit all students across the state, country, and world.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:Building student and staff profiles Tying academic competencies in with community-based learningChanging job descriptions and workplace policies to support learner-centered educationResources:Learn more at NorrisAcademyWI.orgProduced by NOVA Media

How do you even begin to create systems change in education? Our guest today is Rob Collins. He manages the Innovative Learning Network in the Kentucky Department of Education. Rob gives us a peek into what systems change looks like right now for the state of Kentucky.  We dive into the teaching initiatives that the Kentucky Department of Education is undertaking in this area. Rob tells us about how the Innovative Learning Network provides institutional support and learning opportunities for school leaders and teachers. For example the network has brought in PBLWorks, a community organization, to successfully train a third of Kentocuky teachers on project-based learning.We also cover efforts to change assessment and accountability. For example, two districts in Kentucky now release accountability dashboards along with state test scores to show there’s more to education achievement than standardized exams. Also, at the state level, there’s now a Kentucky United We Learn Council that includes legislators in exploratory discussions.Changing systems happens across different levels and through different dynamics. Rob’s stories are excellent examples we can all learn from as we try to change the education system around us.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgWe unbox:What diverse stakeholders want out of the education systemProviding organizational structure while encouraging free-form growth among leaders in education innovation The importance of connecting innovative educators so they don’t feel like they are on an islandResources:Learn more at Kentucky’s Innovative Learning Network Produced by NOVA Media