Getting Smart Podcast

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by our recent publication Green Pathways, and makes the case for why ALL pathways need sustainability and green embedded. Find out more here.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined again by Navid Nathoo, a former guest on the podcast. Navid joined us a few years ago to discuss The Knowledge Society, (TKS), one of the most revolutionary problem-based high school supplements that we've seen. This time we're also joined by two TKS Learners, Theodore and Rachel. The group joins us from a sustainability summit in Switzerland.  Theodore is a 15 year old that is focused on solutions to the climate crisis. This has led him to work on climate tech projects in the lithium-ion battery space: working with a PH.D. student on her project of using ultra micro electrodes to increase the ionic conductivity of lithium-ion batteries at University of Quebec (UQAM) battery research labs. Rachel is a 16-year-old activator at The Knowledge Society (TKS), with a deep interest in CRISPR and crop improvement. She is passionate about leveraging agritech to improve agricultural productivity in developing countries.  Links:  Student Episode Foremer Episode with Navid TKS Future Class Villars Institute

Are you interested in attending one of the field's largest gatherings of K-12 education innovators? The Aurora Institute Symposium 2023 promises community, lessons about education innovation from the field, and the latest research and policy to support education transformation. Find out more here.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Kelly Smith, CEO and Founder of Prenda and author of the great new book A Fire to be Kindled: How a Generation of Empowered Learners Can Lead Meaningful Lives and Move Humanity Forward. Links: A Fire to be Kindled Description Prenda Kelly Smith Linkedin Amazon Link KindlED Podcast episode about the book

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is brought to you by our recent publication Green Pathways, and makes the case for why ALL pathways need sustainability and green embedded. Find out more here.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by repeat guest Jamie Merisotis, CEO of Lumina Foundation, a foundation committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We spoke with Jamie in 2020 right after the publication of Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines. Links: Lumina Foundation Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines Diverse Teams Smart Tools Blog National Council for Workforce Education

On the recent Getting Smart Town Hall, we were joined by NGLC to discuss their recent report focused on what comes after a school district adopts a Portrait of a Graduate. We also featured two of the educators highlighted in the report, not to mention countless others in our audience who are doing important work on the subject.  These districts have been hard at work on aligning to their Portrait and ensuring that it is a living, breathing document and they had great ideas for how to keep revisiting, revising and ensuring that it is relevant to all stakeholders.  Links:  Mentions in Chat Recap Blog

Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS, and Tim Knowles, 10th president of the Carnegie Foundation, discuss rethinking assessment and measurement in education. They explore the need for a skills-based approach, addressing inequities, building portraits of graduates, and measuring skills that matter. They highlight the importance of flexibility, quick feedback, and a shared understanding of educational activities.

Are you interested in attending one of the field's largest gatherings of K-12 education innovators? The Aurora Institute Symposium 2023 promises community, lessons about education innovation from the field, and the latest research and policy to support education transformation. Find out more here.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Nate McClennen is joined by Amit Sevak, the CEO of ETS, the largest private educational assessment organization in the world and Tim Knowles, the 10th president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Both Amit and Tim are long-term education leaders and entrepreneurs who have focused their careers on creating better opportunities for more people through education.  Together, they have formed a new partnership to rethink assessment and measurement.  Links: ETS ETS Team Page Carnegie Foundation Timothy Knowles Press Release about Partnership Mastery Transcript Consortium

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by a high school student Sabrina Zhang. We are also joined by Jack Prater, one of Sabrina's teachers at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, California. They recently collaborated as a mentor/mentee team in The Earth Prize competition, a $200k global competition for students to create solutions to climate-related challenges.  Links:  Interview with Jack Agrivision The Earth Prize Polytechnic Institute Sabrina's Blog

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is a part of our New Pathways campaign. In partnership with American Student Assistance® (ASA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stand Together and the Walton Foundation, the New Pathways campaign will question education's status quo and propose new methods of giving students a chance to experience success in what's next.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, New Pathways Senior Fellow Trace Pickering is joined by Jim Bailey, Director and Co-founder of Rock Tree Sky, a self-directed learning center in Ojai, California. Rock Tree Sky provides learner-centered, experiential education space where learners and mentors are supported to follow their unique learning journey. Rock Tree Sky cultivates an inclusive learning community with a goal of developing the whole self through learning in relationship with others. Links: Rock Tree Sky Education Reimagined Free to Learn - Peter Gray John Holt John Dewey Iowa Big Karen Pittman and Gary Briggs Getting Smart Podcast Piaget

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is a part of our New Pathways campaign. In partnership with American Student Assistance® (ASA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stand Together and the Walton Foundation, the New Pathways campaign will question education's status quo and propose new methods of giving students a chance to experience success in what's next.  On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, we have some returning guests from Notre Dame de Sion. We spoke to these students last year before they went on a transformational trip to Kenya. It was so nice to have Mary, Suzanne, Claire and Ginger back on the podcast.  Links: Previous podcast with Sion Students Notre Dame de Sion Global Impacts EduCatered: Emilie Lai EduCatered: Gabby Dedrick Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

This episode is supported by our recent Artificial Intelligence publication which focuses on the ways in which AI is shaping teaching, leading and learning. On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Nate McClennen is joined by Karema Akilah, founder of the Genius School, Genii DAO and Geniiverse. We met Karema at ASU+GSV and were struck by her creative "genius" in pulling together homeschools, Web3, metaverse worlds and all around commitment to learner agency, purpose and difference making. Links: LinkedIn Personal Site Genii DAO Site Genii DAO Twitter Genius School - Decentralized, Democratic, Self-Directed Robert Kiyosaki, Cash Flow 101 What Can Decentralized Organizations Accomplish in Education? Raising Free People - Akilah Richards Raising Free People Book John Holt - Unschooling