Class Disrupted

In this episode, Michael jumped in the interviewer chair to ask Diane as an educator about how she’s treating the Biden administration’s announcement about requiring spring testing, how she thinks about the learning loss conversation, and why the school reopening question has become so fraught with emotion and tension. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-13-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2%20E13%20final.mp3

The mainstream media seems to be noticing, at last, that learning pods are popping up to serve low-income learners. Diane and Michael discuss whether the community organizations behind these pods might help transform the schooling system beyond the pandemic. Plus, the two ponder what does it mean that serving on the education committee in Congress is “not desirable.” https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-12-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2%20E12%20final.mp3

In Chicago, the district and union have sparred over the question of reopening. Michael and Diane explore a better approach to reopening and dive into how parents can navigate these challenging times—as well as how educators can make sure struggling readers get the support they need. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-11-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2%20E11%20final.mp3

Diane and Michael delve into the challenges that attempting to teach students in-person and remotely at the same time poses—and ponder if design thinking can help educators find a better way forward. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-10-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2%20E10%20final.mp3

With the naming of Miguel Cardona as President-elect Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Education and the arrival of vaccines, Diane and Michael break down the potential for a broader reset in schools. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-9-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2E9%20final.mp3

Diane and Michael wade into the hot-button topic of teachers’ unions for the first time in Class Disrupted. What role are they playing in school closures and reopenings—and how they can help or hinder innovation in schools? https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-8-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2E8%20final.mp3

Diane and Michael dig into the debate among educators around requiring students to turn on their video cameras during live classes, and ask whether policies that punish students for not having their cameras on miss a bigger set of opportunities. Speaking of opportunities, they discuss if we’re missing a big one by not encouraging mastery and deeper learning during the pandemic. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-7-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2E7%20final.mp3

Diane and Michael tackle the question of who the next secretary of education might be by starting with what the US Department of Education actually does. And in the wake of California’s announcement that it will shorten its annual tests by half, they debate how–and whether–annual testing should take place this spring. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-6-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2E6%20final.mp3

Diane talks through the considerations and challenges in reopening schools – and what that term even means – to help all stakeholders think through the central purpose of schooling and how we might measure success in this strange school year. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-5-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2E5%20final.mp3

Michael and Diane tackle the thorny – and often emotional – question of sports and schools in this latest episode, as well as how to think about a change GreatSchools made recently to its school rating formula to try and decouple a school’s rating from the income level and racial makeup of its students. https://archive.org/download/class-disrupted-s-2-e-4-final/Class%20Disrupted%20S2E4%20Final.mp3