TeachLab Presents The Homework Machine

To support teachers in the midst of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, TeachLab is switching our focus to highlight tools and strategies for effective teaching during this time. Today we talk with Michael Pershan. He is a New York City math teacher at one of the first schools in the country to shut down in the face of COVID-19. At his school, the goal was to transition fully to synchronous distance learning. Michael joins Justin Reich to discuss what we know about online and distance learning, and what's feasible for a math teacher to do.Michael’s experience and challenges in the midst of CoronavirusHow to create a base for kids to keep learningIssues of synchronous online learningAlternative methods of distance learningLooking at the needs of different age groups and those who need extra supportEquity issues around access and technology Strategy and planning in the midst of emergencies About Our Guest: Michael PershanMichael Pershan is an elementary, middle and high school teacher in NYC. Learn more about Micheal on Twitter @mpershan You can read about Michael’s professional history here and check out some of his writing here. Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/michael-pershan/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyRecorded by Justin Reich and Michael PershanEdited by Aimee CorriganMixed by Garrett Beazley Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Dr. Meira Levinson is a normative political philosopher, writer, and Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Meira joins Justin Reich to discuss an emerging field of educational ethics, what that means in the classroom, and just how nontrivial that can be in practice.  “So as you start sort of peeling back the onion of the data, you think... I don't know if it's even possible to compare this charter with this district in terms of quality. And on the other hand, in some ways, we need to, right?”Educational Ethics in practiceSystem vs. Teacher level / Teacher DemoralizationScenarios of ethical dilemmas for teachersMassachusetts Charter School expansionEthics of Technology and Data in Educationjusticeinschools.org / Bringing their work into practiceDiscovering differences in values About Our Guest: Dr. Meira LevinsonDr. Meira Levinson is a normative political philosopher, writer, and Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She writes about civic education, multiculturalism, youth empowerment, and educational ethics. In doing so, she draws upon scholarship from multiple disciplines as well as her eight years of experience teaching in the Atlanta and Boston Public Schools. Her most recent books include the co-edited Making Civics Count (Harvard Education Press, 2012) and No Citizen Left Behind (Harvard University Press, 2012).  In 2013, No Citizen Left Behind was awarded the Michael Harrington Award from the American Political Science Association, the Exemplary Research in Social Studies Award from the National Council for the Social Studies, and a Critics Choice Award from the American Educational Studies Association. It also won the 2014 North American Society for Social Philosophy Book Award. Levinson fosters civic education scholarship at Harvard as co-convener of HGSE's Civic and Moral Education Initiative. Additional Resources for Teachers and other ListenersRead Meira Levinson’s No Citizen Left Behind along with several other publicationsavailable on AmazonLearn more about Meira Levinson’s work the Harvard Graduate School of Education Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/meira-levinson/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded by Garrett BeazleyMixed by Corey SchreppelFilmed by Denez McAdoo Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Rich Milner, Educator, Scholar and Author of the book “Start Where You Are, But Don’t Stay There: Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms", joins Justin Reich in a powerful conversation on how to help educators work for equity for all students. Rich encourages teachers, "If you're going to engage work that is transformative, if you're going to engage work that meets the needs of every young person with whom you work, then you've got to consider race".Rich’s Teaching HistoryOpportunity Gaps and Opportunity Centered TeachingDeficit MindsetColorblindnessMyth of MeritocracyContext Neutral MindsetsUnderstanding Cultural Conflicts About Our Guest: Dr. Rich MilnerRich Milner is the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education and Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Professor Milner began his career at Vanderbilt University where he was appointed Lois Autrey Betts Associate Professor of Education and Associate Professor of Education in the Departments of Teaching and Learning and, by courtesy, Associate Professor of Leadership, Policy and Organizations as well as founding director of the graduate program, Learning, Diversity and Urban Studies at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, in 2008, he became the first Black person to earn promotion and tenure in the entire College of Education’s history. His research, teaching and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education, African American literature, and the social context of education. In particular, Professor Milner’s research examines practices and policies that support teacher effectiveness in urban schools. Additional Resources for Teachers and other Listeners Read Rich Milner’s book, recently released in an updated second edition. “Start Where You Are, But Don’t Stay There: Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms" (Second Edition). Available by Harvard Education Press, on Amazon and at your local bookseller. Learn more about Rich Milner’s work at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/rich-milner/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded by Garrett BeazleyMixed by Corey SchreppelFilmed by Denez McAdoo Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Neema Avashia, a Civics teacher in the Boston Public Schools, joins Justin Reich to discuss the power of bringing real-world challenges into the classroom. We hear how Neema and her students rallied the community to challenge the closing of their school, McCormack Middle in Dorchester, and won. Neema speaks to the importance of empowering students to express themselves, and shares some of her best classroom moves.Neema’s Personal and Teaching BackgroundBringing complex issues into the classroomUsing student choice as entry points“Jeremiah Option”Identity in the classroomAddressing conflicts in difficult civic conversationsRestorative PracticesThreat to Close the the McCormack Middle SchoolUsing civics to address the real problemStudents expressing their motivation and talentsBalancing activism and curriculumConnecting with students and the community About Our Guest: Neema AvashiaNeema Avashia has been a Civics teacher in the Boston Public Schools, since 2003, and was recognized as city wide Educator of the Year in 2013. A graduate from Carnegie Mellon in 2001, Avashia has written and performed for The Moth Story Slam, and has become a powerful voice on WBUR’s Cognoscenti, where she has published work about the urgent issues of our time, including, “My Parents May Be Acceptable Immigrants, But None of Us Is Safe” which looks at a violent crime against an immigrant in the midwest, and “Newton North High School: Talking To Students When A Symbol Of Racial Hatred Is Unfurled Close To Home” She has also published work in The Aerogram, and in Eat, Darling, Eat. When not working on essays about inequity in education and racism, Avashia writes about the complexity of growing up Indian in West Virginia. Additional Resources for Teachers and other Listenershttps://www.neemaavashia.com/my-writing - Check out Neema’s published writinghttps://www.dotnews.com/2019/mccormack-leadership-academy-would-merge-under-bps-plan - The latest news on the McCormack Middle School Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/neema-avashia/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded by Garrett BeazleyMixed by Corey SchreppelFilmed by Denez McAdoo Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Dr. Liz Self, Assistant Professor of the Practice at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development joins Justin Reich on TeachLab. They discuss Liz’s early teaching experiences, racial equity in the classroom, and Liz’s current work where she uses clinical simulations to help teachers practice for challenging situations in teaching.Liz’s early teaching experiencesSimulations for pre-service teachersRecognizing the actual problemLarge reflection processVariety of simulation scenariosHow students of different backgrounds react to these scenariosWhat’s the next step? About Our Guest: Liz SelfDr. Liz Self is Assistant Professor of the Practice at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Her current research focuses on designing and using clinical simulations, to prepare preservice teachers for culturally responsive teaching. These instructional tools help teachers recognize their assumptions, biases, and prejudices within the context of systems of oppression. Additional Resources for Teachers and other Listenershttps://my.vanderbilt.edu/elizabethself/about-me/ - Learn more about Liz Self’s workhttps://www.amazon.com/Pushout-Criminalization-Black-Girls-Schools/dp/1620970945 - Check out Monique Morris’ book mentioned in the episode Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/liz-self/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded by Garrett BeazleyMixed by Corey SchreppelFilmed by Denez McAdoo Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone joins Justin Reich to discuss fighting intergenerational poverty for inner-city children, the approach Harlem Children’s Zone is taking, and how you have to address the entire context of the child, not just their academics.Baby College in HarlemHarlem Education PipelineEquity mindset in HarlemBalancing academics with life servicesJob Description/TeachingCreating a Learning Environment in Harlem About Our Guest: Geoffrey CanadaHaving worked with the Harlem Children’s Zone® for more than 30 years, Geoffrey Canada is renowned around the world for his pioneering work helping children and families in Harlem, and as a thought leader and passionate advocate for education reform.From 1990 to 2014, Mr. Canada served as the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Harlem Children’s Zone, which The New York Times called “one of the most ambitious social-policy experiments of our time.” In 2011, Mr. Canada was named to the TIME 100 list of most influential people in the world and, in March 2014, was named one of Fortune’s 50 greatest leaders in the world. As of July 1, 2014, Mr. Canada stepped down as CEO, handing the reins to COO Anne Williams-Isom. He continues to serve as President of the HCZ and Promise Academy Boards, and a board member of the XQ Institute. Additional Resources for Teachers and other Listenershttps://hcz.org/ - Learn more about the Harlem Children’s Zonehttps://xqsuperschool.org/ - Learn more about the XQ Institutehttps://youtu.be/vY2l2xfDBcE - Geoffrey Canada on TED Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/geoffrey-canada/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded and Mixed by Garrett BeazleyFilmed by Daymian Meija Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Milly Arbaje-Thomas joins Justin Reich to discuss the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO), a voluntary school integration program in Boston, Massachusetts. They’ll focus on METCO’s mission, its underlying values, and Milly’s personal experience with the program as a former METCO parent and as its current CEO.Milly’s personal experience with METCOMETCO’s current workRestorative JusticeTeacher Diversity About Our Guest: Milly Arbaje-ThomasMilly Arbaje-Thomas is the CEO of METCO, which is a voluntary school integration program here in Boston. Prior, Milly managed neighborhood antipoverty programs at Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) for 15 years. As Deputy Director of ABCD Field Operations she provided leadership to 14 neighborhood sites and is credited with transforming those sites into integrated, full-service case management organizations serving the low-income community. Additional Resources for Teachers and other Listenershttps://metcoinc.org/ - Learn more about METCOhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I65Ru4ZM9c - WGBH segment on METCO fundinghttps://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/02/18/metco-students-outperforming-those-bps-charter-schools/W4jpFqnOSFxbdvsJu30jXN/story.html - Recent article about METCO performance Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/milly-arbaje-thomas/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded and Mixed by Garrett BeazleyFilmed by Denez McAdoo Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

Dr. Ilana Horn joins Justin Reich to discuss finding the strengths in every student, listening more closely to student thinking, and finding ways to shift curriculum from “school math” to the kind of math that’s both more engaging to students and closer to what real mathematicians do. Dr. Horn offers a slew of concrete strategies for teachers and teacher educators, from roster audits, to “becoming invisible” to mediated field experiences.Making math interesting for kidsAddressing context variables in mathAsset Framing your studentsMathematics vs. “School Math” valuesWorking with in-service teachers About Our Guest: Dr. Ilana HornIlana Seidel Horn is Professor of Mathematics Education at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, where her research and teaching center on ways to make authentic mathematics accessible to students, particularly those who have historically been disenfranchised by our educational system. She is the author of Motivated: Designing Math Classrooms Where Students Want to Join In and Strength in Numbers: Collaborative Learning in Secondary Mathematics. Additional Resources for Teachers and other ListenersMotivated: Designing Math Classrooms Where Students Want to Join In - Read Dr. Ilana Horn’s Bookhttp://ilanahorn.com/#bio - Learn more about Dr. Horn’s workAn Asset-Orientation is Everything - Watch Dr. Ilana Horn’s lecture Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/ilana-horn/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded and Mixed by Garrett BeazleyFilmed by Denez McAdoo Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

José Luis Vilson joins Justin Reich to discuss how to connect with your students, what it means to be a teacher of color, and the mission of EduColor, a movement and organization that Vilson co-founded to elevate the voices of public school advocates of color on educational equity and justice.José tells us about how he connects with students early in the school yearTeacher advocacy work as a person of colorHow to scaffold questions with your students with three tiersGuiding step by stepSurfacing opinions and observationsEncouraging students to discover the underlying questionNavigating how to co-teachTeaching in an unfamiliar environmentMission of EduColor About Our Guest: Jose VilsonJosé Luis Vilson is a full-time math teacher, writer, speaker, and activist in New York City, NY. He is the author of This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education. He has spoken about education, math, and race for a number of organizations and publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, TED, El Diario / La Prensa and The Atlantic. He's a National Board Certified teacher, a Math for America Master Teacher, and the executive director of EduColor, an organization dedicated to race and social justice issues in education. Additional Resources for Teachers and other ListenersThis is Not a Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education - Read Jose Vilson’s book published in 2014https://thejosevilson.com/ - Learn more about Vilson’s work https://www.educolor.org/ - Learn more about EDUCOLOR No conversation about education without teacher voice | TED-Ed - Check out José Vilson’s presentation for TED-Ed Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/jose-luis-vilson/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Aimee Corrigan and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Kate EllisRecorded and Mixed by Garrett BeazleyFilmed by Daymian Meija Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube

In TeachLab’s first episode, our host Justin Reich has a powerful conversation with renowned author, psychologist and educator Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. Dr. Tatum shares some of the stories that inspired her bestselling book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race and offers tips for addressing the ongoing challenges of racial issues in classrooms and schools.Dr. Tatum encourages teachers to take the first step in tackling racism by talking about it, because “if we can’t talk about it, we can’t fix it”.Dr. Tatum says that all of us can take a leadership role in making institutions more sensitive towards inclusivity by using her ABCs of leadershipAffirming IdentityBuilding CommunityCultivating LeadershipDr. Tatum tells us that there is value in sitting together with those of a shared identity, and it’s not necessarily a problem “So I often say, let's worry less about who's sitting where during the break times, and think about what's happening inside the classroom. Are there opportunities inside the classroom to help kids navigate those differences?”She shares stories of how ignoring identity and engaging in color blindness is not helpful. “One father said it really bothered him when teachers said they treated all the kids the same. His response to that was always, 'The same as what?'" About Our Guest: Dr. Beverly Daniel TatumDr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College, is a developmental psychologist, administrator and educator who has conducted research and written several books on the topic of racism, including the recently published 20th anniversary edition of her bestselling book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race. A thought-leader in higher education, she was the 2013 recipient of the Carnegie Academic Leadership Award and the 2014 recipient of the American Psychological Association Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology. Dr. Tatum holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, a M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from University of Michigan, and a M.A. in Religious Studies from Hartford Seminary. About Our Host: Justin ReichJustin Reich is an educational researcher passionate about the future of learning in a networked world. He is an Assistant Professor in the Comparative Media Studies/Writing department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, where Justin and his team design, implement, and research the future of teacher learning. Justin’s writings have appeared in Science, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Educational Researcher, the Washington Post, Inside Higher Ed, the Christian Science Monitor, Education Week, and other publications. Justin's favorite hobbies are spending time outside hiking, climbing, and boating with his wife and two school-aged daughters. He has a new book on education technology forthcoming this fall from Harvard University Press. Additional ResourcesWhy Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race – Read Dr. Tatum’s book updated and reissued in 2017.ROPES – This blog post describes a protocol for collaboratively creating shared rules and expectations for the classroom. It could also be used to kick off challenging conversations with educators.“White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism” – Dr. Tatum recommended teachers read Dr. Robin DiAngelo; this article provides pointers based on her book.Is My Skin Brown Because I Drank Chocolate Milk? – Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s presentation at TEDxStanford about how people talk (or don’t) about race and how to approach the conversation with young children. Transcripthttps://teachlabpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/dr-beverly-daniel-tatum/transcript Join our next course on edX!Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices Produced by Jesse Dukes and Garrett BeazleyEdited by Aimee CorriganRecorded and Mixed by Garrett BeazleyFilmed by Denez McAdoo Follow Us On:FacebookTwitterYouTube