Human Restoration Project

It's our 100th podcast episode! In celebration, Nick and Chris discuss the ongoing pursuits of Human Restoration Project.And we discuss: Our accomplishments over the years. Our favorite events, writings, and podcasts. Our major upcoming initiatives, which you'll want to stick around for! Questions from our listeners. And finally....host a trivia session on science fiction.

In this podcast, Nick and I are continuing our foray into random topics of progressive education! Today's episode centers cognitive science, research movements, and "studies of the brain." Within, we'll be talking about what's currently going on at HRP, articles and books that Nick and I have been reading recently, what's going on in our classrooms, Q&A from listeners via Twitter, and then a pop-quiz for who stays alive.And we discuss: Mary-Helen Immordino-Yang's work and development in neuroscience Audrey Watter's Teaching Machines, and the history of B.F. Skinner/behaviorism, especially his behaviorist "Utopian" book Walden Two Nick using the "Tier List Maker" for class assignments Chris using Floop for workshoping and ungrading Responding to "How do you motivate reluctant learners?" and "What does a student-driven curriculum look like in practice?" A game show(!) featuring "Doug Lemov (Teach Like a Champion) said what!?" and "Ungrading: The Research." Who will be sent out of the airlock?

In this podcast we've decided to experiment a bit with our programming. To be honest, right now there's a ton of burnout in the education world, from the pandemic to ongoing struggles of teacher power and support, and the culture war once again resurfacing in the classroom. As educators by day and nonprofit workers by night, we totally get that struggle.Therefore, we're putting a slight pause on our typical interview format to try out something new. This frees us up from the workload of scheduling, researching, and working with guests. And, it opens up the door for us to produce more casual content. If you like the guest stuff, don't worry - we'll come back to that in early December! But...if you like the new stuff, please let us know.In this podcast we're going to go through four parts: An update of what we're working on at HRP. Article shareouts that Nick and I have been interested in recently. Talking about what we're currently doing in our classrooms. A pop-quiz to see who exits this podcast alive (or something.)And we discuss: Militarism and increased nationalism in the classroom. Simulation theory, Baudrillard, and fatal strategies. How video game design relates to classroom pedagogy. Celebrating Columbus Day (and the surrounding debate) and its context to nationalism. The corruption of large-scale nonprofits, including testing companies and public charter networks.

Today, Nick and I are continuing our dissection of learning loss via our Learning Loss Handbook. In part 1, we spoke about the myth surrounding "learning loss" and the dire implications it has on our practice in schools. If you haven't listened in yet, I highly recommend checking out that episode.In this episode we discuss: What was lost during pandemic schooling? What actions can we take in order to counteract the problems resulted from an isolated, virtual year(s)? How can we take these actions even in districts that don't support progressive actions?RESOURCES HRP's Learning Loss Handbook 96: Unpacking Learning Loss: The Who, the What, and the Why Is Learning “Lost” When Kids Are Out of School? by Alfie Kohn Is Summer Learning Loss Real? by Paul T. von Hippel

Today, Nick and I are going to break down Human Restoration Project's recently released "Learning Loss" Handbook, providing an overview of the ideas we present in the book, the faux narrative being created surrounding "learning loss", and offering an alternative for educators to push for and pursue. You can find the free download at humanrestorationproject.org/materials.Included in this conversation is... The history of the term "learning loss" An analysis of standardized testing and what we're measuring Showcasing the overall negative impacts of standardized testing Deconstructing the financial ties to learning loss and the testing industry Dissecting the stereotype threat and Pygmalion effect and its potential connection to the negative narrative of learning lossNext time we'll break down *how* we counteract this narrative. Stay tuned!*Apologies for the audio quality, my mic literally broke while recording this podcast! Support our funding drive! :)FUNDING DRIVEHuman Restoration Project is currently in the midst of our September 2021 funding drive. You can learn more, help us out, obtain donor gifts, and support future podcasts/ resources by visiting Human Restoration Project's website.RESOURCES 95: Deciphering "Learning Loss" w/ Akil Bello FutureEd State Plan Tracking Introducing "Operation Reverse the Loss" (IES) HRP's Learning Loss Handbook

Long time listeners may recognize the title to this podcast: Re:Teaching. Last year, Nick released a series of short podcasts on a separate channel, focused on current events and short-form highlights of writing. We soon realized that by splitting our podcast into two segments, most folks didn't hear any of this series! Therefore, after much delay - and many reminders by Nick - we'll be releasing Re:Teaching over the next few weeks on this channel. Enjoy, and there will be even more new Re:Teaching episodes on the way.This episode is a feature read of What’s in a grade? GRExit, GPA, College Admissions, and the Mastery Transcript (oh my!) by Nick Covington, published in March 2020. Learn more about Human Restoration Project and find a wealth of free resources to create human-centered classrooms at humanrestorationproject.org, and follow us on social media, @HumResPro.

Long time listeners may recognize the title to this podcast: Re:Teaching. Last year, Nick released a series of short podcasts on a separate channel, focused on current events and short-form highlights of writing. We soon realized that by splitting our podcast into two segments, most folks didn't hear any of this series! Therefore, after much delay - and many reminders by Nick - we'll be releasing Re:Teaching over the next few weeks on this channel. Enjoy, and there will be even more new Re:Teaching episodes on the way.This episode is a feature read of A Progressive Response to “Ed. Reform’s Lost Decade” by Nick Covington, published in January 2020. Learn more about Human Restoration Project and find a wealth of free resources to create human-centered classrooms at humanrestorationproject.org, and follow us on social media, @HumResPro.

Today, we are joined by Akil Bello. Akil is a supplemental education and test preparation expert. He's launched two companies, developed test preparation programs, and trained hundreds of instructors. He was the founding partner and CEO of Bell Curves, a test prep company based on community partnerships, worked for The Princeton Review, and now is the Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at FairTest.Akil and I talk about the advent of "learning loss" after pandemic schooling, the way that testing companies are using this term to generate more tests and test prep software, what was lost in the pandemic, and what we can do as teachers to build back better.GUESTSAkil Bello, Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at Fairtest, founding partner and former CEO of Bell Curves, and contributor on test equitability, learning loss, and much moreRESOURCES How Test Publishers Are Poised To Profit From Pandemic “Learning Loss” by Akil Bello Akil Bello's website FutureEd State Plan Tracking Introducing "Operation Reverse the Loss" (IES) Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave: How the Testing Industry Manufactured the "Learning Loss" Narrative (HRP)

Today we are joined by Carla Marschall and Elizabeth Crawford to cover their upcoming book, Worldwise Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy, and Worldwise Learning is all about inquiry and experiential education: shaping global citizens by tackling real world issues in projects. The book walks teachers through the "inquiry cycle", which helps students "connect, understand, and act." It's filled with activities, diagrams, and charts, to co-create with students in planning a serious, in-depth project.We talk about: What makes "Worldwise Learning" different than something more generalized, like experiential education? How do we balance, or do we balance, between student interest and introducing what could be deemed as "controversial" topics? How do we allow space for co-created projects when there's limited perceived time and structure in most/many schools?GUESTSCarla Marschall, an experienced educator who has worked in various international schools from Germany to Hong Kong to Switzerland to Singapore. She is now the Director of Teaching & Learning at UWC South East Asia, and previously co-wrote Concept-Based Inquiry in ActionElizabeth Crawford, an Associate Professor of Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She specializes in global education and works with teacher educators and organizations to advance the Sustainable Development Goals, tackling interconnected global challenges in the classroomRESOURCES Worldwide Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable World (available Sept 2021)FURTHER LISTENING 66: Humane Education w/ Zoe Weil 60: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals to the Classroom with Dr. Jennifer Williams, Julia Fliss, and Nick Covington 45: Building a Global Equitable Community feat. Ara Aman, Tania Mansfield, Lisa Liss, Colleen Mascenik, and Evin Schwartz

On today's podcast we are joined by Zoe Bee. Zoe is an English professor, poet, and content creator who produces content for YouTube and streams on Twitch. Some of her work includes "A Professor Explains", where Zoe dives into why Grammarly is a poor product or what makes a poem a "good" poem; or full overview of the themes of H.P. Lovecraft.Zoe is a successful content creator despite being active for less than a year. We specifically learned about her after seeing her wildly successful video, "Grading is a Scam (and Motivation is a Myth)", which is nearing 500,000 views within 3 weeks. Her takedowns of PragerU, support of progressive education, and overall extensive, fact-checked videos show a growing interest, especially by younger viewers, in educational pedagogy and politics.In this podcast, we sat down with Zoe to talk about her growth, practices as an educator, and content creation.GUESTSZoe Bee, YouTuber, streamer, professor, and investigator of educational pedagogy, poetry, and EnglishRESOURCES Zoe Bee's YouTube Zoe Bee's Twitch Zoe Bee's Patreon Grading is a Scam (and Motivation is a Myth) | A Professor ExplainsFURTHER LISTENING 83: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning w/ Dr. Susan Blum 74: The Research on Assessment w/ Dr. Astrid Poorthuis 69: Social Justice, Gender Identity, and Liberatory Pedagogy w/ sj Miller