Dr. Terrance Green is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. His research examines the relationship between educational leadership, schools, and neighborhood-communities, with a focus on racial and educational equity. His writing has been published in several journals, including Teachers College Record and Educational Administration Quarterly. During our conversation, we discussed the role that school and district...

Dr. Judy Pace is a professor in the University of San Francisco education department. She aims to prepare educators with conceptual and practical tools to create constructivist, transformative, and equitable learning experiences that promote critical and democratic habits of mind, deep understanding, and civic agency. A qualitative researcher, she is fascinated by classroom teaching and how it is shaped by teachers, students, schools, and society. Her research has focused on classroom...

Dr. Joanna Goode is the Sommerville Knight Professor in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. She began her career in education as a high school computer science teacher in a large, diverse urban school, and she builds on this experience to research how educational policies and practices can foster equity, access, and inclusion in K-12 computer science education. Joanna has directed multiple National Science Foundation-sponsored research projects, developed the...

Dr. Jeremy Stoddard is a (Full) Professor and the Faculty Chair of the Secondary Education Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research examines the role of media in teaching and learning history and democratic citizenship – with a particular focus on engagement with difficult or marginalized histories and contemporary controversial issues. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the co-author or co-editor of three books, including Teaching...

Dr. Diana Hess is the Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education. She is also the principal investigator of The Discussion Project, a professional development program that aims to strengthen campus wide capacity to create welcoming, engaging, and academically rigorous classroom environments in which students experience productive classroom discussions on important issues and topics. The topics of this conversation are drawn from a 2013 paper titled Classroom...

Dr. Punya Mishra is Associate Dean of Scholarship & Innovation and Professor in the Division of Educational Leadership & Innovation in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. He is best known for his research on the integration of technology into the PK-20 space. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (“TPACK”) that Dr. Mishra developed with his Dr. Matthew Koehler is an attempt to identify the knowledge teachers need to thoughtfully...

Will Richardson is a former public school teacher. His current work focuses on “the intersection of social online learning networks, education, and systemic change.” He is the co-founder of The Big Questions Institute, a project aimed at helping educators navigate the challenging waters of education during and after a time of Covid. He is also the co-author of a new book, 9 BIG Questions Schools Must Answer to Avoid Going "Back to Normal" (*Because "Normal" Wasn't That Great to Begin With)....

Dr. Kim Schildkamp is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Behavioral, Management, and Social Sciences at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on (professional development in) data-informed decision making. She is a Fulbright scholarship recipient, which she used to study data use in Louisiana. Kim is also the current president of ICSEI (International Congress on School Effectiveness and Improvement). Kim has done research on data use and school improvement in...

Sapna Cheryan is an American social psychologist. She is a full professor of social psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. (1) "Her research investigates the role of cultural stereotypes in causing and perpetuating racial and gender disparities in U.S. society. She has published numerous articles on these topics in journals such as Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Psychological Bulletin. Her work on gender...

Dr. Paula McAvoy is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. She was previously the Director of the Center for Ethics and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and co-authored a book, The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education, with Dr. Diana Hess. More information on that book can be found here. She also taught high school social studies in Los Altos...

Dr. Jayson Richardson is a professor and the Department Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Educational Administration. He has written or co-authored articles in the following journals: Comparative Education Review, Educational Administration Quarterly, International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, Information Technology for...

Nabil Zerizef is Principal of Rowe Middle School in Milwaukie, Oregon. Previously, he was the principal at Farmington View Elementary School in Hillsboro, OR. He was also a Multimedia Professional Development TOSA, where he supported facilitated tech-focused PD for teachers and principals. As a principal, Nabil is dedicated to providing successful learning environments for all students. During our conversation, we discuss what it’s like to start a new job as principal of a school during a...

Marc Tucker is the former President and CEO of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). Marc's goal at NCEE "was to learn as much as possible from the countries that have been outperforming the United States, translate that into a policy agenda, and then work with the states to implement that agenda by helping them develop the policies and the institutional capacity they need to do the job." His 2019 book, Leading High Performance School Systems, is both an exposition of...

A former public school educator of 22 years, Will has spent the last 15 years developing an international reputation as a leading thinker and writer about the intersection of social online learning networks, education, and systemic change. Most recently, Will is a co-founder of The Big Questions Institute which was created to help educators use "fearless inquiry" to make sense of this complex moment and an uncertain future. In 2017, Will was named one of 100 global "Changemakers in...

Dr. Stovall is Professor of African-American Studies and Criminology, Law & Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His scholarship investigates three areas 1) Critical Race Theory, 2) the relationship between housing and education, and 3) the intersection of race, place and school. In the attempt to bring theory to action, he works with community organizations and schools to address issues of equity, justice and abolishing the school/prison nexus. During our conversation,...

Ora D. Tanner is the Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer at The AI Education Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit centering equity and accessibility in AI education. The AI Education Project educates students, especially those disproportionately impacted by AI and automation, with the conceptual knowledge and skills they need to thrive as future workers, creators, consumers, citizens, and leaders of emerging technologies.   Ora holds both a B.S. and M.S. in physics and is completing doctoral...

This episode highlights the work of Dr. Amanda Datnow, Professor in the Department of Education Studies and Associate Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Amanda’s research focuses on educational reform and policy, particularly with regard to issues of equity and the professional lives of educators. I was drawn to Amanda’s work as I searched through research on data use and equity in the K12 space, and this serves as the foundation for our...

This is a conversation with Edward Deci, Professor of Psychology at the University of Rochester. Edward's work is focused on motivation. He developed Self-Determination Theory with Richard Ryan. Much of what we talked about was taken from theories described in Why We Do What Do. We didn't get a chance to talk for too long. If you're looking for more information about his work, I encourage you to go to selfdeterminationtheory.org and to read his book.

Kim Marshall is the publisher of the Marshall Memo, "a weekly roundup of important ideas and research in K-12 education." He's been at it for 15 years. Prior to the Marshall Memo, Kim was a classroom teacher, curriculum designer for Boston Public Schools, and a school principal. We talked about content curation, teacher evaluation systems, the benefits of having kids challenge authority, and the importance of strong leadership. Kim brings a wealth of knowledge to the podcast. We're excited to...

I sat down with Bea McGarvey for a second conversation. We continued discussing some of the topics from our first show and touched upon a few new ones. Bea is a great source of knowledge and inspiration. If you are in education and haven't read Inevitable, I strongly recommend you pick up a copy.   If you're enjoying the podcast, please go iTunes and write a review. We've got a good amount of listens so far and your reviews can help expand the audience. Thanks!

Sherry Zubeck is the Director of Special Education Services for IU 13 in Pennsylvania. IU 13 is a service agency providing support to Lancaster and Lebanon counties. Sherry has a long career working in special ed in a variety of capacities. We discussed the history of special ed and how it's changed, the potential changes to special ed as a result of ESSA, the role service agencies can play in supporting school districts, and the power of technology to support both general and special ed...

Scott Menzel is the Superintendent of Washtenaw ISD (WISD), a service agency in Michigan that supports over 45,000 students in 9 counties. WISD has a strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice. We talk about the importance of early childhood ed, the career part of the more frequently used term, college and career readiness, and equity and technology. These are such important topics not just for education but for the well-being of our society and Scott and I only scratch the...