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What's the Big Idea?
What's the Big Idea?Episodes
What's the Big Idea?
What's the Big Idea?
A monthly Education podcast
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Episodes of What's the Big Idea?
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In which Dan chats with Tyler Rablin (@Mr_Rablin) about how teachers can make assessment really work for student motivation, purpose, and confidence. Tyler is a teacher and instructional coach in Washington, and he's the author of the new book
In which Dan comments on our nation's obsession with STEM education and misaligned priorities. We've been sold a story by industry leaders that STEM jobs are the future; we lionize tech and math nerds; we push kids to take the highest possible
In which Dan talks about the challenges facing girls today--and reasons for optimism--with Donna Jackson Nakazawa. Donna is the author of seven books, most recently Girls on the Brink: Helping Our Daughters Thrive in an Era of Increased Anxiety
In which Dan talks media literacy--the skills needed to responsibly decode, assess, and create media--with Tim Krueger, a Social Studies teacher in Syracuse, New York, and someone who's been doing a ton of thinking and teaching about this essen
In which Dan takes a few minutes to share his thoughts on the power of putting students in a position to hear and reflect on personal stories. Drawing on recent experiences with a Holocaust survivor and an immigration unit, Dan talks about how
In which Dan explores the power of outdoor experiential learning with Fulcrum Adventures, a Los Angeles-based company and leader in the team building and outdoor youth development space. Their motto is Do. Risk. Grow. Dan talks with Leo Van War
In which Dan talks about puberty--that rite of passage that many of us would sooner forget--and how for kids today it looks and feels so very different from a generation ago. He talks to Dr. Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett, hosts of th
In which Dan talks with Celeste Kirsh, middle school educator, podcast host, and Ph.D. student. Celeste is a deeply reflective and thoughtful person, and so Dan picks her brain about digital media literacy, teaching young people to write, and w
In which Dan talks with Annie Abrams, public school teacher and author of the new book Shortchanged: How Advanced Placement Cheats Students. Dan was always skeptical of the AP for reasons related to cost and its content-heavy nature, but after
In which Dan interviews Yehudah Potok, Director of Jewish Education Program and Lead for the Antisemitism Project at Facing History and Ourselves. A recent uptick in antisemitism around the U.S. had Dan wondering about the state of Holocaust
In which Dan discusses history, representation, and America's blindspots with Femi Redwood (@femiredwood), journalist and host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month, which has just kicked off its second season. They talk about the very idea
In which Dan learns all about the book adaptation process from Rebecca Stefoff (@RebeccaStefoff), author of numerous fiction and nonfiction titles. Notably, Rebecca has adapted important works by Howard Zinn, Ronald Takaki, and Charles Darwin,
In which Dan talks with Kindra Neely (@kindraneely), author of the new graphic memoir Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting. Neely is a survivor of the 2015 shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Numb to This is both a doc
In which Dan chats with Monte Syrie (@MonteSyrie) about the gains, pains, and learning that comes with being a professional educator. Our fast-paced, get-it-now culture can lead teachers to think that they should be polished and amazing NOW. Mo
In which Dan asks a bunch of really smart educators, "What have the past two+ years taught us?" We're entering another school year of pandemic teaching and learning, so what do we have to show for it? Forget the think pieces online and the rant
In which Dan chats with author Barbara Dee about her work writing powerful novels about middle school students, for middle school students. Barbara's 13th novel comes out this fall, and her books take on issues ranging from mental health to add
In which Dan examines the behemoth that is traditional grading--you know, the A-F and 0-100 scales, and GPAs. Dan is joined by Susan Blum (@SusanDebraBlum) who has done a ton of thinking, speaking, and writing about how teachers can move away f
In which Dan takes a close look at the recent spread of censorship aimed at schools and libraries across the United States. Hundreds (!) of new laws have been proposed in just months that would put teachers and curriculums under the microscope,
In which Dan interviews Monica Brady-Myerov, founder and CEO of Listenwise, a learning platform that helps teachers bring podcasts and other audio into the classroom. Before starting Listenwise, Monica was an award-winning public radio journali
In which Dan chats with Molly Josephs, the adult who works on This Teenage Life, a podcast hosted by teens to talk about issues that matter to them. Dan and Molly discuss how TTL got its start, why student voices are more important than ever, a
In which Dan and special guest co-host Kim Dzwonkowski talk with Angela Hanscom about the importance of getting kids outside, away from overly structured activities and hovering adults. Angela is the best-selling author of Balanced and Barefoo
In which Dan talks with Ebonee Rice (@EboneeSpeaks), Senior VP of Educator Network at the News Literacy Project. They talk about the unprecedented amount of information at our fingertips, the danger of passive media consumption, the importance
In which Dan talks with educator, author, and speaker Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp) about the importance of developing young readers. For over a decade Pernille has run the Global Read Aloud, a six-week program that unites classrooms around a s
In which Dan is joined by Colorado educator Julia Fliss to discuss the importance of cultivating globally-minded students in our increasingly interconnected world. Dan and Julia start by examining the power of learning additional languages as a
In which Dan hosts the always-candid Monise Seward (@MoniseLSeward), a special education teacher and interventionist. Living in Georgia, Monise had a front row seat to one of the most tumultuous years in American history and she comes on the po
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