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Education
Society & Culture
Harvard Graduate School of Education
In the complex world of education, the Harvard EdCast keeps the focus simple: what makes a difference for learners, educators, parents, and our communities. The EdCast is a weekly podcast about the ideas that shape education, from early learning through college and career. We talk to teachers, researchers, policymakers, and leaders of schools and systems in the US and around the world — looking for positive approaches to the challenges and inequities in education. Through authentic conversation, we work to lower the barriers of education’s complexities so that everyone can understand.
The Harvard EdCast is produced by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and hosted by Jill Anderson. The opinions expressed are those of the guest alone, and not the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
College Students in the Age of Surveillance
This newest generation of college students know that algorithms tend to skew the truth online, but many feel it is par for the course. Alison Head, a researcher and director of Project Information Literacy, explores how algorithmic-driven platforms are shaping the ways college students access news and information and its potential to change the college landscape.
16:1419/03/2020
Schools, Families, and the Coronavirus
Many school districts are facing challenging decisions about how to prepare and respond to the novel Coronavirus including whether to close and try distance learning. Harvard Epidemiologist Bill Hanage and Education Ethicist Meira Levinson explore the public health issue and its potential impact on schools and families. They also offer guidance for practitioners and parents.
24:3610/03/2020
Racial Differences in Special Education Identification
Harvard Lecturer Laura Schifter explains disproportionality and why so many students of color are placed in special education, often in separate classrooms from their peers. While income status is sometimes accepted as the reason behind this phenomenon, Schifter says that doesn't tell the full story. In this EdCast, Schifter shares recent research into this issue and discusses the challenges facing special education.
21:5305/03/2020
Getting Beyond the Literacy Debate
There's much debate in the literacy world about what's the best way to teach children to read. With two out of three children struggling to learn to read, the nation is questioning what actually works. Harvard Professor James Kim discusses why learning to read is so challenging and shares how his latest model called MORE offers another way.
25:2226/02/2020
The Pitfalls of Oversharing Online
Children aren't the only people compromising their privacy online. Grown ups are also taking to to digital media and technology, and oversharing information about the children in their lives too. Leah Plunkett, a law professor and parent, wants adults to think twice before talking about children online. In this episode of the Harvard EdCast, Plunkett, author of "Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk About Our Kids Online," discusses all the way adults -- including educators -- overshare details about children and how to take steps to safeguard their actions.
25:1118/12/2019
Grading for Equity
When Joe Feldman, author of Grading for Equity, looked closer at grading practices in schools across the country, he realized many practices are outdated, inconsistent, and inequitable. Today he helps educators develop strategies that tackle inconsistent grading practices. In doing so, Feldman tells the Harvard EdCast how shifting grading practices can change the landscape of schools and potentially the future for students.
32:2011/12/2019
The Common and Yet Hidden Language Disorder
Although more children have developmental language disorder (DLD) than autism -- most people have never heard of it. Dr. Tiffany Hogan, the director of the Speech and Language Literacy Lab at MGH Institute, wants greater awareness of this language disorder, especially among educators and parents. In this episode of the Harvard EdCast, she discusses what DLD is and how it can affect children's learning ability.
28:4104/12/2019
Unconscious Bias in Schools
Many educators struggle with unconscious bias in their roles at school -- often in ways that can unknowingly perpetuate racism and negatively affect students. In this episode of the EdCast, Tracey Benson and Sarah Fiarman offer ways to address these issues directly and outline how educators can start this work in their schools. Benson, an assistant professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Fiarman, director of leadership development at EL Education, are authors of the new book, Unconscious Bias in Schools.
27:5420/11/2019
Sticker Shock: The Actual Cost of College
When many people see the college price tag, they believe it's financially out-of-reach. But Wellesley College Professor Phillip Levine, who studies college affordability, says that people often don't realize there's a difference between the price of college and what a family might actually pay. Through the development of Myintution.org -- an online tool that helps families uncover the actual cost -- he hopes more students will achieve their college dreams.
16:2913/11/2019
What Test Scores Actually Tell Us
Harvard Professor Andrew Ho thinks test scores can often simplify how we view student performance, school effectiveness, and educational opportunity. By taking a more comprehensive look at data like test scores and learning rates in districts, we may be able to better identify and contextualize how well a school is doing beyond just average test scores. In this episode of the Harvard EdCast, Ho discusses his work with the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University and how it provides data to help scholars, policymakers, educators, and parents learn how to improve educational opportunity for all children.
12:4506/11/2019
Colleges as Courageous Spaces
Many college and university leaders recognize the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work being done on their campus, but that doesn't always mean it's done for the right reasons. In this episode of the Harvard EdCast, Richard Reddick, associate dean for equity, community, engagement and outreach at the University of Texas at Austin, discusses the rise of DEI work in higher education and how this work should create more courageous spaces on college campuses.
21:4530/10/2019
Prioritizing Student Mental Health in College
Students are struggling with mental health issues on college campuses. Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, a founding director of McLean Hospital's College Mental Health Program in Massachusetts, says there's a lot of things we can all do to help the college mental health crisis. Pinder-Amaker discusses the factors leading to mental distress on campus, how colleges can create better responses, and really how everyone plays an important role in this issue, especially what happens long before students get to college.
24:4123/10/2019
Why We Need to Rethink Recess
Sociologist Rebecca London knows recess is an afterthought in many schools day. Too often, it's just seen as a break or a way to get some physical exercise for kids. She wants to see educators rethink how to use that time to better support young students. In this episode of the EdCast, London shares ideas from her new book, "Rethinking Recess," how to create a more inclusive recess, and why taking away recess -- especially as punishment -- is a bad idea for kids.
18:3016/10/2019
Higher Education's Biggest Conundrums
David Wilson used college as a path out of poverty. Now, as the president of Morgan State University in Baltimore, he wants that to be the reality for other children too. But, for so many kids today, getting to college and paying for college is a challenge. After 25 years in higher education leadership, President Wilson grapples with issues of access for students every day. In this episode of the EdCast, he talks about why this is a pivotal time to change higher education and how to tackle issues of rising costs associated with college.
17:0609/10/2019
Facing Challenges, Driving Success (in Chicago)
Dr. Janice K. Jackson knew taking the role as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools would be challenging. She has inherited a history of problems in the district, but refuses to make her leadership about the blame game. In this episode of the EdCast, she discusses how she's facing the challenges before her. Even with a teacher strike looming, Jackson's pragmatic leadership and "We'll get through it" attitude frames her decision-making as the head of the third largest school district in the country.
21:5602/10/2019
A Classic Problem -- Putting Diverse Books into Practice
The books children read in the classroom today look a lot like they did decades ago. Kim Parker, cofounder of #Disrupttexts, wants to change that. In this EdCast, she addresses the challenges facing educators trying to diversify books in their classroom. With diverse books regularly appearing on the American Library Association's most challenged and banned books in libraries and schools, Parker discusses this and our inability to move beyond the literary canon. She offers ideas for educators trying to take steps to incorporate diverse books in their practice and how parents can be supportive allies in the process.
15:5425/09/2019
Understanding Immigration
Regardless of how you might feel about immigration, Harvard Professor Roberto Gonzales thinks we need to better understand its implications and how it affects everyday life of immigrants and beyond. In this episode, Gonzales discusses the immigration crisis in America and his new effort, the Immigration Initiative at Harvard, to connect researchers, policymakers, and immigrant communities together in dialogue, supportive action, and shared learning.
12:1818/09/2019
The Quest for Deeper Learning in High Schools
Harvard researchers Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine talk about what they discovered while studying nontraditional, innovative high schools, and what we can learn from the pockets of great work happening around the country.
30:2001/05/2019
EdCast Extra: Teens Get Real About Inequity in College Access
In this EdCast extra, Harvard Senior Lecturer Richard Weissbourd along with Nicolas Burgess, 17, and Dequan Franks, 19, from Jacksonville, Florida, speak about the EVAC movement, experiences as "at-risk" youth, and address the immense inequities facing some students.
07:1229/04/2019
Putting Ethics First in College Admissions
Harvard Psychologist Rick Weissbourd guides parents (and high schools) to be better ethical role models, especially in the college admissions process.
12:4124/04/2019
The Making of a Bully-free School
Educator Tina Owen-Moore speaks about the creation of the Alliance School in Milwaukee and strategies to combat bullying.
15:2017/04/2019
Redefining School Counseling
Mandy Savitz Romer, senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, shares misconceptions about the profession, and how the school counselor role should change to better support children.
15:4310/04/2019
Broadening Global Perspectives
Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen discusses the world of global education, and how educators can incorporate a global approach in the classroom.
21:0103/04/2019
The Desegregation Compromise
Vanessa Siddle Walker, professor of African American educational studies at Emory College, discusses the role of black educators in desegregation efforts and why school integration didn't end up working as hoped.
19:3827/03/2019
Moving Beyond Technical in Computer Science Education
Sepehr Vakil, an assistant professor at Northwestern University, talks about the importance of looking at computer science education beyond just the technical – and what a more ethical and power balanced computer science course might look like in education.
12:5820/03/2019
The Complexities of Teacher Strikes
Harvard Professor Marty West talks about the wave of teacher strikes happening throughout the country and the complexities of teacher compensation that make it difficult to raise salaries.
17:0913/03/2019
Overparented, Underprepared
Julie Lythcott-Haims, the former dean of freshmen at Stanford University, talks about the dangers of overparenting and how it can make or break a child's success at college.
24:1806/03/2019
The Rights of Public School Students
Justin Driver, a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, reflects on the history of Supreme Court education rulings and foreshadows legal issues that may be percolating in public schools today.
19:2427/02/2019
Replicating Effective Charter School Practice
Sarah Cohodes, an assistant professor at Teachers College, talks about the state of charter schools and whether we can transfer effective charter school practice to traditional public schools.
18:1320/02/2019
Reducing Absences, Capturing School Days
Todd Rogers, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and also director of the Student Social Support R&D lab, talks about discovering an effective intervention against chronic absenteeism, how to get more students back in class, and what seems to work in targeting absent students.
20:4806/02/2019
From Prison to Ph.D.
Dr. Stanley Andrisse, director of From Prison Cell to Ph.D., shares his story and discusses the school to prison pipeline, and how higher education can remove barriers for formerly incarcerated people so they can use education to transform their lives.
22:1612/12/2018
A Promise for Education
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf shares why she has focused so much of her term on education, and particularly the creation of Oakland Promise, which aims to get more kids to acquire postsecondary education.
12:2405/12/2018
How Personalized Learning Can Lead to Success
Lecturer Todd Rose discusses the importance of personalized learning in the quest for success, and how success will look different in the future.
21:3228/11/2018
Reaching Rural South Africa through Education
Craig Paxton, executive director of Axium Education, shares the work being done to reach the millions of children living in rural communities throughout South Africa and the importance of providing education for this population.
11:1714/11/2018
The State of Sex Ed in America
Catherine Brown, vice president of education policy at the Center for American Progress, provides insight into sex education standards around the country and the shift to do more.
13:3007/11/2018
The Harvard Trial: Evaluating Fairness in College Admissions
Natasha Warikoo, an associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, discusses the Harvard trial and whether college admissions can ever truly be fair.
12:1831/10/2018
Finding Faith in Education
Irvin Scott, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, talks about why faith leaders can be key players in educational outcomes for children.
17:1324/10/2018
Lessons Learned from the 2015 Mizzou Protests
Ben Trachtenberg, an associate professor of law at the University of Missouri, gives an insider look at what happened during the 2015 Mizzou protests that led to resignations, decreased enrollment rates, and budget cuts.
31:3017/10/2018
The Transformative Power of Arts Education
Andria Zafirakou, the 2018 Global Teacher Prize winner, shares how the arts can be a powerful tool of inclusion and resilience for children.
17:0910/10/2018
Who Goes to Private School?
Stanford Professor Sean Reardon talks about the downward trend in private school enrollments, what this tells us about the middle class in America, and why it’s important for everyone to pay attention to who goes to private school.
13:3803/10/2018
Demoralized, Not Drained
Doris Santoro, an associate professor at Bowdoin, explores how many teachers are demoralized not burnt out in the profession. She also discusses how school leaders can stave off this phenomenon and gives sound advice for teachers.
28:1226/09/2018
Friday Night Lights Out: A Call to End Football in Schools
Randall Curren, a professor at the University of Rochester, discusses why it’s ethically indefensible for schools to continue sponsoring tackle football.
16:3919/09/2018
Putting Mister Rogers' Deep and Simple to Practice
Early childhood education expert Junlei Li spoke to the Harvard EdCast recently about the meaning of high quality in early childhood education, how Fred Rogers' legacy influenced his work, and what deep and simple actually looks like in practice.
20:1312/09/2018
Questioning the Truth in History
Activist Minnijean Brown-Trickey discusses the Little Rock Nine and the importance of uncovering and understanding the truth in America.
13:0820/06/2018
Kids Need a Break
Stanford University's Denise Pope, also co-founder of Challenge Success, shares what we need to think about when it comes to choosing summer enrichment programs for our children, and offers some alternatives to children's rigid academic programs in the summer.
15:5813/06/2018
Smartphones, Teens, and Unhappiness
San Diego State University Professor Jean Twenge talks about her research that examining teens, smartphones and unhappiness.
15:3716/05/2018
Escuela Nueva
Vicki Colbert, Yidan Prize winner, reflects on her work and research with Escuela Nueva.
09:3609/05/2018
Learning for Careers
Bob Schwartz and Nancy Hoffman, co-founders of the Pathways to Prosperity network and HGSE faculty, discuss what they’ve learned about preparing students for the workplace.
21:0825/04/2018
The Surprising Cost of School Security
UC-Berkeley Professor Calvin Morrill talks about how a high school changed with increased security policies, and shares some perspective on how this might inform the current debate about school security.
24:1918/04/2018
Tackling Issues in Education
CJ Anderson, Super Bowl champion for the Denver Broncos, reflects on his community activism work and shares tips for other non-profit leaders.
10:4911/04/2018