Welcome to our special series about shifting to a more student-lead ecosystem! Usually we take the month of July off, but this year we’re going to re-examine episodes with the theme of empowering students and communities to determine their own needs and successes.

Sometimes we get caught up in the idea that the purpose of education is to create a future workforce. Heather Van Bethuysen joins the show to remind us that the purpose of education is a strong democracy. We want to educate young people to be powerful in the world in which they live. The goal is to develop them to be powerful to enact change, be powerful to advocate, be powerful to know.

If we look at education through that lens, student empowerment becomes a more natural and necessary part of our systems. Heather gives us a specific example of how they are doing this in Chicago Public Schools: Not only do they collect student surveys, but they then give that data back to students to co-collaborate on what changes need to be made.

Join us for a fascinating conversation about power, uncomfortable conversations, and continuous learning.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• The goal of education is to build a strong democracy
• What “democratizing data” means
• The importance of developing the skills needed to have difficult conversations

Resources:

• Connect with Heather on LinkedIn
• Learn more about the Civic Engagement Research Group at University of California, Riverside
• Find out more about the McCormick Foundation
• Explore StartSOLE
• Learn more about the Cultivate Survey and Framework
• Check out PERTS’ Elevate Program
• Take a look at the Inner Core graph on the Chicago Public Schools Department of Student Voice and Engagement page

Produced by NOVA Media

Welcome to our special series about shifting to a more student-lead ecosystem! Usually we take the month of July off, but this year we’re going to re-examine episodes with the theme of empowering students and communities to determine their own needs and successes.

Kids today are different. Compared to high school graduates in 2000, today’s graduates are less likely to have a driver’s license (80% to 52%), less likely to have had a part-time job (85% to 35%), and less likely to have ever been on a date (decreased by 50%). Using these numbers, our guest today, Bill Daggett, explains just how out-of-date and out-of-touch our education system is for today’s students.

We discuss how to fundamentally transform the system so it connects with students and what they need to thrive in the modern marketplace.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• How today’s students are fundamentally different than those of past generations
• The need for schools to focus less on content and more on skills
• What it takes to change mindsets, culture, and practices in education

Resources:

• Learn more at spnetwork.org
• Connect with Dr. Bill Daggett on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA Media

Welcome back to our special series about shifting to a more student-lead ecosystem! Usually we take the month of July off, but this year we’re going to re-examine episodes with the theme of empowering students and communities to determine their own needs and successes.

Sheryl Cababa researches and designs educational products and services on behalf of philanthropists and investors. In this episode, she explains how she combines design thinking and systems thinking in her work in order to elevate the voices of students and teachers, and examine the underlying structures that shape success. She explains how we all can use concepts of human-centered design, equity-centered design, and targeted universalism in our work.

We wrap up by discussing the latest trend in educational products: AI. Sheryl applies systems thinking to it, highlighting the fact that the commonly used AI models have been built on data sets rife with discrimination.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• What key terms mean like “systems thinking,” “targeted universalism,” and more
• How to use the power of research to benefit participants, not just extract information from them
• Why the equity-centered design approach can uncover systems that are not always visible

Resources:

• Connect with Sheryl on LinkedIn
• Read “Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers” by Sheryl Cababa
• Read “Race after Technology” by Ruha Benjamin

Produced by NOVA Media