Learning Unboxed

When people talk about education, they rarely talk about agricultural education — but there are infinite possibilities for careers that are available to explore in this space! Luckily, we’re joined by two people who are well prepared to guide us through this possibility space: Chris Baker, Executive Director of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, and Marissa Mulligan, Extension Educator with 4-H Youth Development and the Explore Ag Program within Ohio State Extension.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at https://www.exploreag.org/Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation: https://ofbf.org/foundation/Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

We’re back on the road. This time, we are in the beautiful, bustling city of Cape Town, South Africa – and we have an incredibly special treat! Because we have the opportunity to visit with Russell Stevens, Head of Education of the Two Oceans Aquarium.Two Ocean Aquarium sits in a perfect location for marine education, primed to be one of the most impactful education programs in the world. Because many developing nations are looking to the future and the future of the environment, and they’re putting a greater premium on student understanding so that they can participate within the blossoming ocean economy, or blue economy.This is just part of the work that Russell and his team do every day as part of their mission to save the planet with this very, very creative Marine Sciences program.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at https://www.aquarium.co.zaFind learning curriculum at https://www.education.gov.za/Contact Russell at russell.stevens@aquarium.co.zaLearning Unboxed is produced in

Today’s guest is René Van Blerk, who is the Senior Educator and Senior Curation of Education and Interpretation of the Van Gogh Museum, who helped shape one of the most creative and innovative programs that I've seen in a long time. It's called Vincent's Traveling Case. René wanted to find ways for families to engage with the art they were viewing when they weren’t right in front of it. Museums can be busy, they can get hectic, and you can continue thinking about the stories being told while searching for someplace quiet.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at www.vangoghmuseum.nl/enVincent’s Traveling Case: www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/children-and-families/vincents-travelling-caseTreasure Hunt: www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/children-and-families/treasure-huntLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Today, we are continuing our conversation about the critically important role of the arts in communities and education. To guide us through this conversation, we sit down with Cindy Meyers Foley, the Executive Deputy Director for Learning and Experience at the Columbus Museum of Art.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at www.columbusmuseum.orgCindy’s TEDx Talk: youtu.be/ZcFRfJb2ONkLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Today, we have a wonderful teacher and a student joining us today, Amanda Schaeffer and Neel Mawalkar.Amanda is an art teacher out of Hilliard City Schools, which is one of the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. She teaches both Art and Ecology, very STEAM-focused, in part of Hilliard City Schools Innovation Learning Campus.Neel is a 10-year old student who just finished up the 5th grade at Wickliffe Elementary School, which is also in the suburbs of Columbus in Upper Arlington. Next year, Neel is going to be celebrating his journey into middle school, and he wants to be a scientist one day when he grows up.Resources:Learn more at pastfoundation.orgLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Today, we’re going to be talking about music and the role of arts, music, and technology in education – and we’re going to be doing that by learning more about the unique and innovative program here in Columbus. GROOVE U is a post-secondary two-year music industry career program focusing on music industry entrepreneurship, with a heavy emphasis on experiential and applied learning. And, impressively, the program boasts a 96% job placement in-field among all its graduates.Our guests are Dwight Heckelman, the founder and Director at GROOVE U, and Nicholas Burgett, a Metro Early College High School graduate who spent some time as a student at GROOVE U. Nicholas is going to give some insight into how GROOVE U is interacting with the K-12 space in some really intriguing and interesting ways, as well as his perspective on learning in these different learning environments.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at www.grooveu.eduInstaband @ GROOVE U: www.instaband.orgFacebook: www.facebook.com/m

We are joined by awesome guests who know a thing or two (or ten) about what happens when you take your kids out of the classroom, out of the building, and you go into the field. Pam Hayes is the Early College Coordinator for Metro Early College High School in Columbus, Ohio and Sheli Smith is the Chief Academic Officer at the PAST Foundation and the PAST Innovation Lab.But this is not just a conversation about outdoor education. This is a conversation about how we can truly scaffold kids to have meaningful experiences in an early college setting that is really tied to helping these kids solve problems in the world. The program that these two women have done together is really one that stands out as not just a case study for great STEM education but a case study for how you can work very creatively within your community to make the opportunities and experiences that students can have very, very tangible.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at pastfoundation.orgConnect with Sheli: linked

Today, we are continuing our tour of early access programs that help children transition into post-secondary, often blurring the lines of that traditional high school to college transition in the process. We’ve luckily had the privilege of seeing and exploring some of these programs in other areas of the country and world, and we think getting a view of everything that people are doing now is a really important part of making these programs even better in the future.Our guest is Brian Sien, who is the current Principal of Clackamas Middle College, a fabulous school outside of Portland, Oregon. Brian is an innovative leader in this space who has been heavily involved in transformative education, in a variety of ways, throughout his experience in both traditional and charter public schools. He has a passion for working with students, teachers, administrators, and state leaders to provide seamless transitions from K12 education into post-secondary for all stakeholders – something that you might know we are extre

Today we’re excited to introduce you to a new program called STEMcoding, which is an effort to reimagine STEM courses with computer science in mind, and two of the people spearheading this initiative, Chris Orban and Richelle Teeling-Smith.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more about STEMcoding: u.osu.edu/stemcodingStart taking modules now on the YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/STEMcodingTwitter: twitter.com/STEMcodingYou can find more coding activities at hourofcode.comConnect with Chris: physics.osu.edu/people/orban.14Connect with Richelle: physics.osu.edu/people/teeling-smith.1College Credit Plus: www.ohiohighered.org/content/college_credit_plus_about Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

This week, we are wrapping up our tour of the Alaska Middle College program with an on-location conversation at the Mat-Su Middle College. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Middle College as well as the pains of creating transformative educational programs across the nation and around the world.Our guests today are Greg Giauque, who's a Principal Teacher at Mat-Su Middle College, and Kaelle Daughterty and Isabella Sarro, who are both students currently enrolled at Mat-Su Middle College.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/about/high-school-students/index.cshtmlMat-Su Middle College: https://www.matsuk12.us/msmLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

In the last episode, we sat down with four of the innovative educators and administrators behind the Alaska Middle College program to discuss what Middle College is and why they’re so effective at improving student outcomes. Today, we’re talking to a teacher and student from Mat-Su Middle College School, the first Middle College school in Alaska, to learn what both students and teachers love about the program. Our guests are John Robertson, a Social Studies and English teacher at the Mat-Su Middle College School, and Kat Barr, a junior currently attending Mat-Su Middle College. To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org Resources: Learn more at https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/about/high-school-students/index.cshtml Mat-Su Middle College: https://www.matsuk12.us/msm  Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Today we are going to learn what Middle College programs are, why they’re so effective at improving student outcomes, and what communities need to know if they are contemplating the possibility of launching Middle Colleges of their own. And we have an all-star lineup of guests joining us to talk about the success of the Middle College School programs in Alaska!We sit down with Dr. Claudia Lampman, the Vice Provost of Student Success and a Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the institution that hosts the Alaska Middle College efforts across the state; Luke Almon, the principal of the Anchorage Middle College School; Greg Giauque, who's the principal and a teacher at the Matanuska-Susitna (MatSu) Middle College School, which is just outside of Anchorage and the longest-running Middle College in the Alaskan effort; and Dr. Holly Martinson, an Assistant Professor at the WWAMI School of Medical Education and the Chair of the Middle College Programs within the UAA effort and system.T

Karl Rectanus is an educator, entrepreneur, advisor, and the co-founder and CEO of LearnPlatform, an organization with a team of educators, researchers, and technologists committed to leveraging data, delivering dynamic solutions, and making results matter.Karl leads K-12 districts, higher ed institutions and state education agencies in their efforts to use the research-based LearnPlatform to continuously improve standards of practice that drive blended and personalized learning at scale, increase student achievement, and expand equitable access to education technologies. So, needless to say, we’re big fans over here at PAST.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at LearnPlatform.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/LearnPlatformUSFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnTrialsKarl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/karlrectanusEdTech Top 40: https://learnplatform.com/edtech-top-40Listen to Seth Godin’s Akimbo S3E9: Stop Stealing Our DreamsLearning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecor

Today, we’re talking about the role of invention in education – and why design thinking and problem-based learning should, ultimately, have a much greater role in our classrooms than they currently do.To illustrate the value of invention, we invited two amazing guests, Robin Hilsmeier and Jim Bruner, to discuss how the Ohio Invention League gives students the opportunity to practice design thinking by creating, marketing, and pitching solutions to societal problems.We describe the Invention League, as well as the national Invention Convention program, in detail in the episode, but Jim provides a wonderful explanation that will help you understand the high-level concept: “Invention Convention is a science fair with purpose. The kids have to create something that is an answer to a problem; it's a product, and then they sell, market, and promote that product with data.”To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more at inventionleague.orgRobin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinhilsme

On Learning Unboxed, we like to share case studies of the projects and programs that are revolutionizing education; great new ideas that have already been tested, the lessons that we've learned along the way, and where there are opportunities for other communities to do similar things as they think about education. That’s why, today, we are excited to introduce you to Energy4Learning, a program that transforms school buildings into learning tools by leveraging real energy data to engage students in problem-based learning. Joining the show to teach us about this new program is Ryan Prestel and Kat Deaner. Ryan is the co-founder and CEO of JadeTrack, a cloud-based analytics platform powering some of the world’s most robust energy and sustainability programs. They empower stakeholders – and, for this program, students – to create impact by making complex energy usage data simple. Kat is PAST’s very own Director of School Design and Online Learning, and she leads all the efforts associated with school transfo

I’m often asked question about internships for high school students, so it’s clear that the subject is top of mind in many schools, communities, businesses, and industries. So, in this episode, I want to shine a spotlight on a partnership that exemplifies the benefits of high school internships, for both students and businesses, and encourage other communities to adopt a similar model.Joining us are Meka Pace, the Executive Director and Superintendent of the Metro Schools network, and Vanessa Jester, the Workforce Development Manager at Turner Construction.To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResources:Learn more about Metro’s Learning Labs: https://www.themetroschool.org/about/learning-centers/Meka on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meka-pace-48309285/Meka on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mekapaceVanessa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-jester-a41172106/Read: “Take 5 Steps to Find an Internship During High School”STEM Industry Council (SInC): http://www.sinccentralohio.org/Learning

Dr. Kimberlee Kiehl is a passionate supporter of education in the Columbus area, and she has been for a number of years. She actually started a career in formal education, but she left to focus on informal education – and that’s what makes her the perfect person to teach us about how informal education spaces are disrupting the education world and how teachers can utilize local resources and opportunities in the everyday classroom. Dr. Kiehl currently serves as Senior Vice President of Operations and Experience at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, which she claims is “the best science museum in the world” (and we might be a little biased, but we’re inclined to agree). To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org Resources: COSI: https://www.cosi.org/ Big Science Celebration (FREE on May 4, 2019): https://cosiscifest.org/bsc/ The 95 Percent Solution: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-95-percent-solution  Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric Fre

Josh Bernstein and Mike Schott are responsible for an awesome new program designed to get kids excited about science: Explorer At Large.Their mission is to engage, inspire, and educate PreK-12 students around the world with standards-driven content that sparks curiosity, playfulness, and wonder. XAL is now placing its educational content in school systems around the country, with help from partners like the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and we can’t wait to share what they’re doing with all of you. To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org Resources: Learn more at https://www.exploreratlarge.com schottfoundation.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exploreratlarge Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exploreratlarge  Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate MediaRecorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio

Giving students more experience solving real-world problems is critical to their development as future problem solvers, and that’s why the Ohio Stem Learning Network hosts statewide design challenges. This year, OSLN is asking students to imagine, prototype, and design a solution to food insecurity in their life, community, or world.Luckily, we have two amazing women joining us to unbox this huge topic: Heather Sherman and Jeanne Gogolski. Heather is the Director of Ohio's STEM Learning Network and Stem Relationship Manager for Battelle Education and Jeanne is the Founding Partner of educationprojects.org, one of the industry partners for this year’s challenge.Follow @OSLN on Twitter for updates as they visit many of the students and classrooms tackling this challenge. You can also follow the hashtag #STEMFeedsOhio to see what students are coming up with, and if you’re participating, we’d love you to use the hashtag so we can see what you’re working on, too!To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.orgResource

One of the things that we love here at the PAST Foundation is having the opportunity to watch incredible young adults learn and grow; these amazing students are rock stars in our eyes, and giving them a space to stretch their wings is one of the most rewarding experiences we have.And today, we want to introduce you to three of the rockstars that lead the Metrobots, Metro Early College High School’s (MECHS) FRC robotics team. Metrobots and several other robotics teams are housed at the PAST Innovation Lab, one of several co-created learning labs hosted at PAST.We want to introduce you all to: Fatima Bainazar, a senior from Metro Early College and the project manager for the Metrobots; Melissa Olvera, a senior at Metro and the Administrative Project Manager for the Metrobots; and Elizabeth Drake, a junior at Metro who is interested in mechanical integration and engineering.Collectively, these three ladies represent students from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, opportunities, and passions – just like Metr