Learner-Centered

Future of Learning

Our Rooms Are Full of Collective Intelligence. We Need Collective Measurement.

Guest Author

Oct 12, 2026

Learner-Centered

Why the Experience of Experience Matters: Designing learning through experiences that actually have an impact

Guest Author

Oct 1, 2026

Future of Learning

Districts Don’t Need Another New Model. They Need Systems That Build Them.

Katie Martin, Devin Vodicka

Sep 4, 2026

Future of Learning

Student Voice, All Grown Up

Guest Author

Sep 3, 2026

Learner-Centered

Coming Full Circle: The Portrait Lives Through Students

Abby Benedetto, Kimberly Erickson

Aug 17, 2026

EdTech

Beyond the Classroom Walls: What Research Says About Virtual Field Trips

Guest Author

Jul 28, 2026

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This podcast highlights developing trends in K-12 education, postsecondary and lifelong learning. Each week, Getting Smart team members interview students, leading authors, experts and practitioners in research, tech, entrepreneurship and leadership to bring listeners innovative and actionable strategies in education leadership.

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EdTech

How Student Feedback Shaped New Features for English Language Learners in Math

Guest Author

Jul 27, 2026

What happens when you build EdTech features by actually listening to students? Kyron Learning partnered with the AIMS Collaboratory and the Gates Foundation to study motivation and engagement among English language learners in middle school math, and the findings drove real product changes. This piece traces how closed captioning, highlighted transcripts, and clickable definitions emerged from classroom observation rather than assumption, offering a model for what participant-driven, learner-centered product development can look like at its best.

Leadership

Coalition Before Consensus: How Trust and Shared Ownership Sustain Transformation

Rebecca Midles, Nate McClennen

Jun 29, 2026

System transformation rarely fails because of a bad strategy. It fails because the relationships needed to sustain it were never built. In this piece, Rebecca Midles and Nate McClennen draw on real district leaders to show what coalition-building actually looks like when the messy middle arrives. From a rural Michigan superintendent who started with the willing to a Kansas City microschool that put students in the design seat, this is a practical and deeply human look at what makes change last.

Ed Policy

Some Student Data Should Never Become Digital

Guest Author

Jun 15, 2026

By: Charles Fadel, Center for Curriculum Redesign Adapted from “Cognitive Security Architecture for Student Learning Data” Schools have been capturing student data for decades, and eventually will also use new applications such as Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) that can adapt to each student’s pace, performance,…

SEL & Mindset

What If School Offered More? The Case for Community Schools

Guest Author

Jun 4, 2026

Community schools boost student success by connecting learning with mental health, family support, and local community resources.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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