Getting Smart Podcast

Rebecca Wolfe, founder of Threadwell Solutions and former leader at KnowledgeWorks and Jobs for the Future, focuses on turning classroom innovations into system change. She discusses why ideas stall, the micro-mezzo-macro barriers, and how leaders and regional agencies can build networks, playbooks, and continuous improvement to help promising practices spread.

Meghan Utech, an education leader building standards- and competency-based and adventure learning programs. Tim Hejnal, a district leader rethinking system design toward community-grounded competency and adventure learning. They discuss Lake City’s adventure learning roots and a K–12 continuum. They explain why the district chose deep system change, how they supported staff through shifts, and how community priorities shaped investments.

Steph Locke, work-based learning expert focused on durable skills and learner agency. Stephanie Reisner, seasoned education and workforce leader who built employer-linked centers and apprenticeships. They discuss what high-quality work-based learning looks like at scale. They explore employer preparation, regional ecosystems, a six-part design framework, and how to expand access through partnerships and capacity building.

Vriti Saraf, CEO of Ed3 and education leader exploring AI’s impact on teaching. She discusses reimagining teacher roles like learning architect, life navigator, and community connector. Conversation covers risks of automation, how AI can extend human relationships, and the system changes needed for role specialization and equity.

Gianna Biaggi, founder and executive director of the Magnolia Project, builds community-connected learning that links students with local mentors. She discusses immersive, hands-on career exploration. Topics include rural partnerships, a three-phase pre-work/immersive/reflection model, durable skills like agency and engagement, and practical strategies for scaling through local businesses.

Students describe hands-on, project-based learning that reshaped their ideas about school. They share designs for 2040 classrooms with CTE spaces, collaborative labs, and public performance areas. School visits and real-world projects inspired 3D printing, agriculture, and community storytelling. The conversation highlights student voice, long-form project rhythms, and growing public speaking confidence.

Dr. Deborah Kenny, founder of Harlem Village Academies and author of The Well-Educated Child, champions deeper learning, intellectual agency, and purpose-driven schooling. She discusses Montessori and IB influences, Socratic dialogue and low-tech classrooms, and why rigorous, student-centered practices build concentration, agency, and ethical purpose.

Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia unpack a wide-ranging set of ideas shaping the future of learning, from AI "hive minds" and youth relationships with AI to portraits of a graduate, durable skills, and real-world learning. They explore what it means to prepare students for a non-routine economy where judgment, collaboration, agency, and ownership matter more than ever. Along the way, they highlight innovative school models, reflect on new research and reports, and consider how education systems can better connect technical skills, human development, and future-ready experiences. Outline (0:00) Intro (13:13) School Spotlights (20:52) Preparing Students for the Non-Routine Economy (31:34) Durable Skills & Experience Matters Report (37:20) Human Expression (40:56) What's That Song? Links Watch the full video here Artificial Hivemind: The Open-Ended Homogeneity of Language Models (and Beyond) Youth, AI, and the Relationships That Shape Them Good Riddance to Regents Exams? Or Will Ending Them Leave a Void for N.Y. Grads? The Academies Of Hampton Amp Lab at Electric Works The Pearl Arts Innovation Institute Amp Lab at The Refinery 3Rivers Federal Credit Union Banking Internship Humanist Essay Harvard Medical School

Jean-Claude Broussard, CEO of Digital Promise and longtime education leader, discusses building unbounded learner pathways. He covers visibility and recognition gaps that block access. He explains co-creation with learners and communities. He highlights credentialing, regional pathway design like Alabama cybersecurity, and how AI and tech can support powerful, purpose-driven learning.

Ted Dintersmith, author and education advocate who founded What Schools Could Be, argues for rethinking math as applied sense-making. He discusses replacing rote drills with estimation, statistics, probability, modeling and real-world projects. They explore how tests and AI shape instruction and why math should build curiosity, confidence and civic data literacy.