The Education Gadfly Show

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera discusses Governor Glenn Youngkin’s and her vision for education outlined in a state report titled Our Commitment to Virginians: High Expectations and Excellence for All Students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on efforts to improve the identification of gifted students in rural communities.Recommended content:The policy paper referenced: Our Commitment to Virginians: High Expectations and Excellence for All Students.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Carolyn M. Callahan et al., “Consequences of Implementing Curricular-Aligned Strategies for Identifying Rural Gifted Students,” Gifted Child Quarterly (2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Robert Pondiscio, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and senior visiting fellow here at Fordham, discusses his wariness about social-emotional learning but rebuts the claim that it’s a “Trojan horse” for critical race theory. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on how well teachers understand their pension plans.Recommended content:Robert’s piece on SEL: “No, social and emotional learning is not a “Trojan horse” for CRT.”Nathanial Grossman’s piece: “Schools have no choice but to teach social and emotional skills.”Fordham’s parent survey: How to Sell SEL: Parents and the Politics of Social-Emotional Learning.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. McGee, and Gema Zamarro, Teachers’ Knowledge and Preparedness for Retirement: Results from a Nationally Representative Teacher Survey, Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research Working Paper (January 20, 2022). Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ashley Jochim, a principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss her research on pandemic learning pods, what parents and educators liked about them, and whether they might outlive the Covid emergency. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study of how New York City’s charter schools are affecting diversity in traditional public schools.Recommended content:Ashley’s February 2022 report: Crisis Breeds Innovation: Pandemic Pods and the Future of Education.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Sarah A. Cordes & Agustina Laurito, “Choice and Change: The Implications of Charter School Expansion for School and Neighborhood Diversity in NYC,” retrieved from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University (April 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kate Walsh, who just finished a twenty-year run leading the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), joins Mike Petrilli to discuss America’s progress (and the lack thereof) on the teacher effectiveness front over the past two decades. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study finding that an AI-capable chatbot improved student college course performance, especially for first-generation students.Recommended content:Kate’s reflections on her time at NCTQ: “In gratitude - A final message from Kate Walsh.”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Katharine Meyer et al., “Let’s Chat: Chatbot Nudging for Improved Course Performance” Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University (April 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion, and co-managing director of the organization of the same name, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss his forthcoming book, Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, And Belonging. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study in Tennessee providing fresh evidence that high-performing schools can raise housing prices.Recommended content:Doug’s forthcoming book: Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, And Belonging.Via The Acceleration Imperative: “How to instill positive school culture.”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Courtney A. Collins & Erin K. Kaplan, “Demand for School Quality and Local District Administration” Economics of Education Review (June 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jing Liu, Assistant Professor in Education Policy at the University of Maryland College Park and author of our latest study, Imperfect Attendance: Toward a fairer measure of student absenteeism, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss its findings, the notion of “attendance value-added,” and how improving school safety could help keep kids in class. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern looks at what happened when Massachusetts labeled half its students as “advanced” in mathematics.Recommended content:Jing Liu’s study: Imperfect Attendance: Toward a fairer measure of student absenteeism.The study Mike referenced that also examined “attendance value-added”: C. Kirabo Jackson, et al., “School effects on socioemotional development, school-based arrests, and educational attainment,” American Economic Review: Insights 2, no. 4 (2020): 491–508.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Christopher Avery & Joshua Goodman, “Ability signals and rigorous coursework: Evidence from AP Calculus participation” Economics of Education Review (June 2022).Amber’s previous research review of an ability-signaling intervention: “How students react to news of their AP potential.”Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Paul Hill, founder of the Center on Reinventing Public Education and emeritus professor at the University of Washington Bothell, joins Mike Petrilli and Checker Finn to debate recent reform setbacks in Denver, and whether they prove that portfolio districts are doomed. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern shares good news from a study examining the intersection of gifted education and segregation.Recommended content:Checker’s case for why these types of reforms are not politically resilient: “Denver’s cautionary tale for the ‘charter-lite’ strategy.”Paul’s response: “Denver doesn’t spell doom for portfolio-style reform.”Paul’s book on innovation schools referenced during the podcast, Strife and Progress: Portfolio Strategies for Managing Urban Schools.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Owen Thompson, “Gifted & Talented Programs and Racial Segregation” NBER Working Paper #29546 (December 2021).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Christy Wolfe, vice president for policy and planning at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss how new regulations proposed by the Biden administration could stunt the growth of charter schools across America. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a survey of student reading habits in grades K–12.You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:Christy’s piece criticizing the proposed regulations: “Biden administration’s proposed rules for Charter School Program empower districts at the expense of communities.”The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Yangsook Choi et al., “What Kids Are Reading: 2022 Edition,” Renaissance Learning, Inc. (2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

This week’s Education Gladfly Show podcast is a Research Minute–only special! Amber Northern examines a survey of district and charter network leaders about staffing challenges they’ve faced this school year—and true to the segment’s name, tries her mightiest to do so in under sixty seconds. Will she succeed? Listen to find out. (April Fools episode!)Related Content“Young Cattle Auctioneer Champion,” America’s Heartland, YouTube (December 12, 2012).“Talking Fast With a Record-Setting Speed Talker,” Great Big Story, YouTube (October 25, 2017).The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Heather L. Schwartz and Melissa Kay Diliberti, “Flux in the Educator Labor Market: Acute Staff Shortages and Projected Superintendent Departures,” RAND Corporation (2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Rick Hess, Senior Fellow and Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the cohost of the “Common Ground” podcast, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how to advance an ed reform agenda in the midst of ongoing culture wars. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern discusses a study on housing affordability’s impact on student outcomes.You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with friends.Recommended content:Rick Hess’s plan for post-pandemic schooling in The Dispatch, “Schools Are Exiting the Pandemic. What Now?”Rick’s podcast, “Common Ground,” which he cohosts with Pedro Noguera on Spotify and Apple podcasts.The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Jennifer Jellison Holme, “Growing Up as Rents Rise: How Housing Affordability Impacts Children,” Review of Educational Research (March 2022).Feedback welcome!Have ideas or feedback on our podcast? Send them to our podcast producer Pedro Enamorado at penamorado@fordhaminstitute.org.