Learning Counsel Report Podcast
Context on K-12’s education’s imperatives from the most connected K12 thought leader in education. Each podcast offers interviews of executives in education or the ed-tech industry, research from the Learning Counsel and the renowned insights of LeiLani Cauthen, who has been helping define this century’s real change to teaching and learning from a deep understanding of our schools and innovations in computing and learning software for over twenty-five years.
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AI Futures in Education with Serena Saks-Mandel, Global CTO for Education, Microsoft
04/10/2024
AI Futures in Education with Serena Saks-Mandel, Global CTO for Education, Microsoft
What could happen when all the artificial intelligences converge? That’s just part of this conversation between Serena Saks-Mandel, the Global CTO for Education at Microsoft, and LeiLani Cauthen. Starting of with introducing her not-associated-with-Microsoft new book, “Empowered: Frame your Narrative, Own your Power” available now on Amazon. Like in all things from Serena, the stories have high energy and resonance for anyone – a powerful light and lesson is shown in this book to take away from its many mini-stories. In this podcast, after LeiLani brings up Serena’s new book, the conversation naturally turns to the need for educators to see the future is first and foremost going to be a balancing act of becoming more resolutely human, a time of perfecting our human-ness. Four other future-leaning predictions are made in a jumble you need to listen closely to discern – plus seven types of AI including machine learning, generative, recommendations engine, voice, vision, embedded (IOT) and spatial-temporal. Hear what Serena and LeiLani have to say happens when it all comes together.
/episode/index/show/thelearningcounsel/id/30772733
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Changing the Culture of Math Learning
04/01/2024
Changing the Culture of Math Learning
Maybe math learning could be better if it was in sync with the current generation’s culture – that of Generation Alpha. LeiLani interviews Brandon Smith, the Lead Mathematician and Product Director at MIND Education about how learning-by-doing is a key part of a new cultural address for math learning. While Brandon gives specific examples of what can be done, the discussion also turns to equity in learning and development. Brandon also gives key specific points of what the math learning itself needs to involve – an education in math education!
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Building the Culture of Security in Schools
12/18/2023
Building the Culture of Security in Schools
Culture of security? Listen in on this unique conversation with Helen Patton, the Cyber Security Strategic Advisor from Cisco. The discussion of security in schools is not just about digital citizenship, passwords, and the like, but about leadership. Cyber security in schools is not just a “job for the IT people,” but a sense of morality in individual behavior of all parties because schools are intermingled in many ways with the digital world and not just brick and mortar buildings at every level of their operations. This podcast has lots of information about the types of threats and interesting stories relating to the human side of security.
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Gen Alpha and Being the School of Choice
11/02/2023
Gen Alpha and Being the School of Choice
Listen in on this rousing conversation about the Alpha Generation which is defined as people born 2010-2024 – the current crop of students in K12 schools. Research has shown they prefer the screen to humans, and although older generations find that terrible, it’s a fact that still has a profound impact on how they can be effectively taught and what they expect. Ramifications for technology and teaching are discussed between the host, LeiLani Cauthen and Mary Schlegelmilch, Education Advocate from Cisco who has been an early childhood educator, a middle school science teacher, a district curriculum facilitator, an elementary school principal, and has served as the eLearning Supervisor in charge of online, blended, and distance education for Omaha Public Schools. Multiple aspects of the Alpha Gen are enumerated with comments and observations made by both speakers.
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What is the Science of Learning Math?
10/02/2023
What is the Science of Learning Math?
Listen in to our interview with Nigel Nisbet, a rock musician, AP Physics and AP Computer Science teacher who did a tour of duty in an all-girls school, plus a specialist who devotes his time to reaching into the structure and beauty of mathematics and discussing the “science of learning math” from many angles. Nisbet who is currently the VP of Content Creation at MIND Education mentions how teaching modalities have changed and how learning has had to delve into facts of how people learn and the neuroscience of it all. He mentions a lot of the important mechanisms within the subject of math that are being addressed with advanced technology and what it means. LeiLani points out these important things that the software can do that human teachers find difficult such as true personalization for each point of potential student struggle, followed by Nisbet discussing how the “science of” is developed to manage this positively while still involving the teacher for certain particular human interactions to leverage expertise and emotional connection which causes better learning.
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Actionable Learning Through Engagement
09/05/2023
Actionable Learning Through Engagement
What is actionable? What is real engagement? LeiLani discusses these things, and a novel definition of equity with Dan Tracy from MIND Education. Dan’s triple threat as a teacher, coder and trainer, makes this podcast discussion an interesting reveal on how to approach instruction – especially the subject of math.
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5 Ways to Accelerate Math by Doing
07/29/2023
5 Ways to Accelerate Math by Doing
A discussion with Ki Karou about the challenges of teaching today. Karou introduces five areas that the science of learning has identified as key to students’ doing – and how those are aids to accelerating learning, including the awesome capability of helping learners potentially jump through multiple grades to catch up in little time. Listen in to learn about things the neuroscience has uncovered including “self belief,” “schema building,” and more. Ki Karou is the Senior Director of Product Content at MIND Education, where he leads a team of learning and game designers, artists and mathematicians. Ki has been designing neuroscience-driven ed tech solutions for over a decade and is widely published and a top speaker in the edtech industry.
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Responsible AI and Future AI
06/20/2023
Responsible AI and Future AI
LeiLani interviews Justin Jordan, a former educator and Senior Product Manager at Cisco about the definitions of AI, how AI has permutated into many aspects of technology and what we need to be responsible for as we humans brave the new world where AI is in everything. Also find out things about Cisco and AI you might not have known by listening and learning.
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How We Should Respond to AI and What’s Next
06/20/2023
How We Should Respond to AI and What’s Next
Listen in as LeiLani discusses how we should be responding to AI in education with long-time friend and esteemed colleague in the field, Roland Antoine, Innovative Projects Manager at Dallas ISD in Texas. Roland introduces the idea that the problem is the “problems definition” and that we must proceed to use AI against clearly defined problems, and that AI should be able to act like a GPS of content for students. Both agree AI will not replace teachers but that we are in an age of applying a new wave of creativity in the same way humans applied it in the transition from the farming Agrarian Age to the Industrial Age and into the Technology Age. At each turning point, more horizons opened. Hear what’s next that AI will bring to education that will also change how space and time is used.
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Making the Most of Remaining ESSER Funds
05/29/2023
Making the Most of Remaining ESSER Funds
Fear of the “fiscal cliff” and what to spend remaining ESSER funds on is a hot topic in schools. Listen in as Leilani discusses the topic with Jon Hummell, Director of State Initiatives at Lexia Learning. Productive use of the money may not be what you think.
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AI and Algebraic Thinking About Time & Space in Schools
05/10/2023
AI and Algebraic Thinking About Time & Space in Schools
Listen in as LeiLani chats with Maurice Draggon, Sr. Director of Digital Learning at Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida. First they discuss the implications of AI in schools and then the emerging time and space AI known as Intelligent Calendaring for its possibilities and then the combination of both new technologies for “uberizing” learning. Along the way, comments about what AI will not do and the human teacher intersecting live with students more efficiently makes for an interesting conversation you don’t want to miss.
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Shrinking School IT Teams & 3 Imperatives
04/10/2023
Shrinking School IT Teams & 3 Imperatives
Listen in as LeiLani discusses the problems of shrinking school IT teams and three imperatives with Mary Schlegelmilch, who as a former educator has extensive knowledge in distance learning and online learning as a member of the Cisco Education team. Discover how the three imperatives are a “team sport” of administrative, teacher and even bus driver activity.
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What is the Science of Reading (Through the Lens of Pedagogy and Teacher Practice)?
04/03/2023
What is the Science of Reading (Through the Lens of Pedagogy and Teacher Practice)?
Listen in as LeiLani learns a thing or two about the what the science of reading really is from Carey Sweet, National Senior Education Advisor Education Partnerships at Lexia Learning. While reading may be thousands of years old, the science of it has evolved over time. Good literacy instruction has elements and components – and deliberate practice. For certain the wars over reading instruction are getting an infusion of research and new approaches that are worth finding out about.
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A Social-Emotional Imperative: Supporting both Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorders (DLD) through Software Innovation
03/16/2023
A Social-Emotional Imperative: Supporting both Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorders (DLD) through Software Innovation
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen, talks with Dr. Suzanne Carreker, Principal Educational Content Lead at Lexia Learning. Today’s topic: contrasting dyslexia and developmental language disorder and understanding the differences between the two.
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Education Technology for Emergent Bilinguals: Overlooked Aspects to Consider When Interpreting the Research
01/23/2023
Education Technology for Emergent Bilinguals: Overlooked Aspects to Consider When Interpreting the Research
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen, talks with Nicholas Feroce, Ph.D., Research Scientist at Lexia Learning about research design in the area of emergent bilinguals, and program causality to effect notable gains among that population.
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Cybersecurity in K12
01/04/2023
Cybersecurity in K12
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen, talks with Mary Schlegelmilch, Education Advocate at Cisco. They discuss the changes in K-12 education, and how the pandemic changed culture and mindset, and brought cybersecurity in education to another dimension.
/episode/index/show/thelearningcounsel/id/25505946
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Dimensions to Math Equity
11/28/2022
Dimensions to Math Equity
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Twana Young, Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction for Mind Research Institute. In addition to access, Young explains that there's also agency and power and identity and belonging, and those are all part of the different dimensions of equity, especially around mathematics. As Mind Research Institute builds out content and curriculum, they are thinking about the opportunities for agency, and who has the power. It is a fascinating look at equity through a different lens.
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Accelerating Math Learning through the Science of Math
11/15/2022
Accelerating Math Learning through the Science of Math
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Nigel Nisbet, Vice President of Content Creation at the MIND Research Institute. Nisbet shifts the question from ‘How should I teach,' to ‘How do they learn?’ It’s a profound difference which helps you to focus on optimal learning methodologies, and to gain an understanding of the Science of Math.
/episode/index/show/thelearningcounsel/id/25023330
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Inspiring Math Learning through the Science of Math
11/07/2022
Inspiring Math Learning through the Science of Math
Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Jay Flores, Global STEM Ambassador, and founder of Invent the Change. “If our youth aren't loving math, or at least somewhat excited by it and challenged by it in positive ways, then they're going to have trouble with those problem-solving skills and navigating through ordinary life in the future,” said Flores. This is a fascinating look at the value of mathematics and STEM in the world of Emergent Bilinguals.
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Making Literacy Skills Age Appropriate for Your Students
11/01/2022
Making Literacy Skills Age Appropriate for Your Students
As education embarks on pandemic recovery, the mission of continued support for literacy skills beyond early elementary grades is emerging as vital. What does this mean for teachers needing solutions for literacy skill gaps after those foundational school years? Listen in as Host LeiLani Cauthen discusses structured literacy strategy through bite-sized professional development with Meg Van Voorhis, Director of Professional Learning at Lexia.
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Removing Accent Bias in the Classroom: Where Technological Excellence Meets Human Intelligence
10/13/2022
Removing Accent Bias in the Classroom: Where Technological Excellence Meets Human Intelligence
Listen in to guest Maya Goodall, Senior Director, Emergent Bilingual Curriculum - from Lexia Learning - as she informs us about accent bias and how technology is coming to the rescue. Host LeiLani Cauthen marvels at the ingenuity of this latest technological breakthrough that uses Artificial intelligence (A.I.) alongside advanced speech recognition and human intelligence to help students from many languages with English language development. Learn important points about capitalizing on learning in a foreign language to advance English language learning. Hear the thinking around how supporting heritage languages creates more culturally sustaining learning environments where all students can equitably feel welcome and advance in their learning.
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Learning Loss and Acceleration
10/11/2022
Learning Loss and Acceleration
A discussion with Dr. Tiffany Hogan, MGH Institute of Health Professions, and Dr. Liz Brooke, Chief Learning Officer, Lexia Learning, about what the post-pandemic research is showing about learning loss. Guests mention that over thirty States are implementing laws or policies around evidence-based instruction. Further discussion about the challenges of learning loss and acceleration for students, including how teacher training is bringing a new level of precision to teaching using professional grade courseware. Don’t miss this podcast for the points being made and personal stories about the meaningfulness of addressing learning loss.
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Education's Serious Decision Point
09/15/2022
Education's Serious Decision Point
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen talks with Mary Schlegelmilch, Education Advocate at Cisco. They discuss the post-pandemic world, and the technology-driven changes that will catalyze an increasingly bright future among learners in this world.
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Your Share of the Stimulus Wallet
09/12/2022
Your Share of the Stimulus Wallet
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen talks with Phyllis Jordan, Associate Director of Future Ed, and Brittany Martin, Education Department Relations Manager at Lexia Learning. “The Learning Counsel has been tracking Stimulus funds and spending with our big national surveys,” said Cauthen. “There's anywhere from $140 billion and maybe as much as $171 billion still in the game for K12. And a lot of that money is the last act, which is going straight to districts, so the states don't get to play funny money with it. The districts have to spend it and we're imploring them to do that, and most of it is voiced by that act towards technology. So, let's talk about this. What have the two of you been hearing?”
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The Right Now Imperative is Learning Logistics
08/09/2022
The Right Now Imperative is Learning Logistics
What is logistics when it comes to education and learning? This podcast defines them and goes further, hosting Mary Schlegelmilch from Cisco, a seasoned educator who consults schools and Cisco itself about where education is going. Commentary on the perfect storm of teacher shortage, personalization demand and a lack of reasoned workflow are punctuated with a vision of network maturity to meet the future. Progress that elevates human teachers with a surround of tech, potentially also changing the way space and time are used, is part of the lively discussion.
/episode/index/show/thelearningcounsel/id/24005619
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Devolution & Cascading Failure in Schools
06/09/2022
Devolution & Cascading Failure in Schools
Research sourced from multiple industries and the definition of both devolution and cascading failure are the topics of this podcast. The mass teacher shortages are mirrored in other industries, and some new data from the insurance actuaries are indicating part of the “why.” At the end, LeiLani challenges listeners with the key questions about meeting challenges in K12 that will come as soon as Summer 2022.
/episode/index/show/thelearningcounsel/id/23381024
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Aftermath of the Pandemic for K12
06/06/2022
Aftermath of the Pandemic for K12
In this podcast, LeiLani discusses the teacher shortage, what teachers were doing during the lockdowns, video conference call fatigue, the face of consumerized learning and the consumer awakening during. The perfect storm of these things plus the “short form versus long form” learning issue is discussed as influencing what schools need to think about post the pandemic.
/episode/index/show/thelearningcounsel/id/23343518
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Practical ways to make literacy instruction more equitable
06/01/2022
Practical ways to make literacy instruction more equitable
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Report, your Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Carrie Doom and Michele Pulver, both with Lexia Learning. With no holds barred, Cauthen lays it on the line, asking the team from Lexia, “Why is literacy at the heart of educational equity?” According to Pulver, “Literacy is at the heart of equity because it's the foundation of everything that we ask our students to do. 85 percent of what we present to students is based in text. Kids have to be able to read to participate in classroom activities, classroom instruction, and to be ready for college and career. We know that the educational landscape is not equitable right now. We know now, looking backwards at the pandemic; it shined a glaring light on the fact that access to technology is not equal.” Doom added, “having a high-quality educator, not by chance, but by design, is critical, knowing that best practices that are rooted in neuroscience and cognitive science in the way that we teach children to read, and teaching children to read is the key that unlocks the door to opportunities across their lifetime.” Don’t miss this critical podcast: get the facts.
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Towards Real Transformation
05/16/2022
Towards Real Transformation
In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Report, your Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Chris McMurray, the Learning Counsel’s new Chief Academic Officer. As the Learning Counsel begins direct engagements with schools and school districts, Chris McMurray will take the point and help guide them towards real transformation. According to Cauthen, “There's a new future being built. First, there's a teacher shortage and almost every single district is talking about that. And the few that weren't were experiencing other elements of the perfect storm, which is they're losing students, there's an attrition to the homeschooling movement and alternatives, that is just massive.” “The reason we're deepening the service level from the Learning Council to school systems is because they need help, somebody to come alongside who not only has the crystal ball, but also has the implementation experience to do the things now required of school systems", said McMurray. “We've put together a nice package of supports, including Advisory Schools and Hybrid Logistics, within our Innovation Services, a division of the Learning Council that provides those much needed consultative advisory services.”
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Practical Examples of Classroom Equity in Language Instruction
04/13/2022
Practical Examples of Classroom Equity in Language Instruction
When entering our education system as an emergent bilingual, the nuances are everything. Especially if you have an eye towards equity. In this episode of The EduJedi Report, Host LeiLani Cauthen and her guest, Javier Ruiz, Education Content Specialist – English Language Development at Lexia Learning, discuss the growing awareness of equity as we serve our emergent bilingual students (historically known as English Language Learners), and a more culturally aware mindset for learning which includes multiple accents and dialects for superior learner self-identification.
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