The Future of DEI in Higher Education

Parental rights movements have gained much momentum in recent years with huge potential to impact the future of public education. University of Massachusetts (Lowell) Associate Professor Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire, also hosts of the education policy podcast "Have You Heard," say there's more happening with these movements than meets the eye. For the past few years, parents and schools have been embroiled in controversy on everything from banned books to curriculum choices to mental health clinics on campuses. This isn't the first time in education history where we've seen such movements, but Berkshire and Schneider say we need to pay closer attention to the political agendas behind them, and what this means for public education. In this episode, they reflect on the history of parental rights movements, the political agendas at play, and how these movements impact educators and students.

15 Feb 202330min

Despite growing concerns about generative artificial intelligence, like ChatGPT, in education, Harvard's Chris Dede isn't overly worried. As a researcher on emerging technologies, he's seen many decades where new technologies promised to upend education. Instead, Dede knows artificial intelligence requires educators to tweak how they teach in order to truly take advantage of what AI has to offer. As the associate director of research for the National AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education, Dede says AI raises the bar and it has the power to significantly impact learning in powerful ways. In this episode of the EdCast, Dede talks about how education needs to get smarter to work with artificial intelligence.

8 Feb 202320min

Longtime educator Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade thinks schools have been focused on equality for too long and need to fundamentally rethink it. He says equality is not producing the results that schools really need of providing all students with a quality education. While visiting schools many years ago, he noticed educators used the terms "equality" and "equity" interchangeably. Then, he started tracking what that actually means and the data demonstrates it doesn't work. What would schools look like if they were truly equitable places? In this episode of the EdCast, Duncan-Andrade reimagines what education could look like in America if we dared to break free of the system that constrains it.

30 Nov 202228min

Mostly everyone has had some connection to hip-hop, especially students today, according to Harvard Lecturer Aysha Upchurch. It's more than just rap music, hip-hop is a cultural movement consisting of MCing, DJing, breaking, graffiti, and knowledge. It's been a part of our lives for almost 50 years. When we think about education, Upchurch says, it's important to consider hip-hop as part of it. As the director of HipHopEx, an experimental lab at Harvard that explores hip-hop pedagogy, Upchurch has experienced firsthand what can happen when education welcomes hip-hop with open arms. In this episode of the EdCast, Upchurch breaks down what hip-hop is and isn't, and ways that educators can incorporate hip-hop into their relationships with students and schools.Share this episode with your networks! Use #HarvardEdCast and tag HGSE on any social media channel.Twitter: @HGSE Instagram: @harvardeducationFacebook: @HarvardEducationLinkedIn: Harvard Graduate School of EducationTikTok: @harvardeducation

23 Nov 202232min

Many elementary schools around the nation have little time or support to focus on social studies. It may explain why we see topics like Thanksgiving reduced to simple acts of gratitude or longstanding myths opposed to its more complex history. University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor Noreen Naseem Rodríguez says the lack of social studies in elementary curriculum is "heartbreaking" and really necessary for democracy. But it's not about just teaching any social studies, it's about making an effort to teach an anti-oppressive social studies -- or one that tells the full story about the nation and all its people. “When we think about anti-oppressive social studies, we're really thinking about ways to bring those who have been marginalized for so long to the center, and to find ways to teach social studies so that every child in a classroom can see themselves reflected in who is a part of a community, who is a part of this nation's history. And it isn't just about the great things that have happened in this nation, but really engaging with some of that complexity in ways that are appropriate for young children,” she says. “We don't want to terrify them, we don't want to traumatize them, but making sure that students feel seen and that they have a sense of belonging no matter who they are, what their identities are. And that requires us to really throw out a lot of the stuff that's traditionally been used in classrooms.”In this episode of the EdCast, Rodríguez shines the light on the current state of social studies in elementary schools and why it needs to change. She shares ideas about how educators can lean into teaching uncomfortable narratives and some of the challenges to doing this work. Share this episode with your networks! Use #HarvardEdCast and tag HGSE on any social media channel.Twitter: @HGSE Instagram: @harvardeducationFacebook: @HarvardEducationLinkedIn: Harvard Graduate School of EducationTikTok: @harvardeducation

16 Nov 202229min

Harvard Lecturer Laura Schifter wants more schools taking climate action. Schools are major contributors to climate issues in ways that educators and administrators may not even realize. Schifter says it goes beyond just the high use of energy, but also school buses and high food waste. The good news is schools can do a lot to shift its carbon footprint and make it part of student’s education at the same time. Schifter, who leads the K12 Climate Action Initiative at the Aspen Institute, aims for 100,000 schools to run entirely on clean, renewable energy in 10 years. But what is it going to take to get there? In this episode of the EdCast, Schifter outlines the reasons why schools must act now and shares the many resources available to make change a reality.

9 Nov 202220min

The latest National Assessment of Educational Progressed showed big declines in students' math performance -- in some cases as low as 20 years ago. The results showcased the effects of the pandemic and in particular how hard it was to teach math, say Harvard experts Heather Hill and Jon Star. In this episode of the EdCast, they share why the scores dropped significantly, how challenging it can be to teach math, and ideas on how to move forward from this moment.Share this episode with your networks! Use #HarvardEdCast and tag HGSE on any social media channel.Twitter: @HGSE Instagram: @harvardeducationFacebook: @HarvardEducationLinkedIn: Harvard Graduate School of EducationTikTok: @harvardeducation

2 Nov 202222min

Children's imaginations are complicated and impressive, says Harvard Professor Paul Harris. Yet, often times, when we watch children pretending, we write it off as fantasy or child's play. What are educators and parents missing in those moments? How can adults be better informed about the nature of children's thinking? From how children mimic reality while pretending to why children develop fears to how they differentiate between make believe and what we tell them, Harris' decades of research demystifies children's thinking. In this episode, Harris takes us on a journey through children's imaginations and contemplates how educators and parents can better use children's imaginations for learning.Share this episode with your networks! Use #HarvardEdCast and tag HGSE on any social media channel.Twitter: @HGSE Instagram: @harvardeducationFacebook: @HarvardEducationLinkedIn: Harvard Graduate School of EducationTikTok: @harvardeducation

26 Okt 202229min