Ways We Learn

I've spent years in the field of ed tech. Along the way, I became disappointed by a lot of what I saw.

There has been way too much “shiny new object syndrome,” and way too little of the actual learning transformation that it promised. Starting with blackboards, then whiteboards, then radio, then film strips, then TV, then calculators, then computers, then many other EdTech things – they all promise transformative learning, but they...

Think about your experience with education. What was that experience like? For many of us, organized learning was sort of like a factory. A bunch of students along for the ride, not necessarily wanting to be there, but ingesting a lot of information that was handed down by a teacher, and waiting for a big scary test at the end.

Now think about a time you've played a game. You may have found the game more enjoyable than som...

It’s the day before Election Day.

We’ve got two challenges for you:

1. Vote
2. Talk

Quick but important episode today.

Links and further reading:

https://cdn.forumcomm.com/dims4/default/2074791/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1200x800+0+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F94%2Fa2%2F652b525841fc9355463860f2bf49%2F080622.op.dnt.cov...

We covered AI as early as the second episode of this show. It’s so central to the education landscape today and it's something that all of us are really interested in just personally and professionally. So we were very excited when our friend Rob Cobb reached out to us about the work he's doing and how he's thinking about AI and education these days.

We all worked professionally with Rob back at Flatiron school. Joe hir...

Three steps to create a human-centric business:

✅ Create a healthy work environment

✅ Build an amazing team

✅ Trust them

Piece of cake, right? 😅

No way it was easy, but Elizabeth Henries did it. And today you get to learn how.

Elizabeth is the founder and CEO of Henries PLLC, an award-winning boutique law firm.

She discusses her unique approach to creating a human-centered law firm, focusing on flexibility, empathy, and a shar...

It's so hard to change. We love doing things the same way because it's much more comfortable and easier than doing new things differently. 😅

But if you've lived in this world for more than a few minutes, you know that change is a constant and we need to learn how to cope with it. Much of our experience in life is learning how to cope with change. Ideally not just cope, but thrive in it.

Luckily, there are peo...

Two things to know before you listen:

First: in the business world, the notion of “scale” means expanding your operations and profit without sacrificing performance or efficiency. It’s a big deal for companies who get it right. Think Amazon, for example.

Second: our guest says attempts to scale nearly always fail. Which is one reason there aren’t a lot of Amazons.

Mike Goldstein brings years of thinking about scale t...

So much of what we focus on in education involves improving the brain’s unassisted functioning and skill: focus, motivation, understanding. Basically: how well does a person think, and how much can they improve that thinking. 🧠💪

But there are also natural and artificial substances that can modulate and improve brain chemistry and function. 💊🧠💪

Have you ever drunk a cup of coffee as a stimulant first thing in the morning (or, m...

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with a friend from our time at Flatiron School! Juliana Stonebrook led the educational experience at Flatiron’s Austin campus. She’s studied teaching and web development and worked with all ages from elementary students to senior citizens. Right now she’s designing learning experiences for YPO, a global leadership community of chief executives, and is a dedicated homeschooling mom to her four ...

We first heard of Minna in the context of an event she ran. It was called, and I’m not making this up, “The First Qualifying Round of the World Championship of Powerpoint Karaoke.” Which was a subsequent event to the ACTUAL “World Championship of Powerpoint Karaoke.”

So what else could we do but reach out and meet her?

Minna Taylor is an accomplished speaking coach and a world-traveler. She’s the Founder of Energize Your Voice and ...

Merritt Minnemayer, founder and CEO of Master of One Coaching, joins Ways We Learn to discuss the impact of executive coaching and leadership development. Merritt shares her journey from theater to leadership coaching, emphasizing the importance of asking powerful questions, maintaining presence, and creating agency for individuals. The conversation investigates the nuances of powerful coaching through powerful questions and explor...

Did you love Lena’s CEO wisdom in our last episode? Here’s a bonus!

Lena shares a lesson from therapy about personal responsibility, and discusses more about the “Order of Operations Framework” as well as its overall “inside-to-outside” approach.

Contents:

• 00:10 A Lesson from Therapy
• 01:33 Self Leadership
• 03:15 The Importance of Self-Awareness
• 05:05 Reparenting and Self Care
• 06:33 Facing Insecurities and Seeking Suppo...

Lena West is one of those people you just get the sense could do anything. She got her start in IT, then built and ran her own social media strategy company for 10 years, and since then has spent the last decade helping CEOs become better CEOs.

She’s the Founding Director of CEO Rising™, a first-of-its-kind business incubator/accelerator hybrid, dedicated to helping founders and entrepreneurs GROW the business they've built.

In...

Check it out, it’s a bonus episode of Ways We Learn!

Amin Shaykho stuck around a bit longer after our main conversation about Kadama (https://open.spotify.com/episode/646angy3O2xLe38y8YlrqF) to discuss AI in education. We talked about prior learning revolutions in STEM fields, AI's potential across all subjects, the importance of AI specialists in schools, and overall the need for educational institutions to adapt and evolve te...

We’re living in the gig economy. Uber and Lyft are verbs, you’ve stayed at an Airbnb, bought groceries from Instacart… but have you tried a tutoring-on-demand service?

Meet Amin Shaykho, Founder and CEO of the innovative education platform Kadama. Amin details his journey from immigrant roots to becoming a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, with help from his TikTok and Instagram wizardry that garnered 2.5 million followers and over 1 bil...

Eric Hudson is serious about creating meaningful learning, and his recent work has focused on AI in education. He says:

“How we frame AI for ourselves as educators will affect how we frame it for our students, and I believe strongly that how we talk to students about AI will have a lasting impact on how they see its role in their own lives.”

A few of our conversation topics:

• Students want to produce authentic and meaningful w...

Everyone’s talking about AI these days, but it’s not that often that you get to speak with someone who can really pull back the curtain on how the future of AI is taking shape.

But that’s why you listen to Ways We Learn, isn’t it!

Claire Zau is a Vice President at GSV Ventures, an early stage edtech Venture Capital firm at the forefront of transformative technologies that are shaping the future of education and work. Some notable ...

Ways We Learn is going even deeper into some of our topics by examining them in some short series! We'll start with AI.

Actually, we've already started! Our last episode was the first in this series: AI in Higher Ed with James Genone!  Next week's episode will feature Claire Zau on What's Next in AI.  And then we'll have Eric Hudson on to talk about AI policy and implementation in schools.

Find the next episode...