16:1 - Education, Teaching, & Learning

This week we’re taking a break from the evolving civic situation in the U.S. to shine light on global stories in education that you may have missed.

Nepal’s National Teachers’ Strike Lifted: Teachers and Students in Nepal are resuming classes more than a month after teachers began demonstrating across the country in protests that included clashes with police over issues of teacher pay, sick leave, grading systems, and other issues. ...

Our conversation this week is with Vivian Van Gelder, Director of Policy & Research at the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition, a nonprofit that unites more than 50 community organizations, schools, parents, and caregivers behind advocacy for equitable education policy. Vivian is the lead author of a report called Left to Chance: Student Outcomes in Seattle Public Schools, A forensic history. It’s a sweeping and detailed analysis...

Higher education in the U.S. faces an unprecedented storm of political and financial upheaval, highlighting critical tensions around free speech, academic freedom, and institutional integrity. Columbia University's initial compliance with demands from the Trump administration—banning protest masks, revising protest policies, and ceding departmental autonomy—signals a troubling shift away from protecting academic freedom, but capitu...

This week, we’re reexamining old assumptions about merit and fit in higher education admissions with Emily Chase Coleman, co-founder and CEO of HAI Analytics, a company that helps colleges and universities use data to navigate challenges such as shrinking applicant pools, shifts in broader demographic trends, and rising costs. Learn how schools are rethinking what matters (beyond test scores and grades) and using new, data-driven m...

We’re rounding up and analyzing education news headlines this week on 16:1:

• The U.S. Department of Education is now half its former self—with 1,300 staffers gone and lawsuits brewing over what critics call a systematic gutting of civil rights protections. We’re sorting through the challenges and exploring the fallout on public education.
• Arrests of Palestinian student activists at Columbia have raised fresh questions about academ...

This episode features the story of how a group of more than 700 pioneering women in the UK smashed through barriers to higher education and claimed degrees from Trinity College Dublin. Denied their degrees at Oxford and Cambridge because of their gender despite successfully completing their exams, the “Steamboat ladies” made use of an early 1900s loophole to earn official recognition by making a trip across the Irish Sea. The episo...

This week’s news headline roundup covers the following stories:

• Proposed Ohio Senate Bill 1 higher education legislation targets DEI initiatives, faculty rights, and funding, sparking fierce debates across campuses.
• New research warns that leaning on generative artificial intelligence tools might be eroding our cognitive muscles, raising questions about AI tools in educational contexts.
• A NY Climate Change Education Bill would emb...

Explore the life and work of Jerome Bruner, a pioneering psychologist, multidisciplinarian, and educator who transformed the study of learning. 

• Discover how Bruner’s early experiences, including his corrective surgery for cataracts and his upbringing in New York City, influenced his path in education and cognitive psychology.
• Learn about Bruner’s role in moving psychology beyond rigid behaviorist frameworks, setting the stage fo...

This week in education news headlines, we cover:

• Australia has banned teenagers under 16 from using social media apps, with a one-year grace period for platforms to implement age verification measures.
• Disgraced college admissions advisor Rick Singer tries to stage a comeback with a new consulting venture.
• To boost incoming class sizes in a difficult economy, institutions like the University of Providence adopt direct admissions t...

Confronting Educational Censorship & Securing Academic Freedom: A Conversation with Jeremy C. Young of PEN America

In our first episode of 2025, we’re talking with special guest Jeremy C. Young, the director of state and higher education policy at PEN America, a nonprofit organization that unites writers and their allies to defend the freedom of expression nationwide. He oversees PEN America’s state policy and advocacy work...

In our final episode of 2024, the 16:1 hosts share reflections and takeaways from the 2024 NCTE National Conference held in Boston, Massachusetts. The event was inspiring and energizing, featuring notable figures such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, comedienne Kate McKinnon, social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson, and beloved authors such as Jo Knowles. Though exhausting, the conference left us re-energized and bri...

What Could a Trump 2.0 Administration Mean for Teachers and Students Across the Country?

This week we’re taking a hard look at the potential implications of a second term for former President Donald Trump on education in the United States. From funding overhauls to student safety, we explore how changes at the federal level could impact teachers, students, and educational institutions nationwide. We discuss new proposals for univers...

Voices in Teaching: A Conversation with Educator Megan Helberg

This week we are very excited to kick off a new 16:1 series called Voices in Teaching, where we will interview educators who have been recognized for innovation and excellence in their craft. Our first featured educator is Megan Helberg, who hails from rural Loup County, Nebraska, where she taught 8th-12th grade English for 15 years. In 2020, Helberg received the prestig...

Charters Closures Leave Students Scrambling

New research from the National Center for Charter School Accountability and the Network for Public Education reveals troubling patterns in charter school longevity. Analyzing over 2 million Department of Education records, researchers found that 55% of charter schools fail by their 20th year, with a quarter closing within just five years of opening. These closures, often triggered...

Confronting Misinformation: Lessons from the Classroom

Election season is upon the U.S., and with it comes a tidal wave of information—some enlightening, some misleading. In our latest episode, we explore the impact of misinformation and disinformation on schools and communities of learning.

As educators, part of our mission is to help our students become informed citizens. But what happens when the channels upon which we re...

Scandals, Subpoenas, and Student Loan Shakeups - Edu News for September 2024

Here’s the 16:1 Education News Headline Roundup for September, 2024. Don’t forget to sign up for the 16:1 podcast email newsletter for the latest news, resources, workshop offerings, and more!

• We start with a touch of chaos in Columbus, where the State Teacher Retirement System continues its rocky 2024 trajectory. A controversial board member is...

Student Well-Being: Why Mental Health Must Come First

[00:02:22]

Student well-being and strong mental health are essential for effective learning. This episode explores the growing mental health challenges faced by K-12 and college students globally. Rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues have surged, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research from the U.S. Surgeon General notes ...

Education News Headline Roundup [00:08:10]

• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is once again majorly delayed. On August 7th the U.S. Department of Education announced a rollout process for the 2025-2026 form that includes an October 1st date for limited testing, with the application set to open to all students on December 1 2024, two months later than the typical release date for the application. 
• A federal appe...

Education News Headline Roundup

• Last week brought news of a long-simmering conflict within OpenAI, a dominant player in the generative artificial intelligence space, over whether or not the company should release to the public a watermarking tool that would leave a secret trail of encoded breadcrumbs in textual output from ChatGPT.
• Updates from ongoing literacy reform initiatives across the country:
  • A literacy reform ...