Shows
Brain for BusinessSeries 2, Episode 48: How does diversity impact team performance? With Dr Lukas Wallrich, Birkbeck Business School, University of LondonThe question of diversity is one that we have discussed previously on the Brain for Business podcast. While the benefits of diversity are often taken for granted and assumed in the popular press and discourse, research examining the actual benefits of diversity in terms of team effectiveness and performance have – up until now – been sadly lacking. In a paper to be published shortly in the Journal of Business of Psychology, our guest today, Dr Lukas Wallrich and colleagues seek to address this gap in the literature.About our guest...Dr Lukas Wallri...2024-08-1427 min
Education for social change#14 - Mia Liyanage on decolonising universitiesThe controversial statue of Cecil Rhodes is finally (slowly) falling at the University of Oxford, and Black Lives Matter protests have started or accelerated similar discussions in many other institutions. However, UK universities are still steeped in a legacy of colonialism and White privilege. In this podcast, I discuss with Mia Liyanage who recently published a high-profile report into the matter what decolonisation means, why it matters, and what the barriers are. The conversation definitely opened my eyes in some areas and gave me ideas of how I can approach teaching a bit differently in this academic year.
2020-09-291h 01
Education for social change#13 - How Minerva reinvents undergraduate educationIn this episode, I interview Robin Goldberg, the Chief Experience Officer of Minerva Schools at KGI. Minerva started as a project to rethink undergraduate education in the US, and move it beyond the current stage when students spend a huge amount of money for what often amounts to poorly designed education. They have designed a whole new curriculum and pedagogical approach, that runs almost entirely online - an inspiration not just in the age of Covid. Apart from the state of undergraduate education and Minverva's proposed solution, we also discuss lessons learned in the process of starting a new...2020-08-1955 min
Education for social change#12 Chris Edwards on building Green School TaranakiIn this episode, I interview Chris Edwards, the CEO of Green School Taranaki in New Zealand. Before starting this school in early 2020, Chris was head of the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA), one of the largest international schools in the world; now he is building a much smaller school that is all about building a learning community in which much learning takes place outdoors and across subject boundaries.
In the interview, Chris recommends Planet of the Humans - a film that is freely available online and definitely worth watching. He also mentions the Mastery...2020-06-241h 04
Education for social change#11 Sandra Ricker on using edu tech in schools during Covid-19 and beyondSandra Ricker (on LinkedIn) is the Edu Tech Lead for Quinoa Education (webpage in German), a private school in Berlin that caters for disadvantaged children in an inner-city setting.
In this conversation, we talk about how they dealt with lock-down, and Sandra shares many practical strategies for using edu tech during the crisis and beyond. The main tool they used is padlet.com which looks like a great platform for any kind of online collaboration.
As always, if you have any comments, questions or suggestions for guests, I'd be happy to hear from you. Email...2020-06-0846 min
Education for social change#10 Lord Jim Knight on schooling during Covid-19 and beyondIn this episode, I am speaking to Lord Jim Knight (@LordJimKnight), the Chief Education Officer at Tes Global. He was Minister of State for Schools and Learning under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and has since kept on working to improve education, both as a member of the House of Lords, and in various other roles.In this conversation, we explore the challenges students and their teachers face during the Covid-19 lockdowns that have kept millions at home around the world. We discuss what schools should focus on when students return, and how the crisis might trigger...2020-05-2049 min
Education for social change#9 Prof James Tooley on low-cost private schools for the poorJames Tooley is Professor of Educational Entrepreneurship and Policy at the University of Buckinghamshire. His research work and other activities mostly focus on low-cost private schools, which he has come to see as one of the most powerful contributors to making high-quality education accessible to the poor in developing countries. In this conversation, we discuss how such schools work, why they are often overlooked in the development discourse, and how they can make a contribution. We also briefly explore James' general beliefs regarding the value of private schools that are independent of the state, and his attempts to make...2020-05-1151 min
Education for social change#8 A conversation about Catalyst, an international youth programme about the war on drugsCatalyst is an international programme for young people and their teachers that addresses the War on Drugs in the Americas. It combines several months of online collaboration with an intense summer camp and thereby tries to really enable the participants to return to their communities, make a difference and develop their own voice in shaping drug policy. In this conversation, I speak with Theo di Castri, Catalyst's co-founder and with Diana Rodriguez Gomez, their director of education, to understand their programme and the reasons for this unique design.As always, if you have any comments, questions or...2020-04-1843 min
Education for social change#7: Gwyn Wansbrough on using arts and creativity to empower youthGwyn Wansbrough is the Executive Director of Partners for Youth Empowerment who work to bring more arts and creativity into all kinds of educational settings. Here, we talk about her work, her personal journey, and a range of inspiring organisations and approaches.
If the conversation inspires you to bring some more creativity into your own education work, PYE runs excellent facilitator trainings, partners with schools to make classrooms more creative and shares a range of free training resources online. As it is a specific favourite of both Gwyn and me, we discuss Theatre of the Oppressed in...2020-03-0251 min
Education for social change#6: Ross Hall on weaving educational ecosystems for universal wellbeingRoss Hall is a co-founder of the Weaving Lab where he works to enable communities to create local educational ecosystems that bring all the different players together. With that, he wants to transform education into a force for universal wellbeing.
Before starting the Weaving Lab, Ross directed Ashoka's global educational strategy and spent a few years researching wellbeing - so he has a wealth of experience to draw on for this conversation that focuses on collective impact, system change, universal wellbeing and the demands placed on education in our current world. At the end of the conversation...2019-11-2344 min
Education for social change#5 Greg Jouriles on the Trial of Human Nature and other peak experiences for studentsIn this episode, I am speaking to Greg Jouriles who teaches at Hillsdale High in California. We speak about some of their inspiring simulations, which engage students with difficult materials across traditional subject divides, for example through a Trial of Human Nature. We also talk about how to include the spirit of such peak experiences into day to day teaching.
I initially learned about Greg's work in the book The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath, which is worth reading for anyone who thinks that students should not just remember prom when they reminisce about...2019-10-2152 min