Academic Distinctions: A Podcast to Make Sense of American Education
Hosted by Stephanie Melville and Zac Chase, "Academic Distinctions" is a podcast for educators that tackles the reading and research teachers often don't have time for. With experience as classroom teachers, district administrators, and federal policy wonks, the hosts bring a unique perspective to discussions on education's "greatest hits" and current events. The podcast is committed to delivering engaging, informative, and actionable content that is relevant and responsive to the needs of educators.
Episodes
13 episodes
0012: Do we need to know more about cybersecurity than a re-watch of Hackers and Sneakers?
Zac and Stephanie talk with Senior Director for Preparedness and Response at the Institute for Security and Technology, Michael Klein about the importance of cybersecurity for school systems, what families can do to help studen...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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42:25
011: A Conversation with Former Secretary of Education John King, Pt. 2
In this conclusion of our conversation with former U.S. Secretary of Education John King, we ask how we can build community and conversations with folks with whom we feel we have nothing in common. Secretary King offers his example ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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14:53
010: A Conversation with Former Secretary of Education John King, Pt. 1
Zac and Stephanie welcome former U.S. Secreatary of Education John King to the show to discuss his new book Teacher by Teacher. In this first part of the conversation, we discuss where we can find hope as public educat...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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36:24
009: What might be the power in doubting our own self doubts?
Almost 20 years ago, Carol Dweck's work on mindsets set the education world ablaze. Not long after that, the field started using Dweck's work in some helpful and not-so-helpful ways. In this episode, Zac and Stephanie sit down with ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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42:00
008: Where's our money, Linda?
The Supreme Court says it's okay for the Trump Administration to shutter the U.S. Department of Education while they wait for the case to formally reach them. AND, the Office of Management and Budget withholds BILLIONS of Title funds from state...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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33:48
007: How much research is enough to know...anything?
Stephanie and Zac talk with Dr. Maggie Beiting-Parrish about the possible intended and unintended consequences of John Hattie's work and what we should be asking when we see research in education and beyond.
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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32:37
006: Why our brains like order and how John Hattie's rankings impacted education
In this episode Stephanie and Zac talk to Dr. Ji Son from Cal State Los Angeles to get a better understanding of why it's so hard to add complexity to information once we've got our minds made up as well as some helpful tricks to make new infor...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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37:28
005: You'll miss your Office for Civil Rights when it's gone
Stephanie and Zac talk with guests Katy Joseph and Sam Ames - the two most recent former chiefs of staff for the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). They discuss OCR's origins, work, and possible future with a 50% redu...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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29:38
004: A pyramid scheme for learning?
Stephanie and Zac unpack the of one of the most famous pyramids in education (Bloom's taxonomy) and attempt to draw a line from its post-WWII origins to the requirement of teachers writing their objectives on the board.For the second hal...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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35:22
003: What is IDEA and what's the future of special education with the skinny budget?
Meghan Whittaker, former chief of staff for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education joins Stephanie and Zac to explain IDEA. From their they look at what could be the national impact on 7....
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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46:11
002: Head Start, What Makes a School Public, and Parents Opting Out of Inclusive Books
In this episode Dr. Jon Becker joins Stephanie and Zac to wrestle with another round of Head Start on the chopping block and the Supreme Court's impending decisions on what makes a public school...public...(or private?) and whether or not paren...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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45:58