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This podcast highlights developing trends in K-12 education, postsecondary and lifelong learning. Each week, Getting Smart team members interview students, leading authors, experts and practitioners in research, tech, entrepreneurship and leadership to bring listeners innovative and actionable strategies in education leadership.
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Beyond the Classroom Walls: What Research Says About Virtual Field Trips
Field trips have always been more than a day away from desks. They are the moments students remember, the experiences that build empathy and ignite curiosity. A new Getting Smart post examines what the research says about virtual field trips and offers a classroom-ready framework that helps educators design experiences worthy of that same legacy. For leaders looking to expand access and deepen engagement without waiting for a bus, this is a practical and visionary read.
How Student Feedback Shaped New Features for English Language Learners in Math
What happens when you build EdTech features by actually listening to students? Kyron Learning partnered with the AIMS Collaboratory and the Gates Foundation to study motivation and engagement among English language learners in middle school math, and the findings drove real product changes. This piece traces how closed captioning, highlighted transcripts, and clickable definitions emerged from classroom observation rather than assumption, offering a model for what participant-driven, learner-centered product development can look like at its best.
Schools Are Testing the Past: How Assessment Must Evolve for Writing, Speaking, and Listening in the AI Age
When a student completes a writing test in a locked browser, we learn what they can do alone. But the world asks something harder: can they use AI without being used by it? In this sharp and timely essay, Eric Tucker argues that assessment for writing, speaking, and listening has not kept pace with how communication actually works, and maps a practical path forward. Education leaders navigating AI policy, curriculum design, and high-stakes testing will find both a diagnostic and a blueprint here.
Steward Stories: Spotlight on Providence After School Alliance
What does it look like when a city becomes a learning campus? The Providence After School Alliance spent two decades answering that question, aligning schools, city agencies, and community organizations so young people could access high-quality learning far beyond the school day. This Steward Story traces PASA's evolution from a bold response to a local crisis into a nationally recognized model for ecosystem building, credit-bearing out-of-school learning, and the kind of coordination that outlasts leadership transitions. For education leaders navigating fragmented systems, PASA's journey is both a blueprint and a call to action.