Global Ed Talks with Anthony Mackay

Charles Leadbeater, an internationally renowned author and advisor on innovation, discusses how systemic change in education can lead to greater student agency with NCEE's Anthony Mackay.

Tracey Burns, an international education researcher, talks with NCEE's Anthony Mackay about potential directions for education around the world.

America Achieves CEO Jon Schnur discusses the importance of a good jobs agenda and the role of career pathway systems for preparing children for the next economy.

Anthony Mackay speaks with Bob Schwartz, professor at Harvard University and co-founder of the Pathways to Prosperity network, about what America needs to do to update its CTE system to match leading countries around the world.

In this interview, Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Jal Mehta argues that our current system of schools—designed in the early 20th century industrial era—need to become modern organizations capable of supporting deeper learning for all students.

NCEE CEO Anthony Mackay spoke with Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University, president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, and a member of NCEE's Center on International Education Benchmarking advisory board. The two discussed what it might take, in this post-pandemic moment, to strengthen our public education system and ensure that it supports social cohesion, economic prosperity, and individual and collective well-being. Darling-Hammond explained that historically there is an “anatomy of inequality” in the U.S. education system. Poverty and segregation, unequal school resources, inequitable distribution of well-qualified educators, and lack of access to a rigorous curriculum work against too many of our students.

Anthony Mackay is joined by Arne Duncan, former Secretary of Education during the Obama administration. In his current role as managing partner at the Emerson Collective, Duncan leads Chicago CRED, an effort that aims to improve opportunities for young people in Chicago with a specific focus on tackling gun violence. During the interview, Duncan highlights the power of education and its role in strengthening our nation’s democracy. Duncan identifies what he calls "nation-building goals" that the U.S. should focus on that include: improving access to high-quality pre-K; increasing the national high school graduation rate to 90 percent and incrementally working toward 100 percent; and boosting the rate of college completion. He also details the critical importance of providing equitable supports in U.S. schools, saying that the students most affected by the coronavirus pandemic should be given the time, technology, and talent they need to thrive.

Anthony Mackay is joined by James Pellegrino, founding co-director of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) interdisciplinary Learning Sciences Research Institute, and member of NCEE’s Board of Trustees. Pellegrino’s research and development interests focus on children's and adult's thinking and learning and the implications of cognitive research and theory for assessment and instructional practice. He has contributed to several National Academy of Science/National Research Council studies, including How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School and How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. During the interview, Pellegrino and Mackay discuss how people learn and the “deep learning debate.” Pellegrino also shares his views on the future of assessment of student learning in the U.S. and associated policy implications.

Anthony Mackay is joined by John White, co-founder and board chairman of Propel America and member of NCEE’s Board of Trustees. Mackay and White reflect on the unprecedented year that was 2020, make predictions for 2021, and discuss how the incoming Biden administration can create a positive, lasting impact on education in the US for years to come. During the interview, White, who previously served as the Louisiana State Superintendent of Education as well as Deputy Chancellor for the New York City Department of Education, details what he views as the highest priority items of an education change agenda that responds to the initial crisis caused by the pandemic but also has a long-term system-wide focus.

Anthony Mackay is joined by Dr. Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and member of NCEE’s Board of Trustees. A first-generation college student, Dr. Thompson works to ensure all Kentuckians have an equal opportunity to improve their lives through postsecondary education. During the interview, Dr. Thompson shares insights from his recently released co-authored book, Implementing Innovative Leadership in an Inclusive Learning Environment, that provides educational leaders with ­effective, research-based strategies for delivering culturally competent, responsive, and inclusive school leadership. Dr. Thompson also highlights a four-step process to be used to implement and assess culturally competent leadership: awareness, acknowledgement, acceptance and action, which he refers to as “A4th.”

Anthony Mackay is joined by the Honourable Patricia HEKIA Parata, former Minister of Education for New Zealand and member of NCEE’s International Advisory Board. Parata’s previous experience as a policy analyst and politician, and her current roles, amongst others, as an International Advisor to the Supreme Council for Education, Development and Training Kingdom of Bahrain and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, allow her multiple perspectives on education reform. During the interview, Parata addresses the politics of education in a pre- and post-COVID world, identifying equity as the biggest issue education systems will face today and into the future. She also highlights the important roles differentiation and personalization will play in teaching and learning in post-COVID schooling.

In his fourth interview of 2020, Anthony Mackay is joined by James Spillane, Professor in Learning and Organizational Change at the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Spillane’s work explores the education policy formulation and implementation process at the state, district, school, and classroom levels, focusing on intergovernmental and policy-practice relations. During the interview, Spillane proposes a multilevel framing of educational leadership, arguing for more expansive notions about leadership in the educational sector that reach beyond person and place to embrace a system-wide outlook.

In the third Global Ed Talks interview of 2020, Anthony Mackay is joined by Michael Fullan, recognized as an international authority on educational reform and co-director of the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning global initiative, for a discussion focused on the intersection of system leadership, deep learning and equity. During the interview, Fullan, the former dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and professor emeritus of the University of Toronto, shares insights from his recent book, The Devil Is in the Details: System Solutions for Equity, Excellence, and Student Well-being, and highlights opportunities for deeper learning presented by the coronavirus pandemic. Watch the interview below or listen as a podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

Anthony Mackay is joined by Andreas Schleicher, director of Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and member of CIEB’s International Advisory Board, to discuss how education systems across the globe are responding to the coronavirus and how the pandemic may impact the future of teaching and learning. In the interview, Schleicher, a global thought leader in education and artificial intelligence (AI), highlights the importance of innovation and collaboration in light of the current crisis as well as enhancing the role of the learner. Mackay and Schleicher also discuss redesigning education systems for a future AI world and explore how AI can be used to more productively support 21st century learners.

Anthony Mackay sits down with Carol Campbell, associate professor of Leadership and Educational Change at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), to discuss teacher learning and leadership in today’s changing world. Campbell, whose research focuses on strengthening professional capacity to improve student opportunity, learning, achievement and equity, highlights the importance of teachers sharing and developing their own learning by engaging in professional learning opportunities. As an example, Campbell details the Teaching Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP) in Ontario, a joint initiative through a partnership between the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) and the Ontario Ministry of Education, in which teacher teams apply to receive funding to conduct a project linked to an area of student need they’ve identified. These teachers then become responsible for the professional learning of others and commit to sharing their knowledge and practice beyond their own school.

Anthony Mackay sits down with Joanne Weiss, former chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and NCEE Board of Trustees member, to discuss how states are working to align their instructional systems. An independent education consultant, Weiss currently works with states involved in the Council of Chief State School Officers’ Instructional Materials and Professional Development (IMPD) Network to increase the use of standards-aligned, high-quality instructional materials by teachers in every classroom and ensure that professional learning is wrapped around these materials.

Anthony Mackay sits down with Peggy Brookins, President and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to discuss the current state of the profession, building and promoting an evidence-informed learning profession, and priority areas of action to advance the profession – all in the interest of deeper and broader student learning.

Anthony Mackay and Bror Saxberg, vice president of Learning Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, discuss the intersection of technology, curriculum, assessment, computers and cognitive science.

Anthony Mackay discusses the future of learning with Michael Stevenson, senior advisor to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) program at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Anthony Mackay sits down with Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution, to talk about leapfrogging — harnessing innovation to rapidly accelerate educational progress.

Anthony Mackay sits down with Vicki Phillips, Executive Vice President and Chief Education Officer at the National Geographic Society. Phillips oversees the Society’s evolving education strategy and programs focused on transforming the classroom experience for millions of students and educators — inspiring generations of planetary stewards — to help advance one of the Society’s most important goals: a planet in balance.

Anthony Mackay sits down with Vivien Stewart, senior advisor for education at the Asia Society and a member of the NCEE Board of Trustees to discuss how the demands on teaching are growing every year. The need to educate all students to high levels with 21st century skills, digital competency and the ability to filter through such modern issues as “fake news” are just a few issues that are challenging teachers. Meanwhile, countries around the world are struggling to recruit high-quality teaching candidates into the profession. However, a few select countries have managed to recruit and maintain a high-quality, stable teaching force that can rise to the challenges of modern-day teaching. Drawing on her experience with the International Summit on the Teaching Profession, Stewart outlines the strategies these systems have used to create, over time, an end-to-end system of teacher recruitment, preparation and support.

Anthony Mackay sits down with Maureen McLaughlin, senior advisor to the secretary of education and director of international affairs at the U.S. Department of Education, to discuss the department of education’s first international strategy, Succeeding Globally Through International Education and Engagement and its update, which is designed to simultaneously strengthen U.S. education and advance U.S. international priorities.

Anthony Mackay discusses the intersection of artificial intelligence and education with Charles Fadel, founder of Center on Curriculum Redesign and author of Four-Dimensional Education.

Anthony Mackay is joined by University College London Emeritus Professor and CIEB International Advisor Dylan Wiliam to discuss his recent book Creating the Schools Our Children Need.