Mosaic Podcast

Can rural communities be vibrant engines in the coming high-tech economy? EDC's Pam Buffington believes it's possible. For the past year, Buffington has been examining a new initiative that links schools and labor markets in rural east Texas. The work, which is funded by the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, is already changing lives and expectations about what is possible in rural economies. In this podcast, Buffington discusses what she is seeing.

As the pace of innovation in science and technology continues to accelerate, there is tremendous opportunity—and need—for women and people of color to join the STEM workforce. In this podcast, EDC's Andrés Henríquez discusses why he sees STEM education as an issue of social justice, and what STEM employers can do to recruit and retain more talent from all backgrounds.

Women veterans of the U.S. military have all the skills needed for success in STEM fields, but they remain underrepresented in high-tech industries. In this podcast, we meet two women veterans who have made the jump from service to working in STEM industries: Angela Dickson and Stephanie Primeaux. EDC’s Rebecca Lewis also offers her perspective on what employers and policymakers can do to engage and retain more women veterans in the STEM workforce.

It’s been one full year since schools around the world pivoted to distance learning as a preventive measure against the coronavirus. In this podcast, Amanda Devercelli, the global lead for Early Childhood Development at the World Bank, and Rachel Christina, the director of International Basic Education at EDC, examine what teachers and education policymakers can learn from a year when learning via the Internet, television, and radio became the norm.

2020 has been an exceptionally different—and difficult—school year for many of the 9 million students who attend rural schools in the United States. Not only has hybrid and remote learning has replaced face-to-face instruction, but the pandemic has drastically affected the economic stability and physical health of many families in rural communities. In this podcast, Pam Buffington, Director of Rural STEM Initiatives at EDC, and Mara Casey Tieken, an associate professor of education at Bates College, discuss how rural schools are adapting to new realities—while continuing to meet the needs of students and their families.

This past June, the Minneapolis school board voted to terminate its contract with the city’s police department. It was a big victory for the police-free schools movement, which seeks to shift schools’ disciplinary cultures away from punishment and towards equity and justice. But what’s next for Minneapolis--and other districts—which are contemplating a police-free future? In this episode, EDC’s Meg Caven discusses how school leaders can reimagine school discipline without relying on law enforcement.

Over the past 25 years, prison education programs that teach STEM skills have been cut, effectively preventing individuals who are incarcerated from entering the STEM workforce after they have served their sentences. In this episode, EDC’s Eden Badertscher and Stan Andrisse of the Prison to Professionals program discuss their efforts to improve STEM learning opportunities in prisons, and how this work is critical to making any meaningful progress toward racial equity and justice. To join the discussion on these topics, email STEM-OPS@edc.org.

For more than thirty years, interactive audio instruction (IAI) has been used to improve education in remote and impoverished communities around the world. In this episode, EDC’s Kit Yasin and Carrie Lewis discuss why IAI is so well suited to deliver education to millions during the pandemic, and how Ministries of Education can begin implementing these educational programs at scale.

Tracking shadows, planting seeds, and exploring the natural world are all core to science learning in the elementary classroom. How have these activities changed now that all students are distance learning? In this episode, we hear from two science educators about the current state of elementary science education: Rebecca Katsh-Singer, the science curriculum coordinator for the Westborough Public Schools, and EDC’s Abigail Jurist Levy, who directs the Coalition for Elementary Science.

As any teacher can tell you, elementary school children often struggle to record their mathematical ideas on paper. So EDC’s Paul Goldenberg and Kristen Reed are giving children a different way to express their ideas: through computer programming. In this episode of Mosaic, Goldenberg and Reed discuss why they think programming is an effective tool for expressing mathematical ideas. They also share stories from the classroom.

In many schools, social and emotional learning (SEL) now takes place alongside traditional core subjects like mathematics, English, and social studies. In this episode, EDC’s Diana Wogan and Josh Cox dive into new REL Northeast and Islands research about how districts are assessing SEL programs. They also offer guidance to administrators.

With COVID-19 temporarily closing school buildings around the world, many educators are now being asked to teach online. In this episode of Mosaic, EDC’s Kirsten Peterson and Zoe Baptista offer some tips for building community and promoting real learning in the online classroom.

A newly released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that while overall life expectancy in the United States ticked up in 2018, the rate of suicide increased as well, continuing a 20-year trend. In this episode, EDC’s Jerry Reed and Kristen Quinlan break down the new data.

As advances in technology continue to reshape the American workplace, how well are schools preparing young people for the opportunities that await them? In this episode of Mosaic, EDC’s Joyce Malyn-Smith and Katherine Shields discuss the types of skills that today’s students need in order to succeed in tomorrow’s economy. They also explore the role that career technical education and career academies can play in delivering a high-quality, relevant education to high school students.

Babette Moeller and Matt McLeod discuss their efforts to make mathematics teaching more equitable.

Adwoa Atta-Krah discusses how the unique approach of a program in Mali is making a difference by helping children learn to read.

Cindy Hoisington discusses changing perceptions about what “doing science” means and describes efforts to work with schools and families to inspire the next generation of scientists.

Jerry Reed, a suicide prevention expert and Navy veteran himself, discusses what the Veterans Administration is doing to prevent suicide among veterans and comments on the importance of taking a public health approach to address this growing crisis.

Individuals with lived experience can bring an important perspective to suicide prevention efforts.

David Jacobson describes the First 10 Schools and Communities model and also shares observations from promising early childhood programs across the country.

Loraine Lucinski discusses how parents’ opioid misuse affects children and infants, and how home visiting programs are critical to supporting families who struggle with substance misuse.

Cornelia Janke describes the challenges faced by young people living in crisis and conflict zones around the world and what the international community can do to support the creation of societies that are stable and secure.

Shai Fuxman and Julie Riordan discuss how traumatic experiences can affect kids at school and highlight some programs that are making a difference.

Denise Clarke-Reeves and Sarah Nogueira Sanca discuss why an estimated 300,000 Liberian children do not attend school and how EDC’s work is helping to get more children back into the classroom.

Kit Yasin discusses the importance of speaking in language development and shares a clip of a Honduran student using the new program EDC is developing in collaboration with Skype.

Thelma Khelghati discusses what it takes to promote literacy in resource-lean environments.

Viwe Mtshontshi discusses how comprehensive sexuality education is connecting youth with health services and helping to change attitudes about health and sexuality.

Abigail Jurist Levy discusses the Coalition for Elementary Science and describes how to inspire young students’ interest in the subject.

President David Offensend discusses EDC’s legacy of innovation, as well as our impact on education, health, and workforce development.

Bonnie Lipton discusses some of the current ways that colleges and universities are addressing the need for mental health and suicide prevention programs.

Gary Langis discusses strategies that can play a significant role in keeping individuals alive in the days and weeks following an overdose.

Erin Smith talks about some of the barriers to care faced by women veterans. She also discusses Women Vets on Point, a new outreach program from EDC and U.S. VETS.

Shai Fuxman discusses the critical role that upstream prevention efforts play in helping to prevent opioid abuse.

Kim Dash and Kristen Quinlan discuss how to use existing and emerging research to build substance abuse prevention programs that work—and that last.

Dodi Swope and Chuck Klevgaard offer ideas for how health professionals, social services, and policymakers can work together to prevent opioid abuse.

Shari Kessel Schneider discusses what parents and educators need to know about the increasing popularity of new forms of smoking, like e-cigarettes and Juuls.

Sarah Ivan describes how prescription drug monitoring programs work and why they have so much potential to turn the tide against opioid abuse.

Carrie Parker on Supporting English Learners by EDC

Intro music is “Rain on Lake Erie”, from http://www.purple-planet.com