Raising Problem Solvers (by Art of Problem Solving) is a podcast for parents looking to design the best possible education plan for their K-12 students — whether they’re crafting the entire experience themselves or looking to pointedly fill in the gaps. Listen to brief conversations with STEM leaders, educators, and other parents like you as they design innovative and creative educational experiences for their students. If you’re looking to train resilient students prepared to solve problems they’ve never seen before - the true currency for 21st century success in academics, career, and life - this is the show for you.
Dr. Jim Clarke, Researcher at Sapienship joins the podcast to talk about how to make sure the great problem solvers of the next generation start thinking better about the world's biggest problems, his work with Sapienship, co-founded by Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari, and all the amazing resources they're building for K12 students and teachers. Guest Links Sapienship Unstoppable Us Sapiens: A Graphic History Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Dr. Frank Keil, Professor of Cognitive Science and Director of the Cognition and Development Lab at Yale University, and author of the book, Wonder: Childhood and the Lifelong Love of Science, joins the podcast to talk about the academic superpower that is “wonder”, why generalist polymaths make for better specialists than specialists, and how to re-ignite wonder in our children if they've lost it along the way. Guest Links Wonder (Amazon) Wonder (MIT Press) Wonder (American Scientist Reviews) Guest Resource Recommendations Character Lab Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Honor Society Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Dr. Pamela Cosman (Koz-mehn), Author and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of California, San Diego joins the podcast to talk about how to make STEM subjects more fun and engaging for kids, and the specific power of learning STEM through fiction. Guest Links Dr. Pamela Cosman's Website The Secret Code Menace The Hexagon Clue Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Charlene Wang, Author, Founder of LivingOS, and previously Product Manager at Google joins the podcast to talk about parental and cultural expectations, as well as why our kids might need to break free from some of them on their path toward success. Guest Links Model Breakers LivingOS Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Dr. Monica Burns, EdTech and Curriculum Consultant, and Founder of ClassTechTips.com talks about how parents should think about picking EdTech at home, what a content vetting process could look like, and how important it is to model what a healthy relationship with technology looks like ourselves. Guest Links ClassTechTips.com EdTech Essentials Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Vida John, Math Coach joins the podcast to talk about the concept of learned helplessness, why math contests aren't just for “those” really math'y kids, and why some students who struggle at math end up being the best mathematicians. Guest Links Vida John's Website Recommended Resources Elementary Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools Math Kangaroo Middle School MathCounts AMC 8 Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Lenore Skenazy, President at Let Grow, and Founder of the Free-Range Kids Movement joins the podcast to discuss how not allowing our children opportunities to learn independence prevents them from becoming independent adults, and what to do about that if you're an anxious parent like her. Guest Links Free-Range Kids The Let Grow Project Let Grow Play Club Guest Resource Recommendations Free to Learn by Peter Gray Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Ben Orlin, Author and Educator, joins the podcast to talk about his latest book, “Math Games with Bad Drawings”, and if our students can really learn meaningful math through comics, puzzles, and games.
Lisa Smith, Founder of The Peaceful Parent joins the podcast to talk about how much more our kids learn from our actions than our words, and a 4-step process for modeling problem solving with intention. Guest Links The Peaceful Parent Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, Author, Clinical Psychologist and mom of 4 joins the podcast to discuss the difference between healthy striving and unhealthy perfectionism, and why the most capable kids are often the ones most frightened about failing academically. Guest Links Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD Smart Parenting for Smart Kids Moody Moody Cars Open Door for Parents Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Maaroof Fakhri, Head of K12 Education at Labster joins the podcast to discuss immersive education in the metaverse, and why “productive failure” is where the best learning happens. Guest Links Labster Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Authors and educators Dr. Angelia Ridgway, Professor of Education at the University of Indianapolis and Nathaniel Ridgway join the podcast to talk about the pros and cons of differentiated learning, how to customize a course down to the individual student level, and the promise of educational technology and adaptive learning within differentiated instruction. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
When children are young, all of them are creative — Coming up with wild, bizarre, hilarious, beautiful connections that seem to come naturally. As children grow, unfortunately, there's the notion that unless you're following an overtly creative endeavor like painting or writing, you can't be creative. This is entirely untrue. The reality is, we all need to find those new connections and ideas to improve any pursuit — From music to computer science. Everyone is creative, and our guest, Catherine Thimmesh, Children's Book Author, is here to explain why that creativity is muffled for some and how we can empower our children to stay creative for life. Join us as we discuss: Why teaching creativity is so critical How to teach & train creativity through prompts Why best practices & better practices can coexist Prompts for the listeners Check out this resource mentioned in the episode: https://artofproblemsolving.com/guidebook Find every episode of Raising Problem Solvers on Apple, Spotify, and more. Find us on our website. Listening on a desktop and can't see the links? Just search for Raising Problem Solvers in your favorite podcast player.
On this episode of Raising Problem Solvers, we talk Roadschooling with two families who have been RV schooling since before the pandemic and learning U.S. history firsthand by driving their classroom right up to the story. Today's guests are Kay Akpan, The MOM Trotter, and Robyn Robledo, Co-founder of Nomads with a Purpose. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Dr. Stephanie Mihalas, Licensed and Board-Certified Psychologist, Nationally Certified School Psychologist, and Founder at The Center for Well Being joins the podcast to talk about the rare serendipity when a teacher's pedagogy and your student's classroom management preference perfectly align, how to navigate situations where they don't, and when you should take actions on red flags regarding conflict between your student and their instructor. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know! Guest Links: The Center for Well Being: https://askdrstephanie.com/
Author and educator Emily Hunt joins the podcast to discuss how parents and teachers alike can easily bring STEM thinking into their homes and classrooms through quick and engaging 15-minute activities. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know! Guest Links '15-Minute STEM' Books 1 and 2: https://howtostem.co.uk/15minutestem/ Free activities and blogs about getting started with STEM: www.howtostem.co.uk
Cait Curley, school psychologist and founder of Never Board Learning joins the podcast to talk a little Wordle, her belief that almost all of school can be fun and games, and the academic power of gamification. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Learn about the need to create “wicked students” who are ready to solve the future's most wicked problems from Dr. Paul Hanstedt, Director of the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning at Washington and Lee University and author of “Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses For a Complex World.” Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Chris Peterson, Director of Special Projects at MIT Admissions and Student Financial Services, joins the podcast to discuss what MIT looks for when they're reviewing college applications, how the pandemic has affected their decision process, and next-steps advice for having an MIT-friendly application. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know !
Deana Creiss, Former Director of ImprovBoston's National Touring Company and currently Sr. Organizational Development Specialist at Perkins School for the Blind, joins the podcast to discuss why learning the improv mechanism of “yes, and” is such a critical skill for problem solvers to learn, and easy ways to incorporate improv into the school day. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Have an idea for the show? Visit aops.com/podcast and let us know!
Matthew Rascoff, Vice Provost for Digital Education at Stanford University, talks about the positive learnings from the pandemic's emergency remote learning experiment, the boundary being broken between in-school and after-school learning, and the future of digital education.
Dr. Eugenia Cheng, mathematician, educator, author of How to Bake Pi, public speaker, columnist, concert pianist, artist, Scientist In Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Honorary Visiting Fellow at City, University of London, talks about simplifying and destigmatizing advanced math and restoring the deeper beauty of math to the next generation of students. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts.
Richard Rusczyk, Founder and CEO at Art of Problem Solving (AoPS), joins the podcast to talk about how the existing academic gap in our classrooms turned into a chasm after the pandemic year and how Art of Problem Solving families are navigating this new reality. Learn more about Raising Problem Solvers by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or anywhere you get podcasts. Ideas for the show? Reach us at podcast@aops.com.
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