Sora Learning Lab

In this episode, Garrett sits down with the VP of Learning and Curriculum Bozena Pajak to learn about how Duolingo thinks about making language learning accessible to the global general public. A trained linguist, Bozena touches on motivating language learners, using data to guide product iterations, and what's on the horizon for Duolingo.

In this episode, Garrett sits down with venture capitalist, author, and filmmaker Ted Dintersmith to talk about the need for evolving performance assessments in schools. Ted also gets into student motivation in learning environments and the effect of access to technology on the curriculum that we teach.

What would it look like to have a global community of founders building the future of education and the future of work? One where founders support each other and are provided with the resources and connections to help them thrive? That's the idea that pushed Alberto Arenaza, recently named one of Forbes 30 under 30, to start Transcend Network.

CEO of Mastery Transcript Consortium Mike Flanagan joins Garrett to take a look at how we measure learning. Why isn't the traditional grades system a good model and what innovative ideas are behind MTC's work?

In this episode, I sat down with Hailey Maffett, one of our Sora Students who joined us in September 2021. Before coming to Sora, Hailey attended many different schools from private schools to public to online. These school experiences left her feeling unmotivated, unintelligent, and lost. Since finding Sora she has found a new perspective on education, the world, and herself. In this episode, we get into how Sora has changed her feelings toward school and what she is capable of.

Brandon is the Director of Project-based learning at Khan Lab Schools, the famous laboratory school founded by education and Khan Academy founder Sal Khan. Brandon's educational experience started at Tuft University where he studied child development, with a focus on incorporating engineering into the elementary classroom. After getting his MA in Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He launched Boston Public Schools' first Engineering Program. He moved to San Diego to lead the engineering program at High-Tech Elementary school. Now Brandon leads curriculum and instructional design in his current role at Khan Lab Schools.

Dr. Christian Bell Onyemali is the director of evaluation and learning at 4.0 schools an organization that connnects, coaches, and invests in people; to test new learning spaces and tools within their community. Prior to 4.0 schools, Christian worked at Austin Independent School District, Teach for America, and Kipp in Texas. Providing Data and Evaluative Support to increase student achievement. She is a firm believer in the power of education and achieving educational equity.

Jennifer Carolan is the Co-founder and General Partner at Reach Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in education companies that expand the reach of education. Jennifer grew up in Chicago and attended two different high schools in the city and the surburbs. Jennifer taught in traditional public schools for 7 years, pursued an MA in Education from Stanford, then went on to learn the craft of venture capital for almost a decade before co-founding Reach Capital. She found venture to be a powerful lever to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of opportunity, especially for those without a voice.

Thomas Gaffey is the Chief Instructional Technologist at Building 21, a nonprofit organization that is reimagining secondary schooling to meet the needs of all learners. Prior to his current work, Thomas studied computer engineering and was a math teacher for a number of years. Thomas is nicknamed "Mr. Pedagogy", as he has always stressed to his colleagues the importance of pedagogy coming first and how his organization should be training teachers on not just on technology tools, but good pedagogy and teaching.

Esther Wojcicki is no stranger to the concept of innovation. She's the famous parent of the Wojcicki sisters, all of whom have achieved tremendous professional success: one is now the CEO of Youtube, the other the CEO of 23andMe, and the last a leading researcher currently at UCSF. She has written two books, one on parenting called "How to Raise Successful People" and one on pedagogy called "Moonshots in Education". Esther herself has an impressive resume. As a former high school teacher that has earned multiple teaching awards, she has a long career in education, journalism, and technology. Now, Esther is the co-founder of Tract, a peer to peer learning platform where kids ages 8 to 14 watch videos created by inspiring and ambitious teenagers.

Lucy Chen has a history of being on the cutting edge of education innovation. She was one of the first graduates of Minerva University, a new nomadic university dedicated to promoting science of learning and global immersion. Currently, Lucy serves as the Head of Learning Design at Curious Cardinals. Previously, she's worked on a number of projects as an independent learning experience designer, like her learning object design work at the Reach Every Reader Project and her teacher professional development project at Expanse Online Middle School. Lucy is a strong advocate for learner-centered design in education tools and environments.

In January 2016, Dr. Megan Sumeracki co-founded the Learning Scientist Organization to make scientific research on learning more accessible to students, teachers, and other educators.

Glenn Whitman was just a history teacher before learning about the importance of neuroscience in education. Now he serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, where they train teachers to use research-informed and personalized strategies to help their students.

Late in his education career, Matt Bateman became fascinated with the Montessori method. Now, as VP of Pedagogy at Higher Ground Education, he oversees the schools' teaching and curriculum and how to help students develop agency and independence in their childhood.

Through her work as the Associate Director of the Connected Learning Lab at UC Irvine, Vera Michalchik studies learning in its many forms and settings—including community, home, online, and workplace environments.

In 2014, MIT graduate Alec Resnick set out to start a new kind of public high school called Powderhouse Studios, where students work in groups on deep, hands-on projects of their own design.

Trace Pickering wasn't a good student when he was in school. Fortunately, an English teacher inspired him to develop a new attitude towards his life and career and become a teacher himself. He quickly learned that his own students were just as bored and unmotivated as he was back in school.In 2013, community and school leaders in Cedar Rapids came to Trace Pickering with a proposal: start a high school program that brings the local community and the school together and make learning relevant and contextual to students.