This Week with EdSurge

EdSurge Podcast

This Week with EdSurge is the essential weekly podcast that takes you past the headlines and deep into the fascinating, fast-evolving world of education. Hosted by Ira Apfel alongside our talented team of EdSurge contributors, each episode cuts through the hype to explore the human stories shaping our schools—from the rise of artificial intelligence in the classroom to student well-being, shifting policies, and the future of teaching. Whether you are a classroom educator, a district leader, an edtech innovator, or simply a curious mind, this show delivers the rigorous, empathetic, and trusted journalism you need to understand where education is headed.

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494 episodes
Updated July 29

Episodes494

Newest first

Jun 30, 2020 · 28 min
Do Selective Colleges Favor the Rich and Work Against the American Dream?
A new book, The Merit Myth, argues that selective colleges have become places that block social mobility, and instead “fast-track the elite to ever higher status.” One of its authors, Anthony Carnevale, makes the case for why higher education needs to be more accessible.
Jun 23, 2020 · 24 min
A First-Gen College Student Talks Fauxmencement, Loan Debt and Advice for Educators
Zipporah Osei is a first-generation college student who wants to fill in knowledge gaps about navigating colleges for others like her. So she started an email newsletter called First Gen. The project can help educators and school and college leaders get a clearer picture of what the college experience is like for those who have no family experience with higher education.
Jun 16, 2020 · 24 min
What a Forgotten Instructional Fad From the ‘70s Reveals About Teaching
In the 1960s and '70s, an experimental form of teaching made a big splash at colleges. It was called PSI, or the Personalized System of Instruction. And it's largely forgotten, says Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, author of a new book on the history of college teaching in America. Here's what today's colleges can learn from the fad.
Jun 9, 2020 · 37 min
Reading, Writing and .. AI Literacy? Conrad Wolfram Wants to ‘Fix’ Math Education
The coronavirus pandemic is the latest example of why math literacy is key to daily life, as people struggle to understand health statistics and attempts to "flatten the curve." Our guest this week, Conrad Wolfram, says that the education system has done a terrible job preparing us to live in a world where number crunching is more important than ever. He has a new book out this week called The Math Fix: An Education Blueprint for the AI Age. In it, he proposed a new way for schools to think about math education, and what even needs to be taught and why.
Jun 2, 2020 · 18 min
Parents Are Getting More involved During Remote Learning. Is That a Good Thing?
Parenting is a tough job in the best of circumstances. And if you’re anything like me, it’s been even harder in the age of COVID-19, with the new role of helping students go through their online classes. Now that we’re more involved, are we doing it right? Are we too permissive or too helicoptering? In short, what does that ideal balance of parental involvement actually look like?
May 27, 2020 · 36 min
A Professor Known for Viral Videos Gives Advice for Teaching Online
Micheal Wesch is a rare professor who is a celebrity on YouTube. He’s made education videos that have gotten more than 10 million views, and Wired magazine once gave him an award for his innovative viral videos. He is also an award-winning classroom teacher. But he hates being on camera, and was initially reluctant to teach online. These days he's sharing his tips to help other professors work to better connect with students remotely.
May 20, 2020 · 24 min
Did Students Learn As Much During Remote Online Instruction?
As this chaotic and unexpected semester comes to a close, we wanted to know how well this online teaching went, and what it felt like from the instructor point of view. Was it as good? Did the students seem to learn as much? So for this week's podcast, we talk with two college professors who debrief about how the partially remote semester went.
May 13, 2020 · 25 min
Why Students Want Tuition Refunds Over Shift to Online Teaching
Should colleges be giving students a partial refund on tuition since their campuses were forced to shift teaching online for the COVID-19 pandemic? Students around the country say yes because they say that online is not as good as what they signed up for. But is college just like any other service, like dry cleaning or going to a restaurant? What are students paying for, and what are colleges really selling?
May 6, 2020 · 32 min
Researcher Behind ‘10,000-Hour Rule’ Says Good Teaching Matters, Not Just Practice
You've probably heard of the "10,000-hour rule" popularized by author Malcolm Gladwell, which says that it takes that much practice to gain mastery of a complex subject area. The professor who Gladwell cites as the basis of that rule, Anders Ericsson, says things are a bit more complicated than the popular author explained.
Apr 29, 2020 · 33 min
How YouTube Star John Green Thinks About His Educational Videos
In this time of pandemic, when schools and colleges have shifted teaching online to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, more and more teachers find themselves making videos for their students, and more students are turning to educational videos online. So for this week’s podcast, we decided to reach out to one of the masters of making educational videos, John Green, for his advice and thoughts on education during this unprecedented time.
Apr 21, 2020 · 22 min
Studying While Financially Stressed During COVID-19
Today we’re talking to two students facing financial challenges, as part of our series about how COVID-19 is impacting education. One is an undergrad struggling to balance his studies and a precarious financial situation at home, and the other is a grad student with six-figure debt with a surprisingly upbeat view of his situation.
Apr 16, 2020 · 15 min
What a Global 'Corona Diaries' Project Reveals About Education During The Pandemic
There's a new global effort called Corona Diaries. This simple but elegant website invites visitors to record a short audio clip answering one of three prompts: How was your day? How has your life changed? Or What’s troubling you right now? Even though people could talk about any aspect of their lives during COVID-19, a large percentage of the clips come from either parents struggling to homeschool their kids while schools are closed, or educators trying to make sense of this time.
Apr 14, 2020 · 25 min
One Teacher’s Year Inside the World’s Largest Library
The largest library in the world is the U.S. Library of Congress, and each year it invites one teacher to serve as a Teacher in Residence. This year that's Jen Reidel, and she's been at the Library of Congress researching, writing and seeking out primary sources that K-12 teachers across the country could use in their classroom lessons. Here's what she's learned.
Apr 7, 2020 · 24 min
When 7 Family Members Continue Their Studies While Sheltered In Place
One house in Massachusetts is suddenly brimming with remote learning. With seven family members all trying to keep their studies going while their schools or colleges are closed, it's an accidental experiment about how different students are reacting to emergency remote instruction.
Apr 3, 2020 · 19 min
The Future of K-12 School Post-Coronavirus
Today we’re looking at what K-12 schools could look like after social distancing is over and people reassess what they want from our school systems. To do that we talked with Simon Rodberg, who has been the principal of a charter school in DC, and is the author of a forthcoming book from ACSD called "What If I’m Wrong? and Other Key Questions for Decisive School Leadership."
Mar 31, 2020 · 27 min
How a Preschool for At-Risk Children Is Prioritizing Mental Health During COVID-19 Closures
Last fall, EdSurge wrote about a specialized preschool program in Ohio for kids who have experienced severe trauma. These are kids who depend on wraparound services such as meals, transportation and mental health services. So when the coronavirus hit and Ohio's governor closed schools, this program had to scramble to come up with a plan: How would they ensure their kids got fed? Would they have to stop counseling sessions? Would the TIP kids slip further behind?
Mar 26, 2020 · 21 min
Bonus Episode: Scenes From College Classes Forced Online by COVID-19
With college campuses across the country shut-down due to COVID-19, teaching has suddenly moved online. For many students and instructors, this is the first time they've done online learning. So how is it going? We talked with students and professors to hear what their experiences look and feel like so far.
Mar 24, 2020 · 28 min
‘Let Yourself Off the Hook’: Advice for Teachers and Parents During COVID-19
The new realities of the COVID-19 pandemic are starting to set in this week, as schools across the country have closed and shifted to online learning. This week on the podcast, EdSurge spoke with Christine Elgersma, a senior editor of social media and learning resources at the nonprofit Common Sense Media. As both a parent and a former teacher, Elgersma understands just how much is being asked of educators and families right now. She offers some actionable advice for teachers and parents looking to better support their children—and themselves.
Mar 17, 2020 · 35 min
How Librarians Continue Their Work Digitally Even as Coronavirus Closes Libraries
We’ve been doing a lot of coverage this month of schools and colleges closing and shifting online to try to finish out their semesters amid this pandemic. And of course, libraries that are being forced to shut their doors are trying to shift online too. To get a sense of what the widespread closure of libraries could mean, and hear some creative ways libraries are reaching out digitally, I connected yesterday with Jessamyn West, an educational technologist who runs the librarian.net blog and is author of "Without a Net: Librarians Bridging the Digital Divide."
Mar 11, 2020 · 24 min
Bonus Episode: Coronavirus Has Led to a Rush of Online Teaching. How Can Professors Manage?
Every day, a new batch of colleges announces that in-person classes are closed and teaching will shift online to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. So EdSurge asked our teaching advice columnist, Bonni Stachowiak, to offer a quick primer for teaching online. We also talk to her about a debate that has been going on among long-time online teaching experts about whether it’s a good or a bad thing for online learning that there’s this crisis forcing so many to try this mode of instruction.