Course of Mind

In this final episode of Season 1, Course of Mind unearths a question to ponder - What if the best use of technology in the classroom is to make education more human? In this second part of conversation with Dr. Bror Saxberg, Vice President of Learning Sciences at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Course of Mind podcast looks at the future of technology and education. Yes, advances in technology will no doubt deliver highly tailored learning for each student. But for Saxberg, the most exciting prospect is using technology to free up teachers to spend more time with students. Teachers could then focus on building a stress-free environment that's most conducive to learning. Saxberg also says technology could give teachers a holistic picture of how a class is faring. Finally, Saxberg sees technology helping teachers to find evidence-based solutions for their toughest learning problems.

Forgetting what you were taught a week ago isn’t a shortcoming; it’s just part of being human. The inability to recall information may say more about teaching methods than your intellectual capacity. To help students really learn takes an understanding of how the brain works. Something as simple as changing the way a teacher asks questions can help ensure that learning is taking place. That’s the message of Dr. Pooja Agarwal, a cognitive scientist and former K-12 teacher, who has long sought to bridge the gap between the learning sciences and the classroom. In this episode of Course of Mind, she presents what scientists know about learning and how teachers can put it to use. 

As educators, we teach the students we believe they are. But if we don’t know who we are as teachers, how do we know who our students are? Dr. Vanessa Rodriguez, co-author of the book “The Teaching Brain,” talks about how teachers can become better educators by being more keenly aware of how their personal beliefs and traits affect how they see students and approach the learning process. If teachers are never taught to explore those lenses, they are missing who their students truly are. By understanding three sides of themselves -- private, public and perceived - teachers can build  relationships that help students thrive. Vanessa reminds us that teachers are learners too and cautions that the education community’s focus on student-centered learning  ignores crucial components of the learning process - that learning is an interaction.