Learning Counsel Report Podcast

What does it take to move a school district forward when AI is changing the nature of work, families have more choices, teachers are overloaded, and students need more than the traditional definition of academic success? Dr. Rick Surrency, Superintendent of Putnam County School District in Florida, knows something… Read more

What happens when the invisible work built into the structure of schooling becomes so great that its consequences eventually show up in learners? In this episode of The Learning Counsel Report, LeiLani Cauthen talks with Sherri Wilson, Ed.D., principal of William Dandy Middle School in Broward County Public Schools,… Read more

With the release of Supergirl creating a flashpoint in pop culture, this episode explores how Warner Bros. Discovery, DC, and Discovery Education are turning superhero storytelling into powerful learning experiences for students. LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Euan Lampitt, Vice President of Corporate Social… Read more

Hear from guest Molly Hebert Loyd, CEO of Concentric Education Solutions about how her organization is leading the charge to solve an intractable problem in schools, chronic absenteeism, with a human solution.

This podcast episode focused on the importance of coherence in classrooms and the integration of AI tools in education, featuring Sari Factor, Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer of Imagine Learning, and Jason Fournier, Senior Vice President of Product Design and AI. The discussion explored how curriculum-informed… Read more

This podcast episode focused on the importance of coherence in classrooms and the integration of AI tools in education, featuring Sari Factor, Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer of Imagine Learning, and Jason Fournier, Senior Vice President of Product Design and AI. The discussion explored how curriculum-informed… Read more

Listen in as LeiLani and Shaka Mitchell, Nashville-based lawyer, facilitator and national leader in education reform policy discuss the school choice expansion and the many different roles that AI is playing in the expansion.

Schools must be in sync with Millennial parents and their Alpha Generation children with mobile communications that drive a sense of community spirit while increasing student recruitment and retention. The landscape of schooling has scattered into a multitude of options, especially with 29 States and Washington D.C.… Read more

AI is advancing rapidly, but not all applications lead to better learning. There's a big difference between flashy, generative AI and the kind of AI that fuels real learning, especially in math. In this episode, Dan Tracy of MIND Education unpacks how thoughtfully designed, neuroscience-based programs can use AI to… Read more

With an epic teacher shortage, schools are turning to tutoring to solve for the 40% mixed ability teaching currently burdening teachers. What are the logistics of adding tutoring, how does it work? What subjects can be covered? Are tutors qualified and how does feedback work? Listen in as LeiLani and Connie Warren,… Read more

In this episode, we welcome Dan Tracy, a leading expert in mathematics education at MIND Education. Dan shares his insights on one of the biggest challenges in achieving high-quality math instruction: shifting from a procedural approach to conceptual understanding that fosters deep mathematical thinking. Dan and… Read more

Discussion with Beatriz Arnillas, Executive Director, 1EdTech Foundation With at least seven thousand educational software publishers in America, including libraries of discrete digital objects, systems, courseware, and various single-function apps, there is a lot to consider in terms of how it could all work… Read more

Math scores are down, and kids are still struggling at pre-pandemic levels, according to NAEP. District leaders need a solution now. In this episode, we tackle this issue head-on. Join us as we dive deep into practical actionable strategies you can implement immediately to address these challenges. We speak with… Read more

What does research show is really happening with declining student learning? Brian Shaw, CEO of Discovery Education, joins LeiLani to discuss what he's been seeing and what it has meant to drive new software development. For one thing, Brian talks about what parents want for their learners today is different than it… Read more

Join LeiLani as she discusses an oft-overlooked arena of classroom modernization – instructional audio. If you've ever been that learner at the back of the room with a teacher or presenter you can hardly hear, or who continues speaking while they are turned towards a presentation so their voice is now muffled, you can… Read more

As we prepare students for the challenges of tomorrow, math education must evolve to meet their needs. In this podcast, we'll explore the shifting role of math in our world and discuss how innovative approaches like game-based and visual learning are shaping the future of math education. Discover how neuroscience… Read more

Imagine saving teachers huge amounts of time because they no longer worry about students engaging low-quality information when researching online. Imagine empowering students' critical thinking skills and reinvigorating their quest for knowledge in every research assignment. Sound like another hyped Gen-AI promise? On… Read more

Meet authors and educators Dr. Joseph Jones, Superintendent of New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District and Dr. T.J. Vari, Senior Director of Product Strategy at MaiaLearning. While on tour for Learning Counsel media, LeiLani met Joseph and T.J. at the regional Baltimore event and learned of their… Read more

Join LeiLani and Dr. Ehsan Kattoula, Assistant Superintendent Accountability Division, Cobb County School District in Georgia for a discussion on "Appropriate Learning Scaffolding Using AI." Dr. Kattoula makes cogent points on how AI will need to be used in schools, what it's worth will be to learning, and what he… Read more

LeiLani embarks on a discussion with her friend Karl Rectanus, an edtech entrepreneur and former educator with a history of great innovations in the K12 marketspace. Together they bring up what's at the top of trends and dynamics in K12, starting with what's happening with AI. Karl's perspective on what will happen,… Read more

States like California and Georgia are working on curriculum frameworks that include incorporation of mathematical "Big Ideas." What are they? Listen in on this podcast with LeiLani and Brandon Smith, the Lead Mathematician and Product Director at MIND Education. The discussion opens about the possibility that… Read more

More teachers should understand that loss of engagement in the present generation of students has serious neuroscience-driven experts hot on the trail of tech solutions that curiously elevate human discourse at the same time. LeiLani interviews Senior Director of Product and Content for MIND Education, Ki Karou, who… Read more

Nigel Nisbet, VP of Content Creation at MIND Education joins LeiLani to discuss creative reasoning in the process of learning math. Imagine a mind being able to internally visualize math in a similar way to any other language – such as the mental image picture one gets of a tall tree in all it's dimension on a… Read more

What does it mean to school leaders and teachers to intersect students with what they need to achieve when the existing schedule already overwhelms teachers? When there is no time to catch students up or challenge ones far ahead, something must be done or the likelihood of losing those students to alternatives or… Read more

Listen in as LeiLani discusses with guest Ki Karou of MIND Education what it means to use game-based learning, visual learning, in helping learners build mental schema and problem-solve. This is a complex topic that Karou is an expert in, being the Lead Mathematician and Product Director at MIND Education. Karou's… Read more

LeiLani discusses how the future is already here – education is, irretrievably, already in an intelligent network matrix but still has much to do to fit comfortably in it. Mike Witzman, Senior Director of Solutions Engineering of Cisco's U.S. Public Sector team talks about the trend of "form following function": with… Read more

A conundrum of schools wanting to personalize and customize learning, to tailor it around individuals is juxtaposed against a lack of logistics and strategy in this discussion with Matt Yeager, Assistant Superintendent of Technology from Garland Independent School District in the Dallas, Texas area with 52,000… Read more

What could happen when all the artificial intelligences converge? That's just part of this conversation between Serena Saks-Mandel, the Global CTO for Education at Microsoft, and LeiLani Cauthen. Starting of with introducing her not-associated-with-Microsoft new book, "Empowered: Frame your Narrative, Own your Power"… Read more

Maybe math learning could be better if it was in sync with the current generation's culture – that of Generation Alpha. LeiLani interviews Brandon Smith, the Lead Mathematician and Product Director at MIND Education about how learning-by-doing is a key part of a new cultural address for math learning. While Brandon… Read more

Culture of security? Listen in on this unique conversation with Helen Patton, the Cyber Security Strategic Advisor from Cisco. The discussion of security in schools is not just about digital citizenship, passwords, and the like, but about leadership. Cyber security in schools is not just a "job for the IT people," but… Read more

Listen in on this rousing conversation about the Alpha Generation which is defined as people born 2010-2024 – the current crop of students in K12 schools. Research has shown they prefer the screen to humans, and although older generations find that terrible, it's a fact that still has a profound impact on how they can… Read more

Listen in to our interview with Nigel Nisbet, a rock musician, AP Physics and AP Computer Science teacher who did a tour of duty in an all-girls school, plus a specialist who devotes his time to reaching into the structure and beauty of mathematics and discussing the "science of learning math" from many angles. Nisbet… Read more

What is actionable? What is real engagement? LeiLani discusses these things, and a novel definition of equity with Dan Tracy from MIND Education. Dan's triple threat as a teacher, coder and trainer, makes this podcast discussion an interesting reveal on how to approach instruction – especially the subject of math.

A discussion with Ki Karou about the challenges of teaching today. Karou introduces five areas that the science of learning has identified as key to students' doing – and how those are aids to accelerating learning, including the awesome capability of helping learners potentially jump through multiple grades to catch… Read more

LeiLani interviews Justin Jordan, a former educator and Senior Product Manager at Cisco about the definitions of AI, how AI has permutated into many aspects of technology and what we need to be responsible for as we humans brave the new world where AI is in everything. Also find out things about Cisco and AI you might… Read more

Listen in as LeiLani discusses how we should be responding to AI in education with long-time friend and esteemed colleague in the field, Roland Antoine, Innovative Projects Manager at Dallas ISD in Texas. Roland introduces the idea that the problem is the "problems definition" and that we must proceed to use AI… Read more

Fear of the "fiscal cliff" and what to spend remaining ESSER funds on is a hot topic in schools. Listen in as Leilani discusses the topic with Jon Hummell, Director of State Initiatives at Lexia Learning. Productive use of the money may not be what you think.

Listen in as LeiLani chats with Maurice Draggon, Sr. Director of Digital Learning at Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida. First they discuss the implications of AI in schools and then the emerging time and space AI known as Intelligent Calendaring for its possibilities and then the combination of both new… Read more

Listen in as LeiLani discusses the problems of shrinking school IT teams and three imperatives with Mary Schlegelmilch, who as a former educator has extensive knowledge in distance learning and online learning as a member of the Cisco Education team. Discover how the three imperatives are a "team sport" of… Read more

Listen in as LeiLani learns a thing or two about the what the science of reading really is from Carey Sweet, National Senior Education Advisor Education Partnerships at Lexia Learning. While reading may be thousands of years old, the science of it has evolved over time. Good literacy instruction has elements and… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen, talks with Dr. Suzanne Carreker, Principal Educational Content Lead at Lexia Learning. Today's topic: contrasting dyslexia and developmental language disorder and understanding the… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen, talks with Nicholas Feroce, Ph.D., Research Scientist at Lexia Learning about research design in the area of emergent bilinguals, and program causality to effect notable gains among that… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen, talks with Mary Schlegelmilch, Education Advocate at Cisco. They discuss the changes in K-12 education, and how the pandemic changed culture and mindset, and brought cybersecurity in… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Twana Young, Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction for Mind Research Institute. In addition to access, Young explains that there's also agency and power and identity and belonging, and those are all part of the… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Nigel Nisbet, Vice President of Content Creation at the MIND Research Institute. Nisbet shifts the question from 'How should I teach,' to 'How do they learn?' It's a profound difference which helps you to focus on optimal… Read more

Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Jay Flores, Global STEM Ambassador, and founder of Invent the Change. "If our youth aren't loving math, or at least somewhat excited by it and challenged by it in positive ways, then they're going to have trouble with those problem-solving skills and navigating through ordinary life in… Read more

As education embarks on pandemic recovery, the mission of continued support for literacy skills beyond early elementary grades is emerging as vital. What does this mean for teachers needing solutions for literacy skill gaps after those foundational school years? Listen in as Host LeiLani Cauthen discusses structured… Read more

Listen in to guest Maya Goodall, Senior Director, Emergent Bilingual Curriculum - from Lexia Learning - as she informs us about accent bias and how technology is coming to the rescue. Host LeiLani Cauthen marvels at the ingenuity of this latest technological breakthrough that uses Artificial intelligence (A.I.)… Read more

A discussion with Dr. Tiffany Hogan, MGH Institute of Health Professions, and Dr. Liz Brooke, Chief Learning Officer, Lexia Learning, about what the post-pandemic research is showing about learning loss. Guests mention that over thirty States are implementing laws or policies around evidence-based instruction. Further… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen talks with Mary Schlegelmilch, Education Advocate at Cisco. They discuss the post-pandemic world, and the technology-driven changes that will catalyze an increasingly bright future among… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Podcast, your host, Learning Counsel News Media and Research CEO LeiLani Cauthen talks with Phyllis Jordan, Associate Director of Future Ed, and Brittany Martin, Education Department Relations Manager at Lexia Learning. "The Learning Counsel has been tracking Stimulus… Read more

What is logistics when it comes to education and learning? This podcast defines them and goes further, hosting Mary Schlegelmilch from Cisco, a seasoned educator who consults schools and Cisco itself about where education is going. Commentary on the perfect storm of teacher shortage, personalization demand and a lack… Read more

Research sourced from multiple industries and the definition of both devolution and cascading failure are the topics of this podcast. The mass teacher shortages are mirrored in other industries, and some new data from the insurance actuaries are indicating part of the "why." At the end, LeiLani challenges listeners… Read more

In this podcast, LeiLani discusses the teacher shortage, what teachers were doing during the lockdowns, video conference call fatigue, the face of consumerized learning and the consumer awakening during. The perfect storm of these things plus the "short form versus long form" learning issue is discussed as influencing… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Report, your Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Carrie Doom and Michele Pulver, both with Lexia Learning. With no holds barred, Cauthen lays it on the line, asking the team from Lexia, "Why is literacy at the heart of educational equity?" According to Pulver, "Literacy… Read more

In this episode of the Learning Leadership Society Report, your Host LeiLani Cauthen speaks with Chris McMurray, the Learning Counsel's new Chief Academic Officer. As the Learning Counsel begins direct engagements with schools and school districts, Chris McMurray will take the point and help guide them towards real… Read more

When entering our education system as an emergent bilingual, the nuances are everything. Especially if you have an eye towards equity. In this episode of The EduJedi Report, Host LeiLani Cauthen and her guest, Javier Ruiz, Education Content Specialist – English Language Development at Lexia Learning, discuss the… Read more

As we write our new epic and talk about the age of the Age of Knowledge and the Age of Technology, and then into the Age of Experience, we'll see we used our knowledge in a scaffolded way to aim for the perfect life. In this episode, Host LeiLani Cauthen and Guest Tom Finn, President/CEO & Employee-Owner of AVID… Read more

In this episode of the EduJedi Report podcast, Host and Learning Counsel CEO LeiLani Cauthen talks with Kristie Shelley, Senior Director of Emergent Bilingual Curriculum at Lexia Learning about digital learning design that is heritage-relevant. Lexia English is a K-6 product that helps promote bilingualism or… Read more

Age-old instructional methods for language learning have had structures that predispose them to English-language only delivery models. New digital delivery mechanisms make way for learning scaffolding that is culturally responsive to empower educators to lead bi-lingual learners in systems without built-in prejudices.… Read more

The pandemic has taught us many things, one being there is a lot of confusion around what effective blended learning really looks like. What are some actionable strategies for integrating technology in the classroom and supporting blended learning? Listen as LeiLani talks with two pros, Alexis Treat, Sr. Director of… Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a lot of innovation in how testing and assessment is used to provide students and schools with starting places to identify and address unfinished learning. The most critical aspect is to go beyond trying to normalize all students for a teaching reset and use assessments to support… Read more

Longtime friend and great intellect Drew Hinds, Executive Director of Technology Services from Huntington Beach City School District in California, discusses with LeiLani the idea of Hybrid Logistics as an answer to the huge disruption of how schools currently use time and space. The student requirement for… Read more

LeiLani Cauthen discusses what EduJedi are seeing for changes in expectations and what schools will need to do to overcome "hidden" frictions. She also brings up "infinity scale logic" versus binary logic and why it is important to be familiar with it to address cultural shifts in schools. Listen to also find out the… Read more

What if testing was more human centric and not so scary and indiscriminate? Listen to this discussion about bringing back meaning to assessments through new skills in data and logic that work even in distance learning scenarios. EduJedi LeiLani Cauthen interviews CEO Laura Slover and Joey Web, Director of Academic… Read more

EduJedi LeiLani Cauthen and Fred King from Cisco discuss the "why" of simultaneous teaching in a live classroom plus via video online feels a lot like going on stage. Behavior tends to change when cameras are panning, tilting, zooming, so a new Cisco solution modifies all that with a stationary "quad-cam" and audio… Read more

Schools now have a big worry about lack of learning because students just can't see or hear well, either because of masks and plexiglass everywhere on site or from a distance over video feeds. Guest Daniel Kleman and EduJedi LeiLani Cauthen discuss things like invisible sound bubbles that block background noise,… Read more

Dr. Lance Ford, Chief Technology Officer from Howe County Schools in Oklahoma shares their journey pivoting to digital, battling poor connectivity, and grappling with the reality of a new normal of expectations by students and parents. Innovative thinking from this smallish district shows what's non-negotiable in… Read more

Let's hear from a technical expert on K12 school security about the big picture on information security. LeiLani interviews Doug Walsten from Cisco who mentions both data-at-rest and data-in-motion with regards to school data, which most school and district leaders know is "everywhere" in their systems, in the cloud,… Read more

The transformation of learning where suddenly students and teachers are not physically together has driven widespread use of video conferencing. Screen fatigue complaints and disengagement were center stage early on, but certain folks like Suzanne Phillips rode in to show how to do it right. LeiLani interviews Suzanne… Read more

Schools are bringing on professional grade digital curriculum and aiming at true personalization. LeiLani hosts Liz Brooke and Michele Eaton, Director of Virtual And Blended Learning from the M.S.D. of Wayne Township. This discussion about what software can do in schools reveals how leaders are trying to balance human… Read more

Esports is the new "hook" to keep students working in other subjects despite being remote or partially physically attending schools in some sort of hybrid schedule. LeiLani discusses the emerging ultra-significance of esports and gaming in K12 education with Dr. Miles Harvey, 8th Grade Video Game-Based Learning and… Read more

Given the ongoing pandemic, schools, districts and whole States have been grappling with awkward school schedules, hybrid style environments, and mismatched achievement because student online attendance during the later part of Spring was so unpredictable. States have stepped in to measure both academics and… Read more

The nation made a giant leap forward into technology for K12 in 2020 and that transition continues, with some new twists. LeiLani hosts Renee Patton, Global Director of Education and Healthcare from Cisco's Industry Solutions Group. With "so many newbies," the new schools and districts since the pandemic started, all… Read more

LeiLani discusses with Justin Reilly, the CEO of Impero, a missing ingredient for managing the sudden mass deployments of devices by K12 schools. Student safety, but more importantly, the well-being of students socially and emotionally, has a new guardian with advanced mobile device management software. Reilly's… Read more

Do you want to be thoroughly impressed about cross-curricular STEM learning remotely? Anika Chebrolu, a 14-year-old, won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge and was named America's Top Young Scientist of 2020. She found a molecule that can selectively bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in an attempt to… Read more

Tens of thousands of school leaders are realizing they may have lost a year of progress with students. LeiLani discusses with Dr. Liz Brooke, Chief Learning Officer at Lexia and Felecia Evans, Principal at Lander Elementary School, Mayfield Heights, OH, what to do about realigning student learning amidst ongoing… Read more

LeiLani discusses with guest, Marty Reed of RANDA Solutions, the mass attrition of teachers during this historic perfect storm of Covid-19. Educator frustrations with remote teaching, and a lack of elevation of the profession up to the digiverse has magnified the already crisis level issue of teacher retention.… Read more

LeiLani and Lewis Johnson of Alelo discuss avatars used with artificial intelligence for asynchronous teaching and professional development. A technology that has been around for awhile in the corporate sector and military is now coming to the rescue in education to create engagement and efficiencies. This technology… Read more

LeiLani Cauthen discusses the general education tech chaos with Tricia Kennedy, Exec Dir., Instructional Development and Support, Gwinnett County Public Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. Kennedy has been the leader for many years worth of preparedness to have a fully integrated learning ecosystem so that total chaos was… Read more

LeiLani discusses recent findings by researchers Dr. John Bielinski and Dr. Kyle Wagner at Illuminate Education on the effect quarantines and remote learning have had on K-8 learning outcomes. Schools working through remote learning transitions have focused on engagement but the data indicates that there is a clear… Read more

In this EduJedi Report Podcast, LeiLani talks about PODS, the new trend in homeschooling-tied-to-schools. With the advent of the pandemic, a scenario she first talked about in her book, The Consumerization of Learning, is coming true. She reads a purely fictional account of a student's journey in a POD from the last… Read more

Guests, Dr. Travis Taylor, Instructional Technology Specialist from Little Rock School District, Arkansas, and Berj Akian, CEO of ClassLink, have a lively conversation about one of the biggest organizational conundrums for schools as quarantines went into effect and how to better prepare for the future. Dr. Taylor… Read more

Guests Tyce Miller, the CEO of Mobilemind and Sarah Porisch, Director of Technology, Brainerd Public Schools, discuss what's happening now with teaching the teachers. Where schools once had those eight-hour days of intensive professional development, training is now shifting to on-demand and highly personalized… Read more

What's it been like to transition to digital remote learning in one of our nation's hot zones? One district with a "Keep Learning, Don't Miss Out" motto made every day in quarantines count.

Leilani and Sakon discuss what is happening with the intersection of regular instructional design and the new digital instructional design paradigm with one of the nation's preeminently qualified UI/UX and instructional design experts found tucked away in District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Sakon Kieh. In this… Read more

LeiLani Cauthen and Dr. Barbara Nemko, Napa County Superintendent of Schools, Napa County Office of Education in California discuss what the ARRA Stimulus of 2009 did compared to the new CARES Act Stimulus intention. Many important comments are made regarding caveats for schools and district's to consider. On… Read more

LeiLani Cauthen and Senator Howard Stephenson of Utah discuss concerns about the sudden shift of all schools to remote learning, and what it really means for the future. Just one of Stephenson's great comments: "The thing you need to focus on is those tools that provide immediate interactive, adaptive feedback while… Read more