Do School Better

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the themes that emerged from this season's conversations with 62 entrepreneurial educators who have courageously ignited change in how we do school.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Jeremy Wickenheiser, Founder and Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at DSST Public Schools. He shares his journey from teaching high school science four years ago to building an entrepreneurship program that has scaled across the large network of urban schools in Denver, Colorado.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Kesha Conway who has been piloting Korda Method across the Ashtabula Area City Schools District. They discuss a recent project in Lisa Raffa's high school Government class at Lakeside High School, where students found their agency while identifying solutions to community problems.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Nicholas Timms from Hillfield Strathallan College. He shares the story of how transforming a traditional small business course grew into a student-run Design Studio, with high school students creating solutions for local businesses.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Pam Reed, Humanities teacher at Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls. Pam shares how different it is to teach with this radically different method, as students learn history and critical thinking by solving contemporary problems that they find meaningful.

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the journey that led to a recent workshop with educators in Slovenia. Also featured in the episode are excerpts from some of the entrepreneurial educators and students who came to the workshop in Slovenia.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Michael Hudecek about the youth entrepreneurship program he developed as Program Manager for St. Clair Superior Development Corporation, an organization devoted to transforming one of the poorest neighborhoods in Cleveland. Michael discusses what he learned in his second iteration of the program. Michael shares his work to spread the method to local schools, including Open Doors Academy, an after school enrichment program for adolescents. Jacquelyn Clemens, Program Manager at ODA, discusses her work to embed this method across the program’s curriculum.  

In this episode, Doris talks to Terry Chou, science teacher at Joaquin Miller Middle School in California. Terry shares details about her students learning innovation in her Science Enrichment and Research (SEARCH) class. Listen to what she has discovered about teaching at the intersection of science, business and technology.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Regina Rosi, Assistant Division Director & Dean of Student Life at Marlborough School, an all-girls school in Los Angeles, CA. They discuss the need to modernize leadership education in K12 schools. Regina shares the entrepreneurial approach required to design courses like these and what she has learned from using community partners to create her curriculum.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Dr. Rand Harrington and Phil Klein of Kent Denver School in Colorado. Rand is Head of School and Phil is Instructor of AP Economics, Director of the Hunt Family Institute for Entrepreneurial Education and Director of Development. They discuss creating structures in the school to leverage expertise both in and out of the building to allow for authentic learning. They highlight the importance of teachers acting as curricular architects to design classes for today's students.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Katy Yan, instructor of AP Environmental Science and Honors Biology at The College Preparatory School and former Science Teacher at The Bentley School. Katy explains the shift from research papers to real world problem solving that resulted in meaningful learning about food systems and climate change. She also shares how this led to students developing better research techniques and critical thinking skills in her science courses.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Chad Williamson, Co-founder of Noble Impact. Chad shares his journey to teaching at the intersection of entrepreneurship and public service. He explains how the Sandy Hook School tragedy has influenced their work around social emotional learning. Doris and Chad also discuss the importance of leadership when embedding innovation in schools. 

In this episode, Doris speaks with Sarah Jensen, High School Entrepreneurship Teacher at Nichols School. Sarah brings an extensive business background to the classroom and discusses the value of students developing the skills they'll need when they enter the workforce. Sarah and Doris discuss the realities behind the trendy but misleading notion of learning through failure. 

In this episode, Doris speaks with Oliver Smith, Business and Economics teacher at Singapore American School.  Oliver discusses the depth of learning his students experienced while solving problems for real businesses in his entrepreneurship and AP Economics courses. He describes the liberation that comes from teaching students without an answer key.

In this episode, Doris interviews Sarah Swain, former Science and Entrepreneurship teacher at St. Anne's Belfield School in Virginia and the incoming Assistant Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at Hawken School. Sarah describes the integration of environmental science into her entrepreneurship course and entrepreneurial skills into her core science courses. They discuss the importance of students learning to identify problems, reflect and collaborate. 

In this episode, Doris speaks with Adam Lang, a Teaching Chair and Instructor of Economics at Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Adam shares how his students took ownership over their learning and developed skills by solving problems for community partners in his Design for Social Impact class. He also describes his plan to bring elements of the Korda Method into his AP Economics courses this year.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Julia Griffin, Humanities teacher and Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning at Hawken Upper School. Julia shares how her humanities department adopted a new academic method that transformed the way their students learned ancient world history and better equipped them with skills like writing, research, critical thinking and public speaking.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Mel McGee, Founder and CEO of We Can Code IT.  Mel shares how she applied Korda Method in Coding Bootcamps that are making the tech industry more diverse and inclusive by preparing unemployed and underemployed adults to be skilled software developers. She explains how the innovative curriculum is directly impacting student's employability after graduation.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Paul Chiment and Blake Dorfman of Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara, California. Paul is a veteran high school Math and Economics teacher and Blake an early career middle school English and Digital Art teacher who created an innovative Entrepreneurship program. Learn how their journey to teach entrepreneurship led to deeper student learning, changed teaching methods and workshops for other educators.

In this special episode, educators who recently attended the Workshops for Entrepreneurial Studies share their inspiring plans to impact students through courses and programs in entrepreneurship, history, economics, math, science and more.