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The Education Gadfly Show

News & Politics Podcasts

For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Pedro Enamorado, at penamorad@fordhaminstitute.org.

For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Pedro Enamorado, at penamorad@fordhaminstitute.org.
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United States

Description:

For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Pedro Enamorado, at penamorad@fordhaminstitute.org.

Language:

English

Contact:

202.223.5452

Episodes

The Education Gadfly Show #828: Arizona’s expanded ESA: The big enchilada of school choice - 7/13/22

7/13/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Matt Beienburg, Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss a new Arizona law that allows any school-aged child to use a taxpayer-funded savings account to pay for private school—or any other educational expense. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on whether a content-rich literacy intervention improves third graders’ reading comprehension. Recommended Content: In Arizona’s...

Duration:00:24:10

#827: The debate over “no zeroes” grading policies

7/6/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Daniel Buck, a teacher and a Fordham senior visiting fellow, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss “no zeroes” grading policies and why he thinks they’re the worst of all worlds. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on how high-stakes testing affects teacher turnover and the distribution of teachers across grades and schools. Recommended content: •Daniel Buck’s first Fordham post arguing against these policies, which launched a...

Duration:00:20:59

#826: Research Deep Dive: What we know about gifted education - 6/30/22

6/30/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, we present the sixth edition of our Research Deep Dive series. Jonathan Plucker, professor at Johns Hopkins University and past president of the National Association for Gifted Children, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss how gifted education has become a hot political topic, how to identify students who need gifted services, what those services should look like, the debate over tracking versus ability grouping, and the research on exam schools. Also...

Duration:00:34:48

#825: Learning loss may get worse before it gets better - 6/23/22

6/22/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike Goldstein, founder of Match Education in Boston, a college prep charter school with an embedded Graduate School of Education, discusses his prediction that learning losses will continue without a bold plan to reengage students, teachers, and parents, and address misbehavior. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on how developmental outcomes are affected by gender differences in how children spend their...

Duration:00:24:37

#824: Dana Suskind on supporting low-income parents in their children’s early years - 6/15/2022

6/15/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon and founder of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago, discusses how social supports for low-income and working-class parents equalize opportunities for their young children later in life. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews two studies on whether there’s bias in ability grouping within kindergarten classrooms. Recommended content: Parent Nation:...

Duration:00:29:31

#823: How detrimental was remote learning? - 6/8/22

6/8/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tom Kane, Harvard economist and director of its Center for Education Policy Research, explains the latest research on the disastrous—and inequitable—impact of remote learning on America’s students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on whether Black and Hispanic children with disabilities are placed in special education classrooms at greater rates than their peers. Recommended content: The AtlanticKids Are Far, Far...

Duration:00:24:59

#822: Checker Finn: Why we need—and need to improve—NAEP - 6/1/22

6/1/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn, the Fordham Institute’s president emeritus and a distinguished senior fellow, discusses recommendations for the National Assessment of Educational Progress from his new book, Assessing the Nation’s Report Card. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on how a performance-based teacher pay policy in the U.K. impacted personnel decisions and student outcomes. Recommended content: Assessing the Nation’s Report...

Duration:00:19:55

#821: Sec. Aimee Rogstad Guidera on the state of education in Virginia - 5/24/22

5/24/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera discusses Governor Glenn Youngkin’s and her vision for education outlined in a state report titled Our Commitment to Virginians: High Expectations and Excellence for All Students. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on efforts to improve the identification of gifted students in rural communities. Recommended content: Our Commitment to Virginians: High Expectations...

Duration:00:25:57

#820: Social-emotional learning doesn’t have a hidden agenda - 5/18/22

5/18/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Robert Pondiscio, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and senior visiting fellow here at Fordham, discusses his wariness about social-emotional learning but rebuts the claim that it’s a “Trojan horse” for critical race theory. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study on how well teachers understand their pension plans. Recommended content: No, social and emotional learning is not a “Trojan horse” for...

Duration:00:21:16

#819: The pod on (pandemic) pods 5/11/22

5/11/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Ashley Jochim, a principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss her research on pandemic learning pods, what parents and educators liked about them, and whether they might outlive the Covid emergency. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study of how New York City’s charter schools are affecting diversity in traditional public schools. Recommended content: Crisis Breeds Innovation:...

Duration:00:24:33

#818: Kate Walsh on the state of teacher quality in America - 5/4/22

5/4/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Kate Walsh, who just finished a twenty-year run leading the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), joins Mike Petrilli to discuss America’s progress (and the lack thereof) on the teacher effectiveness front over the past two decades. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study finding that an AI-capable chatbot improved student college course performance, especially for first-generation students. Recommended content: In...

Duration:00:22:27

#817: Doug Lemov on rebuilding school culture amid a mental health epidemic - 4/27/22

4/27/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion, and co-managing director of the organization of the same name, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss his forthcoming book, Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, And Belonging. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern reviews a study in Tennessee providing fresh evidence that high-performing schools can raise housing prices. Recommended content: Reconnect: Building School Culture for...

Duration:00:22:29

#816: Want kids back in school? Make sure they feel safe. - 04/20/22

4/20/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jing Liu, Assistant Professor in Education Policy at the University of Maryland College Park and author of our latest study, Imperfect Attendance: Toward a fairer measure of student absenteeism, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss its findings, the notion of “attendance value-added,” and how improving school safety could help keep kids in class. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern looks at what happened when Massachusetts labeled half its...

Duration:00:18:40

#815: Paul Hill vs. Checker Finn: Does Denver prove that portfolio districts are doomed? - 4/13/22

4/13/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Paul Hill, founder of the Center on Reinventing Public Education and emeritus professor at the University of Washington Bothell, joins Mike Petrilli and Checker Finn to debate recent reform setbacks in Denver, and whether they prove that portfolio districts are doomed. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern shares good news from a study examining the intersection of gifted education and segregation. Recommended content: Denver’s...

Duration:00:24:06

#814: How Biden’s proposed regulations would hurt charter schools - 4/6/22

4/6/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Christy Wolfe, vice president for policy and planning at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss how new regulations proposed by the Biden administration could stunt the growth of charter schools across America. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a survey of student reading habits in grades K–12. You can find this and every episode on all major...

Duration:00:24:10

Education Gladfly Show: The literal research minute

4/1/2022
This week’s Education Gladfly Show podcast is a Research Minute–only special! Amber Northern examines a survey of district and charter network leaders about staffing challenges they’ve faced this school year—and true to the segment’s name, tries her mightiest to do so in under sixty seconds. Will she succeed? Listen to find out. (April Fools episode!) Related Content Young Cattle Auctioneer ChampionTalking Fast With a Record-Setting Speed TalkerFlux in the Educator Labor Market: Acute...

Duration:00:02:09

#813: Rick Hess and Mike Petrilli on ed reform and culture wars - 3/30/22

3/30/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Rick Hess, Senior Fellow and Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the cohost of the “Common Ground” podcast, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how to advance an ed reform agenda in the midst of ongoing culture wars. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern discusses a study on housing affordability’s impact on student outcomes. You can find this...

Duration:00:28:24

#812: How to follow the science to improve elementary education - 3/23/22

3/23/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Mike Petrilli, David Griffith, and Victoria McDougald discuss Follow the Science to School: Evidence-based Practices for Elementary Education, a new book that Mike edited with Kathleen Carroll and Barbara Davidson. They talk about the promise of evidence-based practices, the importance of elementary education, and the centrality of high-quality instructional materials. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber...

Duration:00:22:14

#811: How one district scouts for talent for its gifted programs - 3/16/22

3/16/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), April Wells, Gifted Coordinator in Illinois School District U-46 and author of Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming: Dismantling Barriers and Tapping Potential, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how her district scouts for talented students early on, and from all backgrounds. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a survey of district and charter network leaders about...

Duration:00:24:13

#810: College for all or college for some? - 3/9/22

3/9/2022
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast (listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, Vice President of Policy for ExcelinEd, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the pros and cons of the college-for-all movement. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern discusses a study on how winning public-school-choice lotteries affects public school enrollment. You can find this and every episode on all major podcast platforms, as well as share it with...

Duration:00:27:25

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