Author: Palmer Media

Matt Dalio, founder and CEO of ⁠Endless Studios⁠, joins host Mike Palmer to explore the profound connection between games, technology, and workforce development. Matt, who grew up with an early global perspective—including a transformative year in China at age 11—brings his philanthropic drive to the world of scalable tech solutions. We dive into how Matt’s company, Endless, initially focused on providing computers in emerging markets, realized that skills are what truly pay the bills. A simple math game, Tux Math, engaged students in a way traditional instruction could not, with classrooms full of kids shouting multiplication tables. The even bigger…

On this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer talks with Halley Bowman, who focuses on curriculum and tutor training at ⁠Saga Education⁠, and Katherine Huete, founder of the consultancy ⁠Estelita⁠ and a leader in scaling language support at Saga. We explore the powerful resurgence of high-impact tutoring, especially its critical role in supporting emergent multilingual learners (EMLs) in secondary math. Halley shares Saga’s unique model, which integrates dedicated, small-group tutoring into the school day, making this high-impact intervention accessible to all students and leading to astounding results, including the closure of up to 50% of the opportunity gap.…

Mike Palmer welcomes Carlo Rotella, a professor at Boston College and author of the book ⁠What Can I Get Out of This? Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics⁠. Rotella, who has an academic specialty in the cultures of cities and also writes for magazines like The New York Times Magazine, approaches his classroom as a “scene” much like a boxing gym or a music club, where people practice a craft and hone their “chops”. We dive into the book, which captures the spring semester of 2020 and presents a narrative-style look at Rotella’s required freshman literature course.…

On this episode of Trending in Education, host Mike Palmer welcomes Liz Cohen, Vice President of Policy at ⁠50CAN⁠ and author of the new book, ⁠The Future of Tutoring: Lessons from 10,000 School District Tutoring Initiatives⁠. We explore the massive, rapid mobilization of tutoring efforts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated learning disruptions. We look at the key components of effective high-impact tutoring—small groups, consistent adults, and regularly scheduled in the school day—and how the strong evidence base has galvanized educators and advocates toward a unified solution. Liz shares her “constellation” metaphor, distinguishing between “bright stars”…

Welcome back to Trending in Education! This week, we dive headfirst into the accelerating world of emerging technology with Gerry White, Dean of Academic Technology for ECPI University. Gerry, an English and Music major turned tech enthusiast, shares his fascinating career trajectory and the work he is doing to keep ECPI University at the forefront of the AI revolution. We explore the current landscape of AI in higher education, noting the split between institutions that forbid its use (even reverting to blue books and oral exams) and those that are running with the technology. Gerry advocates for integrating AI responsibly,…

On this episode of ⁠Trending in Education⁠, host Mike Palmer sits down with Jon Deane, CEO of ⁠GreatSchools⁠, for a deeply informed conversation about the choices—and complexities—facing modern parents. GreatSchools’ mission is simple: to help every parent cut through the noise and truly understand their children’s educational options. As a parent to a 6-year-old, Mike knows firsthand that the pressure to choose the right path is real, and it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Jon’s professional journey—from accountant to school principal to philanthropy and now to leading GreatSchools—is a testament to the fact that education itself is a…

The global landscape of education and work is changing at a pace that requires an entirely new approach to measurement. ⁠Trending in Education⁠ host ⁠Mike Palmer⁠ welcomes ⁠Amit Sevak⁠, CEO of ⁠ETS ⁠(Educational Testing Service), the organization responsible for millions of assessments worldwide, to discuss the high-stakes transformation of how we identify talent. We explore how the trillion-dollar education sector is struggling to measure outcomes and why reliable data is essential to driving progress. Amit details the foundational work ETS is doing across K-12, higher education, and the workforce to shift the focus from traditional testing to competency-based learning and…

On this episode of Trending in Education, Mike Palmer welcomes author ⁠Scott R. Levy⁠ to discuss his new book, ⁠Why School Boards Matter: Reclaiming the Heart of American Education and Democracy⁠. Scott shares his journey from Wall Street to serving on his local school board in 2015, driven by the unintended negative consequences he observed from federal programs like Race to the Top. We dive into how school boards transitioned from being a “quiet part” of civic society to a focal point of public consciousness during the COVID years and following George Floyd, dealing with intense issues from school reopening…

In this special episode of ⁠Trending in Ed⁠, host ⁠Mike Palmer⁠ is LIVE! at Google’s Headquarters in Chicago for ⁠Collegis Education⁠‘s DisruptED event, providing highlights from six in-depth interviews with nine leaders in higher ed, technology, data, market analysis, and research. We begin by hearing from ⁠Kim Fahey⁠, the CEO of Collegis, who provides some framing about the role her team plays providing managed services to schools trying to leverage technology, data and innovation in new and relevant ways. Kim kicks things off and helps frame the context and the conversations that follow. Then Mike interviews ⁠Charles Elliott⁠ from ⁠Google⁠…

In K-12 education, the urgency of children’s needs often eclipses strategic thought, resulting in constant reaction and a “whack-a-mole” approach to problems. We talk with co-authors Elizabeth “Liz” City and Rachel Curtis about their new book, ⁠Leading Strategically: Achieving Ambitious Goals in Education⁠, which offers a practical, accessible framework for leaders at all levels—from teachers to superintendents—to shift from constant doing to intentional, effective action. Liz City, a Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Rachel Curtis, a consultant with deep experience in the Boston Public Schools, draw on their decades of work to move beyond the…