FreshEd #197 – COVID-19 as an opportunity for educational change (Yong Zhao)

Hi FreshEd Listeners. We’re on holiday for the month of August. We’ll be back in September with new episodes, including the next round of Flux. I’ve already listened to a few rough cuts and they’re going to be great. While we’re away, please send us your recommendations for future guests as well as consider donating to FreshEd to keep independent media alive. FreshEd is nothing without you. Thanks for all your support and I’ll be back in September! https://freshedpodcast.com/contact-2/ -- There’s an urban legend that Winston Churchill, near the end of World War II, once said “never let a good crisis go to waste.” President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahman Emanuel, certainly said similar words in 2009 after the Global Financial Crisis. Is the crisis in education today caused by the coronavirus an opportunity to make lasting and positive change? How can we be sure not to waste this moment by returning to normal? Yong Zhao joins me to talk about educational change in the time of COVID-19. He argues that we must change the “yes, but” attitude to a “yes, and” collaborative approach. We must be innovative and work together to redesign education systems into something new. He’s hoping to see more self-directed learning emerge out of this crisis as well as a shift towards the humanities and philosophy. Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas. His newest book is entitled Teaching Students to Become Self-Determined Learners (ASCD, 2020). www.freshedpodcast.com/yongzhao-2/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com Support FreshEd: www.freshedpodcast.com/support/