Pursuing the Public Good

Teachers are figuring out how they can prepare students to confront climate change and sustainability, two of the most critical issues of their lifetime. And that’s just what Oren Pizmony-Levy, Associate Professor of International and Comparative Education at Teachers College, has been working in partnership with the Office of Energy and Sustainability at New York City Public Schools to develop. He joins Teachers College President Thomas Bailey to talk about the central role schools can play in efforts to care for our environment now and in the future. They discuss the research practice partnership and professional development projects Professor Pizmony-Levy, his students, and colleagues are working on with partners in the New York City public schools. And they talk about how focusing on taking action is important to cultivate agency and hope in sustainability education.

Read the New York Times article featuring the partnership between The Center for Sustainable Futures and the Office of Energy and Sustainability at the New York City Public Schools.

The oldest and largest graduate school of education, Teachers College is inspiring and motivating a new generation of leaders to pursue the solutions that will bring greater equity to the world across education, health and psychology.

To learn more about the Public Good Initiative at Teachers college and the work of our guests, access transcripts of this episode, and more, visit tc.edu/pursuingthepublicgood.

Credits: Pursuing the Public Good is produced by The Office of the President, The Digital Futures Institute, and the Office of Institutional Advancement at Teachers College, Columbia University. This episode was edited by Jen Lee and Billy Collins. Audio recording by Moira McCavana. Producers Joe Riina-Ferrie and Amy Hawley Alvarez. Script writing by Robin Willig. Outreach by Morgan Gilbard and Jackie Teschon.

The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.

The United States is facing a national teacher shortage, a workforce crisis in our schools. At the same time, the pressure on teachers is immense. They face challenges like supporting students with a wide variety of backgrounds and needs and navigating a highly charged political environment. They are vulnerable to attacks on how they approach history, race, LGBTQ rights and more in their classrooms. Celia Oyler, Vice Dean for Teacher Education at Teachers College, joins Teachers College President Thomas Bailey for a conversation about how to prepare teachers to enter today’s schools. And more broadly, they discuss the possible futures for teacher education at this moment, what Teachers College can do to lead efforts to move us forward, and what we all must do to fight for the schools we want for our children.

The oldest and largest graduate school of education, Teachers College is inspiring and motivating a new generation of leaders to pursue the solutions that will bring greater equity to the world across education, health and psychology.

To learn more about the Public Good Initiative at Teachers college and the work of our guests, access transcripts of this episode, and more, visit our website (tc.edu/pursuingthepublicgood).

Credits: Pursuing the Public Good is produced by The Office of the President, The Digital Futures Institute, and the Office of Institutional Advancement at Teachers College, Columbia University. This episode was edited by Jen Lee and Billy Collins. Audio recording by Moira McCavana. Producers Joe Riina-Ferrie and Amy Hawley Alvarez. Script writing by Robin Willig. Outreach by Morgan Gilbard and Jackie Teschon.

The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.

While tech is sometimes associated with negative impacts on mental health, Douglas Mennin, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of Clinical Training at Teachers College, has been working on tech approaches to deliver “just in time interventions” to people dealing with mental health issues like anxiety. He and his team are developing tools that monitor and help identify signs of distress, and then prompt people with appropriate support and techniques to help them address how they’re feeling. He joins Teachers College President Thomas Bailey to discuss why this is a challenging time for many people with regard to mental health, and how mental health supports like those his team are developing could be used in k-12 schools and beyond.

The oldest and largest graduate school of education, Teachers College is inspiring and motivating a new generation of leaders to pursue the solutions that will bring greater equity to the world across education, health and psychology.

To learn more about the Public Good Initiative at Teachers college and the work of our guests, access transcripts of this episode, and more, visit tc.edu/pursuingthepublicgood.

Credits: Pursuing the Public Good is produced by The Office of the President, The Digital Futures Institute, and the Office of Institutional Advancement at Teachers College, Columbia University. This episode was edited by Jen Lee and Billy Collins. Audio recording by Moira McCavana. Producers Joe Riina-Ferrie and Amy Hawley Alvarez. Script writing by Robin Willig. Outreach by Morgan Gilbard and Jackie Teschon.

The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.

Emerging technologies like generative artificial intelligence tools make a big impact on teachers, students and schools. This week, Associate Professor Nathan Holbert joins Teachers College President Thomas Bailey to discuss how they could help make schools and other learning environments and experiences more playful. “Play” might not be the first thing that comes to mind on the topic of schools and technology, but Professor Holbert makes the case for why we should stop separating our images of what it looks like to learn from what it looks like to play. How could schools be different, better, if we embraced playfulness, and how might technologies support our ability to create playful learning spaces? Listen to hear more about play-based learning and technologies in and out of schools.

The oldest and largest graduate school of education, Teachers College is inspiring and motivating a new generation of leaders to pursue the solutions that will bring greater equity to the world across education, health and psychology.

To learn more about the Public Good Initiative at Teachers college and the work of our guests, access transcripts of this episode, and more, visit tc.edu/pursuingthepublicgood.

Listen to Pop and Play, a podcast on play and pop culture from Teachers College professors Nathan Holbert and Haeny Yoon.

Learn about the Snow Day Learning Lab, founded and directed by Nathan Holbert.

Credits: Pursuing the Public Good is produced by The Office of the President, The Digital Futures Institute, and the Office of Institutional Advancement at Teachers College, Columbia University. This episode was edited by Jen Lee and Billy Collins. Audio recording by Moira McCavana. Producers Joe Riina-Ferrie and Amy Hawley Alvarez. Script writing by Robin Willig. Outreach by Morgan Gilbard and Jackie Teschon.

The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.

How can we work across academic disciplines to focus work in higher education on making changes on the issues that matter most for the public good? As the world grapples with how to improve education, confront a mental health crisis, prepare future generations to address climate change and the rapid change of technology, we’re asking the tough questions and searching for answers. Tamara Britt, General Council and Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement of Teachers College, Columbia University interviews Teachers College President Thomas Bailey about his new initiative focusing on these vital areas of work.

The oldest and largest graduate school of education, Teachers College is inspiring and motivating a new generation of leaders to pursue the solutions that will bring greater equity to the world across education, health and psychology.

To learn more about the Public Good Initiative at Teachers college, access transcripts of this episode, and more, visit our website.

Credits: Pursuing the Public Good is produced by The Office of the President, The Digital Futures Institute, and the Office of Institutional Advancement at Teachers College, Columbia University. This episode was edited by Joe Riina-Ferrie and Billy Collins, with support from Jen Lee. Audio recording by Moira McCavana. Producers Joe Riina-Ferrie and Amy Hawley Alvarez. Script writing by Robin Willig. Outreach by Morgan Gilbard and Jackie Teschon.

The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.