Systems-Level Change Through Bottom-Up Innovation

Our Guests

Kareem Farah, CEO and co-founder of the Modern Classrooms Project
Kareem Farah spent his teaching career as a math educator in Hawaii and Washington, DC. He earned his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and later received a master’s degree in secondary education at Johns Hopkins University. Instead of using a traditional lecture model, Kareem taught math through a blended model where students accessed content through his self-made videos. The cornerstone of his classroom was the ability for students to work at their own pace and Kareem’s ability to assess students on mastery. Kareem co-founded the Modern Classrooms Project to empower teachers worldwide to redesign their classrooms around blended, self-paced, mastery-based learning.

Connect with Kareem on Twitter @kareemfarah23

Dr. Carmen Coleman, Chief of Transformational Learning and Leading at the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative
Dr. Carmen Coleman serves the districts in the OVEC region as the Chief of Transformational Leading and Learning. Prior to this role, she served as Chief Academic Information Officer for Jefferson County Public Schools, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies at the University of Kentucky and co-director for both the Next Generation Leadership Academy and the principal preparation program. In addition, Dr. Coleman has served as Superintendent, Director of Elementary Schools, principal and teacher in a variety of district contexts. Her work has focused on transforming the school experience from one developed to meet the needs of the Industrial Age to a system that will equip learners for success in the world today. As Superintendent, her work was featured by the Harvard Letter, PBS NewsHour, Getting Smart and District Administration. She has worked with hundreds of leaders across Kentucky to inspire a different way of thinking about the learner experience and is now working to scale the benefits of deeper learning across the region for 155,000 students.

Connect with Dr. Carmen Coleman on Twitter @kidsinspire

Thomas Arnett, Senior Research Fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute
Thomas Arnett is a senior research fellow for the Clayton Christensen Institute. His work focuses on using the Theory of Disruptive Innovation to study innovative instructional models and their potential to scale student-centered learning in K–12 education. He also studies demand for innovative resources and practices across the K–12 education system using the Jobs to Be Done Theory.

Thomas began his work in education as a middle school math teacher in Kansas City Public Schools through Teach For America and as an Education Pioneers fellow with the Achievement First Public Charter Schools. He has also served as an elected trustee and board president for the Morgan Hill Unified School District in Morgan Hill, California, and currently serves as a member of the board of Compass Charter Schools in California.

Thomas received a BS in Economics from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

Connect with Thomas Arnett on Twitter @arnetttom

Contact us, follow us online, and learn more:

• Email us questions and feedback at: podcast@modernclassrooms.org
• Modern Classrooms: @modernclassproj on Twitter and facebook.com/modernclassproj

The Modern Classroom Project

• Modern Classrooms Online Course: Take our free online course, or sign up for our mentorship program to receive personalized guidance from a Modern Classrooms mentor as you implement your own modern classroom!
• Learn more about what a partnership with the Modern Classrooms Project can do for your school or district.

The Modern Classrooms Podcast is edited by Zach Diamond: @zpdiamond on Twitter and Learning to Teach