Podcasts · Education · Science

TED Talks Education

TED

137 episodes

What should future schools look like? How do brains learn? Some of the world's greatest educators, researchers, and community leaders share their stories and visions onstage at the TED conference, TEDx events and partner events around the world. You can also download these and many other videos free on TED.com, with an interactive English transcript and subtitles in up to 80 languages. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.

Episodes page 1 of 3

  1. How to design a school for the future | Punya Mishra

    · 8:45

    In all the conversations about improving education for children, the voices of students, teachers and community members are often left out. Educational designer Punya Mishra offers a method to shift that paradigm,…

  2. The rise of the "trauma essay" in college applications | Tina Yong

    · 13 min

    As if college applications aren't stressful enough, disadvantaged youth are often encouraged to write about their darkest traumas in their admissions essays, creating a marketable story of resilience that turns "pain…

  3. How video games can level up the way you learn | Kris Alexander

    · 12 min

    Video games naturally tap into the way we learn: they focus our attention and track our progress as we head toward a clear goal. Kris Alexander, a professor of video game design and passionate gamer himself, thinks the…

  4. Reviving the legacy of the Black teaching tradition | Sharif El-Mekki

    · 13 min

    Educator Sharif El-Mekki advocates for the revival of the Black teaching tradition — a set of educational practices grounded in philosophies, values and actions that stretch from pre-colonial Africa to historical…

  5. How Black queer culture shaped history | Channing Gerard Joseph

    · 8:09

    Names like Bayard Rustin, Frances Thompson and William Dorsey Swann have been largely erased from US history, but they and other Black queer leaders played central roles in monumental movements like emancipation, civil…

  6. The board game getting kids excited about school | Joel Baraka

    · 11 min

    Going to school in a refugee camp can be complicated: students encounter crowded classrooms, rigid curricula and limited access to teachers. Joel Baraka, who grew up in the Kyangwali refugee camp in Uganda, is…

  7. How play helps a kid's brain grow | Jesse Ilhardt

    · 12 min

    A little bit of playtime can have big benefits for a child's developing brain, like a superfood -- but adult participation is a crucial ingredient for best results. Early-education leader Jesse Ilhardt makes the case…

  8. The most powerful yet overlooked resource in schools | Heejae Lim

    · 5:11

    "When teachers and families work together, everyone wins," says education technology entrepreneur and TED Fellow Heejae Lim. She shines a light on an underutilized resource in US public education -- a family's love for…

  9. How schools can nurture every student's genius | Trish Millines Dziko

    · 16 min

    Forget home economics and standardized tests, education visionary Trish Millines Dziko has a much more engaging and fulfilling way for students to develop real-world skills. Get schooled by Dziko as she shares how…

  10. The mission to safeguard Black history in the US | Julieanna L. Richardson

    · 15 min

    Black history in the US is rich, profound -- and at risk of being lost forever, if not for the monumental efforts of Julieanna L. Richardson. As the founder of The HistoryMakers -- the largest national archive of…

  11. What Wikipedia teaches us about balancing truth and beliefs | Katherine Maher

    · 15 min

    Even with public trust at an all-time low, Wikipedia continues to maintain people's confidence. How do they do it? Former CEO of Wikimedia Foundation Katherine Maher delves into the transparent, adaptable and…

  12. My long walk across India for women's freedom | Srishti Bakshi

    · 9:55

    There are 600 million women in India -- yet they are rarely seen outdoors after sunset because of safety concerns like harassment and catcalls. On a mission to create safer public spaces, women's rights advocate…

  13. Ukraine's fight to keep educating its children | Zoya Lytvyn

    · 7:00

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destroyed so much -- including hundreds of schools, where the country's children were forging their futures -- but it has not stopped Ukrainians from pursuing knowledge and…

  14. The creativity and community behind fanfiction | Cecilia Aragon

    · 15 min

    The wildly diverse, thoughtful and hilarious world of fanfiction -- where writers reimagine favorite stories like "Harry Potter," "Pokémon," "My Little Pony" and more -- is ever-growing and becoming a vital social and…

  15. Education is a fundamental right for every child | Makhtoum Abdalla

    · 9:00

    For children growing up in refugee camps, education is a powerful tool of liberation. In this inspiring talk, Makhtoum Abdalla, displaced as a child in Sudan and now living with his family in the Otash camp in Darfur,…

  16. 3 ways to lower the barriers to higher education | Adrian K. Haugabrook

    · 13 min

    Less than seven percent of people worldwide have a bachelor's degree -- and for many, this is simply because the cost of university is too high, says higher education executive Adrian K. Haugabrook. In this…

  17. The dream of educating Afghan girls lives on | Shabana Basij-Rasikh

    · 17 min

    In this deeply moving talk, educator Shabana Basij-Rasikh shares the harrowing story of evacuating more than 250 students, staff and family members from the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) -- the country's…

  18. A program to empower Black teachers in the US | Larry Irvin

    · 6:01

    TED Fellow and education innovator Larry Irvin envisions a world where every child can see themselves reflected in their teachers. With his team at Brothers Empowered to Teach, Irvin is providing pathways to careers in…

  19. A close-to-home solution for accessible childcare | Chris Bennett

    · 8:52

    Childcare needs a transformation -- but rather than investing billions in new buildings and schools, what if we could unlock the potential of people already nearby? Entrepreneur Chris Bennett offers an innovative way…

  20. The small business hustle | The Hartford

    · 2:58

    Karim Abouelnaga is a TED Fellow and founder and CEO of Practice Makes Perfect, a summer school opportunity that helps narrow the education gap for low-income children. Through his work, Karim shows how small business…

  21. 3 myths about racism that keep the US from progress | Candis Watts Smith

    · 10 min

    Racism morphs, spreading and hiding behind numerous half-truths and full-blown falsities about where it lives and who embodies it. In this actionable talk, political scientist Candis Watts Smith debunks three widely…

  22. How dirt bikes and STEM ignite ingenuity in Baltimore | Brittany Young

    · 5:46

    Dirt biking is more than just a pastime -- it's an opportunity to disrupt the cycle of poverty and provide enriching STEM education, says TED Fellow Brittany Young. In this perspective-shifting talk, she shares how her…

  23. Women and girls, you are part of the climate solution | Rumaitha Al Busaidi

    · 5:06

    What does gender equality have to do with climate change? A lot more than you might think. Empowering women and girls around the world is one of the most important ways to combat carbon pollution and is projected to…

  24. The exploitation of US college athletes | Tim Nevius

    · 10 min

    Colleges and universities in the US make billions of dollars each year from sports, compromising the health and education of athletes -- who are disproportionately Black -- in the name of money, power and pride. Sports…

  25. Online learning could change academia -- for good | Tyler Dewitt

    · 14 min

    Higher education remains rooted in rigid, traditional structures and tracks -- and it's at risk of getting left behind in favor of expanded access, greater flexibility and tailored learning. Educator Tyler DeWitt…

  26. Technology can't fix inequality -- but training and opportunities could | 'Gbenga Sesan

    · 11 min

    Centuries of inequality can't be solved with access to technology alone -- we need to connect people with training and support too, says tech inclusionist 'Gbenga Sesan. Sharing the work behind the Paradigm Initiative,…

  27. What COVID-19 revealed about US schools -- and 4 ways to rethink education | Nora Flanagan

    · 10 min

    The abrupt shift to online learning due to COVID-19 rocked the US education system, unearthing many of the inequities at its foundation. Educator Nora Flanagan says we can reframe this moment as an opportunity to fix…

  28. Why should you read Toni Morrison's "Beloved"? | Yen Pham

    · 4:47

    Two tiny handprints stamped into a cake. A mirror that shatters without warning. A trail of cracker crumbs strewn along the floor. Everyone at 124 Bluestone Road knows their home is haunted— but there's no mystery…

  29. Lessons on leaving the world better than you found it | Sophie Howe

    · 5:23

    Sophie Howe is the world's only future generations commissioner, a new kind of government official tasked with advocating for the interests of generations to come and holding public institutions accountable for…

  30. Why we must confront the painful parts of US history | Hasan Kwame Jeffries

    · 13 min

    To move forward in the United States, we must look back and confront the difficult history that has shaped widespread injustice. Revisiting a significant yet overlooked piece of the past, Hasan Kwame Jeffries…

  31. Activism, changemakers and hope for the future | Malala Yousafzai

    · 49 min

    Education activist (and recent Oxford graduate) Malala Yousafzai reflects on the defining moments of her life, how she balances passion with personhood and where the world finds itself during the COVID-19 crisis. With…

  32. A path to higher education and employment for refugees | Chrystina Russell

    · 5:34

    Out of the more than 70 million displaced people worldwide, only three percent have access to higher education. The Global Education Movement (GEM) is on a mission to change that with the first large-scale initiative…

  33. Why students should have mental health days | Hailey Hardcastle

    · 7:15

    School can be rife with stress, anxiety, panic attacks and even burnout -- but there's often no formal policy for students who need to prioritize their well-being. Hailey Hardcastle explains why schools should offer…

  34. How teachers can help students navigate trauma | Lisa Godwin

    · 15 min

    "To make a difference in the life of a child ... I made the commitment to tell my personal story," says educator Lisa Godwin. In this moving talk, she shares her experience of overcoming childhood trauma with the…

  35. How virtual reality turns students into scientists | Jessica Ochoa Hendrix

    · 6:24

    Using low-cost virtual reality, education activist Jessica Ochoa Hendrix helps bring science to life in schools across the US. In this quick talk, she explains how a VR experience she developed invites students to…

  36. The "opportunity gap" in US public education -- and how to close it | Anindya Kundu

    · 7:50

    How can we tap into the potential of all students, especially those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds? Sociologist Anindya Kundu invites us to take a deeper look at the personal, social and institutional…

  37. How motivation can fix public systems | Abhishek Gopalka

    · 14 min

    How do you fix broken public systems? You spark people's competitive spirit. In a talk about getting people motivated to make change, public sector strategist Abhishek Gopalka discusses how he helped improve the health…

  38. A bold plan to empower 1.6 million out-of-school girls in India | Safeena Husain

    · 9:49

    "Girls' education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet to help solve some of the world's most difficult problems," says social entrepreneur Safeena Husain. In a visionary talk, she shares her plan to enroll…

  39. What reading slowly taught me about writing | Jacqueline Woodson

    · 11 min

    Reading slowly -- with her finger running beneath the words, even when she was taught not to -- has led Jacqueline Woodson to a life of writing books to be savored. In a lyrical talk, she invites us to slow down and…

  40. A new way to get every child ready for kindergarten | Claudia Miner

    · 9:26

    Early education is critical to children's success -- but millions of kids in the United States still don't have access to programs that prepare them to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. Enter the UPSTART Project, a…

  41. Why we need to fight misinformation about vaccines | Ethan Lindenberger

    · 7:11

    Ethan Lindenberger never got vaccinated as a kid. So one day, he went on Reddit and asked a simple question: "Where do I go to get vaccinated?" The post went viral, landing Lindenberger in the middle of a heated debate…

  42. Why kids need to learn about gender and sexuality | Lindsay Amer

    · 7:37

    Lindsay Amer is the creator of "Queer Kid Stuff," an educational video series that breaks down complex ideas around gender and sexuality through songs and metaphors. By giving kids and their families a vocabulary to…

  43. The healing power of reading | Michelle Kuo

    · 18 min

    Reading and writing can be acts of courage that bring us closer to others and ourselves. Author Michelle Kuo shares how teaching reading skills to her students in the Mississippi Delta revealed the bridging power of…

  44. How hip-hop helps us understand science | Danielle N. Lee

    · 8:06

    In the early 1990s, a scandal rocked evolutionary biology: scientists discovered that songbirds -- once thought to be strictly monogamous -- engaged in what's politely called "extra-pair copulation." In this…

  45. Empower a girl, transform a community | Kakenya Ntaiya

    · 12 min

    Kakenya Ntaiya turned her dream of getting an education into a movement to empower vulnerable girls and bring an end to harmful traditional practices in Kenya. Meet two students at the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a…

  46. Creative ways to get kids to thrive in school | Olympia Della Flora

    · 13 min

    To get young kids to thrive in school, we need to do more than teach them how to read and write -- we need to teach them how to manage their emotions, says educator Olympia Della Flora. In this practical talk, she…

  47. An unexpected tool for understanding inequality: abstract math | Eugenia Cheng

    · 11 min

    How do we make sense of a world that doesn't? By looking in unexpected places, says mathematician Eugenia Cheng. She explains how applying concepts from abstract mathematics to daily life can lead us to a deeper…

  48. How education helped me rewrite my life | Ashweetha

    · 11 min

    There's no greater freedom than finding your purpose, says education advocate Ashweetha. Born to a poor family in rural India, she didn't let the social norms of her community stifle her dreams and silence her voice.…

  49. How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics | Liz Kleinrock

    · 12 min

    When one of Liz Kleinrock's fourth-grade students said the unthinkable at the start of a class on race, she knew it was far too important a teachable moment to miss. But where to start? Learn how Kleinrock teaches kids…

  50. Why Black girls are targeted for punishment at school -- and how to change that | Monique W. Morris

    · 13 min

    Around the world, Black girls are being pushed out of schools because of policies that target them for punishment, says author and social justice scholar Monique W. Morris. The result: countless girls are forced into…

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