Education Resources

We listened to your prologue and act two (all while working on one point perspective drawings). After, I had them respond to three questions (in bold below). There answers were interesting to me and I thought I would pass them along to you as well. Share an example of a time where you misunderstood a picture or "imposed a story" on a photograph. Would you send your art work to Anthony... why or why not? Why do artists make art? Why do you make art?

I am requiring my students to listen to When Patents Attack (both episodes)

Act 3 - see attached worksheet

I teach an upper division elective undergrad class at UCLA called "Perspectives on Autism and Neurodiversity," cross-listed between the Psychology department and Disability Studies minor. I have played the story from Karen and Dave Fincher, "Wife Lessons" from Ep 405 to spur discussion about the "extreme male brain theory" of autism that was really popular for a while in the research field and is still common in popular understandings of high-functioning autism (is Dave just like a typical guy, but more so?). I also use it to illustrate how people might use diagnoses such as Aspergers to make sense of their own lives... It's a perfect way to illustrate the "lived experience" of neurological difference. I've taught the class for three summers and the students always love the podcast and it always leads to a really interesting engagement with class material, so thank you!

This is one of the best episodes of TAL I have ever heard, and I've been a fan of the show for years. In fact, this is one of the best examples of investigative journalism I have ever encountered. I'm a professional economist, and I had no idea about the growth of the Federal Disability program. I've used this in my introductory macroeconomics course to talk about structural unemployment, and will no doubt use it in my upcoming course on poverty and discrimination.

I have recently begun to teach a course on American media, and in this class I present the students with examples of American media ranging from clips of popular American sitcoms to short segments from radio programs. Several weeks ago I shared with my students the episode of "going back to school", to highlight the similarities and differences of the US and South Korean university admission process. I began the class by asking the students to think about their own admission process at Sangmyung University (the name of the university where I teach). The students came up with their own lists and then I had them share their individual experiences in a group discussion to get an idea of how difficult or easy students' felt their experience to be. Students in general agreed that in South Korea the principle requirement to enter a good university (in South Korea there are 3 Ivy League caliber universities) was to receive a high mark on their CSAT (Korean university entrance exam). However, high marks in their high school courses would also aid them in the admission process, but not nearly as much as their test score. After creating their lists and concluding our short discussion, I then shared with them my own experience of applying to various universities and it quickly became apparent to the students that our processes were very different. For starters the number of universities I applied to was far greater than the number of universities most South Korean students apply to. There are a large number of universities in South Korea, but the majority of high school students are competing for the top three (imagine the level of competition!). I also explained to the students that it was very important that I had variety of extra-curricular activities on my educational resume, activities such as: sports, music, academic clubs, etc.. In South Korea most students don't have the time to participate in these types of extra-curricular activities so the fact that this was a deciding factor for some admission boards in the US came as quite a surprise. After comparing their experiences with my experiences, I played for them the into to the episode, and they listened to the interviews with the incoming freshmen at Columbia University and their explanations for why they believed they got accepted. What really stood out to the South Korean university students, was the fact that the more unique an American high school student is, the better chance they have to get into a good university. In South Korea if you stand out from the pack, that does not translate into being unique or more importantly a better student. The idea that an individual from a minority or from a special cohort would give an individual student an advantage was the most shocking revelation from the episode. Because the class is limited in time (1 hour) we had to cut the discussion short, however to keep the conversation going I gave all of the students a writing assignment. I asked all of the students to go home and write a paragraph about which country they would like to pursue their higher education, they would have to provide at least 3 pieces of evidence to support their decision as well as providing reasons for why they didn't select the alternative option. At the end of the class I had several students come up to me and ask me for the link to the entire podcast. A week later they came back and told me they were so grateful to have a class that opened their eyes to these types of cultural lessons. I was pleased to hear this feedback and I owe the success of that lesson entirely to the great journalistic work being done at This American Life. I will conclude this email with a breakdown of the lesson and the materials required to complete this lesson. Thank you again for all of your great work and I hope to use more episodes of TAL in class in the future. A Breakdown of the lesson: Opening (10 minutes): How easy/hard is it to enter a university in South Korea? Make a list of all the tasks you had to complete to enter Sangmyung University. Discussion (15 minutes): Share personal experiences related to the application process and how you felt before, during, and after the process. Teacher Experience (10 minutes): I will share with you my experience of trying to get into college and then we will discuss some of the similarities and differences. Listening (20 minutes): Listen to the podcast and then have a discussion about the students responses and try to highlight the reasons why they felt they were accepted by Columbia University and were their reasons similar to some of the students at Sangmyung University. Closing (5 minutes): I short wrap up of the days conversation with a summary of what we had learned in class with last comments from the students. Materials: Each student was given a transcript of the episode. I provided the students with a glossary of the difficult terms or phrases from the episode and we would discuss each term or phrase as we came to them.

I used to be a full time ESL teacher in South America and in the US and used TAL with my students all the time! I love that it provides a variety of English accents. I think it's a great opportunity for students overseas to get a feel for how people talk in the US - especially since a lot of them have this idea that there is one "right" accent or that there is only one American, one British, one Australian (etc) accept. So I combed through my resources and unfortunately I could only find one. :( It's attached. Hope it's helpful others! I always love sharing with other teachers.

I teach New Testament to 10th graders and Ethics to 11th graders at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta. I used the episode "What Kind of Country" in my Ethics class. I designed a guided listening sheet that went along with the first portion of the episode in New Jersey (so the kids could follow along) and then listed major discussion questions for the students to discuss with each other in pairs and then with the class as a whole. We listened to the first portion in New Jersey and the last portion of the episode in Colorado Springs. In addition to the questions listed at the bottom of the attachment, some other essential questions we've discussed were: -Do you think the Colorado Springs plan works? (having residents pay on their own for public services like park upkeep, trash removal, etc.) Why or why not? --Would YOU vote for a tax increase if it meant it would benefit all? Or do you think everyone should be

This week's story about the mascot will be a great one to have the students study. I may have them summarize and then recreate the story using ComicBook. Perhaps we will send them to the Tiger to share with her!

I am a homeschooling mom and have used many episodes over the years. Just used the Tylenol episode for part of my 17yo's health education.

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My research is on genocide and atrocities, but I also teach a first year course on the humanities. The subject of my course is human nature, obviously. We use classic texts to try and discern the writers' particular understanding of human nature. One of the texts that I have used for years is On the Souls of Black Folk by WEB Dubois. This year I also had them listen to your podcast on Harper high school in conjunction with this text. I usually ask them to write essays that ask them to assess how far we've come with his vision. In years past, I have been frustrated by their naïve misguided presumptions that we live in an era of educational equality, based on merit alone. And while I have tried to address this in class, it has been frustrating. After hearing that podcasts, I required them all to listen to it before they wrote their essays. I did not ask them to include it in the essay, or to write about the podcast. I just asked them to listen to it before they wrote. Wow! Nearly every one of my students included some reference to this podcast in their essay.

I can't tell you what a difference this made. Not only did this affect the way they saw WEB DuBois, it has turned out to be the single most influential piece of the entire course. I am in the midst of reading their final reflections and well over half of my students have made reference to this podcast. This was one of the most effective wake-up calls of their young lives. You struck a perfect balance between giving raw data, which is never that effective on its own for kids this age, and giving them the story and narrative behind the data.

“There’s nothing going on” is a common lament from journalism students once we hit the midpoint of the school year. I try to emphasize with my students that interesting stories are everywhere, and, when told skillfully, even the most seemingly random topics can be incredibly engaging and insightful. For that reason, I have them listen to “Bean Counter” (Act II of Episode 348: “Getting Your Money’s Worth.” The segment provides a fascinating, and humorous, insight into commerce, human behavior, and journalistic storytelling. To keep students engaged and accountable, I have them respond to a series of content-based questions, but also ask them to consider how the reporter prepared for the story and how that relates to their own work as journalists.

I am requiring my students to listen to When Patents Attack (both episodes)

I use the NUMMI episode of TAL to illustrate the importance of creating a proper work environment. The class I teach is a leadership class for undergraduates, and the episode

My students aren't necessarily interested in probability or in aliens, but they are interested in finding dates. The MIT students help bring the equation home.

Tied into Video Game Lecture and Gatekeeping

I use the episode about Curly Oxide. I teach a rock/funk based curriculum at a performing arts high school in Ohio. We use the episode to discuss the value of persona vs song writing.

I'm a professor of Political Science and used the "money and politics" episode in intro to american politics. I might have episode name wrong but it opens with a member of congress dial for dollars. The students referenced that podcast throughout the semester. It connected campaigns and elections, theories or politics (elite, pluralism, etc) and gridlock well

Pain (and management of pain)

I'm a professor of Political Science and used the "money and politics" episode in intro to american politics. I might have episode name wrong but it opens with a member of congress dial for dollars. The students referenced that podcast throughout the semester. It connected campaigns and elections, theories or politics (elite, pluralism, etc) and gridlock well

I am teaching criminology next term and will likely use the recent episode on Confessions.