In Season 1 Doris Korda discusses the core principles of her educational philosophy with Tim Desmond and Alison Tanker, her co-instructors from Hawken School’s Entrepreneurial Studies Program. “It’s not about what you teach, it’s about what they learn.”

In Season 2 we take you behind the scenes into Doris Korda’s entrepreneurship course at Hawken School to discuss the day to day of teaching a rigorous interdisciplinary course where students learn the critical skills they’ll need to be successful in the world.

Season 3 highlights the global community of educators implementing the Korda Method. Doris talks to them about their practice as teachers, the impact on their students and community, and how it is changing their schools and districts.

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Season 1: The Core Principles
Season 2: Behind the Scenes
Season 3: The Firestarters

Firestarters: Patterns for Igniting School Change

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the themes that emerged from this season's conversations with 62 entrepreneurial educators who have courageously ignited change in how we do school.

Science Teacher Uses Entrepreneurship to Spark Schoolwide Change

In this episode, Doris speaks with Jeremy Wickenheiser from DSST Public Schools. He shares his journey from teaching high school science four years ago to building an entrepreneurship program that has scaled...

Students Gain Confidence and Embody Citizenship in Rural District

In this episode, Doris speaks with Kesha Conway who has been piloting Korda Method across the Ashtabula Area City Schools District. They discuss a recent project in Lisa Raffa's high school Government class ...

Canadian Students Design Solutions for Real World Clients

In this episode, Doris speaks with Nicholas Timms from Hillfield Strathallan College. He shares the story of how transforming a traditional small business course grew into a student-run Design Studio, with h...

Going Beyond PBL for Middle School Girls in Columbus

In this episode, Doris speaks with Pam Reed, Humanities teacher at Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls. Pam shares how different it is to teach with this radically different method, as students learn ...

Pioneering Education Innovation in Slovenia - Part 2

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the journey that led to a recent workshop with educators in Slovenia. Also featured in the episode are excerpts from some of the entrepreneurial educators and studen...

Taking Risks for Students Across Cleveland

Doris speaks with Michael Hudecek and Jacquelyn Clemens. Michael discusses the youth entrepreneurship program he developed as Program Manager for St. Clair Superior Development Corporation, an organization d...

Teaching at the Intersection of Science, Business and Technology

In this episode, Doris talks to Terry Chou, science teacher at Joaquin Miller Middle School in California. Terry shares details about her students learning innovation in her Science Enrichment and Research (...

Using Entrepreneurship to Teach Leadership to Girls

Doris speaks with Regina Rosi, Assistant Division Director & Dean of Student Life at Marlborough School. They discuss the need to modernize leadership education in K12 schools. Regina shares the entrepreneur...

Structuring School to Close the Gap Between Teaching & Learning

Doris speaks with Dr. Rand Harrington and Phil Klein of Kent Denver School in Colorado. They discuss creating structures in the school to leverage expertise both in and out of the building to allow for authe...

Students Tackle Food Systems and Climate Change with PBL

Doris speaks with Katy Yan, instructor of AP Environmental Science and Honors Biology at The College Preparatory School and former Science Teacher at The Bentley School. Katy explains the shift from research...

Teaching at the Intersection of Entrepreneurship & Public Service

Doris speaks with Chad Williamson, Co-founder of Noble Impact. Chad shares his journey to teaching at the intersection of entrepreneurship and public service. He explains how the Sandy Hook School tragedy ha...

Teaching Skills the Workforce Actually Needs

In this episode, Doris speaks with Sarah Jensen, High School Entrepreneurship Teacher at Nichols School. Sarah brings an extensive business background to the classroom and discusses the value of students dev...

Economics Teacher in Singapore Throws Out the Answer Key

In this episode, Doris speaks with Oliver Smith, Business and Economics teacher at Singapore American School. Oliver discusses the depth of learning his students experienced while solving problems for real ...

Environmental Entrepreneurship Course Leads to New Way of Teaching Science

In this episode, Doris interviews Sarah Swain. Sarah describes the integration of environmental science into her entrepreneurship course and entrepreneurial skills into her core science courses. They discuss...

Economics Teacher Engages Students in Design for Social Impact

In this episode, Doris speaks with Adam Lang, a Teaching Chair and Instructor of Economics at Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Adam shares how his students took ownership over their learning and developed sk...

Students Learn Ancient World History by Solving Modern Problems

Doris speaks with Julia Griffin, Humanities teacher and Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning at Hawken Upper School. Julia shares how her humanities department adopted a new academic method that trans...

Educator Equips Women and People of Color to Succeed in Tech

In this episode, Doris speaks with Mel McGee, Founder and CEO of We Can Code IT. Mel shares how she applied Korda Method in Coding Bootcamps that are making the tech industry more diverse and inclusive by p...

Building an Entrepreneurship Program that Redefines Teaching

In this episode, Doris speaks with Paul Chiment and Blake Dorfman of Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara, California. Paul is a veteran high school Math and Economics teacher and Blake an early career midd...

Entrepreneurial Educators Design Courses for Impact

In this special episode, educators who recently attended the Workshops for Entrepreneurial Studies share their inspiring plans for courses and programs in entrepreneurship, history, economics, math, science ...

Students Learn Spanish through Real World Project

In this episode, Doris speaks with Rachel Mullen, Upper School Spanish Teacher at Hawken School. Rachel shares how her students advanced their Spanish communications, cultural awareness, and collaboration sk...

Pioneering Entrepreneurship Education in Slovenia - Part 1

In this episode, Doris speaks with Janez Gorenc, an English teacher from Gimnazija Novo mesto in Slovenia. Janez shares his journey to teach entrepreneurship so that his students develop practical, essential...

Environmental Science Students Create Solutions for their School

In this episode, Doris speaks with Ben Leslie-Bole, environmental science educator at Athenian School in Danville, California. He discusses how his student’s work on a water retention project led to collabor...

Service Learning through Global Problem Solving

In this episode, Doris speaks with Alethea Tyner Paradis, history professor at Santa Barbara City College and Director / CEO of Peace Works Travel, a socially conscious study abroad program where students le...

Entrepreneurship Education: New Model for Teaching & Learning

In this episode, Doris speaks with Jay Scheurle, Head of School and Entrepreneurship teacher at Miami Valley School. Jay describes how he modeled this method of teaching and learning for his school by implem...

Movement to Create a New High School Transcript

Can a group of independent schools get colleges to accept a new kind of transcript without grades? In this episode, Scott Looney, Founder of the Mastery Transcript Consortium and Head of Hawken School discus...

Rural Public School Students Collaborate to Solve Problems

In this episode Doris speaks with Kesha Conway, Program Director at Ashtabula Leadership County. She describes her course where students gained skills in collaboration and problem solving by working on a rea...

Biomimicry and Leadership for Middle School Students

In this episode Doris speaks with Anna Delia. She is the Middle School Asst. Director and Science Teacher at Hawken School, a K12 independent school in Cleveland, Ohio. Anna shares how her middle school scie...

Innovation & Changemaking in an Alternative Public School

In this episode Doris speaks with Dr. Danielle Bomar. She is the Supervisor at Options For Success, a K12 Alternative School Program in the Columbus City School District for students who have been suspended ...

Teaching Social Entrepreneurship in Shanghai

In this episode, Doris talks to Anne Love of Concordia International School in Shanghai, China. Anne is the High School Academic Innovation Coordinator as well as a teacher of science and social entrepreneur...

Scaling Entrepreneurship Education Across a High School

In this episode, Doris talks to David Peden. David is the Chair of the Entrepreneurship Leadership program at Battle Ground Academy, a K12 independent school near Nashville, TN. They discuss the entrepreneur...

Season 3 Intro - Igniting the Next Chapter of Do School Better

In this episode, Doris and Alison kick off Season 3 of the podcast. They share the plan for this new season, which is called The Firestarters. They also share some news about their new organization, Wildfire...

The Final Project & End of the Semester

In this episode, we talk about the final look at a semester course and how important the reflection on the entire experience is to the learning of the students.

What Happens When Students Get Stuck

In this episode, we talk about what happens in this class when students are working on real problems and they’re paralyzed because they don’t know what to do next.

A Conversation with Public School Science Teacher, Terry Chou

In this episode I talk to Terry Chou, a middle school science teacher from a public school in California who attended our first workshop. Listen to what Terry has discovered about teaching innovation and col...

The Final Project: The Student Businesses

In this episode we’ll talk about these final projects where students create their own businesses and will face huge academic challenges in the process.

The Final Presentations for Endemic Solutions

In this episode, we talk about what students presented today as their solutions to their second business challenge and why the learning has been transformative.

Authentic Feedback: More than Just a Letter Grade

In this episode, learn how the feedback we give in this course goes far beyond a letter grade. Doris and Alison discuss how students shift away from extrinsic motivation through self-reflection, as well as g...

“Things Get Complicated” – The Second Business Challenge, Endemic Solutions

We’re a week and a half in to students’ second business challenge. And at this point in the course, things get really, really complicated. And in this episode, we share a lot of our strategies in helping gui...

The Second Business Challenge: Endemic Solutions

In this episode we talk about what is happening in this class when the students come out of their first day of their second business challenge and are faced with a problem that is significantly more sophisti...

The Final Presentations for Peaceful Fruits

In this episode we discuss where the students are, given that they just finished their first business challenge and they’re about to undergo a major shift.

The First Business Challenge: Peaceful Fruits

In this episode, Doris discusses her methods of instruction and how to launch students into the habit of self-guided inquiry through early assignments and activities in the class.

Back to School: The First Week

In this episode, Doris talks to Alison about the first week of this class and the early on exercises that lead to de-schooling. They go in depth into the Business Model Canvas activity describing how it sets...

Tools of the Trade 2: Not Being Afraid to Try New Things

In this episode, Alison and Doris discuss trying out new tools in the upcoming semester of Hawken’s Entrepreneurial Studies program. Alison talks about the decision to pilot Slack and incorporate the use of ...

Using Entrepreneurship Education for Empowerment

n this episode, Doris talks with Michael Hudecek of St. CLair Superior Development Corporation. He shares his “overwhelming success” in piloting Korda’s model in one of Cleveland’s most impoverished neighbor...

First Year Reflections with Alison and Tim

In this episode, Alison shares how the Korda Method of teaching and learning deepened her understanding of innovative teaching practices, pushing students towards rigorous and meaningful learning.

Entrepreneurship Education: Impact & Perspective from College Counseling Office

In this episode, Doris talks with Renee Bischoff, Director of College Counseling at Hawken School. Renee shares the impact the entrepreneurship program has had on students, including their personal and acade...

Evolution of a Movement: The State of Entrepreneurship Education

In this episode, Doris and Alison examine the growth of the entrepreneurship education movement and how that has changed both the needs of educators seeking training and Doris’s approach to training them.

Hawken Educators Workshops 2016: Takeaways with Alison and Tim

In this episode, Alison and Tim reflect on the 2016 Hawken Educators Workshops in both Cleveland and California. They discuss how the needs of the attendees have changed as Entrepreneurship Education continu...

Special Episode – Educators Trained in Model Discuss their Programs

In this special episode, Doris hosts a live panel with Jeremy Wickenheiser, Mel McGee and Sarah Jensen. They discuss how they used Korda Method to build successful programs at Denver School of Science and Te...

Process vs. Product

In this episode, Tim and Alison recall the poor quality of the solutions presented to the first business CEOs in a semester and why the deliverables were not as important as the process. They also discuss ho...

Ladies and Gentlemen, Presenting…the Presentations

In this episode, Tim and Alison discuss the different types of presentations students experience in this course. They also explain how students shift away from their inclination to prove mastery of content a...

Tools of the Trade

In this episode, Tim and Doris discuss the critical role of technology in Hawken’s Entrepreneurial Studies program. Tim explains his beliefs on educational technology along with practical ways to get started...

Growth Mindset - Ballerinas and Firefighters

In this episode, Tim and Alison discuss the importance of a growth mindset for teachers and students in this radically different kind of learning. They also explain why answering questions with questions pro...

The “Teacher-in-Training” – Alison’s Korda Method Training

In this episode, Alison reflects on her experience at the Hawken School Educators Workshops, how she had to learn as much as possible for the fall semester and how she is surviving as a “teacher-in-training....

The Hot Chicken Takeover: Fostering Deep Learning & Research Skills

In this episode, Doris explains why all learning must be relevant, meaningful and timely. To illustrate, she describes how she leveraged the shortcomings of student research in a first business problem in or...

Taking Flight – Getting Your Program Off the Ground: Korda Method Pilot

In this episode, Doris explains the process for building a program and how it can be grown in many different ways outside of a traditional classroom setting. She explains the role of piloting in education an...

Learning Character vs. Teaching Character - Social Entrepreneurship in Schools

In this episode, Doris explains the role of citizenship in Hawken’s Entrepreneurial Studies program and why she claims “we already have a social entrepreneurship class.” Doris describes how News Circle bring...

”Just Because We Covered It, Doesn’t Mean They Learned It.” with Ted Dintersmith

In this episode, Doris discusses the state of the American educational system with acclaimed film maker and author, Ted Dintersmith. The educational reformers discuss why we should want our children to ask t...

The New American Spirit

In this episode, Doris defines entrepreneurship as turning ideas into successful realities. She explains why an entrepreneurship class is a powerful vehicle for mastering skills and why the current celebrity...

“If Your Feelings Get Hurt Easily, Get Over It” – The Student Experience

In this episode, Doris describes the Hawken Entrepreneurial Studies class from the student perspective. She explains how this style of “learning by doing” is different than traditional school and how collabo...

How is Entrepreneurship Education Useful for K12 Students - Steve Blank

In this episode, Doris talks to Steve Blank, Stanford professor and creator of Lean LaunchPad ® about how students learn creative problem-solving for today’s world in courses that incorporate the same method...

It’s Not About Being the Smartest Person in the Room - Steve Blank & Doris Korda

In this episode, Steve Blank interviews Doris for his radio series, “Entrepreneurs are Everywhere.” Hear what Doris learned as an immigrant, engineer and entrepreneur that led her to develop her different mo...

De-Schooling

In this episode, Doris explores her core mission; to do school better. She reflects on past students who did not fit school’s narrow definition of academic success. She shares how an entrepreneurship class c...

“Get Out of the Building.” – Hawken's Entrepreneurial Studies Origin Story

In this episode, Doris recalls the process of designing and building Hawken’s Entrepreneurial Studies program in a high school and why using real business problems should be core to entrepreneurship programs...

21st Century Motivation – Bringing in the Real World

Doris explains strategies for bringing real-world learning into the classroom without the use of guest speakers. She decries the use of trickery or external motivation to get students engaged in their own le...

“The Entrepreneurial Process is Empowering” – Alison Tanker’s Story

In this episode, Alison Tanker shares how her background in social entrepreneurship, international development & female empowerment led to her role at Hawken School. She explains how she discovered that entr...

The Decision Filter

In this episode, Doris explores the “decision filter” she uses for choosing which businesses will work with the students. She discusses the reasoning behind her “rule of three” and explains why students must...

“I’m Not Afraid to Try Things and Fail.” – Tim’s Story

In this episode, Tim Desmond explains the path that led him to the Assistant Director position at the Miller Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Hawken School. He explains how being a risk-taker and div...

Sequencing the Learning Terrain

In this episode, Doris explains how she uses real, local startups in Hawken’s Entrepreneurial Studies program. She details one semester’s line up of businesses, the challenges posed and expectations for the ...

Student Stories: Transformation

In this episode, Doris chronicles the journey of two specific students through Hawken’s Entrepreneurial Studies program. She elaborates on those who have not thrived in traditional school and explains what t...

“You Can’t Get an A by Yourself” – Teamwork and Collaboration in the 21st Century

In this episode, Doris elaborates on the shift in the workplace where employers increasingly value skills–like teamwork and collaboration–over the possession of content knowledge. Doris and Alison discuss wh...

A Look Inside the Signature Immersion Course

In this episode, Doris describes the Entrepreneurial Studies class offered at Hawken School. She explains the role of real business problems in addition to the “final project” and how this highly developed c...

This is Radically Different: Hawken School's Entrepreneurial Studies Program

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the Hawken School Entrepreneurial Studies program and its radical method of entrepreneurship education. They reveal how a rigorous, academic program using real and u...

School is Broken. Let’s #DoSchoolBetter.

In this episode, Doris explains why our current educational system doesn’t work anymore and why skills mastery matters more for today’s students than it ever has before. She discusses how her career of teach...