The Education Gadfly Show
For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Stephanie Distler, at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.
The Education Gadfly Show
#973: Debunking the teacher experience myth, with Linda Darling-Hammond and Anne Podolsky
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Linda Darling-Hammond and Anne Podolsky of the Learning Policy Institute—authors of our latest Think Again brief, “Do the Returns to Teacher Experience Fizzle Out?”—join Mike and David to discuss whether teachers really stop improving after just a few years on the job. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam shares a study examining the extent of school board turnover and whether it is linked to school performance.
Recommended content:
- “Think Again: Do the returns to teacher experience fizzle out?” —Anne Poldolsky and Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute, for Thomas B. Fordham Institute
- “Effective Teacher Professional Development” — Linda Darling-Hammond, Maria E. Hyler, and Madelyn Gardner, Learning Policy Institute
- “The voices we don't hear: Teachers who gave up” —Robert Pondiscio, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
- “High Turnover with Low Accountability: Local School Board Elections in 16 States” — Vladimir Kogan, Stéphane Lavertu, and Zachary Peskowitz, EdWorking Paper (May 2025)
Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.