The academy's zeitgeist -- standards of scientific investigation -- has recently come to the fore in the national arena as the dominant moral and intellectual framework for educational research. In this article, we explore the re-emergence of standards of scientific investigation as a significant shaping force in education and the scholarly culture, particularly in regard to the fields of leadership and administration. With the recent advent of politically based decrees of quality defined exclusively by traditional standards, alternative approaches to exploring human issues, however rigorous they might be in the qualitative realm, tend to be marginalized. Traditional, experimental studies that involve large-scale statistical research design and randomization have been authorized, making single-subject research, naturalistic inquiry, self-study, and other qualitative research practices unlikely candidates for federal funding. For this discussion on "authorized" and "unauthorized" perspectives of research, we explore the impact of regulatory practices within the academy.

Motivated by the limitations of both public and private schools to meet the needs of his son, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle and his wife embarked on a mission to create an educational experience customized to their son. Inspired by their results, Kahle set out to determine if this model of customized education could scale beyond those who could afford it. He shares his surprising findings in this Big Ideas Fest presentation.Ę

Pointing to inequities of the past that are unfathomable today, the Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois College of Education invites us to consider what aspects of our current educational system our grandchildren will find unimaginable.

Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, Martha Kanter reminds us that Thomas Jefferson's primary public concern was to establish a system of general education to reach every citizenŃbelieving that "whenever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government." Today, as our lauded history of producing the best-educated citizenry in the world is slipping through our fingers, Kanter argues that people need to learn to think critically not only to succeed in their jobs, but to preserve our great democracy.

Indiana University East is redesigning higher education to make it more effective, efficient and accessible to a wide range of students. At BIF 2011, Chancellor Nasser Paydar explains how IU East provides more students a quality education, using collaborative new models and fewer resourcesŃgoing from the lowest retention rates among all Indiana University campuses to the highest in four years.Ę

With higher education no longer the primary source of knowledge, and its traditions at odds with current realities, Greg Anderson tells educators we must adapt or die. Dean of Morgridge College of Education at University of Denver, Anderson offers five problems with the educational system and three fundamental obstacles we need to overcome to remain relevant.

In this class we will come to understand the vast changes in Spanish life that have taken place since Franco's death in 1975. We will focus on the new freedom from censorship, the re-emergence of movements for regional autonomy, the new cinema, reforms in education and changes in daily life: sex roles, work, and family that have occurred in the last decade. In so doing, we will examine myths that are often considered commonplaces when describing Spain and its people.

Kaycee Eckardt teaches reading to high school students in New Orleans' 9th Ward. Her goal, to equip all scholars for world-changing pursuits, requires taking a chance on innovative teaching, prototyping and piloting new ideas. "To pause, or to hesitate, or to forget to innovate because of fear, that's the only moment that we will fail."

What if educators could see what a student knows, what they need to know, and how to motivate them...all by looking at a map? Danny Hillis, Chairman and Co-Founder of Applied Minds, asks us to imagine a learning map that goes beyond existing search engines to show educators just that.

In her position as Education Program Director of The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Barbara Chow works behind the scenes to set the stage for successful learning by identifying opportunities for creating innovation and change through policy.

STEAM stands for "Science & Technology interpreted through Engineering & the Arts, all based in Mathematical elements," and aims to bring FUNctional literacy to students. Founder/teacher Georgette Yakman describes how her immigrant grandparents, brother with Asperger syndrome, and artistic stepfather led her to bring Arts into STEM.