Dr. Albert Cheng-Are Master’s Degrees Overrated? The Dark Secret of Teacher Quality!

A few weeks ago I ran into Dr. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas. We started talking, and he mentioned he was in the department of education reform. I asked him, "What's one thing about education that you know, that you wish everyone knew?" "Well," he said, "that teacher training, teacher certification, has no relationship to teacher quality. Just because someone has a master's degree doesn't mean they are a better teacher than someone with a bachelor's." I was floored. I knew this happened in the counseling field. Despite what we say, certification in various models doesn't make you a better counselor. But to see the same in education was fascinating. So I had to have him on the podcast. In this interview we talk all about the problems education and how to fix it. Enjoy!   Links mentioned 1) Primer on Teacher Quality: https://www.educationnext.org/in-schools-teacher-quality-matters-most-coleman/ 2) No-Excuses Charters: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=edrepub 3) More No-Excuses Charters: https://futureofchildren.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf2411/files/resource-links/charter_schools_compiled.pdf 4) AI: https://www.educationnext.org/a-i-in-education-leap-into-new-era-machine-intelligence-carries-risks-challenges-promises/ 5) Albert Cheng himself: https://edre.uark.edu/people/faculty/uid/axc070/name/Albert+A.+Cheng/