Episode 78: A Conversation about "Mismatching" Students to Listen Across Divides

A Year of Listening

What happens when you use the technology of Match.com to do its opposite? Instead of connecting people in common you try to connect people across differences. And then what would happen if you took that technology into classrooms and allowed students to video conference other students from vastly different socioeconomic, regional, and cultural places? And then helped the students to hold conversations where they discuss issues like immigration and free speech with these other students like them, but not like them. You’d have Mismatch. Mismatch is helping teachers connect their students with classrooms across the country and giving students opportunities for discourse and dialogue about the issues that are polarizing our country. On this episode Colleen learns about how Mismatch technology works with its founder Kristin Hansen and then speaks with educator Kent Lenci about his experience using the technology in the classroom. Kent and Colleen discuss what his students took away from their experience and why he pushes his students to pay attention to the differences in order to foster the skills to work with people who think differently than themselves.

Check out Mismatch and its partner All Sides for Schools. If you are an educator or know an educator, be sure to spread the word about this program. It could be incredibly powerful in schools. And if you’d like to connect with Kent about his experience or the work he is doing you can email him at [e-mail].