Sharing ideas that change how we learn
Overview
ED Talks are public presentations that bring Michigan faculty expertise to communities statewide. Each talk makes educational research accessible and actionable—connecting scholarship with the real challenges people face in schools, workplaces, and communities.
Through plain language and engaging stories, ED Talks foster dialogue between researchers and practitioners. Topics range from how children learn to read to what makes mentorship effective to designing inclusive classrooms.
How It Works
Events happen several times each semester in partner communities. Each 20- to 30-minute talk is followed by open discussion that invites audience insight and questions. Speakers come from across disciplines—engineering, medicine, arts, education—showing that learning innovation is everywhere.
Talks are free and open to the public. Recordings and summaries appear afterward so ideas keep circulating long after the event. Attend in person, join online, or propose a talk of your own.
Future of Learning Scholars
The inaugural Future of Learning Scholars cohort consists of a select group of scholars leading innovative education research across disciplines at the University of Michigan. They have completed intensive scholarship and community engagement training and will be deployed for public engagement initiatives during the upcoming fall semester.
Upcoming Ed Talks
Our inaugural ED Talk launch event was on May 18 on the Marygrove Learning Community campus in Detroit. Over summer 2026, faculty scholars will undergo ED Talk training, and more ED Talks will come in Fall 2027. Join our mailing list for speaker announcements and locations.
How should universities respond to controversial or challenging speech while addressing student concerns about safety and belonging? What role can students play in creating a campus culture where people can speak, listen, disagree, change their minds, and defend their convictions? Join the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and partnering U-M units for a student-focused conversation examining key questions at the heart of campus speech debates. Dinner will be provided for attendees.
10/13/2026
5:00 PM
Palmer Commons, Great Lakes Room
Have you had to turn down an invite to go out with friends because you can’t afford it? What about telling your family you actually can’t send money home? Or explain to your friends in the lab that you don’t want to spend money on a pizza dinner? It can feel awkward and uncomfortable to say “no,” but it’s an important part of using your money in a way that works for you. Financial boundaries are guidelines you put in place to help you say “no” with confidence and “yes” with enthusiasm. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn the importance of boundaries, how to create and honor financial ones and toss the ones that don’t match your unique circumstances.
10/14/2026
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
CEW+ Building (330 E. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI)
Museums are the classrooms of our country. They play a crucial role in helping us understand the nation’s complex past. Join us for a dynamic conversation with Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and Lynette Clemetson, Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists, as they reflect on the significance of the 250th anniversary of the United States. At a moment in which discussions about our shared past and collective future feel especially urgent, this event offers an opportunity to learn from a leader who has devoted his career to informing and inspiring Americans to strive for the public good. Q & A will follow and copies of Secretary Bunch's book A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump will be available for purchase.
10/28/2026
6:00 PM
Rackham Graduate School Auditorium
Upcoming Ed Talks
Our inaugural ED Talk launch event was on May 18 on the Marygrove Learning Community campus in Detroit. Over summer 2026, faculty scholars will undergo ED Talk training, and more ED Talks will come in Fall 2027. Join our mailing list for speaker announcements and locations.
How should universities respond to controversial or challenging speech while addressing student concerns about safety and belonging? What role can students play in creating a campus culture where people can speak, listen, disagree, change their minds, and defend their convictions? Join the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and partnering U-M units for a student-focused conversation examining key questions at the heart of campus speech debates. Dinner will be provided for attendees.
10/13/2026
Palmer Commons, Great Lakes Room
Have you had to turn down an invite to go out with friends because you can’t afford it? What about telling your family you actually can’t send money home? Or explain to your friends in the lab that you don’t want to spend money on a pizza dinner? It can feel awkward and uncomfortable to say “no,” but it’s an important part of using your money in a way that works for you. Financial boundaries are guidelines you put in place to help you say “no” with confidence and “yes” with enthusiasm. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn the importance of boundaries, how to create and honor financial ones and toss the ones that don’t match your unique circumstances.
10/14/2026
CEW+ Building (330 E. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI)
Museums are the classrooms of our country. They play a crucial role in helping us understand the nation’s complex past. Join us for a dynamic conversation with Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and Lynette Clemetson, Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists, as they reflect on the significance of the 250th anniversary of the United States. At a moment in which discussions about our shared past and collective future feel especially urgent, this event offers an opportunity to learn from a leader who has devoted his career to informing and inspiring Americans to strive for the public good. Q & A will follow and copies of Secretary Bunch's book A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump will be available for purchase.
10/28/2026
Rackham Graduate School Auditorium