In this episode of Capital Class, Adam Giery sat down with educator-turned-entrepreneur Anarupa Ganguly. They discuss how her experience with Teach for India inspired the thought process that led her to start her company Prisms.
Anurupa's entry point to education began as a physics and math teacher in the Boston Public Schools. For 10+ years since then, Anurupa has led STEM curriculum and teacher preparation across the largest educational systems in the US including the NYC DOE, Boston Public Schools, and Success Academy Charter Schools.
Through her experience as a district and charter administrator, she found that she did not have the learning tools to deliver the outcomes her leaders and teachers were accountable for, and the personal sense-making journeys that students deserve while developing foundational mathematical reasoning & proficiencies.
She was awarded a National Science Foundation SBIR grant to build a scalable learning platform that actualizes pedagogies that we know work best but weren't possible until recent advances in IVR and AI technologies.
Her mission is to rapidly improve student performance and engagement in the mathematical sciences while crafting the instructor aids and training required to operationalize innovative technologies in the classroom. Anurupa holds a BS & M.Eng in electrical engineering from MIT and an EdM in Curriculum & Teaching from Boston University.
Listen in to learn how to reconnect with yourself and define your work-life balance as opposed to following the standard definition of it.
What You Will Discover:
· 00:00 Episode Begins
· 02:28 Anurupa describes her journey from Teach for America to Teach for India.
· 04:36 How culture and resources differentiate America’s education system from India’s.
· 07:26 The importance of categorically defining the scope of a teacher’s job.
· 10:23 How to change the narrative and give teachers the pathway to improving their practices.
· 19:10 The genesis of Prisms plus building a spatial learning environment for mathematics.
· 24:29 What it entails to teach kids to solve real-life problems with mathematical models.
· 28:29 How Prisms VR is prioritizing objective-driven learning through real-world situations.
· 32:14 The investment and market challenge Prisms experienced when entering the market.
· 37:45 Anurupa on how she reconnects with herself away from her founder role.
· 41:27 How to listen to yourself and define what work-life balance means to you.
· 46:14 Rapid fire questions for Anurupa.
Connect with Anurupa:
· Website: https://www.prismsvr.com/
· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anurupa-ganguly-92790379/
Produced by Old Soul
