Future Learning Design Podcast: Recent Episodes
Tim Logan
More & more people are questioning the education & training options available for their young people. In partnership with Intrepid Ed News, we bring together a network of passionate educators & entrepreneurs who are intentionally redesigning the experience of learning in school, work and life, to enable people to grow, innovate and thrive.
This podcast provides a space for enlivening & inspiring conversations to encourage you to join in the movement to help drive positive change.
Intrepid Ed News is a lighthouse for educators & parents, at the intersection of journalism & prof. development.
One of our main roles as educators is to support and help our young people figure out who they are and how they want to contribute to the world. Given our current context of rapid technological change with social, technological and ecological challenges, questions about decisions for university, training and future options for young people is becoming increasingly challenging. Similarly, for educators and career and college guidance counsellors too, to be able to continuously navigate this rapidly changing terrain.
Back in May, 2023, I had a conversation on the podcast with some young people who were expressing exactly these concerns about decisions and choices they were making in their lives about what courses to choose, and what careers to pursue. Since then I've been really wanting to bring together a group of global experts around this question. So it's a huge pleasure this week to be able to bring them together:
Rosa Moreno-Zutautas: Rosa is Global Director - Program Strategy & Partnerships at IC3 Institute. With a background in Clinical Psychology and a graduate degree in Mental Health Psychology, Rosa is dedicated to helping young individuals uncover their potential and purpose in life. Originally from Venezuela, raised in the United States, and currently residing in Canada, Rosa is passionate about IC3's vision of providing career guidance in every school. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosa-moreno-zutautas-278767147/)
The 2025 Student Quest Report (that Rosa refers to in the conversation) will be released shortly and available here: https://ic3institute.org/research-and-publications/
Anisa Shaikh: Anisa is an experienced senior career & admissions consultant, customer success program & project manager with 12+ years of experience in ed-tech, SaaS, app marketing & media production. She is skilled in leading diverse teams, building partnerships & scaling operations to enhance customer experience & drive revenue growth in dynamic environments (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anisashaikh/).
Kathleen deLaski: Kathleen is an education and workforce designer, as well as an author. She founded the Education Design Lab in 2013 to help colleges begin the journey to reimagine higher education toward the future of work. Kathleen now serves as board chair at EDL and on the board of Credential Engine. She spends time as a senior advisor to the Project on Workforce at Harvard University and teaches human-centered design and higher ed reform as an adjunct professor in the Honors College at George Mason University. Kathleen is the author of ‘Who Needs College Anymore: Imagining a Future Where Degrees Won't Matter’ (https://www.whoneedscollegeanymore.org/). https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-delaski-1089012b/;
Anthony Mann: Anthony is a youth career development researcher and policymaker at Critical Transitions, and until recently was Senior Policy Analyst at OECD. Anthony is the author of The State of Global Teenage Career Preparation, OECD, published in May 2025 (https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/the-state-of-global-teenage-career-preparation_d5f8e3f2-en.html). https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-mann-81aaba17/
Shira Woolf Cohen: Shira is a founding partner at Innovageous, an education consulting group focused on ensuring continuity of learning and inclusive opportunities for all children. Prior to founding Innovageous, Shira served as the principal of New Foundations Charter School (2014-2020) and is the recipient of the G. Bernard Gill Award for Urban Service-Learning Leadership. Shira is also the author of ‘Leading Future-Focused Schools: Engaging and Preparing Students for Career Success’ (https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Future-Focused-Schools-Engaging-Preparing/dp/B0F9VWS8Z7)
In 1981, the UN established the International Day of Peace to commemorate and strengthen the ideals of peace. In a time when both the influence of multilateral institutions like the UN is being questioned, and the peace we need is in rapidly shortening supply as violence becomes the norm, my guest this week is doing amazing work with communities to find more peaceful paths through questions of conflict resolution by taking a systemic and complexity-informed approach. How we engage our young people in responding peacefully to the inevitable conflict they experience in their own lives feels like a critical part of what we do as educators, but so is being open to question the way in which violence and harm can also be normalised by the systems in which we live and work.
Dr Luke Roberts is the founder and Chief Executive Officer at Resolve Consultants (https://resolveconsultants.com/ ) and the author of ‘Leading Schools and Sustaining Innovation: How to Think Big and Differently in Complex Systems’ (https://www.routledge.com/Leading-Schools-and-Sustaining-Innovation-How-to-Think-Big-and-Differently/Roberts/p/book/9781032015620?utm_source=link&utm_medium=society_association&utm_campaign=B052718_pb1_5ll_6rm_t012_1al_9781032015620). Throughout his career, he has focused on conflict resolution, systems change and sustaining innovation. He completed his PhD at Cambridge in 2020. The focus of his research was the sustainability of innovation in organisations when viewed as socially Complex Adaptive Systems. He is an applied social scientist who uses System Thinking and Complexity Theory to address messy and ambiguous challenges which organisations and society face.
He works across the private, and public sector helping leaders to understand their ecosystem and apply creative solutions to ill-defined and systemic issues in policy and practice. His work often involves understanding the creativity within organisations and communities which allows them to thrive. Conversations often focus on points of conflict in the system and what are the ways in this hinders opportunity and benefits.
Luke has worked in the policy space with APPGs, Parliamentarians and Ministers, he has also advised policy leaders on multi-departmental working to address system issues. He is presently developming a leadership model which aligns with complex systems.
I've been so looking forward to sharing this conversation as it is an area that I am particularly passionate about. I feel very strongly that the way we think and talk about learning, teaching and education is so rooted in Behaviorism and Cognitivism and the dominant language of training and metaphors of the brain as a computer. And there is a still a widespread lack of awareness of the emerging insights of cognitive science - often called 4E cognitive science, referring to embodied, embedded, extended and enactive cognition. This is the idea that our understanding, thinking and learning in the world happen in our relationships with each other, our environments, the tools we use, and our bodies, not just as abstract representations in our brains.
And there is no-one better to be talking about this with than Andrea Hiott who among other fantastic work, is the host of the Love and Philosophy channel and substack.
All of her life, Andrea says, she has been motivated towards the same goal: "Finding ways for us to move beyond either/or mindsets, and to explore our multiplicity."
Andrea is a philosopher, cognitive scientist and writer and is currently a researcher at numerous universities, she is also the author of various books, including Thinking Small and her latest book ‘Holding Paradox: the navigational approach to mind and consciousness’ is out in 2026.
Andrea's website: https://www.andreahiott.net/
Andrea's Love and Philosophy channel: https://lovephilosophy.substack.com/
Andrea's community philosophy Substack called Waymaking: https://communityphilosophy.substack.com/
Just released: Andrea's latest paper on 'Radical Embodied Relation at any Scale, from Remembering to Navigating' - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11245-025-10256-7
Useful paper on 'What is 4E Cognitive Science?' by Cameron Alexander: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-025-10055-w
To mark the moment and celebrate the release of Vanessa Machado de Oliveira Andreotti's new book 'Outgrowing Modernity: Navigating Complexity, Complicity, and Collapse with Accountability and Compassion', we are so happy to be able to bring you this fantastic episode!
It is the sequel to Vanessa's 'Hospicing Modernity', which was published in 2021 and in 4 short years has become one of the most important books of the century. This new book is arguably even better, and Krista Tippett, the award-winning journalist, author, and public intellectual has called it "a moral, intellectual, and spiritual masterpiece."
But one of the best things about it is that it is a workbook, full of guidance for the strength, endurance and flexibility training that we need to be doing ourselves and in our communities and organisations to meet the moment we are deeply in. It is not a work that can simply be ingested for its truth-telling, as you will very much hear from Vanessa in the conversation. The book was released, yesterday Tuesday 12 August, so be sure to order your copy soon!
In collaboration with Manda Scott and her wonderful Accidental Gods channel, we are so happy to be able to share this fantastic conversation between Vanessa, her daughter Giovanna de Oliveira Andreotti, myself and Manda.
Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. She is a former Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequalities and Global Change and a former David Lam Chair in Critical Multicultural Education. Vanessa has worked extensively across sectors internationally in areas of education related to global justice, global citizenship, critical literacies, Indigenous knowledge systems and the climate and nature emergency. Vanessa is the author of Hospicing Modernity: Facing humanity’s wrongs and the implications for social activism, one of the founders of the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Arts/Research Collective and one of the designers of the course Facing Human Wrongs: Climate Complexity and Relational Accountability, available at UVic through Continuing Studies.
Giovanna de Oliveira Andreotti is a Dancer/dance teacher, GTDF member, certified Warm Data Lab host, R4Rs founder, and online course facilitator/co-ordinator. Giovanna has been involuntarily steeped in depth-education from birth (courtesy of her mother, Vanessa Andreotti). Giovanna holds a Bachelor's in Psychology from UBC, postgraduate certifications in Climate Psychology and Embodied Social Justice, and currently coordinates an inquiry that maps pedagogical practices addressing complexity, complicity, collapse, and accountability.
If you have more questions about Aiden Cinnamon Tea and the meta-relational approach to AI that we discuss, check out these FAQs: https://burnoutfromhumans.net/anticipated-questions
And the Speculative Inquiry into Meta-Relational AI can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KFJIVY9slGTcpWBwoMYQwbeKLfV3rNHo/view?usp=sharing
And further inquiries can be found here: https://metarelational.ai/projects-and-prototypes
Links:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/783178/outgrowing-modernity-by-vanessa-machado-de-oliveira/
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675703/hospicing-modernity-by-vanessa-machado-de-oliveira/
https://decolonialfutures.net/
https://burnoutfromhumans.net/
https://r4rs.org/
What it means to be an educated person or have an educated population as a country is a big part of what informs the decisions around industrial, economic and education policy. But built into these questions are some fundamental assumptions about what it means to make progress or be developed as a society. And beneath that particular values about what it means to know and be in the world.
My guests this week have been exploring these precise questions in the context of international development but as you will hear there are so many resonances with the conversations that we are sharing about change in education. Dr. Uma Pradhan and Dr. Peter Sutoris are the authors of the new book 'Reimagining Development: Bold Directions Towards a Thriving World'.
Uma is an Associate Professor at IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, and Deputy Programme Leader for BA Education, Culture, and Society. She also serves as Inclusion Co-Lead for the Department of Education, Practice and Society (EPS). At UCL, she is part of the Centre for Education and International Development (CEID) and the Centre for the Study of South Asia and the Indian Ocean World. Before joining UCL, she was a Lecturer and Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Oxford.
She is author and co-author of many books including, Language Education, Politics and Technology in South Asia; Anthropological Perspectives on Education in Nepal: Educational Transformations and New Avenues of Learning; Rethinking Education in the Context of Post-Pandemic South Asia; Simultaneous Identities: Language, Education and the Nepali Nation.
Peter is Associate Professor in Climate and Development in the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds University in the UK. His work bridges anthropology with education, development studies and environmental studies.Prior to this new book with Uma, Peter authored two books, Visions of Development (Oxford University Press, 2016), Educating for the Anthropocene (The MIT Press, 2022), all tackling the central questions about how humanity might be able to imagine its path to survival through the unfolding environmental multi-crisis.
Links:The book: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/development-reimagined/
https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/87070-uma-pradhan/about
https://www.petersutoris.com/
https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see
As I explore different aspects of the education transition that we need globally, and is emerging, it is increasingly clear that schools (or what might replacement them) won't be the only thing required. There is a huge amount of possibility and power in a broader ecosystem of organisations and networks taking different roles in enabling a more creative, meaning-rich, relational educational experience for young people and for communities. This week it is a huge privilege to be able to share the story of one such organisation that has been quietly getting on with incredible and impactful work doing precisely this for the last few decades at an absolutely massive scale across India.
Ramji Raghavan is Founder Chairman of Agastya International Foundation. Ramji leads the world's largest hands-on Mobile Education Program for economically disadvantaged children and teachers. In 1998, Ramji left his commercial career in banking and finance to create Agastya International Foundation, to provide science education to over 25 million underprivileged children and 250,000 government school teachers across India. During his tenure, Agastya has pioneered many educational innovations at scale, including mobile science labs, lab-on-a-bike and peer-to-peer learning via mega science fairs for underprivileged children. Agastya's 172-acre campus creativity lab houses over fifteen experiential science, art and innovation centers, including the Ramanujan Math Park.
With support from the government of Andhra Pradesh, Ramji and his colleagues established a 172-acre campus creativity lab near Bangalore. In 2010 the Government of Karnataka signed a MoU with Agastya International Foundation to establish an ecosystem for hands-on science education in the state. Wisdom of Agastya, an illustrated book authored by Vasant Nayak and Shay Taylor of the MurthyNayak Foundation in Baltimore, USA, chronicles Ramji and his team's journey between 1999 and 2014 in building Agastya International Foundation.
In 2021 Agastya announced the creation of Navam Innovation Foundation in partnership with the Pravaha Foundation of Hyderabad.
Ramji was a member of the Prime Minister’s National Knowledge Commission (Working Group on attracting children to Science and Math), is a member of the board of Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi, the Karnataka State Innovation Council and Executive Council member of the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum. In 2009, he was elected a Senior Fellow by Ashoka and in 2011 he was conferred the People’s Hero Award by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) (Southern Zone).
https://www.agastya.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramji_Raghavan
@AgastyaOrg on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AgastyaOrg
The book: 'The Moving of Mountains: The Remarkable Story of the Agastya International Foundation' by Adhirath Sethi (LID Publications): https://adhirathsethi.com/the-moving-of-mountains
David Penburg's article about his time at Agastya, The Owl That Flies Silently: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bEeVpAE8J8LS5JAQJYxtrYEEVX2G6Ju7/view?usp=sharing
If we are going to radically rethink and perhaps replace schools as the dominant institutions of education, what are the first principles questions that we should be asking? And what is the cultural rootedness and traditions that might provide a sense of guidance for these questions? I can't think of a better person to be exploring this with than Dr Kapono Ciotti, whose work in leadership and collaboration across countries, cultures and systems, and across decades, has allowed him to see and participate in these fundamental and urgent questions from many different perspectives.
Dr Kapono Ciotti is a globally recognized leader who believes that education is the most profound act of social justice. As CEO of the Pacific American Foundation (https://www.thepaf.org/) in Hawai'i, he builds pilina (deep connections) between people, systems, and ideas to empower and support the transformation of communities. Drawing from his Native Hawaiian heritage, Kapono integrates moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy and legacy) and makawalu (the ability to see from multiple perspectives) into his work, creating innovative solutions rooted in culture, ‘ike kupuna, and sustainability.
Kapono’s international credibility spans decades of leadership and collaboration across countries, cultures, and systems. He worked as the Executive Director of What School Could Be. He is the co-author of The Landscape Model of Learning (with Jennifer D. Klein), a groundbreaking framework that reimagines how students engage with knowledge and skills (https://www.solutiontree.com/landscape-model-of-learning.html). A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Kapono has worked with educators, cultural practitioners, philanthropic leaders, and policymakers worldwide to advance deeper learning, authentic assessment, and place-based practices.
With a Ph.D. in Indigenous and International Education, a master’s degree in Social Change and Development, and a bachelor’s degree in Language and Cultural Studies, Kapono’s academic journey reflects his commitment to global transformation. His work bridges continents—from the Pacific Islands to West Africa and beyond—bringing Indigenous wisdom to the forefront of modern educational challenges.
Whether leading systemic change, sharing his expertise with AI leaders, or paddling Hawaiian outrigger canoes, Kapono embodies the spirit of pilina, connecting people to their purpose, their place, and each other. His passion for education and development continues to inspire leaders around the world.
Links
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kaponociotti/?hl=en
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kapono-ciotti-99426746/
In the business of education someone telling you that something doesn't make sense is usually the moment to step in and explain, support and resolve the confusion. Helping young people make sense of the world Is our job isn't it? But what if making sense sometimes gets in the way of making meaning?! What is our job as educators in creating opportunities for young people to cultivate meaning in their lives, however that might happen for them? I absolutely loved this comversation with Sam Crosby this week, as we explored his work around the role of ancient myth, story and elders in responding collectively to the times we're in, that many see as a crisis of meaning.
There are so many ways that Sam describes the work he does in the world, so here are a few:
– Motivational speaker: Three words have followed him through his journey as a speaker: peace, wisdom and courage. Sam helps people to realise they have everything they need inside them. All it takes is clarity.
– Workshop host: After accessing ancient myth (particularly for the first time), there is a rare moment of connection with colleagues, friends, community, and Sam takes heart in holding spaces which have been described as ‘safe enough to share what was really going on for me’.
– One-on-one guide: The main body of Sam's work is in groups, but he has always maintained a one-on-one connection with a handful of people. These opportunities to go deeper are always matched by those willing to ‘go there’.
– Traditional oral storyteller: founder of Recalling Fire: the organisation bringing the oral tradition back to the modern west. Sam has facilitated immersive weekend-long events, hosted storytelling evenings and been guest speaker on stages and at rallies.
– A ‘cryer’: a once guarded and proud man, Sam is now open and willing to model the vulnerability he accessed in coming to terms with the birth of his son with a profound brain disorder.
– Well-versed in organisational environments: Sam has worked for over 10 years as a marketing and communications expert, representing agencies around the world before opening my own consultancy.
– Sure-foot: He is a wild camper and a trainee mountain leader. He habitually practices ‘nature solos’ as guided by The Bio-Leadership Project, spending 24 hours alone in a wild spot without food, book, phone or anything else to ‘do’ as he focuses his energy on purely ‘being’.
– Group guide: Sam has developed and facilitated events to bring the people of organisations and groups closer together, including conservationists with The Wildlife Trusts, activists with Right to Roam and social prescribers with Newquay Orchard.
– Mentor, A Band of Brothers: the charity mentoring young men at risk of the justice system.
– Fellow: The Bio-Leadership Fellowship.
– Alumni: Dartington College of Arts, Dr Martin Shaw’s The Westcountry School of Myth and Advaya’s Rewilding Mythology
– TEDx Speaker
Sam also has a fantastic podcast called Drop the Map (https://open.spotify.com/show/6U3NnuKxk1zG4BYdMcahZa), and you can find out more about him at https://www.samuelcrosby.com/ and https://www.recallingfire.com.
Other links:
https://recallingfire.substack.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/campfiresam/
“Are we valuing what we measure or measuring what we value?” It's probably a familiar question to many of you. And this week we're taking a detailed and reflective look at the role of measuring complex competencies in our schools, as this is often a big part of the discussion about what needs to change in formal education. In previous episodes (Ep72 and Ep148), I have chatted with folks from Melbourne Metrics, Rethinking Assessment and Mastery Transcipt Consortium. This week we're particularly pleased to be able bring you this conversation with Michaela Horvathova from Beyond Education. Personally I have some real questions and tensions about this topic, and it was so useful to be able to discuss them in a really open and collaborative way with Michaela, who has deep expertise in this area. She and her team at Beyond Education are being incredibly thoughtful and rigorous about ho w they proceed in bringing these approaches into schools.
As the co-founder and Chief Education Officer of Beyond Education and co-founder of Beyond International School in Portugal, Michaela is an international education policy expert focused on the future of education and skills for the digital age and the 4th Industrial Revolution. She has been a policy analyst at the OECD, Education Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, researcher and curriculum expert at the Center for Curriculum Redesign and worked as a consultant with UNICEF, International Baccalaureate and many other organistions. She has extensive global experience in curriculum design and reform for 21st century skills & competencies, learning outcomes, evaluation & assessment.
Links:
https://beyondeducation.tech/blog/
https://beyondeducation.tech/assessment/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaela-horvathova-b548378/
This week it is a huge pleasure to be able to bring you this cross-over episode with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah and his fantastic channel, #IdentityTalk4EducatorsLIVE (https://www.identitytalk4educators.com/podcast). Kwame's work is full of insights gained through his own practice as a maths teacher and educational coach and consultant, and through his over 200 conversations with amazing educators and leaders.
Kwame Sarfo-Mensah is the founder of Identity Talk Consulting, LLC, a global educational consulting firm that specializes in developing K-12 teachers into identity-affirming educators. Additionally, Identity Talk Consulting, LLC is licensed as a DESE-approved professional development provider and a Minority Owned Enterprise within the Commonwealth for Massachusetts. Prior to starting his firm, he served as a middle school math teacher in Philadelphia, PA and Boston, MA for nine years. Kwame holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Temple University.
As a staunch ambassador and advocate for teacher empowerment, Kwame has spoken at numerous national education conferences and worked diligently to support the recruitment and retention of teachers of colour in the education system. In January 2019, he was one of 35 Massachusetts teachers of colour selected by Commissioner Jeff Riley to be in the inaugural cohort of the InSPIRED (In-Service Professionals Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity) Fellowship, an initiative organized by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) for veteran teachers of colour to recruit students of colour at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels to teach in targeted districts within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As an InSPIRED Teaching Fellow, he facilitated professional development workshops for aspiring teachers at universities such as Boston College, UMass Boston, and Worcester State University and has served as a guest speaker for non-profit teacher pipeline programs such as Teach Western Mass, Generation Teach and Worcester Public Schools’ Future Teachers Academy.
Throughout his 17-year education career as a classroom teacher, author, and consultant, Kwame has earned numerous accolades for this work, which include being honored as the 2019 National Member of the Year by Black Educators Rock, Inc. and being recognized as a Top Education Influencer by brightbeam, Inc. in 2021 and 2022. His work has been featured in Education Week, WGBH News, Edutopia, Ed Post, The International Educator (TIE), Teaching Channel, and The Tavis Smiley Show.
His latest book, "Learning to Relearn: Supporting Identity in a Culturally Affirming Classroom" (https://learning2relearn.com/), received the 2025 IPPY Awards Gold Medal for Education (https://ippyawards.com/blog/2025-medalists-categories-35-65) and the 2024 Foreword INDIES Award for Education Book of the Year (https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/finalists/2024/education/)!
Kwame has also authored 'From "Inaction" to "In Action": Creating a New Normal for Urban Educators' (2020) and 'Shaping the Teacher Identity: 8 Lessons That Will Help Define the Teacher in You' (2018).
Connect with Kwame:
https://www.identitytalk4educators.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwame-sarfo-mensah/
https://www.instagram.com/kwam_the_identity_shaper/
Which places might be the first movers in a radical educational shift? And by radical in this conversation we're not talking about small tweaks in the types of individual competencies and credentials we optimize for in our current version of schools. But a completely different set of logics, values, meaning and purpose for what education could be, set in a broader context of the transformation of systems and radical democratic renewal. This might all sound pretty grand but I believe, like my guests today, that building for this transition is the work we all have to do! I've been a huge admirer of the work of Dark Matter Labs for a long time and so it was an incredible opportunity for me to be able to sit down with Indy Johar and Adam Purvis to explore these massive and important issues.
Indy is an architect and co-founder & Mission Steward of Dark Matter Labs. He is also a founding director of open systems lab, seeded WikiHouse (open source housing) and Open Desk (open source furniture company). Indy's work is focused on the strategic design of new super scale civic assets for transition - specifically at the intersection of financing, contracting and governance for deeply democratic futures.
Indy is a non-executive international Director of the BloxHub, the Nordic Hub for sustainable urbanization. He is on the advisory board for the Future Observatory and is part of the committee for the London Festival of Architecture. He is also a fellow of the London Interdisciplinary School.
Indy was 2016-17 Graham Willis Visiting Professorship at Sheffield University. He was Studio Master at the Architectural Association - 2019-2020, UNDP Innovation Facility Advisory Board Member 2016-20 and RIBA Trustee 2017-20.
He has taught & lectured at various institutions from the University of Bath, TU-Berlin; University College London, Princeton, Harvard, MIT and New School.
He was awarded the London Design Medal for Innovation in 2022 and an MBE in 2023.
Adam Purvis has spent over a decade building mission led movements and networks. His primary role at Dark Matter Labs is holding the team and driving internal clarity.
Previously, Adam was cofounder of FutureX, a major influence on how the Scottish Government supported entrepreneurship, startups and innovation. Adam served as the convener of the CAN DO Forum, on the MSc E&I Innovation Board of University of Edinburgh Business School, and the Advisory Board of Napier University Business School. Since then Adam's focus has moved to the systems in which business and entrepreneurs operate, taking everything he learnt from the greatest doers on the planet who have humanity in their heart, and applying that to the systems that we all operate in today.
Links:
https://darkmatterlabs.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/indy-johar-b440b010/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adampurvis/
This week, we're diving deep into a conversation that bridges ancient wisdom and modern learning. Joining Tim are two incredible thinkers and practitioners, Satheesh Namasivayam and Bade Kucukoglu. We explore how ancient wisdom practices—from dance, to creative arts, ritual and community performance —can inform and inspire us to create different kinds of spaces in our schools and communities and help us address the growing disconnection young people feel in modern education.
Satheesh and Bade left their lucrative careers to pursue their passion to work with adolescent children. Over the last 15 years, they have co-founded two organizations - MindVISA and the Center for AWE (Ancient Wisdom Engagement) - that build adaptive capacities in adolescents to face the uncommon challenges of the fast-evolving world. Exclusively focusing on handholding young people both in embracing their inner selves and in connecting with the outer world, their work draws extensively from wisdom practices of ancient civilizations.
Prior to co-founding these organizations, Satheesh advised corporate boards on leadership and governance, across the world. He has spoken at prominent international institutions, and is the co-author of "Leading without Licence". Satheesh holds a Masters degree with a major in leadership from Harvard University's Kennedy School. Bade, after graduating from Brandeis University with a master's degree in sustainable international development, was a development economist working with MIT faculty directing a team of researchers; and was also the Secretary General of Women Entrepreneurship Association of Turkey.
To begin their educational experiments, they first traveled in about 40 countries - on a listening tour - learning from the wisdom of local people in varied cultures and civilizations to help young people build adaptive capacities to face their unknown futures. Through their work they pioneered the concepts of "Ancient Wisdom Engagement" (AWE) and "Ways of Seeing".
Links:
Centre for AWE website: https://www.centerforawe.com/
MindVISA website: https://www.mindvisa.com/
Article: Opinion | India’s ‘AWE’ Factor: Ancient Wisdom In The Age Of AI: https://www.news18.com/opinion/opinion-indias-awe-factor-ancient-wisdom-in-the-age-of-ai-9238780.html
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bade-kucukoglu-26871110/
Email: info@mindvisa.com
This week, it's a huge pleasure to welcome Adam Kahane onto the podcast to talk with Tim about the everyday habits and radical engagement that young people as well as educators and leaders, at all levels of our education systems, can learn in order to do the coordinated and constant work of transforming systems.
Adam Kahane is a Director at Reos Partners, a global social impact company dedicated to supporting sustainable and equitable progress on humanity's most crucial
challenges. He is an internationally renowned organizer, designer and facilitator of complex and conflictual multi-stakeholder processes through which business, government, and civil society leaders collaborate to address such challenges.
Adam has worked in more than fifty countries, with executives and politicians, generals and guerrillas, civil servants and trade unionists, community activists and United Nations officials, clergy and artists. He is also a best-selling author of six books about this work, is a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2022, he was named a Schwab Foundation Social Innovation Thought Leader of the Year at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Adam is the author of "Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change," "Transformative Scenario Planning: Working Together to Change the Future," "Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust," and "Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together." These books are available in more than twenty languages. Nelson Mandela said of Adam's book Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities: “This breakthrough book addresses the central challenge of our time: finding a way to work together to solve the problems we have created.”
In April this year, Adam's latest book was published, Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems: The Catalytic Power of Radical Engagement
Links:
https://reospartners.com/our-people/adam-kahane
kahane@reospartners.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-kahane/
This week we're exploring embodiment science in education with some of the worlds leading embodiment practitioners and cognitive scientists! We believe that this is one of the most important shifts happening in education globally, which is simultaneously so simple, and yet so hard to budge given the depths of the tendencies towards disembodiment, especially in the Western tradition, that we explore. Joining Tim in this fantastic conversation are:
Arawana Hayashi heads the creation of Social Presencing Theater (SPT) for the Presencing Institute. Working with Otto Scharmer and colleagues, she brings her background in the arts, meditation, and social justice to creating “social presencing” that makes visible both current reality and emerging future possibilities for individuals and groups. She is currently on the core faculty of the Presencing Institute.
Links: https://arawanahayashi.com/
https://www.u-school.org/
Book: Social Presencing Theater: The Art of Making a True Move - https://presencing.market/collections/frontpage/products/social-presencing-theater-the-art-of-making-a-true-move
Prof. Guy Claxton is a cognitive scientist, education thought leader and prolific author interested in expanding human intelligence through research, writing and education. He has spent most of his working life based in a variety of UK universities including Oxford, Bristol, King’s College London and Winchester.
Links: https://www.guyclaxton.net/
Recent Deans Lecture Series, University of Melbourne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGFEswKBnMw
Book: Co-authored with Emily Poel, Bodies of Learning: How Embodiment Science Transforms Education will be released soon from Routledge.
Dr. Akhil Kumar Singh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Policy at MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences. Akhil works at the intersection of Philosophy, Psychology and education, emphasizing the creation of educational policies and innovative curricula based on embodied approaches that drive systemic change.
Links: https://akhilksingh.in/
https://www.msruas.ac.in/faculty-staff/akhil-kumar
Book, Education for the Embodied Human: A Contemporary Understanding on Human Nature for Holistic Education - https://brill.com/display/title/71864
Emily Poel has been teaching embodiment in Berlin for over fifteen years. Originally from Michigan and with a degree in contemporary dance performance and history, she's worked internationally as a performer, choreographer and creative advisor. In 2004 she shifted her focus to embodiment training and hasn’t stopped since. Over the last ten years she's developed a large collection of activities using physical awareness tools and movement training to better understand how creativity, learning and thinking actually work. Emily is the co-author with Guy, of the forthcoming book, Bodies of Learning: How Embodiment Science Transforms Education.
Links: https://embodimentatwork.co/
Move4Schools - https://move4schools.com/
Caroline Williams is a UK-based science writer with 20 years’ experience in magazine and radio journalism. She writes regularly for New Scientist magazine. Her work has also appeared in the Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, BBC Future, BBC Earth and the Boston Globe. She is the author of three books: Inner Sense: How the New Science of Interoception Can Transfrom Your Health (2025), Move! The New Science of Body Over Mind (2021) and Override (published as My Plastic Brain in the US, 2018), and the editor of two of New Scientist’s Instant Expert Guides: How Your Brain Works: Inside the most complicated object in the known universe (2017) and Your Conscious Mind: Unravelling the greatest mystery of the human brain (2017).
Links: https://www.carolinewilliams.net/
Caroline's latest book - https://profilebooks.com/work/inner-sense/
Move4Schools - https://move4schools.com/
The idea that schools simply deliver objective and neutral knowledge and skills to our young humans is a complete myth. In fact, with the amount of time that we spend in them over the course of our early lives, schools are incredibly good at conditioning us into particular sets of assumptions about the way the world works. My guest this week, Dr Ida Rose Florez is calling this out in amazing and very grounded ways and we discuss the impacts of what this does to our ability to be comfortable and competent in working with and in complexity (which is pretty much the place we all find ourselves in pretty consistently these days!). Ida Rose tells the full story brilliantly in her new book, The End of Education as We Know It: Regenerative Learning for Complex Times, as well as describing the examples of learning communities that are successfully doing education in whole new ways!
Ida Rose Florez, PhD, is a transformative leader in education, dedicated to reshaping learning for a more sustainable future. As the author of The End of Education as We Know It: Regenerative Learning for Complex Times, she challenges traditional education models and advocates for schools that nurture individual growth and ecological responsibility.
Ida Rose has spoken at a White House panel on Hispanic education, keynoted the Asian Preschool Education Annual Conference, and presented to leaders such as the governor of Shanghai and the California State Legislature.
Over the last decades, Ida Rose has led statewide education initiatives in Arizona and California, was a National Science Foundation Advancing Informal Science Learning Principal Investigator and governing board vice president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She served as assessment subject-matter expert with the National Governor’s Association and is a frequent grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation. She has also served on the board of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute.
Ida Rose holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Arizona. She has held faculty positions at Penn State University College of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Education, Northern Arizona University College of Education, and Arizona State University Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. She is a certified Human Systems Dynamics Professional and certified Warm Data Host with the International Bateson Institute. In 2017 she founded a consulting practice serving U.S. and international clients that focuses on regenerative education.
If people are interested, here is a blog post from Dave Snowden that touches on his view that we are unable to understand systems as wholes: https://thecynefin.co/regularities-reduction-2-2/
And here is a video where Jiddu Krishnamurti talks about thinking itself being the cause of the fragmentation and separation: https://youtu.be/CvL4uNA4U-k?si=bLbWpiSaPHJ4K5-Z&t=1073
Ida Rose's website: https://idaroseflorez.com/
The book: https://theendofeducationasweknowit.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idaroseflorez/
After learning about the amazing work of my guest this week, I had an idea that I wanted to test out. Perhaps our current obsession with Large Language Models is revealing of our historic obsession with a narrow cognitivist view of how human learning happens (and, therefore, how schooling is structured)?!
Memorise the largest possible bank of static data and then output plausible propositions, in response to prompts from a teacher or a standardised exam! Obviously that's a bit of an unfair caricature of the industrial schooling system, but also not a million miles from the truth! As you will have seen from my explorations over the last few years in episodes on ecological psychology, play, movement, active inference and 4E cognitive science, I believe that there is an emerging understanding of how radically embodied and embedded in place and in relationships human learning is actually is. So that's why I was so excited to learn about a vastly different approach to artificial intelligence that is based on a sensorimotor learning framework and Jeff Hawkin's Thousand Brains theory of the neocortex.
Dr Viviane Clay is Executive Director of the Thousand Brains Project and a scientist with years of experience in neuroscience, AI and machine learning. She has a PhD in Cognitive Computing. The Thousand Brains Project grew out of decades of research at Numenta, a leading company in neuroscience-based AI technology, and is developing Monty, a new type of artificial intelligence based on the sensorimotor principles observed in the brain. Numenta's co-founder Jeff Hawkins is Research Advisor and Board Member of the Thousand Brains Project.
You can find links to additional information about Monty and the Thousand Brains Project below:
https://thousandbrains.org/
https://linktr.ee/1000brainsproj
2 page overview: https://thousandbrains.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/TBP_Overview.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/@thousandbrainsproject
This week, we're thinking about how change happens, or more often doesn't happen in formal education! What are the practical approaches that education leaders and policy-makers sometimes miss when they are initiating change management and innovation processes. This week we welcome back Dr James Mannion to the podcast, in light of the recent publication of his book 'Making Change Stick'. He's done a fabulous job of synthesising the change management literature, including techniques and strategies from many disciplines so that you don't have to.
Dr James Mannion is the Director of Rethinking Education, a teacher training organisation dedicated to improving outcomes for children and young people through implementation science, self-regulated learning and practitioner inquiry. He has a Masters in person-centred education from the University of Sussex, and a PhD in self-regulated learning from the University of Cambridge. James is an Associate of Oracy Cambridge: The Hughes Hall Centre for Effective Spoken Communication, through which he provides training and consultancy for schools and other organisations, such as the National Gallery. He is a renowned expert in metacognition, self-regulation and self-regulated learning, and regularly presents on these topics at national and international conferences. James is also the host of the popular Rethinking Education podcast, now in the top 3% globally, which features long-form conversations about how we might reform education to bring about a more harmonious, less hair-raising state of world affairs. With Kate McAllister, James is the co-author of Fear is the Mind Killer: Why Learning to Learn deserves lesson time – and how to make it work for your pupils. He has also more recently published Making Change Stick: A Practical Guide to Implementing School Improvement.
James' website: https://www.drjamesmannion.com/
Book: www.makingchangestick.co
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mannion/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjamesmannion/
A huge part of the shifts we want to see in schools and in education more broadly is more agency, choice-making and self direction for young people. There is an increasingly compelling story about why this is important for them, as well as for the kinds of challenges we're facing in local communities and national and global society. But sometimes what isn't highlighted is the impact of not having those things. What toll does it take on youth well-being and mental health? So this week I'm joined by renowned clinical psychologist and educator Dr Naomi Fisher to help me find out.
Naomi is a clinical psychologist, author and EMDR-Europe Accredited trainer. She specialises in trauma, autism and alternative ways to learn. She has a doctorate in clinical psychology from Kings College London (Maudsley), a PhD in developmental cognitive psychology also from Kings College (IoPPN), and a degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Cambridge. Naomi is also an alumni of UWC Atlantic College, Wales.
Whilst in the NHS, Naomi worked in primary care and specialist trauma services in London, as well as neurodevelopmental services. She has worked for the Metropolitan Police and third sector organisations. She now works in private practice with adults, adolescents and children. She runs self-help webinars for parents on how to help their children with common mental health difficulties.
Naomi is the author of several books on psychology, mental health and alternative education. She is the author of Changing our Minds: How children can take control of their own learning, A Different Way to Learn: Neurodiversity and Self-Directed Education, When The Naughty Step Makes Things Worse, The Teenager’s Guide to Burnout and What Can We Do When School’s Not Working?: An Illustrated Handbook for Professionals (with Abigail Fisher). Most of Naomi's books are beautifully illustrated by Eliza Fricker.
Social Links
Naomi's substack, Think Again: https://naomicfisher.substack.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/naomicfisher/?hl=en
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-fisher-psychologist/
Naomi's website: https://naomifisher.co.uk/
This week, we are celebrating 5 years and 193 episodes since going live with Episode 1 in April 2020!
You can hear Tim's reflections, as well as clips from previous episodes with Marie Battiste (Ep154), Nora Bateson (Ep116), Roland Kupers (Ep 185), Wakanyi Hoffman (Ep 157), Carl Mika (Ep179), Nolita Mvunelo & Matias Lara (Ep190), Zineb Mouhyi (Ep184) and Zoe Weil (Ep171).
Please share your own thoughts and reflections on the podcast guests, topics and future possibilities here: https://forms.gle/4nNEcw3QEopjf1W98
Thanks so much for being a great supporter of the podcast... and here's to the next 5 years!
Are we educating young people as consumers? Have educational institutions become service providers in the consumer economy of educational products? Or are we educating young people as citizens - of their local communities, nations and the planet? If so what does that mean for how we engage them in the processes of living and working together, making meaningful contributions and learning important things as they go. I'm not sure that that looks much like what we're currently doing in most schools around the world.
Jon Alexander is on a mission to help a new story to emerge about how people all over the world are getting involved in 'citizening' - that is, thinking of citizen as a verb and a local participatory responsibility, rather than citizen as a noun that you claim rights to.
Jon began his career with success in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year before making a dramatic change. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle. In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project, a strategy and innovation consultancy that aims to shift the dominant story of the individual in society from Consumer to Citizen. NCP’s client list includes The Guardian, the European Central Bank, and the European Journalism Centre. They have partnered with the BBC, Amnesty International, National Trust, the British Film Institute, Tate galleries, the National Union of Students, YouGov, the Centre for Public Impact, the Food Standards Agency and the Food Ethics Council.
Jon is author of Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us - a book that seeks to reframe the moment in time we're living in as one of huge civic opportunity, not just crisis and collapse, and in doing so opens up a world of possibility for organisations and leaders across sectors and across the world.
Links to Jon's work:
- Citizens (Book): https://www.jonalexander.net/
- How to Citizen, with Baratunde Thurston: https://stories.howtocitizen.com/form
- New Citizenship Project: https://www.newcitizenproject.com/
- Jon's Four Thought lecture, BBC Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04md5b0
- Jon's NCP article on Three Post Covid Futures: https://medium.com/new-citizenship-project/subject-consumer-or-citizen-three-post-covid-futures-8c3cc469a984
- Jon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-alexander-11b66345/
- Baratunde on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baratunde/
Is it possible to unlearn the conditioning of our minds, that many of us who have had traditional educations have experienced, such that we can think differently about what an education could be? This week's guest has seen both sides of this experience, and is weaving incredible communities and new institutions all over India and the world!
Manish Jain is deeply committed to regenerating our diverse local knowledge systems and cultural imaginations and is one of the strong planetary voices for de-schooling our lives. He has served for the past 20 years as coordinator and co-founder of Shikshantar: The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development based in Udaipur, India, and is co-founder of the Swaraj University, Creativity Adda, Learning Societies Unconference, Walkouts-Walkon network, Udaipur as a Learning City, and Families Learning Together network in India. He recently helped launch the global Ecoversities Network and the global Giftival Network. He is a featured speaker / advisory member of the Economics of Happiness network for localization. He has edited several books on vimukt shiksha (liberating learning) on themes such as learning societies, unlearning, gift culture, community media, and tools for deep dialogue. Prior to this, Manish worked as one of the principal team members of the UNESCO Learning Without Frontiers global initiative. He has also been a consultant to UNICEF, World Bank, and USAID in Africa, South Asia, and the former Soviet Union. Manish also worked as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley. He has been trying to unlearn his master’s degree in education from Harvard University and his BA in economics, international development, and political philosophy from Brown University. He and his wife Vidhi have been unschooling themselves with their 15-year-old daughter, Kanku, in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Manish is passionate about urban organic farming, filmmaking, simulation gaming, bicycling, group facilitation, clowning, intercultural dialogue, and slow food cooking.
Links to Manish's communities of practice:
www.shikshantar.org
www.ecoversities.org
www.swarajuniversity.org
www.udaipurlearningcity.org
https://complexity.university/
www.jailuniversity.org
www.farmversities.org
www.creativityadda.org
www.creativityconsortium.org
As I often say we radically underestimate young people and what they are capable of. They are asking to be involved in the critical conversations about systems change. And not only that they are also building their own capabilities for and with each other about how to engage with it's systemic issues. So it's a huge pleasure this week to be speaking with Nolita Mvunelo, Matías Lara and Vanessa Terschluse who have taken it upon themselves, as The 50 Percent, to gather a collection of insights to enhance young people's understanding of systems and how they move and change. They have published the amazing 'Young Person's Guide to Systems Change'.
Nolita Mvunelo is Co-Director of The 50 Percent and Club of Rome Youth Program Manager: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolita-thina-mvunelo/
Matías Lara is Director of The 50 Percent: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milara14/
Vanessa Terschluse is Chief Editor of The 50 Percent: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-terschluse-915a5b171/
Other links:
https://the50percent.org/
The Young Person's Guide to Systems Change: https://the50percent.org/young-persons-guide/
https://youth-talks.org/
https://www.clubofrome.org/
There are very different ways of 'doing' education all around the world and my guest this week has spent many years exploring and deeply understanding many of them. As Alex Beard highlights in this conversation really powerfully, "does the purpose match the how or the process?" And how does this align with the values of the communities involved? When there is so much ideological warfare and polarisation around, we need more wise voices like Alex who are deeply expert and evidence-based but also oriented strongly around values and purpose.
After starting out as a teacher in a London comprehensive, Alex did his MA at the IOE before joining Teach For All, a growing network of independent organizations working in sixty countries to ensure that every child has access to an excellent education. while building collective leadership and driving systemic changes from within and outside of the education sector. He is the Senior Director at Teach for All (https://teachforall.org/) and leads the Global Learning Lab supporting a global network of leaders working to drive systemic change in the fields of social innovation, school leadership, teacher training and policy-making. He has written extensively about his experiences in search of the practices that will shape the future of learning in publications such as the Guardian, Financial Times and Wired. He is the author of Natural Born Learners: Our incredible capacity to learn and how we can harness it, published in 2018 and he wrote and presented The Learning Revolution, a three part series on the future of education for BBC Radio 4 (2020). I've also had the privilege of chatting to Wendy Kopp, Alex's colleague and founderand CEO of Teach for All in episode 79 so do also check that one out!
Alex's website: https://www.alexbeard.org/
The Learning Revolution documentary: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h93c/episodes/player
The Missing Piece report: https://teachforall.org/MissingPieceBrief
Social Links
LinkedIn: @alex-beard - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-beard-08901915/
As you will know if you've listened to previous episodes, this podcast is really about the central question of the kind of education (formal and informal) that we need to support and enable us all, but most importantly our young people, to transition effectively through this historical period of massive flux and change. There are many people around the world putting language to these shifts and offering guidance to leaders, and organisations for how to navigate them. But few are doing this as prominently and at such a scale as my guest this week. Otto Scharmer's substantial work with MIT, Theory U and the Presencing Institute for the last few decades has been helping leaders embrace cross-sector systems transformation. To quote his 2007 book on Theory U, his work opens up pathways for "dealing with the resistance of thought, emotion, and will; and intentionally reintegrating the intelligence of the head, the heart, and the hand" in the context of leadership, decision-making, and almost any kind of collaborative work.
Otto Scharmer, a Senior Lecturer at MIT and Founding Chair of the Presencing Institute, has dedicated the past 20 years to helping leaders embrace cross-sector systems transformation.
Through his bestselling books Theory U and Presence (the latter co-authored with Peter Senge and others), Otto introduced the groundbreaking concept of "presencing" — learning from the emerging future. He also co-authored Leading from the Emerging Future, which outlines eight acupuncture points for transforming our economy from egocentric to ecocentric. His most recent book The Essentials of Theory U (2018) summarizes the core principles and applications of awareness-based systems change.
He co-founded the MITx u-lab, which has activated a vibrant worldwide ecosystem of transformational change involving more than 250,000 users from 186 countries. In collaboration with colleagues, he co-created global Action Learning Labs for UN agencies and SDG Leadership Labs for UN Country Teams in 26 countries, which support cross-sector initiatives for addressing urgent humanitarian crises.
Born and raised near Hamburg, Germany, Otto’s early experiences on his family farm profoundly shaped his vision. From his father, a pioneer of regenerative farming, Otto learned the significance of the living quality of the soil in organic agriculture, which inspired his thinking about social fields as the grounding condition from which visible transformations emerge. Like a good farmer who cares for the soil, Otto believes responsible leaders must nurture the social field in which they operate. He emphasizes that shifting our economic operating systems from extractive to regenerative requires innovations in leadership support structures for shifting mindsets from ego to eco. Building that infrastructure is the purpose of the u-school for Transformation.
Otto earned his diploma and his PhD in economics from Witten/Herdecke University in Germany. He is a member of the UN Learning Advisory Council for the 2030 Agenda, the Club of Rome and the World Future Council. He has won the Jamieson Prize for Teaching Excellence at MIT and the European Leonardo Corporate Learning Award. In 2021, he received the Elevating Humanity Award from the Organizational Development Network.
Useful Links:
https://ottoscharmer.com/
https://youtu.be/6nAagnY_Hq0?si=5CnM5fT0dp4lKQ50
https://medium.com/presencing-institute-blog/a-farmer-who-puts-his-hand-to-the-plow-must-look-forward-402e6960a7d9?source=friends_link&sk=b78b2cd3b346324ba70f217b2175b060
https://youtu.be/YB25Bqc0yGU?si=UZ1sPNKLo0ynG9eZ
With the so many prevailing stories of uncertainty around for everyone, our roles as educators supporting young people and colleagues to know how to navigate it can be overwhelming! As Thea Snow said on a recent episode, feeling safe in uncertainty is hard. But this is where perhaps we can all learn from the wisdom of those with expertise in futures work and facilitating spaces to explore desirable regenerative futures. Bill Sharpe (http://www.billsharpe.uk/) is one such expert, who has been helping teams in all sectors of organisations and society find co-ordinated ways of managing innovation, creating transformational change that has a chance of succeeding, and ways of seeing the future in the present. He developed the adapted version of the Three Horizons framework as a method for futures studies and practice with Anthony Hodgson, Andrew Curry and Graham Leicester.
Bill was previously a Research Director at Hewlett-Packard's corporate labs in Bristol, UK. He joined HP Laboratories in 1985, becoming one of the first HP Laboratory Directors outside the US. Early work in Bristol provided the impetus for him to set up the Personal Systems Lab that led HP's early work in the emerging world of smart consumer products, mobile computing and digital imaging. Bill then took an assignment in the USA for two years to lead the Internet Solutions Operation of HP's Laserjet Bueiness through the transition to Web. Back in Bristol, Bill set up new mechanisms for coupling HP Labs to the creation of HP's new information appliance businesses. This work led him to co-found the Appliance Studio in 1999 as an independent company, delivering innovation to a wider commercial audience. Having created a range of new product ideas for clients, in particular new business in digital signage for Steelcase Inc, the Studio launched its own start-up Lucid Signs. With the sale of Lucid Signs, Bill moved on to focus entirely on personal research and consulting. Early in his career, Bill took an active role in UK government research through his work with the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and Advanced IT (Alvey) programs. As a member of the Programme Directorate at Alvey - a programme designed to foster R&D between industry and academia - Bill co-coordinated research into intelligent knowledge-based systems.
Bill is a highly accomplished practitioner in futures techniques and systems change, and now works with Future Stewards (https://futurestewards.com/), the International Futures Forum (https://www.internationalfuturesforum.com/) and H3Uni (https://www.h3uni.org/) to pioneer new approaches to futures, systems thinking, and transformative innovation. He is the author of Three Horizons: The Patterning of Hope (https://www.triarchypress.net/three-horizons.html) and Economies of Life: Patterns of Health and Wealth (https://www.triarchypress.net/economies-of-life.html).
Additional info about Three horizons: A pathways practice for transformation - Three Horizons is a simple and intuitive framework for thinking about the future. The framework explains how people often manage to disagree so violently about their visions of the future and how to achieve them - and it offers a practical way to begin constructive conversations about the future at home, in organisations and in society at large. The three horizons are about much, much more than simply stretching our thinking to embrace the short, medium and long term. They offer a co-ordinated way of managing innovation, a way of creating transformational change that has a chance of succeeding, a way of dealing with uncertainty and a way of seeing the future in the present.
Kate Raworth's excellent description of 3H: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5KfRQJqpPU
Jonathan Rowson's great explanation of the H2 minus vortex: https://perspecteeva.substack.com/p/deactivating-the-h2minus-vortex
Social Links
LinkedIn: @bill-sharpe - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-sharpe-6689
As you will have heard on many previous episodes of the podcast, with Marie Battiste, Carl Mika, Wakanyi Hoffman, Vanessa Andreotti and others, understanding the ways in which our colonial schooling systems have propogated one particular way of knowing our world, and excluded and often violently suppressed many others is something that I care deeply about. For me, it has to be a key part of any transformative work that we do to, with humility and curiosity, to reorient education systems. But in order to do this, we need people who are able to gather and convene the critical conversations that put these ways of knowing in dialogue with each other. It is therefore the greatest honour to have Professor Catherine Odora Hoppers joining me on the podcast this week. For her entire career Dr Hoppers has been at the forefront of facilitating these vital conversations. In post-Apartheid South Africa, she designed and enabled the process that led to the first national policy on the recognition, development and protection of indigenous knowledge systems.
Professor Catherine Odora Hoppers is a scholar and policy specialist on International Development, education, North-South questions, disarmament, peace, and human security. She is a UNESCO expert in basic education, lifelong learning, information systems and on Science and Society; an expert in disarmament at the UN Department of Disarmament Affairs; an expert to the World Economic Forum on benefit sharing and value addition protocols; and the World Intellectual Property Organisation on traditional knowledge and community intellectual property rights.
She got a Masters and PhD in International Education from Stockholm University, Sweden. In South Africa, Professor Hoppers was awarded Professor Extraordinarius in 2019 at University of South Africa (Pretoria). She held a South African Research Chair in Development Education at the University of South Africa (2008-2018). Prior to that, she was a technical adviser on Indigenous Knowledge Systems to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (South Africa) and led the Task Team to draft the national policy on Indigenous Knowledge Systems. She is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf, 2002), and was a member of the Academy of Science Special Panel on the Future of Humanities (South Africa).
She was the Goodwill Ambassador for Makerere University in Kampala Uganda; and Ambassador for Non-Violence at the Durban Universities’ International Centre for Non-Violence. In July 2015, she received the Nelson Mandela Distinguished Africanist Award from HE Thabo Mbeki for her pursuit of the total liberation for the African continent through the promotion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems of Education and in the same year, Prof Hoppers was awarded “Woman of the Year” by the University of South Africa, and was named as a “Leading Educationist” and was honoured in the Gallery of Leadership as the 63 most influential people who have shaped Unisa since its inception in 1873, in a permanent exhibition in Kgorong Building in UNISA. In 2017, Professor Hoppers received the distinction from UNESCO as an Honorary Fellow in Lifelong learning. She is the Founder and Director, Global Institute for Applied Governance in Science, Knowledge Systems and Innovations (https://www.giagsi-ug.org/the-faculty/). She held a Professorship in Education at Gulu University (Uganda) and is now the Canada Research Chair in Transdisciplinarity, Cognitive Justice and Education as part of the Pluralism Strategy Initiative at the University of Calgary (https://www.ucalgary.ca/pluralism/scholars-educators-researchers).
She is the author of many important works including the book, Rethinking Thinking: Modernity's "other" and the Transformation of the University with the late Prof. Howard Richards.https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qWEKG-QAAAAJ&hl=en
Reductionism - the breaking down of complex phenomena into as many parts as possible to make them fully understandable - is everywhere. To some extent the whole enterprise of modern formal schooling is based on the promise of reductionism, as we break life down into subjects, concepts, facts, etc to be digestible by our young people. It has also enabled unbelievable scientific and technological progress. So who could possibly argue with this? And yet, reductionism has become like the hammer that sees everything as a nail. One of its problems is that is renders everything into a mechanistic functioning of parts and nothing more. Our inability to perceive, understand and value complex and systemic patterns and relationships is maybe something that we need to engage with in our education systems.
Dr. Roland Kupers is an advisor on Complexity, Resilience and Energy Transition, Professor of Practice at Arizona State University, as well as an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He is a global advisor on mitigating methane emissions from fossil fuels for UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory.
A theoretical physicist by training, Roland spent a decade each at AT&T and at Shell in various senior executive functions, including Group head for Sustainable Development and Vice President Global LNG. He has a long running interest in complexity theory and its impacts.
He has published widely, including in HBR, on Project Syndicate, A Climate Policy Revolution: What the Science of Complexity Reveals about Saving the Planet (Harvard UP 2020) and co-authored Complexity and the Art of Public Policy: Solving Society’s Problems from the Bottom Up (Princeton 2014), The Essence of scenarios (Amsterdam 2014), and Turbulence: A corporate framing of resilience (Amsterdam 2014).
In 2010 Roland was a co-author of a report commissioned by the German Government on a New Growth Path for Europe, applying a complexity lens to climate economics. He has been an advisor to the Environmental Defense Fund, the World Resources Institute and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Roland is a Dutch national; his travels have made him fluent in five languages.
Useful Links:
https://www.rolandkupers.com/
Complexity Module for the IB Diploma: https://www.rolandkupers.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/An-IB-complexity-module-for-the-Diploma-Programme-24.10.17.pdf
UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, 2022 Report: https://www.rolandkupers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMEO2022.pdf
Everyone involved in education from young people to tecahers to leaders to policy-makers are being asked some really tough questions in these current times. Do the systems and institutions that we are working and learning in still serve us? Did they ever? And what are we being called on to do differently? This week, it was such an amazing pleasure to chat with Zineb Mouhyi who is the co-founder of YouthXYouth, a global organisation that she set up with Valentina Raman, to convene action around transforming education systems but in a way that didn't excluding the core of these systems, the primary constituents that they were seeking to engage and serve: young people.
YouthXYouth invited young people around the world to see the COVID-19 pandemic crisis as an opportunity to radically reimagine learning for themselves and their communities. In January 2021, they hosted their first online Learning Festival, which gathered nearly 1000 young people and adult allies from over 80 countries around a central question: What if young people designed the future of education?
YouthXYouth has engaged over 2000 youth activists from 80 countries across 6 continents, buliding their capacity and confidence to reclaim their learning and create life-affirming futures within their communities. They are led by and serve youth who are between the ages of 15 to 26—75% of whom live in the Global South, and about 50% live in Africa.
Zineb is also one of the co-founders of the Weaving Lab (https://weavinglab.org/), an international NGO and a community of weavers learning together how to interconnect people, projects and places to form thriving systems. Prior to that, she was the Policy & Partnership Development Officer at WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education), at the Qatar Foundation in Doha, where she mainly worked on education development policy research and on bringing different education stakeholders together to bring forth collaborations in education.
Useful Links
YxY Weavership Messaging Toolkit an opportunity for young people or youth organisations who might consider hosting a Weaver-in-Residence.
YxY website: https://www.youthxyouth.com/
Weavership Application: https://airtable.com/appYm9UwzGZxELiYA/shrHR2MmpZfVclJP5
Authors mentioned during the conversation:
Guy Debord - The Society of the Spectacle
Loretta Ross - Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You'd Rather Cancel
LinkedIn: @zinebmouhyi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zinebmouhyi/
Instagram: @yxyactivists - https://www.instagram.com/yxyactivists/
In episode 181 with Robert Barnett, Rob and I were discussing the real constraints and difficult conditions teachers find themselves in as they try to prioritise the meaningful learning and growth of their young people. This week, we are taking a broader look at the kinds of institutional structures that might actually help rather than hinder these more generative ways of living and learning - the kinds of institutions suited to the transformative adaptations and systems change that we desperately need. So in this episode I'm really happy to be speaking with Thea Snow and Toby Lowe about taking a Human Learning Systems approach to management and governance of organisations. Thea and Toby in their work at Centre for Public Impact focus primarily on public sector management. However, these principles certainly apply more broadly to institutions in the private and third sectors. This is very exciting work as it feels much more authentically connected to the beautiful and complex realities that we know we live, learn and work in and that we want to prepare our young people to embrace. But we also know that the way we are held accountable for outcomes in our work often feels simplistic and naive and entirely dissociated from these complex realities.
Thea is the Regional Director for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand at Centre for Public Impact. Thea’s experiences span the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked as a commercial lawyer, a public servant, and, prior to joining CPI, at the UK’s innovation foundation, Nesta
Toby Lowe is Professor of Public Management at Manchester Metropolitan University and action researcher at Centre for Public Impact. He has also done policy work addressing poverty in neighbourhoods for the Social Exclusion Unit, worked as a public management action researcher developing the Human Learning Systems approach and held the position as Chief Executive of a participatory arts charity in North East England.
You can find links in the show notes to a lot of the documents and sources we talk about in the conversation, especially if you'd like to find out more about implementing a Human Learning Systems approach in your organisation.
Some of Thea’s work includes:
“The (il)logic of legibility – Why governments should stop simplifying complex systems”
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2021/02/12/the-illogic-of-legibility-why-governments-should-stop-simplifying-complex-systems/
“Once upon a bureaucrat: exploring the role of stories in government“
https://thepolicymaker.jmi.org.au/once-upon-a-bureaucrat-exploring-the-role-of-stories-in-government/
“Why evidence should be the servant, not the master, of good policy”
https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/Why-evidence-should-be-the-servant-not-the-master-of-good-policy
“Public servants are tired of change-washing — not change”
https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/public-servants-are-tired-of-change-washing-not-change
Some of Toby’s work includes:
Human Learning Systems: Public Service for the Real World: https://centreforpublicimpact.org/resource-hub/human-learning-systems-public-service-for-the-real-world/
Harnessing Complexity for Better Outcomes in Public and Non-profit Services: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/harnessing-complexity-for-better-outcomes-in-public-and-non-profit-services
Human Learning Systems: A practical guide for the curious: https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/assets/pdfs/hls-practical-guide.pdf
Various links from our discussion:
https://www.humanlearning.systems/hls-insights-findings-from-our-research-2024/
https://centreforpublicimpact.org/resource-hub/storytelling-for-systems-change/
https://medium.com/centre-for-public-impact/embracing-ensembles-8e049c40b87f
https://www.woodleigh.vic.edu.au/events-public-calendar/reimagined-conference
As educators, a great deal of our understandings of what learning is has been dominated by behaviourist (check out previous episode with Carol Sanford) and cognitivist ideas, but what if our decisions about how we design learning environments, and think about pedagogy and curriculum had taken in ecological insights of Eleanor Gibson and James Gibson and the branch of psychology known as ecological psychology. So few educators know that such a sub-discipline even exists!
Rather than individual students's brains neatly arranged in rows in intentionally informationally impoverished learning environments to compute information and construct meaning in a meaningless world out there, we might have young people as object-environment systems moving around and exploring informationally rich environments to fine-tune their action-perception through multi-sensory relating to the ecologies that they participate in! Sounds like a pretty different world!
This episode welcomes Miguel Segundo-Ortín and Vicente Raja, post-doctoral researchers at the MINT Lab, and research fellows at University of Murcia, Spain. Together, they are the authors of the book Ecological Psychology (Cambridge Elements, 2024) -https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/ecological-psychology/9E79001702D4D8029E19D11CD330149FMiguel Segundo-Ortin is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Philosophy and member of the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Murcia (Spain). His research is in the philosophy of the cognitive sciences, particularly embodied cognition, comparative cognition, and human agency.https://miguelsegundoortinphd.com/
Vicente Raja a post-doctoral researcher at the MINT Lab, a research fellow at University of Murcia (Spain) and external affiliate faculty of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy at Western University (Canada). His research lies at the intersection of philosophy, cognitive science, neuroscience, and the history of the sciences of the mind, and has appeared in venues including Synthese, Minds and Machines, Physics of Life Reviews, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Philosophical Psychology, Adaptive Behavior, Cognitive Systems Research, and Theory and Psychology, among others. He has also edited/is editing a book for Routledge and special issues for the Journal of Consciousness Studies and Topics in Cognitive Science. https://www.um.es/mintlab/index.php/about/people/vicente-raja/
This is a talk given by Vicente In Memoriam: Eleanor Gibson - https://youtu.be/QmV4Iz1jJs8?si=HAScaBYB2RcNKjTa
James J. Gibson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_J._Gibson
Systems change is a big phrase, which can mean a lot of different things to different people. Quite possibly the system doesn't actually change "up there" in the realms of national and trans-national policy-making. Perhaps it changes in individual classrooms with teachers choosing to do something different. I was so happy to sit down with Robert Barnett, co-founder of the Modern Classrooms Project to talk about this and find out how he, and his co-founder Kareem Farah, have made some very specific and not particularly easy choices about which leverage points they were going to work. MCP has developed an instructional model to respond to every student’s needs - no matter what or where you teach.
You can find out more about Modern Classrooms Project here: https://www.modernclassrooms.org/
Robert's book Meet Every Learner's Needs: Redesigning Instruction so all students can suceed is out on February 5th 2025, and you can find out more about it here: https://www.meeteverylearnersneeds.org/
Here's a way for you to win a free copy of the book! https://meln-form.paperform.co/?podcast=fld
Social Links
LinkedIn: @robert-s-barnett - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-s-barnett/
Robert's personal site: https://www.rsbarnett.com/
As Manda Scott's BRILLIANT podcast suggests, "another world is possible… we have the power of gods to destroy our home, but we also have the chance to become something we cannot yet imagine." This week's special episode is a joint podcast with Manda on her Accidental Gods podcast (https://accidentalgods.life/).
In all of her shamanic work, bestselling novel-writing, podcasting and convening, Manda Scott is gathering people around the vital question, how we can create a future that we would be proud to leave to the generations to come?
Manda's new novel 'Any Human Power' is out on May 30th: https://linktr.ee/anyhumanpower
And you can find more of Manda's extensive and amazing work on her website here: https://mandascott.co.uk/
Other things we talk about in this conversation:
Nick Mulvey's performance at COP26: https://youtu.be/x-GBl6DeA50?si=8RgDivREYKZTa9I1&t=1273 Beautiful!
The Substack Manda reads from: https://theconcernedbird.substack.com/p/elon-musks-and-xs-role-in-2024-election
Systems Transformation Pathway at UWC Atlantic College: https://www.uwcatlantic.org/learning/academic/systems-transformation-pathway
https://sites.google.com/uwcatlantic.org/transformingsystems/centre?authuser=0
Green School Bali: https://www.greenschool.org/
School of Humanity: https://sofhumanity.com/
Festival of Hope: https://ibo.org/festival-of-hope/Social Links
LinkedIn: @mandascottauthor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandascottauthor/
BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/mandascott.bsky.socialandMastodon - https://mastodon.scot/@EceniOr you can write to Manda here: https://mandascott.co.uk/contact/
This week it was a huge pleasure to be able to welcome Carl Mika, Professor of Māori and Indigenous Philosophies from Aotearoa, the country now known as New Zealand. As you can probably guess from the title of this episode, this conversation with Carl went pretty deep pretty quickly! That's because underlying the most apparently basic concepts like learning or logic that people use all the time are some pretty fundamental assumptions about the way the world is. And they're certainly not universal to all humans. So what does educating our young people in how to read their worlds mean in this case?
Carl Mika is from the Tuhourangi iwi and is Professor of Māori and Indigenous Philosophies, and Head of School of Aotahi: School of Māori and Indigenous Studies, University of Canterbury. His published work includes Indigenous Education and the Metaphysics of Presence was published in 2017, Routledge), along with many articles and chapters, on the issues of colonisation and reductionism; Māori concepts of nothingness and darkness in response to an Enlightenment focus on clarity; mātauranga Māori and science. Carl teaches and researches in educational philosophy and mātauranga Māori, the law, and global studies, as well as aspects of Western philosophy.
In 2024, Carl was awarded the University of Canterbury Research Medal. Also In 2024, he was recipient of the University of Canterbury Faculty of Arts Kairangahau Māori Award for research in Māori philosophies (both traditional and contemporary) and Māori methodologies. He is also a Fellow of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA).You can find further links to Carl's work here: https://profiles.canterbury.ac.nz/Carl-Te-Hira-Lewis-Mika
This episode is a fantastic conversation with 2 brilliant women who have been whipping up a storm this week with the release of their amazing new book The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better! Dr Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson chat with me about the disengagement crisis facing our young people and what we, as parents and educators, can do about it.
Jenny Anderson is an author and an award-winning journalist who spent over a decade at The New York Times before pioneering coverage on the science of learning at Quartz. She contributes to TIME, The New York Times and The Atlantic, among other publications.
Rebecca Winthrop is a leading global authority on education. She is the director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, where she conducts studies on how to better support children’s learning, and is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
Social Links
https://www.thedisengagedteen.com/
Instagram: @jennyandersonwrites - https://www.instagram.com/jennyandersonwrites/ ; @drrebeccawinthrop - https://www.instagram.com/drrebeccawinthrop/
LinkedIn: @jennyandersonnyt - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyandersonnyt/ ; @rebecca-winthrop - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-winthrop-b36b0617/
It's a strange thing that the concept of school has become almost universal over the last few hundred years. If you ask anyone almost anywhere in the world, they will be able to describe something that looks roughly like a shared concept of school. But maybe it didn't have to be this way. Maybe it could have been different. This week the amazing professor of anthropology Susan Blum Joins me to talk about 'schoolishness' which is her latest fantastic book, based on decades of research into the cultural development of the dominant ideas around formal institutional education.
Susan D. Blum is a cultural, linguistic, and psychological anthropologist specializing in the study of China and the United States. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and also has two MAs—in Anthropology and in Chinese Language and Literature (both from Michigan)--and a BA in Human Language from Stanford University.
Professor Blum is the author and editor of 10 books and dozens of articles, as well as public-facing writing. Her latest book, Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning (Cornell, 2024), is the third in a trilogy about higher education. The other two books are "I Love Learning; I Hate School": An Anthropology of College (Cornell, 2016) and My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture (Cornell, 2009). She also edited a widely read book calling into question the centrality and necessity of grading, Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (West Virginia, 2020).
She has taught at Oklahoma State University, The University of Colorado Denver, The University of Denver, The University of Pennsylvania, and The University of Notre Dame, where she is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology. At Notre Dame, she has served as Director of the Center for Asian Studies and Chair of the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, a Fellow in the Institute for Educational Initiatives, a Fellow of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, a Fellow of the Eck Institute for Global Health, and a Fellow of the Shaw Center for Children and Families.
She received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for her book, Lies That Bind: Chinese Truth, Other Truths (2007), and has received the Delta Kappa Gamma Educator's Award, 2010, for her book My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture (2009), which was translated into Chinese in 2011. Blum has also received an Excellence in Teaching award from The University of Colorado Denver (2000) and the Reverend Edmund P. Joyce, CSC, Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from The University of Notre Dame (2010).
Social Links
LinkedIn: @susan-blum - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-blum-aba01212/
Instagram: @susandblum - https://www.instagram.com/susandblum/
Threads: @susandblum - https://www.threads.net/@susandblum
We're ending this final epsiode of 2024 in a beautiful place with Karima Kadaoui sharing in some co-reflections with me about the trustful and humanising society that she is seeing emerge in Morocco and beyond. It became really clear to me during this conversation with Karima, that the way that we talk about the work we are doing is a really important choice. This is because it sets up frames and expectations that really affect how we do the work. So for that reason, I'm not going to say much about the incredible work that is happening across communities, schools and government ministries across Morocco through the Tamkeen process as Karima describes it much more beautifully than I ever could.
Karima co-founded Tamkeen Community Foundation for Human Development in Morocco in 2009 and holds the responsibility of its executive presidency. She refers to her organisation as a facilitating-dissolving structure living, with all its partners-in-flourishing, the answer to the question "how can our schools, communities, organisations, societal systems and societies be the expression and manifestation of our humanity; the shared essence that defines us and connects us to each other, to our natural world and the whole beyond our conscious grasp?
Karima's Tamkeen process weaved and was woven with the threads of her 25 years experience working in private, public and social sectors. She worked with top tier companies in a big 5 management consultancy and as the associate senior consultant of a territorial development consultancy she co-founded. In the Moroccan government, she worked on public policy and governance in quality of the advisor to the Minister of Employment, Vocational Training and Housing. Her experiences in NPOs working with women suffering infra-human conditions in industries and with a community in a major shanty town have profoundly marked her.
Karima is a full member of the Club of Rome. She is also a board member and advisor to Imal Initiative for Climate and Development the first independent non-profit North African climate think tank, as well to Africa Voices Dialogue "a space where the voices of Africa’s educators and learners are seen, heard and loved".
As we discuss in the conversation, the paper written by Karima and Louis Klein is entitled ‘Realising metamorphic transformation in the mirror of Tamkeen: Growing a shared understanding from co‐reflected lived experiences’. It can be found in the journal, Systems Research and Behavioral Science 41(5):738-749, August 2024 and is linked here.
Karima also mentions the poem, Sept saisis par l’hiver’, by René Char:
Extract: ‘Ma Feuille Vineuse: Les mots qui vont surgir savent de nous ce que nous ignorons d’eux. Un moment nous serons l’équipage de cette flotte composée d’unités rétives, et le temps d’un grain, son amiral. Puis le large la reprendra, nous laissant à nos torrents limoneux et à nos barbelés givrés.’ From Chants de la Balandrane, Gallimard, 1977, p. 16. - https://www.gallimard.fr/catalogue/chants-de-la-balandrane/9782070298303
Website: https://tamkeencommunity.org/
LinkedIn: @karima-kadaoui - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karima-kadaoui/
The inspiration for this end-of-year impromptu gathering came from a recent flurry of ‘Collapse'-inspired exchanges in my (un)social media feeds! This was prompted largely by Ginie Servant Miklos’ recently published and brilliant book, Pedagogies of Collapse: A Hopeful Education for The End of The World as We Know It (quoted in the title of the episode) and Will Richardson’s equally provocative and inspiring, Confronting Education In a Time of Complexity, Chaos and Collapse.
As regular listeners will know, this podcast is really focused on the need for radical and systemic change in ways that would be more loving, humanising, nourishing…, not just in education, but in all spheres of our lives. But seeing all of this Collapse chat, the question I was left with was something about the ‘how’ of inviting people towards this change. It made me think of this powerful quote from Adam Curtis:
"We’ve retreated into a sense that there’s always a new apocalypse on the horizon; it’s a terrible teddy bear that the bourgeois greens hug to themselves and say, “We’re all going to die, it’s terrible.” That’s not the way you change the world. In fact, it frightens people, and when people are frightened they don’t want change. It’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen. Of course, there are serious issues. And of course, they’re incredibly dangerous. But fear is the last resort of those who’ve failed to mobilise people to transform the world for the better. I get grumpy about this because it’s almost cowardly.” (https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/adam-curtis-nathalie-olah-interview/)
So Manda Scott, Raïsa Mirza, Will Richardson, Ginie Servant-Miklos and I gathered yesterday to talk about all of this and more!
Brief bios below, but you can find full show notes here: https://www.goodimpactlabs.com/podcast/a-hopeful-education
Manda Scott - https://mandascott.co.uk/ ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandascottauthor/
Manda was once a veterinary surgeon and is now an award-winning novelist, smallholder, contemporary shamanic trainer and podcaster (https://accidentalgods.life). 2024 saw the publication of her sixteenth novel, Any Human Power, a ‘visionary’ contemporary political thriller that maps fictional – but plausible and workable – routes toward a future we’d all be proud to leave to the generations that come after us: human and more-than-human.
Raïsa Mirza - https://raisamirza.com/ ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/raisamirza/
Raïsa is a Bangladeshi-Canadian photographer, educator, designer, facilitator and social entrepreneur. She is currently Head of Social Impact Initiatives & Lighthouse Changemaker Hub and Systems Transformation teacher (https://www.uwcatlantic.org/learning/academic/systems-transformation-pathway) at UWC Atlantic College, Wales. She is also Founder & Principal of WabiSabiJetty: Design for Resilience (https://www.wabisabijetty.com/).
Will Richardson - https://willrichardson.com/ ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/willrichardsonbqi/
Will is a co-founder of The Big Questions Institute which was created to help educators use "fearless inquiry" to make sense of this complex moment and an uncertain future. In 2024, he authored a "manifesto" titled "Confronting Education in a Time of Complexity, Chaos, and Collapse" aimed at provoking serious conversations about the future of schools.
Ginie Servant-Miklos - https://www.clubofrome.org/member/miklos-ginie/; https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginie-servant-miklos/
Ginie Servant-Miklos is Assistant Professorship in Behavioural Sciences at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences in Rotterdam and founder and Chair of the Board of the FairFight Foundation. She co-founded the Bildung Climate School with Prof. Rutger Engels, and is the author of the best-selling book, Pedagogies of Collapse: A Hopeful Education for the End of the World as We Know It (https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781350400528).
Systems change, or in fact any change, in formal education systems is notoriously hard. Research and innovation across the sector has been historically weak. But as the stakes get higher for much-needed change, we have to get better at harnessing the collective intelligence of what we know, from young people to practitioners in classrooms everyday to parents and leaders. This week’s guest has been working at the heart of this issue since the 1990s. Sir Geoff Mulgan is a Professor at University College London (UCL), in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Policy team (STEaPP) in the engineering department. Before that he was Chief Executive of Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation from 2011-2019. From 1997-2004 he had roles in the UK government including director of the Government's Strategy Unit, director of the Performance and Innovation Unit and head of policy in the Prime Minister's office. From 2004-2011 he was first CEO of the Young Foundation. Geoff has been a reporter on BBC TV and radio and was the founder/co-founder of many organisations, including Demos, Uprising, the Social Innovation Exchange, the Australia Centre for Social Innovation and Action for Happiness. He has a PhD in telecommunications and has been visiting professor at LSE and Melbourne University, and senior visiting scholar at Harvard University.
Geoff has advised many governments, businesses, NGOs and foundations around the world. He is currently an adviser to the European Parliament on science and technology and a senior fellow with Demos Helsinki. He was a senior fellow at the New Institute in Hamburg (2020-2022) and a World Economic Forum Schwab Fellow (2019-22). He recently chaired a European Commission programme on ‘Whole of Government Innovation’ and co-founded TIAL, The Institutional Architecture Lab.
Past books include ‘Good and Bad Power’ (Penguin, 2005), ‘The Art of Public Strategy’ (Oxford University Press, 2008), ‘The Locust and the Bee’ (Princeton University Press, 2012), ‘Big Mind: how collective intelligence can change our world’ (Princeton University Press, 2017), ‘Social innovation: how societies find the power to change’ (Policy Press, 2019), 'Prophets at a Tangent: how art shapes social imagination' (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and ‘When Science Meets Power’ (Polity, 2023/24). His books have been translated into many languages. A summary of the books can be found here.
He is a founding joint editor-in-chief of the journal Collective Intelligence (Sage/ACM). Many of the ideas Geoff has worked on have gone onto become mainstream, from creative economy strategies to social investing, open data to collective intelligence, experimental and evidence-based government to challenge-driven innovation. Geoff has given TED talks on the future economy, happiness and education. His website is geoffmulgan.com. He has a CBE and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @sir-geoff-mulgan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sir-geoff-mulgan-aa1079187/
Website: https://www.geoffmulgan.com/
One of the things that I enjoy doing on the podcast is problematising various ’school subjects’. In previous episodes, with various guests we’ve questioned maths, languages, economics, history, physical education. But we haven’t yet taken a critical look at science itself, which is not only a set of disciplines, but also an approach and methodology that underpins a lot of the logic of how many like to imagine that we direct education, through evidence-based practice and the sciences of learning. Apparently it tells us ‘what works’ in inverted commas… doesn’t it?
This week, it’s a massive pleasure to be chatting with the delightful and funny Subhadra Das a historian, writer, broadcaster, comedian, curator, researcher and storyteller who looks at the relationship between science and society. She specialises in the history and philosophy of science, particularly the history of scientific racism and eugenics, and for nine years, was Curator of the Science Collections at University College London. She was also Researcher in Critical Eugenics at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation. Subhadra has also appeared on radio and TV as a stand-up comedian. In this conversation we talk about her fantastic recent book, Uncivilised: Ten Lies that Made the West.
Subhadra Das (https://www.subhadradas.com/) is a historian, writer, broadcaster, comedian, curator, researcher and storyteller who looks at the relationship between science and society.
She specialises in the history and philosophy of science, particularly the history of scientific racism and eugenics, and what those histories mean for our lives today. For nine years, Subhadra was Curator of the Science Collections at University College London, where she was also Researcher in Critical Eugenics at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation.
She’s also a prolific writer, broadcaster on radio and TV and stand-up comedian. In this conversation we talk about her recent book, Uncivilised: Ten Lies that Made the West In which she brings the lens of the history of science to bear on Western tropes such as ‘knowledge is power’, ‘time is money’ and ’justice is blind’.
Back with another special episode on the status of the AI in education, cutting through the hype (again) with the fantastic Charles Fadel. This is quite a deep dive into the topic, so if you’re early exploring this topic, check out episodes 107 and 108 with a great selection of reflections on AI in education from young people, teachers, leaders, policy-makers and edtech entrepreneurs.
Charles is a global education thought leader and futurist, author, and inventor, with several active affiliations. His work spans the education continuum of K-12 schools, higher education, and workforce development/lifelong learning. He is the Founder and chairman of the Center for Curriculum Redesign and among many other accolades, he is the author of Education for the Age of AI, with co-authors Alexis Black, Robbie Taylor, Janet Slesinski and Katie Dunn.
Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR): https://curriculumredesign.org/
Four-Dimensional (4D) Competencies Framework: https://curriculumredesign.org/frameworks/competencies-framework/
Tools: https://curriculumredesign.org/tools/
Charles is also:
Chair of the Education Committee of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), nominated by the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB). He works with several teams at the OECD, most notably Education 2030, PISA, CERI, and the Expert Group on AI Futures.
Senior Fellow, Human Capital at The Conference Board
Board member at the United States Council Foundation (USCF).
Global Education Lead at Cisco Systems for over a decade.
Founder of Neurodyne, an ahead-of-its-time startup focused on Neural Networks/Artificial Intelligence.
Member of the President’s Council of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.
Founder and President of the Fondation Helvetica Educatio in Geneva, Switzerland. Fondation Helvetica Educatio focused on global education matters.
Product marketing and management in semiconductors for broadband and wireless applications at Analog Devices and M/A-COM.
Visiting practitioner at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in the Mind, Brain and Education program. He explored curriculum redesign issues in an age of artificial intelligence and taught the first-ever class on “Human Learning + Machine Learning.”
Former Project Director at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in the Laboratory for the Science of the Individual. There he explored “Machine Learning + Human Learning.”
Visiting lecturer at MIT’s Experimental Study Group (ESG). He taught an innovative “special topics in mathematics” seminar, “Polymathy: The World in 10 Curves.” He then taught the seminar at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education for six years to student acclaim.
Visiting lecturer at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the Chief Learning Officer Program.
Senior Fellow at the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Previous books Artificial Intelligence in Education (2018) was translated into Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. His earlier, highly influential book Four-Dimensional Education (2015) was translated into ten languages, while its framework was translated into twenty-three languages. He co-authored best-selling 21st Century Skills (2009, Wiley).
A more humane education feels very necessary right now. Our planet and its inhabitants all over the world seem to be crying out for it. Humane Educators Zoe Weil and Rae Sikora created IHE In 1996 to do precisely this. And so it is a huge pleasure this week to be able to welcome Zoe, and her colleague Julie Meltzer, from the Institute onto the podcast.
Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE) and is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement. Zoe created IHE’s M.Ed., M.A., and graduate certificate programs, as well as IHE’s Solutionary Framework, which guides teachers in bringing solutionary thinking and action to their students.
Zoe is the author of eight books including Amazon #1 New Release in Social Philosophy and Popular Applied Psychology, The Solutionary Way: Transform Your Life, Your Community, and the World for the Better with a Foreword by Jane Goodall (2024), Amazon #1 Best Seller in the Philosophy and Social Aspects of Education, The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries (2021/2016), Nautilus Silver Medal winner, Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life (2009), The Power and Promise of Humane Education (2004), and Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times (2003).
She has also written books for young people, including Moonbeam Gold Medal winner, Claude and Medea: The Hellburn Dogs (2023/2007), about 12-year-old activists inspired by their teacher to right wrongs where they find them, and So, You Love Animals: An Action-Packed, Fun-Filled Book to Help Kids Help Animals (1994).
Julie Meltzer, Ph.D., is a self-described “pragmatic visionary” who is committed to creating schools that truly help students prepare to successfully meet their futures. She is a tireless advocate for literacy, justice and equity which she sees as integrally related. Julie supports teachers and administrators to develop collective efficacy to teach their students how to become changemakers. She agrees with Zoe Weil that our best hope for the planet is to educate a generation of solutionaries. After extensive experience in education including as a teacher, teacher education faculty member, district administrator, consultant, researcher, program evaluator, and project lead, to her current role as Director of K-12 and Teacher Education for IHE. Julie is also a published author, sought-after speaker and editor/reviewer. When not focused on teaching and learning, Julie enjoys hiking, dancing, writing poetry, reading international women’s and children’s literature, traveling, and working for social and environmental justice.
Social Links
“Perhaps the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company.” This is a quote from the paediatrician, Rachel Naomi Remen, that my guest this week quotes in her fantastic new book The Impossible Question of Living Well: How do we hold on to what matters, while also knowing how to let go? Dr Helen Street has been banging the drum that living well should be a priority of educational institutions for years, but more importantly, that this is not a question of individual ‘hacks to happiness’ as she talks about in this episode, but a fundamental rethinking of how much context plays a role in enabling or preventing possibilities for living well. It’s Helen’s second time on the podcast and I was so happy to be able to chat to her again about her . She is a social psychologist and educator and has worked extensively with schools around the world since 1999. She holds a position as Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, Graduate School of Education as well as adjunct research consultant for the health department of Western Australia’s Centre for Clinical Interventions. Helen is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Positive Schools Initiative (PSI). Since it s launch in 2008, the Positive Schools Initiative has worked with over 26,000 educators from over 6000 schools and colleges; from around Australia and 15 other countries. Positive Schools Initiative is focused takes an evidence-based systems approach to building Contextual Wellbeing, positive mental health and resilience in school staff, parents and young people.
Helen is a bestselling author and speaker and her most recent book is The Impossible Question of Living Well: How do we hold on to what matters, while also knowing how to let go? She is also the author of the bestselling Contextual Wellbeing: Creating Positive Schools from the Inside Out (2018). Her work has been met with international acclaim and has been endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama among many others.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @helen-street
X: @drhelenstreet
Instagram: drhelenstreet
Web: https://www.helenstreet.com/
Something we often forget is how powerfully language shapes how we view each other and the world and how we interact as part of it. For that reason, it is a key part of how we help young people to understand their experiences, Both as a means of relating and communicating and as a set of skills that they acquire. This week it is a huge privilege to be able to welcome Kevin Belin onto the podcast who is the Director of the Diné Bizaad Institute and Navajo Language teacher at Navajo Preparatory School, in Navajo Nation in what is now known as the United States.
Kevin is also owner of Hashké – Hozhó Design and Collaborative. Tódích’íinii nilį́įgo, Tł’ógí yashchíín, Ta’neeszhahnii dah bicheii, Chishí dah binálí. He is currently serving as Board member for Saad Kidilyé Language nest in Albuquerque. He also served as Adjunct Instructor with Diné College Navajo Cultural Arts Program.
Kevin has been in the education field for over decade working with fellow teachers, consultants, and language instructors to perpetuate the Navajo Language and Culture through curriculum building, trainings, and presentations. Throughout the year, Kevin is consulted to work with youth and demonstrate hands on workshops in historical and cultural knowledge. “I don’t consider myself an expert, but I am the bridge that connects the knowledge banks that come from our elders, to the young and discouraged learners, using modern approaches to language learning and scaffolded instruction, to understanding the complex concepts of Sa’ah Naaghei Bik’eh Hozho.”
Kevin has been featured on Native America Calling, American Indian Republic, 21st Century Native leaders podcast and Indian Country Today as a cultural representative and is a Billy Mill’s Running Strong Dreamstarter.
“Teaching the Navajo Language to our young leaders and helping them understand the complexity that is the Diné way of life is a lifelong endeavor” (Kevin Belin).
As you will have heard in previous episodes for example with Ray Ison, Mette Böll and others, there is a lot of interest currently in systems thinking approaches in education as a key competency for our young people. But what systems thinking means once you scratch the surface is a question that we need to ask. And if we’re supporting our young people (as well as teachers and leaders) to navigate complexity, Dave - from his background in Anthro-Complexity (https://cynefin.io/wiki/Anthro-complexity) - will definitely have something to say about that!
Dave is the creator of the Cynefin Framework (https://thecynefin.co/about-us/about-cynefin-framework/) and originated the design of SenseMaker®, the world’s first distributed ethnography tool. He is the lead author of Managing complexity (and chaos) in times of crisis: A field guide for decision-makers, a shared effort between the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, and the Cynefin Centre.
He divides his time between two roles: founder and Chief Scientific Officer of The Cynefin Company and the founder and Director of the Cynefin Centre. His work is international in nature and covers government and industry looking at complex issues relating to strategy and organisational decision-making. He has pioneered a science-based approach to organisations drawing on anthropology, neuroscience, and complex adaptive systems theory. Using natural science as a constraint on the understanding of social systems avoids many of the issues associated with inductive or case-based approaches to research.
Dave holds positions as an extraordinary Professor at the Universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch as well as visiting Professor at the University of Hull. He has held similar positions at Bangor University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Canberra University, the University of Warwick and The University of Surrey. He held the position of senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang University and the Civil Service College in Singapore during a sabbatical period in Nanyang.
A few additional resources that might be of interest:
- An article Brad Carter and Tim wrote about Cynefin in education: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leading-educating-complexity-overview-cynefin-framework-tim-logan/?trackingId=X8hDDv8ITCaDeafLUlcUHg%3D%3D
- A reflection Tim wrote after attending a Triopticon facilitation at a Cynefin Centre retreat: https://thecynefin.co/education-is-entangled-retreat-reflections/?srsltid=AfmBOoq8tOFBrNmTHkhYA3bxUsoM9BKjFlMwLjMxWj5b2Ae7fxz-dQuD
- A great article Dave wrote about getting over our obsession with 'mindsets': https://thecynefin.co/a-melange-of-potential-not-a-mindset/?srsltid=AfmBOor3ecAlfbHUmbN47NtJ8g6KaRfhi80JfZf5unAxLDueX22QB1Kj
- Dave and the team's work on Estuarine Mapping framework: https://cynefin.io/wiki/Estuarine_framework
Social Links
Great thinking on the Cynefin blog: https://thecynefin.co/our-thinking/
LinkedIn: @dave-snowden - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-snowden-2a93b/
X: https://twitter.com/snowded
Keeping educational experiences alive, responsive and moving with our young people is a key piece of what the best educators do, even more impressive as it is often in stark contrast to the rigid, static institutions in which they live, work and learn. This week it’s such a pleasure to be talking with Dr Gholdy Muhammad whose amazing work on Historically Responsive Literacies supports teachers in creating spaces for mutual empowerment, confidence, and self-reliance in students. Her elaboration of the five pursuits of curriculum is a fantastic framework for enabling young people to both critically and joyfully read the world and connect with who they are and where they’ve come from.
Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at University of Illinois Chicago College of Education. She studies Black historical excellence within educational communities with goals of reframing curriculum and instruction today. Gholdy’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and books. She has also received numerous national awards and is the author of the best-selling book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Model for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. She is also the co-author of Black girls’ literacies: An Edited Volume. Gholdy has previously served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, school district administrator, curriculum director, and school board president. Her Culturally and Historically Responsive Education Model has been adopted across thousands of U.S. schools and districts across Canada. In 2022 and 2023 she was named among the top 1% Edu-Scholar Public Influencers due to her impact on policy and practice. She was named the American Educational Research Association Division K Early Career Award and the 2021 NCTE Outstanding Elementary Educator in the English Language Arts. She has led a federal grant with the United States Department of Education to study culturally and historically responsive literacy in STEM classrooms. Her latest book, Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning, is the sequel to Cultivating Genius and provides a practical guide for putting culturally and historically responsive education into curricular practice.
More information about Gholdy’s work go to https://hillpedagogies.com/
You can also find her on social media at:
LinkedIn: @dr-gholdy-muhammad - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gholdy-muhammad/
Instagram: @gholdym - https://www.instagram.com/gholdym/
Too often simplistic arguments against educational change are that providing more opportunities for increased agency for young people (following their own questions, inquiries, cares etc) means less rigour, depth and intellectual stretch. Anyone who has been involved in these approaches in sustained ways knows that this isn’t the case. However, the myth persists. This week it is my great pleasure to be in conversation with Michael Strong who has had an extensive career in many different educational systems and approaches, but with a fascinating mix of classical practices such as Socratic Dialogue and entrepreneurial skills.
Michael Strong is one of the most experienced innovative school program designers in the U.S. He is the Founder/CEO of Socratic Experience (an online academy blending Classical and entrepreneurial education), Flourishing Adolescent Cultures Initiative at the University of Austin, and the Academy of Thought and Industry (ATI), a network of Montessori-aligned high schools with campuses in Austin, San Francisco, New York City, and St. Louis. His projects include Montessori secondary school program design for Montessori schools in San Antonio, Palo Alto, and Pleasanton, California prior to launching ATI. He also created The Winston Academy, where middle school students passed AP exams, and Moreno Valley High School, a Paideia charter high school in Angel Fire, New Mexico, ranked the 36th best public high school in the U.S. by Newsweek in its 3rd year of operation and continued to outperform other New Mexico high schools.
He is the author of The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice and lead author of Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems. He introduced the expression “Startup Cities” in a 2013 Voice & Exit talk which has led to a vibrant “Startup Societies” movement around the world. He is also a co-founder of FLOW, Peace through Commerce, Conscious Capitalism, and Radical Social Entrepreneurs. He serves on the boards of Radical Social Entrepreneurs and Social Evolution. He is the only “Michael Strong” married to the powerful and beautiful Senegalese entrepreneur Magatte Wade.
Michael writes and can be found in the following places,
Substack: https://substack.com/@michaelstrong
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.strong.144/
X: @flowidealism - https://x.com/flowidealism
LinkedIn: @michaelstrong1 - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstrong1/
This strange thing called ‘knowledge’ has always been a battleground in educational conversations - for example, in lots of loud calls for “knowledge-rich” curricula! Personally I’m very much in favour of knowledge and knowing, part of the buzz of following curiosity and inquiries! It’s just the KIND of knowledge and knowing that we have been conditioned to value over others that I have an issue with!
Minna Salami has been deeply challenging this hierarchy of knowing through her extensive work and amazing concept and book of the same title, Sensuous Knowledge. Her work coming from the tradition of African Feminism is to trouble the hierarchies, not simply invert them.
Minna Salami is a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish feminist author, social critic and currently Program Chair at THE NEW INSTITUTE.
She is the author of Can Feminism Be African? (forthcoming Harper Collins) and Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone (Bloomsbury 2020) which has been translated into multiple languages.
Minna has also co-authored children’s books and written content on feminism for numerous anthologies as well as educational textbooks.
A leading voice of contemporary feminism, she has drawn over a million readers to her multiple award-winning blog MsAfropolitan.com. Her writing can be found in the Guardian, Project Syndicate, Al Jazeera, and The Philosopher, and many others. She is a frequent speaker and lecturer including at some of the world’s most prominent institutions such as the UN, EU, Oxford Union, Cambridge Union, Yale University, and the Singularity University at NASA. She has worked as a Research Associate and Editor at Perspectiva, consulted governments on gender equality, written school curricula, and curated cultural events at The Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Minna is a Full Member of the Club of Rome, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and sits on the council of The Royal Institute of Philosophy and the boards of The African Feminist Initiative at Pennsylvania State University, The Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Sahel, and is an associate with Perspectiva. She has served as chair for the House of Beautiful Business, a judge for the One World Media Awards, a nominator for the Prince Claus Foundation and the Princess of Asturias Foundation.
An alumni of Lund University and SOAS University, Minna has lived in Nigeria, Sweden, Spain, and New York and now lives between London and Hamburg.
Social Links:
Minna's blog: https://msafropolitan.com/
Linkedin: @minnasalami - https://www.linkedin.com/in/minnasalami/
Instagram: @minnasalami_ https://www.instagram.com/minnasalami_/
We need to ask ourselves some really tough questions about what our education systems are really doing to support young people to live in a climate changed world of at least 2 degrees of warming. What are the hands-on skills that they will need, but also how are we supporting them to regulate difficult emotions, and build community as we relocalise. This week, Ginie Servant-Miklos is returning to the podcast, this time with her colleague Rutger Engels, to talk about what they are learning through their work implementing critically important ideas in their Bildung Climate School pilots with young people across Rotterdam.
You can find out more about the Bildung Climate School here: https://www.erasmusmagazine.nl/en/2024/05/29/students-of-all-levels-learn-how-to-deal-with-climate-change-challenges-through-dance-and-philosophy/
https://www.instagram.com/bildung_climate_school/
You can also see an overview of the programme here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vS97am09X7bwtKLZfXZrfq-6LuS59W5E/view?usp=sharing
For further details on Bildung, go to Lene Rachel Andersen's Nordic Bildung: https://www.nordicbildung.org/
And check out previous episodes with Ginie and Lene on the podcast channel.
Ginie Servant-Miklos is Assistant Professor at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Previously she was a Senior Lecturer in the Humanities Department of Erasmus University College and held a visiting professorship in experimental pedagogics at Tyumen University, Russia. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Aalborg University’s Centre for Problem-based Learning in Engineering Education and Sustainability under the auspices of UNESCO. Her research focuses on the intersection between pedagogy, identity and sustainability issues. Her forthcoming book, 'Pedagogies of Collapse: A Hopeful Education for The End of The World as We Know It' is released on November 28th 2024: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/pedagogies-of-collapse-9781350400498/. She is also the founder and Chair of the Board of the FairFight Foundation, a charity that aims to empower girls and women from underprivileged backgrounds through martial arts.
Rutger Engels is professor in Developmental Psychopathology, at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. He received his MA in Psychology at the University of Groningen, his PhD at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Maastricht and did a post-doc at Utrecht University. In 2001, at the age of 32, he was appointed as a full professor in Nijmegen. From 2014-2018, he was CEO of the Trimbos Institute, the national institute for mental health and addictions, and distinguished professor in Developmental Psychopathology at Utrecht University in the period 2016-2018. From 2018-2021 he was rector magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
His fundamental and applied research focuses on early stages of substance use, depression and anxiety in children, adolescents and young adults. In 2011, he received the Huibregtsen Prize, the annual national award, by NWO and Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) for outstanding research with evident societal impact. In 2012, he won the Radboud Science Award for top research of the university. He is passionate about taking science to the frontline where it matters most, and developing state-of-the-art prevention programs that will have a far-reaching, international impact on policy and practice.
Contacts
LinkedIn: @rutgerengels - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rutgerengels
@ginie-servant-miklos - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginie-servant-miklos/
Email: rutger.engels@essb.eur.nl; servant@essb.eur.nl
If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while now, you will know that creating conversational spaces full of possibility as an antidote to polarisation and crisis is something I really value, whether that’s on a podcast, online, or even better, in person!
So it was such a joy to sit down with Doline Ndorimana to talk about her amazing work doing just that with young people and fellow educators and leaders. Doline’s work centres the courage and humility of trying to get to real connection and mutual learning rather than winning oppositional and propositional arguments.
Born and raised in Burundi, Doline is an international educator, DEIJ workshop leader, and university lecturer with 15 years of experience in international schools. She is also a language acquisition middle years program consultant, part of the TIE editorial committee, and a member of the Association for International Educators and Leaders of Colour (AIELOC) and the International School Services (ISS) Diversity Collaborative.
For new parents and early years educators, there’s a wealth of guidance and support for how to understand what’s happening for our babies and toddlers, but when it comes to the stories we tell about adolescence, an equally important period of significant change, sometimes it’s more just get your head down and get through it! As millions of young people make the big transition to Middle School, I was very curious to learn from one of the real experts, not only of the patterns of change and development at this time, but also of how to create educational environments that really take these young people seriously!
Chris Balme is an education leader, writer, and school founder, passionate about helping young people discover more of their human potential. He is the author of Finding the Magic in Middle School: Tapping Into the Power and Potential of the Middle School Years, which was published in 2022.
Chris currently serves as Founding Principal at Hakuba International School. He is also the Founder & Director of Argonaut, an online advisory program for middle schoolers around the world. Prior to this, Chris co-founded and served as Head of School at Millennium School, a highly successful lab school in San Francisco.
Chris has received the Ashoka Fellowship as a leading changemaker in education, and regularly speaks, trains, and writes for parents and teachers around the world. For more, see Chris’s newsletter, Growing Wiser.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @chris-balme - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbalme/
Instagram: @chrisbalme - https://www.instagram.com/chrisbalme/
Carol Sanford (https://carolsanford.com/) is one of the most important thinkers of the last few decades. Like no-one else, her work calls out the deeply damaging effects of Behaviourism on all aspects of our lives, especially learning and education, and advocates for a living systems approach to business, education and community.
Carol’s latest book, ‘No More Gold Stars: Regenerating Capacity to Think for Ourselves’ is in some ways a synthesis of many of her most powerful ideas that she has developed through a lifetime of practice and learning from various indigenous and wisdom traditions. But it also calls out the damaging Behaviourist ideas that have ‘become ubiquitous in all our lives and institutions’ and undermined our trust in our abilities to know ourselves and think for ourselves - in all of our various and richly diverse ways. As Tyson Yunkaporta calls it in his amazing foreword to the book, “the sharp and pointy gift that keeps on giving”.
As someone living with ALS, Carol’s voice can be a little hard to understand at times, so if you would like it you will find a transcript link here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wkr31QCA2MO5y9AynAq0L7Qb1bStlk0muFralyIfBeM/edit?usp=sharing (as well as the automatic transcription on Spotify and some other podcast platforms).
As Carol says in Part One: “I use the 7 First Principles of Living Systems to be rigorous in examination, precise in focus and in order to rise up and venerate life. Otherwise, we fool ourself for the sake of our ego.” (https://carolsanford.medium.com/the-regenerative-education-system-and-practice-part-1-23ffcc86326e)
Part Two:
Principle 1 - Engage with wholes
Principle 2 - Evoke essence
Part Three:
Principle 3 - Realise individual potential
Principle 4 - Development of mind and beings
Principle 5 - Work within nestedness
Part Four:
Principle 6 - Laser focus to nodal
Principle 7 - Regenerate energy fields
(Due to Medium paywall, I am also sharing all of the articles, Parts 1-4, here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12HWRFUbzmWpv4_k7JxLFgn7F99r8UG4o/view?usp=drive_link)
Carol refers to Alice Waters, chef and restauranteur who started the Edible Schoolyard movement at Berkeley.
https://search.worldcat.org/title/Edible-Schoolyard-:-a-universal-idea/oclc/1280875278
About Carol:
For four decades, Carol has worked with great leaders of successful businesses such as Google, DuPont, Intel, P&G, and Seventh Generation, educating them to develop their people and ensure a continuous stream of innovation that continually deliver extraordinary results.
Carol is a founder and designer of The Regenerative Business Development Community with lifetime members of almost 500 members, meeting in locations around the world and now online with leaders from multiple companies learning together in bi-quarterly events as well as an Annual Regenerative Business Summit, Carol is also a founder and designer of The Regenerative Change Agent Development community, with members from three regions- Americas, EMEA, Deep Pacific with over 30 events a year in person and online with regenerative change agents learning about and creating change together.
Carol is the best-selling author of No More Gold Stars: Regenerating Capacity to Think for Ourselves, The Regenerative Business: Redesign Work, Cultivate Human Potential, Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes; The Responsible Entrepreneur: Four Game-Changing Archetypes for Founders, Leaders, and Impact Investors, The Responsible Business: Reimagining Sustainability and Success; and No More Feedback: Cultivate Consciousness at Work.
Her books have won over 15 awards so far and are required reading at leading business and management schools including Harvard, Stanford, Haas Berkeley and MIT.
Social Links
LinkedIn - @carolsanfordkeynote - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolsanfordkeynote/
Instagram - @carolsanfordauthor - https://www.instagram.com/carolsanfordauthor/
As you will have heard on previous episodes with Sandra Milligan, Yong Zhao, folks from Mastery Transcript Consortium and Rethinking Assessment, standardised tests and assessments are often one of the biggest barriers to change in education as these credentials and school-leaving certificates often hold the key that opens up the next door or higher education for many young people. This week I’m so excited to share an amazing success story of someone who decided that this compromise was just unacceptable for their young people.
Viv White AM is CEO and co-founder (with John Hogan) of Big Picture Learning Australia (BPLA) - https://www.bigpicture.org.au/ - a non-profit company established in Australia in 2006. Building on the work started by Dennis Littky and Elliot Washor in the US in 1995 (https://www.bigpicture.org/), Big Picture Learning Australia’s design for personalised, student-driven learning is being implemented in over 50 schools around Australia. Viv has also pioneered a new non-ATAR credential known as the International Big Picture Learning Credential (IBPLC) that is warranted by the University of Melbourne, and accepted by 17 universities around Australia.
In 2018 Viv was appointed to the Order of Australia for her services to education and to the reengagement of young people in learning for life. Prior to leading BPLA, Viv was CEO of the Victorian Schools Innovation Commission and CEO of the Australian National Schools Network. She has a thirty-year history of international work in educational reform, research, policy and practice. Viv taught primary and secondary education for 13 years, worked in tertiary research for five years as a research fellow at Macquarie University and Victoria University, and served as an adjunct professor at the University of Western Sydney. Viv is a Fellow of the Australian Council of Education and was admitted, in 2014, to the Australian Businesswomen's Network Hall of Fame. Viv was also named one of The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence in 2019.
Find out more:
LinkedIn: @viv-white - https://www.linkedin.com/in/viv-white-am-297642142/
Instagram: @bigpicture.edu.au - https://www.instagram.com/bigpicture.edu.au/
@bigpiclearning - https://www.instagram.com/bigpiclearning/ (US)
Website: https://www.bigpicture.org.au/
Welcome back to the first episode in the new series of the Future Learning Design podcast. The podcast now has a lovely new home at Good Impact Labs (goodimpactlabs.com).
The first guest in this new series is the social philosopher and internationally best-selling author, Roman Krznaric
In his book, The Good Ancestor, Roman challenged us all to consider the rights of future species and future citizens in the face of our current catastrophic obsession with short-term thinking. Now, Roman is leading us into the past to ask what can we learn from history in his fantastic new book History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity.
His internationally bestselling books including The Good Ancestor, Empathy, The Wonderbox and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than 25 languages. He is Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing and founder of the world’s first Empathy Museum.
After growing up in Sydney and Hong Kong, Roman studied at the universities of Oxford, London and Essex, where he gained his PhD in political science. Particularly known for his work on empathy and long-term thinking, his writings have been widely influential amongst political and ecological campaigners, education reformers, social entrepreneurs and designers. An acclaimed public speaker, his talks and workshops have taken him from a London prison to the TED global stage.
Over half a million people have watched his RSA Animate video The Power of Outrospection
Roman is a member of the Club of Rome and a Research Fellow of the Long Now Foundation. He previously worked as an academic, a gardener, a conversation activist and on human rights issues in Guatemala – the subject of his book What the Rich Don’t Tell the Poor. He is also a fanatical player of the medieval sport of real tennis, whose history he explores in The First Beautiful Game.
Social Links
X: @romankrznaric - https://x.com/romankrznaric
Website: https://www.romankrznaric.com/
What does it really mean to have 'agency' and how might we create more opportunities for young people to step into their agency in meaningful ways? Indra Adnan has been exploring this concept in communities around the world as well as in grassroots political organising.
For over twenty years, Indra Adnan has been writing, consulting, network-building and event-organising on the themes of future politics, conflict transformation, the role of the arts and integral thinking.
She is Founder and Co-initiator, together with Pat Kane, of The Alternative UK political platform, which answers the question: if politics is broken, what’s the alternative?
Indra has been writing consistently about soft power, public diplomacy and the power of attraction and relationship in international relations for over a decade, in major UK and US publications.
Indra is also a psycho-social therapist, founder of the Soft Power Network, and a writer and events producer. She has consulted to the World Economic Forum, Indian, Finnish and Danish governments, NATO, the Scottish Executive and the Institute of Contemporary Arts amongst others. Indra is currently Co-Lead in Bounce Beyond, a social enterprise network doing transformative work to cohere and connect the next global economies.
Her book The Politics of Waking Up: Power & Possibility In The Fractal Age is published by Perspectiva Press.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @indra-adnan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/indra-adnan-6b4aa32/
Instagram: @politics.of.waking.up - https://www.instagram.com/politics.of.waking.up/
Wakanyi Hoffman is a storyteller, author, keynote speaker specialized in ubuntu philosophy, a scholar of indigenous knowledge, and narrative weaver of wisdom in AI. She was born and raised in Kenya before embarking on an adventure around the world and has so far lived in 8 countries on 4 continents.
In response to the limited presence of African stories by African storytellers in children’s literature, Wakanyi founded the African Folktales Project, an ongoing open-sourced resource of indigenous wisdom and knowledge for school children. Her diverse intercultural experiences have enriched her perspective on the human condition, while her commitment to cross-cultural knowledge sharing brings added value to her current academic fellowship appointment at The New Institute in Hamburg, Germany.
She is the author of many stories including Sala: Mountain Warrior (2024) and The Twelve Days of Christmas Safari.
Wakanyi sits on many boards, such as the Kenya Education Fund, an organization dedicated to offering high school education to marginalized, gifted children. Additionally, her advisory role at The Contentment Foundation underscores her dedication to global well-being. She is also a valued board member at Seeds of Wisdom, championing indigenous elders’ wisdom and knowledge exchange and is also a co-founder of HumanityLink.Org, a global digital communication solutions system for marginalized populations. Wakanyi is a curation partner on the Compassion Bot, a new AI revolution in conversations with compassion.
Wakanyi is a graduate of University College London (UCL), where her thesis proposed integrating indigenous knowledge into global education systems. She also teaches a summer course at Brooklyn College, and her storytelling Curriculum is used at Presidio Graduate School for teachers training as climate advocates.
Wakanyi is also a mother to four global nomad kids and together with her husband, they currently reside in The Netherlands.
Social Links
Website: https://www.wakanyihoffman.com/
LinkedIn: @wakanyi-hoffman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wakanyi-hoffman-77a9671a4/
Instagram: @waksnl - https://www.instagram.com/waksnl/
Simply trying to avoid or remove uncertainty and complexity from the lives of our young people (and our own) just isn't a viable strategy anymore! So what do we do instead? How might we intentionally build our adaptive capacity to thrive in the face of these dynamics?
Dr. Glenda Eoyang works with public and private organizations to help them thrive in the face of overwhelming complexity and uncertainty. She is a pioneer in the field of human systems dynamics (HSD), which she founded. Through Human Systems Dynamic Institute, Glenda uses her Models and Methods to help others see patterns in the chaos that surrounds them, understand the patterns in simple and powerful ways, and take practical steps to shift chaos into order. Her clients include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oxfam International, Canada School of Public Service, Cargill, Fraser Health Authority (BC), and Roche/Genentech.
Glenda’s latest book, with co-author Royce Holladay, is Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization (Stanford University Press, April 2013).
https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=21971
You can find out more about the Human Systems Dynamics Institute here: https://www.hsdinstitute.org/index.html
Social Links
LinkedIn: @glenda-eoyang - https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenda-eoyang-795786/
Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner are internationally renowned social learning theorists and consultants. Their pioneering writing and consulting is influential in diverse fields including learning theory, business, government, international development, healthcare, and education.
They founded the Social Learning Lab to host events on theory, practice, and leadership. Their more recent writing updated the theory in Learning in landscapes of practice and in the first volume in their new book series: Learning to make a difference: value creation in social learning spaces.
I can also highly recommend their Communities of practice guidebook as a really useful resource.
Bev and Etienne's website - https://www.wenger-trayner.com/
Communities of practice within and across organizations: A guidebook (2nd edition) - https://www.wenger-trayner.com/cop-guidebook/
Learning to make a difference: value creation in social learning spaces - https://www.wenger-trayner.com/learning-to-make-a-difference-book/
What does it mean for those in culturally Eurocentric school systems around the world to learn from and with indigenous peoples about the role of education in community and connected with place? Should we even, after the horrors inflicted upon indigenous communities by settlers? These are delicate but important questions and it was a huge privilege to be able to sit down with Dr Marie Battiste to discuss them.
Dr Marie Battiste is a citizen of the Mi’kmaq Nation of Potlotek First Nations and of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs in Maine. She is professor emerita in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. She is a widely published author and editor, an officer in the Order of Canada, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Among her multiple honours are a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, a University of Saskatchewan Distinguished Researcher Award, a Distinguished Academic Award from the Canadian Association of University Teachers, and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for Service to Canada.
Dr Battiste's new book is out in November 2024: 'Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage: A Canadian Obligation', co-written with James Sa'ke'j Youngblood Henderson.
https://www.ubcpress.ca/protecting-indigenous-knowledge-and-heritage-new-edition
In this mini-series, Tim Logan and Ewan McIntosh talk about some of the most interesting bits (to us) of intriguing guests on the show so far, followed by a bitesized excerpt.This last episode in the series gets us all thinking about how we might slow down a little and create more space for our young people to explore, play, and... well, be bored sometimes!Check out the full episode here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/futurelearningdesign/episodes/On-Slow-Education---A-Conversation-with-Carl-Honor-e24ndrf
What are the 'future skills' our young people need, and will the university of the future be unrecognisable from the universities of today? Laura Eigbrecht and Professor Ulf-Daniel Ehlers have gathered some of the top thinkers around the world who are creating the university of the future. They join Tim this week to share some of these powerful ideas.
'Creating the University of the Future: A Global View on Future Skills and Future Higher Education' - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-42948-5
Laura Eigbrecht is a senior researcher at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University at the Chair of Educational Management and Lifelong Learning.
As a doctoral candidate, she conducts research in the field of transformative and participatory future skills in higher education. After her binational bachelor's degree and her master's degree in children's and youth media, she worked at the children's channel of ARD and ZDF as well as in teaching and consulting in the field of migration, language and education.
Professor Ulf-Daniel Ehlers is the founder of mindful-leaders.net and a serial social entrepreneur. He is a full Professor of Educational Management at Baden-Wurttemberg Cooperative State University. In 2011, he launched Germany’s first Cooperative University, now serving 35,000 students.
In 2017, Ulf founded NextEducation (https://next-education.org/), focusing on the future of education and Future Skills. He served as Scientific Director at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology until 2023.
Ulf has collaborated with over 30 universities globally and held leadership roles in EURASHE and EDEN. He has delivered keynotes in 45 countries and authored over 20 books and 300 scholarly articles. A trained systemic coach, Ulf integrates Future Skills into education for sustainable development.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @laura-eigbrecht - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-eigbrecht-60a586171/
@ulfehlers - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulfehlers/
X: @uehlers - https://twitter.com/uehlers
In this mini-series, Tim Logan and Ewan McIntosh talk about some of the most interesting bits (to us) of intriguing guests on the show so far, followed by a bitesized excerpt.This third episode in the series features a recent conversation about coaching and mentoring for teacher professional learning with Professor Rachel Lofthouse.Check out the full episode here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/futurelearningdesign/episodes/Transforming-Professional-Learning---A-Conversation-with-Prof--Rachel-Lofthouse-e2f24km
You can also find more information about Rachel's fantastic work with CollectivED: Centre for Coaching, Mentoring and Professional Learning - https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/research/collectived/
Information and connection were once scarce resources. But no longer! So what does this mean for the way education happens? This week, Dave Cormier, author of the fantastic new book 'Learning in a Time of Abundance: The Community is the Curriculum' joins Tim.
https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12862/learning-time-abundance
With 25 years of experience as teacher, researcher and author, Dave is interested in how technologies change what it means to learn and to have learned. He is currently a learning specialist for digital strategy and special projects at the Office of Open Learning at the University of Windsor in Ontario Canada.
Social Links
Website: https://davecormier.com/edblog/
LinkedIn: @davecormier - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davecormier/
Instagram: @cormierdave - https://www.instagram.com/cormierdave/
In this mini-series, Tim Logan and Ewan McIntosh talk about some of the most interesting bits (to us) of intriguing guests on the show so far, followed by a bitesized excerpt.This second episode in the series features one of the most mlistened episodes from last year with the amazing Professor Jo Boaler.Check out the full episode here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/jhbCnZxznKb
And do check out Jo's latest book, released last month, Math-ish: Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics - https://www.harpercollins.com/products/math-ish-jo-boaler?variant=41226038083618
What would it mean for ALL of our young people to feel safe and that they belong in our schools? This week, it's fantastic to have Dr Emily Meadows with us on the podcast to talk about creating spaces of belonging for everyone, but in particular for LGBTQ+ young people.
Dr. Emily Meadows (she/her) is an LGBTQ+ consultant and published author specializing in international schools. Emily creates an environment that is non-judgmental and engaging for her clients, while taking an intersectional approach that addresses both the why and the how of inclusion so that educators become confident and competent supporting LGBTQ+ students.
In addition to her doctoral degree, Emily holds master’s degrees in both Sexual Health and Counseling, and has worked as an international school counselor for over a decade. She researches, publishes, and trains school communities on equitable policy and practice, while also teaching for the LGBT Health Policy & Practice graduate program at George Washington University.
Emily has developed inclusion standards, referenda, and trainings for professional organizations such as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), The Fulbright Commission, the Association for International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC), the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE) and the American Psychological Association (APA). Having spent more than half of her life in international schools, Emily specializes in culturally-relevant solutions to promote equity and inclusion worldwide.
Additional resources
Supporting LGBTQ students: https://www.cois.org/about-cis/perspectives-blog/blog-post/~board/perspectives-blog/post/preparing-lgbtq-students-for-an-overnight-camp
"Transgender Student Support Toolkit for International School Counselors": https://iscainfo.com/Transgender-Student-Support
Wheel of Safety and Belonging:
https://www.cois.org/about-cis/perspectives-blog/blog-post/~board/perspectives-blog/post/can-diversity-equity-and-belonging-initiatives-create-division-in-schools-and-a-framework-to-help
LGBTQ+ Identity Affirmation in International Schools: An Ethical Framework for Educators:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/01614681231194416
In this new mini-series, Tim Logan and Ewan McIntosh talk about some of the most interesting bits (to us) of intriguing guests on the show so far, followed by a bitesized excerpt.This first short is centred on a brilliant interview with one of the world’s foremost educators, Gary Stager, originally released in January 2024.Check out the full episode here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/NLQ93mV9aKbGary’s a dear friend of NoTosh, and is running the last ever Constructing Modern Knowledge event this summer. If you care about students learning the skills to design their own learning I can imagine no better place to be in July.
There are many myths that hold teaching back. But more than any 'trad' or 'prog' debates about pedagogy, perhaps the most powerful one is the mind-body split. This week we welcome Professor Guy Claxton to talk about his forthcoming book on the importance of 're-membering' our learning bodies and reconnecting our ideas about education!
Guy Claxton is Emeritus Professor at Winchester University and Visiting Professor of Education at King's College London. He has previously taught and researched at Oxford University, Bristol University, and the University of London Institute of Education, and is an internationally renowned cognitive scientist. Guy's books include The Future of Teaching and the Myths that Hold it Back (2021), Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind (1998); Wise Up (1999): The Challenge of Lifelong Learning; The Wayward Mind (2005); and Intelligence in the Flesh (2015). Recent books on education include Expansive Education (2013); What's the Point of School? (2008); Building Learning Power (2002); and, with Bill Lucas and others, New Kinds of Smart; The Learning Powered School (2011); and Educating Ruby (2015).
Guy's Building Learning Power approach to teaching is widely used in all kinds of schools across the world.
You can find more about Guy on his website at: https://www.guyclaxton.net/
The Active Inference paper by Laura Desirée di Paolo et al (2024), referenced by Guy in the conversation, can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377634490_Active_Inference_Goes_to_School_The_Importance_of_Active_Learning_in_the_Age_of_Large_Language_Models
Social Links
X: @GuyClaxton - https://twitter.com/GuyClaxton
With the recent release of her book 'Every Child Can: Riverside School's Design-Led Approach to Empower Children', the wonderful Kiran Bir Sethi is joining us again on the podcast this week.
Kiran Bir Sethi is a designer who became a teacher, a principal who grew into an education reformer and subsequently morphed into a social entrepreneur. A trained graphic designer from the National Institute of Design, she comfortably uses the language of design – iteration, prototype, design specs – to develop not only curriculum innovation, but also community-based social programmes.
Kiran founded the award winning Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India, in 2001. Riverside, is viewed as a laboratory to prototype design processes that uses a systems approach to build a culture of empowerment, graduating young citizen leaders with an ‘I CAN Mindset’ – using their agency for the greater good. Riverside won the T4 Education 'World's Best School Prize' for innovation in 2023: https://t4.education/worlds-best-school-prizes/the-five-prizes/innovation/.
In 2009, Kiran launched Design for Change which uses a simple 4 step design framework – FIDS (Feel, Imagine, Do, Share) to cultivate the I CAN mind-set in all children. Today, DFC is the world's largest movement of change - of and by children, and is in 60+ countries—impacting over 2.2 million children and 65,000 Teachers.
Kiran is a judge for the prestigious YIDAN Prize and a Visiting Global Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2019, she was awarded the Earth Prize in Luino, Italy, the Lexus Design Award for 2019, in Pune, India, and DFC has been recognised man times as one of the 100 most innovative educational programmes in the world by HundrED.org.
Social Links
Instagram: @kiranbirsethi - https://www.instagram.com/kiranbirsethi/
Twitter: @kiranbirsethi - https://twitter.com/kiranbirsethi
LinkedIn: @kiranbirsethi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiranbirsethi/
This episode will hopefully give you a sense of where the most promising organisations in the world who are innovating around assessment are at, and what the prospects are looking forward for significant assessment change.
You can also check out Episode #72 with Sandra Milligan.
I am joined by Prof. Sandra Milligan from Melbourne Metrics, Bill Lucas from Rethinking Assessment and Mike Flanagan and Patricia Russell from Mastery Transcript Consortium.
Melbourne Metrics Website: https://education.unimelb.edu.au/melbourne-assessment New Metrics Partner Schools: https://education.unimelb.edu.au/melbourne-assessment/our-research/new-metrics#aboutThe International Big Picture Learning Credential: https://www.bigpicture.org.au/what-international-big-picture-learning-credential Sandra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-milligan-223b384a?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAAAp9jjsB5xVeP0Ygvbn2XC33I-bcL0ACsCY&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3BOaCWQPVdS%2BKv0N3bE64NYw%3D%3D Melbourne Metrics on X: https://twitter.com/MelbMetrics
Rethinking Assessment
Website: https://rethinkingassessment.com/
Rethinking Assessment in Education - The Case for Change: https://rethinkingassessment.com/assessment-around-the-world/
Blueprint for Change: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NoyUc3P-wFi_LCJS0SlzzUrQxkLC2WsG/view?usp=sharing
Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC)
Website: https://mastery.org/
ETS and Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) Join Forces to Scale Skills Transcript: https://www.ets.org/news/press-releases/ets-mastery-transcript-consortium-mtc-join-forces-scale-skills-transcript.html
MTC on X: https://twitter.com/MastTranscript
MTC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterytranscript/
Kevin Simpson is one of those rare special people who thrive on connecting others And bringing people together around shared causes and visions of a different kind of education system free from injustice and discrimination.
Kevin is founder of the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (https://aieloc.org/), and through AIELOC, one initiating partners of the International School Anti-Discrimination Taskforce (https://isadtf.org/). Alongside ECIS, Ecolint and IB, their collective aim is to "make schools truly diverse, inclusive, safe, equitable and welcoming for all students, staff and families".
Kevin owns and operates KDSL Global (http://kdslglobal.com/), an international education consulting company which launched in 2016 in the US and the UAE. He and his team have served thousands of schools, educators, and leaders worldwide in over 60 countries. He is also the Co-Founder of the UAE Learning Network, leads the ASCD Connected Community for the GCC region, and is Co-Founder of Resourceya.
Kevin Simpson is a native of Flint, Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Michigan State University (USA).
As we discuss in the podcast, Shwetangna Chakrabarty wrote a great piece about the 'Leadership for Radical Dreaming' at the AIELOC conference: https://www.tieonline.com/article/3674/radical-dreaming-aieloc-conference
Social Links
LinkedIn: @kevin-simpson-kdslglobal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-simpson-kdslglobal/
Instagram: @kdslglobal - https://www.instagram.com/kdslglobal/
X: @GlobalKdsl - https://twitter.com/GlobalKdsl
All the talk about systems change in education is great, and a topic we cover lots on the podcast. But the current reality for many educators might feel very removed from such visions. And yet, when you get into the details of what really deep and energised inquiry looks like with curious and questioning young people in classrooms, the two worlds feel a lot closer. And there are few people that know the specifics of what great inquiry-based learning looks like in theory and practice better than Trevor Mackenzie, so it was fantastic to be able to sit down with him this week to chat about it.
We talk about teacher dispositions, question routines, provocations, levels of structure, and also the way that an inquiry stance can show up in all cultures in different ways as humility and curiosity.
Trevor MacKenzie (https://www.trevormackenzie.com/who-i-am) is an experienced teacher, author, keynote speaker and inquiry consultant who has worked in schools throughout Australia, Asia, North America, South Africa and Europe. Trevor’s passion is supporting schools in implementing inquiry-based learning practices. He is a highly regarded speaker known for his heartfelt storytelling, kind demeanour, and student-first philosophy.
Trevor’s graduate research focused on identifying and removing the barriers to implementing inquiry-based learning in the K-12 setting. He has three publications: Dive into Inquiry, Inquiry Mindset Elementary Edition, and Inquiry Mindset Assessment Edition all published by Elevate Books Edu. He has vast experience supporting schools across several years in implementation strategies in public schools, international schools, and International Baccalaureate programmes (PYP/MYP/DP).
As a classroom teacher in Victoria, BC, Canada, Trevor brings a unique lens to authorship, consultancy, keynoting, and research. He is in his own classroom working with scholars in inquiry and he visits schools around the world supporting them in their inquiry implementation. This provides rich context and experience, a holistic approach to the work, and authentic and refined resources to be shared.
Trevor is the best selling author of three publications: author of Inquiry Mindset Assessment Edition (2021), co-author of Inquiry Mindset Elementary Edition (2018), and the author of Dive into Inquiry (2016) all published by Elevate Books Edu.
Trevor's new book Inquiry Mindset Questions Edition will be published later this year: https://www.trevormackenzie.com/posts/2024/4/14/announcing-inquiry-mindset-questions-edition
Social Links
LinkedIn: @trevor-mackenzie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-mackenzie-37103b261/
Instagram: @trev_mackenzie - https://www.instagram.com/trev_mackenzie/
X: @trev_mackenzie - https://twitter.com/trev_mackenzie
Over the last decade, there has been a surge of interest in the evidence and research-backing that support choices that educators and leaders are making in schools. In an effort to prove “what works” they reach for the Cognitive and so-called learning sciences. Personally, I’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable about how narrow these discussions are, focusing only on memory, cognitive load, retrieval and other terms that will be familiar to you if you’ve been involved in these discussions. As you’ll hear in this conversation with Dr Laura Desirèe Di Paolo, our brains are not simply memory machines! In fact, our mind-brain-bodies are incredible production machines performing active inference constantly in order to make sense of and act in the world
Dr Laura Desirèe Di Paolo is a researcher, Philosopher of Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex, UK and in the Moritz-Stern-Institut at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Her research is focused on the material world in education, development, and evolution and she is currently working in Andy Clark’s team on XScape. Material Minds: Exploring the Interactions between Predictive Brains, Cultural Artifacts, and Embodied Visual Search - https://www.sussex.ac.uk/research/centres/media-arts-humanities-institute/research/project/science/xscape
Doctor of Philosophy, Philosophy of Life and Cognitive Sciences, “Sapienza” - University of Rome (April, 14th 2014), cum Laude: “Culture Under Construction. The Role of Learning in Reading Others’ Mind and Building a Cultural Niche”, supervisors: Prof. Elena Gagliasso, Prof. Roberto Cordeschi, Prof. Enrico Alleva; Commettee: Prof. Ines Crispini, Prof. Massimo Dell’Utri, Prof. Francesco Ferretti. (https://sussex.academia.edu/LauraDesir%C3%A9eDiPaolo/CurriculumVitae)
She has an academic background in social learning, the evolution of culture in humans and animals and comparative psychology. She is the co-editor of the book, Evolution of Primate Social Cognition. Most recently, and the thing that brought Laura’s brilliant work to my attention was her paper published in January, ‘Active Inference Goes to School: The Importance of Active Learning in the Age of Large Language Models’. January 2024 by Laura Desirèe Di Paolo, Avel Guénin--Carlut, Axel Constant and Andy Clark - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377634490_Active_Inference_Goes_to_School_The_Importance_of_Active_Learning_in_the_Age_of_Large_Language_Models
Other useful resources on Active Inference:
Andy Clark's book 'The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality' - https://www.amazon.fr/Experience-Machine-Minds-Predict-Reality/dp/B0BFGK2KX4
Anil Seth's 2017 TED Talk 'Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality' - https://www.ted.com/talks/anil_seth_your_brain_hallucinates_your_conscious_reality?language=en
And if you're ready for something stronger, check out Karl Friston's co-authored book 'Active Inference: The Free Energy Principle in Mind, Brain, and Behavior' - https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262045353/active-inference/
Subscribe to the Active Inference Institute channel on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ActiveInference/featured
Social Links
Instagram: @lauraddp - https://www.instagram.com/lauraddp/
LinkedIn: @lauradesireedipaolo - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauradesireedipaolo/
X: @LauraDesiree_DP - https://twitter.com/LauraDesiree_DP
Eric Dozier (https://www.ericdozier.com/) is not only an incredible musician and, as he calls himself, itinerant blues preacher, but also a cultural activist and anti-racism educator.
We talk about the power of music as a social force that brings people together to learn, builds community and holds space for transformation, in particular in Eric’s critical work challenging white supremacy culture and racial injustice.
Eric is former musical director for the World Famous Harlem Gospel Choir and the award winning Children’s Theatre Company of NYC, co-founder and former National Director of Arts and Education for One Human Family Music Workshops, Inc., an organization devoted to eradicating discrimination by ‘Uniting the World.. One Song at a Time"; and one-half of the duo Moanin' Sons, which develops a creative context, through music, to address racial inequality. Through his insightful lyrical stylings, soulful melodies, and interactive workshops, he continues to dedicate his musical, spiritual, and intellectual talents to welding the hearts and minds of a divided humanity into one loving fellowship.
Eric is also the co-founder of the Oneness Lab with Homa Tavangar a previous guest on the podcast (https://www.onenesslab.com/). And the co-composer of ‘Henry Box Brown - A Musical' a music about the true story of Henry Box Brown, an 1850’s enslaved Virginia man who shipped himself to freedom in a box with the help of African American and white abolitionists. Hopefully soon to be opening on Broadway!: https://www.henryboxbrownthemusical.com/ In this episode you can hear Eric perform his stunning song 'Cotton and the Cross' that he wrote, with Ketch Secor from Old Crow Medicine Show.
Social Links
Instagram: @ericdozier - https://www.instagram.com/ericdozier/
LinkedIn: @ericdozier - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericdozier/
What does it mean to help our young people understand all of the forces that have brought us to where we are, and also to take real responsibility for all of the benefits and harms that that has caused, in particular to indigenous communities around the world?
What kinds of education might 'enable healthier possibilitiesof (co)existence that are viable,but are unthinkable/unimaginable within our dominant cognitiveandaffective frames of reference.' (GTDF Collective, Global Citizenship Otherwise, p3)
An education of the gut and the heart, not just the head!
This week, it was an honour to chat to the amazing Dr. Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti.
Vanessa is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. She is a former Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequalities and Global Change and a former David Lam Chair in Critical Multicultural Education.
Vanessa has worked extensively across sectors internationally in areas of education related to global justice, global citizenship, critical literacies, Indigenous knowledge systems and the climate and nature emergency.
Vanessa is the author of Hospicing Modernity: Facing humanity’s wrongs and the implications for social activism: https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/hospicing-modernity/
You can find links to her Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Arts/Research Collective: https://decolonialfutures.net/
Global Citizenship Otherwise Study Program, created by Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures: https://decolonialfutures.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/decolonial-futures-gce-otherwise-1.pdf
Vanessa is also one of the designers of the course 'Facing Human Wrongs: Climate Complexity and Relational Accountability': https://continuingstudies.uvic.ca/teaching-learning-and-development/courses/facing-human-wrongs-2-0-climate-complexity-and-relational-accountability/
Social Links
LinkedIn: @vanessa-andreotti
GTDF Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DecolonialFuturesCollective
With so much talk about 'systems thinking' in education, sometimes it can become framework overload! Which one should I pick? What's the difference between them anyway?! This week, it is a huge privilege to chat to someone who has been doing this longer than most! Professor Ray Ison has been teaching systems practice for the Open University for the last 4 decades. He shares his wisdom to cut through the jargon!
Ray is a cybernetician, systems scientist, and Professor of Systems at the Open University in the UK. He is currently President of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR). He was also Professor Systems for Sustainability at Monash University, and fellow at the Centre for Policy Development, and President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences in the year 2014-15. He is known for his work on systems praxeology within rural development,[1] sustainable management,[2] systemic governance and the design and enactment of learning systems.
An incredibly useful and practical overview of many ofthe topics discussed in this episode can be found in Ray's book, Systems Practice: How to Act. In situations of uncertainty and complexity in a climate-change world. (2017): https://oro.open.ac.uk/51143/
For a full overview of Ray's life and work you can read his Wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Ison
Social Links
LinkedIn: @ray-ison
This week I’m chatting with Jamilah Pitts, whose incredible work challenges us to root our educational practices in activism, healing and love. This is so that we tell the truth about the deep biases and harms that continue to persist within our societies and many of our educational settings. Jamilah’s work follows in the incredible tradition of bell hooks, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin and many others.
Jamilah is an educator, writer, social entrepreneur and yoga teacher whose work centers the liberation, healing and holistic development of communities of the global majority. She has served in various roles and spaces to promote racial justice and healing as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and as a dean.
As the Founder and CEO of Jamilah Pitts Consulting, Jamilah partners with schools, communities and organizations to advance the work of social and intersectional justice through an emphasis on wellness and educator training. Jamilah is also the Founder of She, Imprints, an organization designed to support the unique wellness needs of women and girls of color through advocacy, coaching programs, curriculum design, training and wellness retreats.
Jamilah’s written work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Learning for Justice, and Edweek.
Jamilah’s amazing book, Toward Liberation: Educational Practices Rooted in Activism, Healing and Love, was published in November.
She can be found at jamilahpitts.com.
In this week’s conversation, with Professor Rex Li and Dr Clara Cheng, we take a wide-ranging look at how we can take inspiration and ideas from past educational projects, such as those of John Dewey and Howard Gardner, as we develop education into the future. But also learning from their experience at GT College in Hong Kong, how can we use research and inquiry themselves as practices to enable students and educators to deepen their own learning and growth as individuals, but also as part of a broader learning community.Professor Rex Li (https://www.profrexli.com/ ) is a psychologist and a prominent educator of the gifted in Hong Kong. He is the Founder and Curriculum Director of GT (Ellen Yeung) College, Hong Kong and founder of the Gifted Education Council. He is the author of ‘Rediscovering John Dewey: How His Psychology Transforms Our Education’ (2020): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rediscovering-John-Dewey-Psychology-Transforms/dp/9811579407 and many other books on gifted education and multiple intelligences: https://www.gtcollege.edu.hk/books-publications/ Dr Clara M. L. Cheng is the Head of Research and Training, English Language Panel Head (Senior Form) and Vice Head of International Exchange Group at GT (Ellen Yeung) College: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-cheng-632aa7a1/ Social LinksGT (Ellen Yeung) College - https://www.gtcollege.edu.hk/Contact Prof. Li at https://www.profrexli.com/
Homa Tavangar (https://homatavangar.com/ ) is an incredible educator and leader. She is the co-founder of the Oneness Lab with Eric Dozier (https://www.onenesslab.com/ ) where she helps schools and companies go ‘deeper than diversity,’ as well as the Big Questions Institute, (https://bigquestions.institute/) where, with her co-founder Will Richardson, she leads professional learning opportunities to build capacity and design the future with fearless inquiry for individuals, schools, and many other education-related organisations.
Homa is the author of widely-acclaimed books, including Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World (Random House, 2009), Global Kids: 50+ Games, Crafts, Recipes & More from Around the World (Barefoot Books, 2019), The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners (Sage/Corwin, 2014), co-author of a 3-book series with Professor Yong Zhao on educating creative, entrepreneurial World Class Learners (Corwin, 2016), and contributor to Mastering Global Literacy, by Heidi Hayes-Jacobs, ed. (Solution Tree, 2013). Most recently she co-authored9 BIG Questions Schools Must Answer to Avoid Going “Back to Normal” (Because “Normal” Wasn’t That Great to Begin With)*.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @homatavangar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/homatavangar/
Instagram: @homatavangar - https://www.instagram.com/homatavangar/
X: @homatav - https://twitter.com/homatav?lang=en
How are the knowledge and skills that we choose to teach or not teach implicated in the power structures and political histories of the places in which we live?
Professor Jonathan Jansen (https://www.jonathanjansen.org/ ) is Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. He is currently President of the South African Academy of Science and the Knight-Hennessey Fellow at Stanford University (2020).
In his work, Professor Jansen explores how we keep radical ideas alive in bureaucratic structures. Is there a destination we arrive at called a decolonised curriculum or is it an ongoing process of meeting power structures and institutionalised biases? What's the role of language in the decolonising process if we can't even communicate with each other? What is the role of education in constructing national identities in ways that are inclusive of the diversity of people in most communities?
A selection of his most recent books:
Decolonisation in Universities: The Politics of Knowledge (2019) - https://www.google.fr/books/edition/Decolonisation_in_Universities/efWADwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
The Decolonization of Knowledge: Radical Ideas and the Shaping of Institutions in South Africa and Beyond [with Cyrill A. Walters] (2022) - https://www.google.fr/books/edition/The_Decolonization_of_Knowledge/KNduEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities (2023) - https://www.google.fr/books/edition/Corrupted/saeUEAAAQBAJ
Social Links
X: @JJ_Stellies - https://twitter.com/JJ_Stellies
LinkedIn: @jonathan-jansen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jansen-543123b1/
This week’s episode is a conversation about the importance of play and playfulness with the fantastic Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. Based on their extensive research and expertise of the Lego Serious Play method, Jane and Ronan are successfully reintroducing play to learning and work environments as an invitation to qualitatively different modes and types of experiences for teams. We also talk about the way in which play using boundary objects such as Lego, can enable inclusive learning environments.
Ronan and Jane are the Co-founders of How Might We, a Limerick-based design consultancy. Jane is a published author whose book ‘Women In The Modern Workplace’ examines how family, finance, networking and mentoring affect women’s decisions to establish a business. Jane and Ronan are also the hosts of the Seeking Play podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/42Rp28RCD0DmyjjA1vQQIU?si=620ca36a318a413b
Social Links
Web: www.howmightwe.ie
Email: jane@howmightwe.ie / ronan@howmightwe.ie
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/how-might-we-service-design
X: https://twitter.com/howmightwe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howmightwe.ie/
Professor Natalia Kucirkova is Professor of Reading and Early Childhood Development at the University of Stavanger.
She researches children’s use of media and technologies. She is especially interested in children’s use of e-books and literacy apps, particularly in relation to the use of personal data (digital personalization) and evidence-based approach to EdTech. Her latest project "Sensory Books" is about reading that engage children's sense of smell.
She is a passionate advocate for social justice, women leadership and embedded research impact.
Natalia is also CEO and Co-Founder of WiKIT which is a university spin-out based in Norway, with a global network of specially trained researchers, to match scientists with ethical EdTech and enable properly evidence-driven edtech products.
She is also the author of The Future of the Self: Understanding Personalization in Childhood and Beyond’.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @natalia-kucirkova
YouTube: @edtechchildrenliteracy
Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas and a professor in Educational Leadership at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne in Australia. He previously served as the Presidential Chair, Associate Dean, and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he was also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership. Prior to Oregon, Yong Zhao was University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, executive director of the Confucius Institute, as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow of the International Academy of Education.
In this conversation we chat about why the US should abandon PISA - the "nonsensical global academic horse race": https://dianeravitch.net/2024/02/12/yong-zhao-why-doesnt-the-u-s-scrap-pisa/
"If ChatGPT had taken the 2022 PISA, it is highly likely that it would outscore all the students in the world.”
We also discuss why countries generally should stop comparing and borrowing from each other, and why diversity and localisation and personalisation are Yong’s keys to how the educational landscape needs to develop in the future.
Recent books and articles:
Duck and Cover: Confronting and Correcting Dubious Practices in Education with Rick Ginsberg (2023)
'Shifting the Education Paradigm: Why International Borrowing is No Longer Sufficient for Improving Education in China' (2018).
'“Testing treats students as enemies and are often launched against them in an ambush”, wrote Mao in 1964, “It works against the active and lively development of youth morally, intellectually, and physically”'
Learning for Uncertainty: Reach for greatness (2023)
Social Links
LinkedIn: @yong-zhao
X: @YongZhaoEd
Alicia Juarrero, is Co-Founder and President of VectorAnalytica and Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Prince George’s Community College (MD).
She is the author of Context Changes Everything: How Constraints Create Coherence, published last year: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5600/Context-Changes-EverythingHow-Constraints-Create
Her other books are Dynamics in Action: Intentional Behavior as a Complex System (MIT 1999) and co-editor of Reframing Complexity: Perspectives from North and South (ISCE Publishing, 2007), and Emergence, Self-Organization and Complexity: Precursors and Prototypes (ISCE Publishing, 2008).
Alicia was named the 2002 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; in 2003 she received the Edward T. Foote Alumnus of Distinction Award of the University of Miami; in 1995 the Distinguished Humanities Educator Award of the Community College Humanities Association. In 1992 Alicia was appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the Advisory Board of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) where, from 1992-2000 she served as NEH’s Chair of Council Committee on State Programs. In that capacity she was responsible for the oversight of approximately $32 million in NEH funds distributed annually to the States Humanities Councils.
Born in Cuba, Alicia has played a leading role in introducing complexity concepts and theory to that island nation and currently serves as Secretary-Treasurer of Friends of Havana’s January Complexity Seminars, a 501(c)3 not for profit organization which supports the work of complexity scholars in Cuba.
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath is an award-winning cognitive neuroscientist, best-selling author and renowned keynote speaker with an expertise in human learning, memory, and brain stimulation.
Jared has published 6 books, including most recently with co-author David Bott: 10 THINGS SCHOOLS GET WRONG (and how we can get them right)
Other books include:
Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights From Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick
From the Laboratory to the Classroom with Jason Lodge and John Hattie
Jared is the Director of LME Global, host of the popular Youtube channel, From Theory to Practice, and previously honorary researcher at the University of Melbourne and St. Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne.
Jared’s research has been featured in The New York Times, WIRED, BBC, The Economist, PBS's Nova and ABC’s Catalyst.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @jared-cooney-horvath
Instagram: @jared.cooney.horvath
It is increasingly clear that recruiting, developing and retaining teachers is a very real issue around the world. Dr. Rachel Lofthouse is at the forefront of thinking through how we might be able to address some of these challenges.
Rachel is the Professor of Teacher Education in the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University. She has established the Research and Practice hub, CollectivED: Centre for Coaching, Mentoring and Professional Learning.
Rachel’s research interests focuses on the transformation of professional learning through partnerships of scholarship and practice development. She is keen to find out how educational workplaces can both offer, and constrain, professional learning, with a current focus on coaching and lesson study and the inter-relationships between practice, well-being, professional learning and leadership.
We also talk about Rachel's recent involvement in the Reimagining A Positive Direction for Education (RAPIDE) project designed to understand through narratives underline the enormous energy of educators to adapt to external disruptions.
Social Links
X: @DrRLofthouse
LinkedIn: @rachel-lofthouse
As an elementary teacher by training, Dr. Gary Stager has taught students from preschool through doctoral studies. In 1990, Gary led professional development in the world’s first laptop schools and played a major role in the early days of online education. Gary is the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute for educators.
Gary is co-author of Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, called the “bible of the maker movement in schools,” by Larry Magid of CBS and The San Jose Mercury News. Invent To Learn has been translated into nine languages. Gary’s most recent book is Twenty Things to Do with a Computer Forward 50: Future Visions of Education Inspired by Seymour Papert and Cynthia Solomon’s Seminal Work.
When Jean Piaget wanted to better understand how children learn mathematics, he hired Seymour Papert. When Dr. Papert wanted to create a high-tech alternative learning environment for incarcerated at-risk teens, he hired Gary Stager. This work was the basis for Gary’s doctoral dissertation and documented Papert’s most-recent institutional research project.
Gary’s work has earned a Ph.D. in Science and Mathematics Education and he collaborated on a project that won a Grammy Award. Recently, Gary was invited by Fondazione Reggio Children to lead public seminars, and even teach children, in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Gary was also on the advisory board of the NSF-funded project, BJC4NYC: Bringing a Rigorous Computer Science Principles Course to the Largest School System in the US. Gary also maintains the world’s largest archive of text and multimedia by Seymour Papert at The Daily Papert.
X: @garystager
Today’s guest has been doing amazing work in this areas alongside Peter Senge, Daniel Goleman and colleagues at the IB, through the Center for Systems Awareness at MIT. Dr Mette Miriam Böll is the is the Co-founder and Executive Director of the centre, as well as the co-founded of The MIT Systems Awareness Lab with Peter Senge.
Her academic background is as a biologist specialized in the evolution of complex social systems, mammalian play behavior and philosophy of nature. Mette has a Ph.D. in organizational ethology and holds additional degrees in contemplative leadership and the philosophy and history of science.
She uses her training in these diverse areas to research how emotions and feelings are transmitted in social relations and how the resulting relational fields in turn shape the larger systems human beings are parts of, with a particular focus on education.
Mette previously held a position as head of research at Metropol University College, a teachers’ college in Copenhagen and before that she taught neuroscience of emotions.
You can find out more about the Compassionate Systems Framework and upcoming trainings here: https://systemsawareness.org/introduction-to-compassionate-systems-framework-in-schools/
Social Links
LinkedIn: @mette-miriam-rakel-böll
Instagram: @centerforsystemsawareness
Professor Barbara Oakley is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Oakland University. Barbara’s research has been described as “revolutionary” in the Wall Street Journal. She is New York Times best-selling author who has published in outlets as varied as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Her book A Mind for Numbers, on effective learning in STEM disciplines, has sold over a million copies worldwide.
Together with Terrence Sejnowski, the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute, Barbara co-teaches Coursera’s “Learning How to Learn,” one of the world’s most popular massive open online courses with some four million registered students, along with a number of other leading MOOCs.
Barbara has adventured widely through her lifetime. She rose from the ranks of Private to Captain in the U.S. Army, during which time she was recognized as a Distinguished Military Scholar. She also worked as a communications expert at the South Pole Station in Antarctica, and has served as a Russian translator on board Soviet trawlers on the Bering Sea.
Barbara's latest books:
Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn
Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens
You can find others here: https://barbaraoakley.com/books/
Social Links
LinkedIn: @barbaraoakley
Instagram: @barb_oakley
Nicole Dyson is a multi-award-winning educator and entrepreneur, and a global authority on project-based learning and youth entrepreneurship. With an extensive background in school teaching and leadership in the public education system in Australia, she is the founder of Future Anything, an award-winning education provider that works with 15000+ young people (and their educators) each year. Nicole also founded YouthX, Australia’s only startup accelerator program for school-aged entrepreneurs, and Catapult Cards, a design thinking toolkit for classrooms and corporates that donates 50% of its profits back to providing micro-grants for youth-led startups.
Future Anything was the winner of the Xero Outstanding Micro-Business Award at the 2021 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards and was listed as one of only ten initiatives around the globe realizing the employment and entrepreneurship ambitions of young people in the Prince’s Trust Group’s Report (2021) on The Future of Work. Future Anything was also the winner in the 2023 Business Champion Awards for Oustanding Education Services.
Nicole was listed in the inaugural 40 Under 40 for Queensland in 2023, as well as winning the ‘Gamechanger Award’, recognizing a person who has “re-written the rules of business to challenge, inspire and spark significant change.” She was also recognized in The Educator’s “Most Influential” list for 2023, acknowledging 45 educators significantly influencing culture and reform within Australia’s education sector, and was the recipient of SBE’s ‘Unsung Hero’ Award in 2022.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @nicdyson
Instagram: @nicdyso_ / @Future_Anything
X: @nicoledyson
Formerly Principal of an award-winning international school in the Middle East, and with a long and varied career in school leadership both in the UK and internationally, Matthew Savage now works closely with premium schools and school groups worldwide, helping them to use data wisely and well.
In recent years, he has worked face-to-face or remotely with thousands of educators across hundreds of schools in more than 60 countries, exploring the intersection of wellbeing and DEIJ through the prism of triangulated, "warm" and "street" data.
His keynotes and workshops have featured in educational conferences worldwide, including for COBIS, BSME, ECIS, TAISI, 21st Century Learning and Outstanding Schools.
He writes regularly for numerous, international magazines and blogs, including for Wellbeing in International Schools Magazine, International School Leader, School Management Plus, International Teacher Magazine, SchoolRubric, the International Schools Network, Diverse Educators, Teach Middle East and CIS.
He has been interviewed for numerous podcasts, including Teach Middle East, Flourishing at School, WISEducation, ISC Research, and Noonchi, for which he is a Thought Partner. He is also the host of The Data Conversation and Jack and Me podcasts himself.
Matthew is proud to be an Associate Consultant for LSC Education, in which role he coaches senior leaders in the UK and internationally, and also leads governance training with international school boards.
He is also fortunate to be one of the Editors of InterACT magazine, in which role he aims to be a lightning rod for the most valuable and least heard voices in the sector.
In addition, for the past ten years, he has loved being a trainer for GL Education globally, both face-to-face and online, through which work he continues to make and build connections worldwide.
Matthew is a passionate advocate for and ally of DEIJ worldwide, and member of ECIS’ DEIJ team and the Global Equality Collective; a member of the Diverse Educators network, and contributor to their 2022 book.
In this work, he helps schools both in the UK and around the world review their intersectional #DEIJ journey through the personal lenses of gender identity and disability.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @savageeducation
Web: https://monalisaeffect.me/
Email: matthew@savageeducation.com
It’s hard to disagree that critical thinking is an essential skill for young people faced with a complex and uncertain future. And yet, everyone from everywhere on the pedagogical spectrum says that they’re developing it in their students!
So are they all succeeding?
What are the specific and explicit thinking moves that you are asking and guiding your learners to make?
How does this also develop metacognition and self-regulation?
Roger is one of the world’s leading authorities on Philosophy for Children (P4C) and philosophical education. Roger trained under Professor Matthew Lipman, the pioneer of Philosophy for Children (P4C), and @DialogueWorks with Nick Chandley to provide P4C training around the world, and developing Philosophical Teaching and Learning. https://dialogueworks.co.uk/philosophical-teaching-and-learning-ptl-pedagogy-for-the-21st-century/
He was a founder and President of SAPERE, the UK charity promoting P4C, and President of the International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children. He graduated in Philosophy and Modern Languages at Oxford, and has taught at primary and secondary level.
Roger has spent the last decade developing Thinking Moves A-Z www.thinking-moves.com, a transformative scheme scaffolding critical thinking for both teachers and students.
Contacts
Email: rogersutcliffe@dialogueworks.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-sutcliffe-9557b817/
Odunayo Aliu is an Education Specialist and Development Practitioner with experience in transforming the education landscape in rural and marginalized communities. She is the Founder of Bramble Network, a nonprofit organization that provides equitable educational opportunities to children and youth in rural and marginalized communities. Through her leadership, Odunayo has also been instrumental in the establishment and management of several EdTech and social enterprise initiatives, utilizing cutting-edge technology and community organizing to influence mindsets and cause societal change. Her ultimate aim is to democratise access to learning and transform education for millions of young people across Africa.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @odunayoaliu
Instagram: @odunayoaliu / @bramblenetwork
Dor Abrahamson is Professor of Secondary Mathematics Education in the area of Cognition and Development at University of California, Berkeley and a member of faculty at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education. Dor has been pioneering a design-based approach to research called embodied design. In his Embodied Design Research Laboratory (https://edrl.berkeley.edu ) Dor and his team look at cognition and learning of mathematics through the body. As one of his fascinating articles from 2016 is entitled, Learning is Moving in New Ways.
A recent book summarising research in this exciting area of embodied cognition to which Dor has contributed is linked here: Macrine, S. L., & Fugate, J. M. (Eds.). (2022) Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning: https://edrl.berkeley.edu/lab-blog-posts/macrine-s-l-fugate-j-m-eds-2022-movement-matters-how-embodied-cognition-informs-teaching-and-learning/
Social Links
LinkedIn: @dor-abrahamson
In this episode, Ms Liew Wei Li, the Director-General of Education for the Ministry of Education in Singapore shares her insights into the many reasons for this success, including Singapore’s restless commitment to improvement and innovation.
Ms Liew has been the appointed Director General since April 2022, overseeing K-12 education in Singapore. She had school experience as a Chemistry teacher and school leader, and has headed a division to develop school curriculum for primary, secondary and pre-university levels. Previously, she was Deputy Director-General of Education (Schools) and concurrently Director of Schools for five years, where she led a team of school zonal directors and cluster superintendents with oversight of some 350 mainstream schools.
More information on the Enhanced 21CC Framework and other topics discussed in this episode: https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/20230920-more-support-for-schools-and-students-to-shape-the-future-of-learning
Social Links
LinkedIn: @wei-li-liew; @moesingapore
Dr. Brad Kershner is a school leader and independent scholar, currently serving as the Head of School at Kimberton Waldorf School. His research, teaching, and writing cover a wide range of interdependent topics, including education, leadership, parenting, cultural diversity, technology, integral theory, meditation, complexity, and developmental psychology. He received his graduate education at The University of Chicago and Boston College, and he is a longtime student of multiple Buddhist lineages. He is a co-founder of The Reconstitution Project, a meta-political think-tank, (www.thereconstitution.com), and his first book is Understanding Educational Complexity: Integrating Practices and Perspectives for 21st Century Leadership.
A recent article Brad has written for Integral Life, which he references at the end of our conversation, is Diversity, Empathy, and Integration: Reframing and Reclaiming a Movement Toward Healing and Wholeness.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @bradkershner
X (formerly Twitter): @bradkershner
Daniela Papi-Thornton is an educator, facilitator, and author whose work focuses on systems-led leadership: an approach to social innovation that centers on systems understanding. Daniela has served as a Lecturer at Yale School of Management, Watson Institute, and Oxford’s Saïd Business School where she was also the Deputy Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. She designed an educational tool called the Impact Gaps Canvas used at accelerator programs and social impact education initiatives around the world and launched Map the System, a contest now running at 50+ global institutions. Daniela has served as a consultant, advisor, and leadership training facilitator at a range of enterprises, from public companies to private foundations. Daniela’s work builds upon six years of emerging market entrepreneurial experience in Cambodia, running a hybrid educational organization. She co-authored a book, Learning Service: The essential guide to volunteering abroad and an influential report on "Tackling Heropreneurship" and her TEDx talk on Reclaiming Social Entrepreneurship highlights some of her thinking.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @danielapapi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielapapi/
X (formerly Twitter): @danielapapi: https://twitter.com/danielapapi
Inquiring into the many changes happening across the K12 education sector in India, I am joined by four fantastic guests, all working to shift the system in various ways:
Dr Priti Ojha - School Consultant & Education Influencer | Global Peace Ambassador | LinkedIn Spotlight | CBSE Resource Person | British Council School Ambassador
LinkedIn: @drpritiojha
Vardan Kabra - Co-Founder & Head of School at Fountainhead School in Surat, Gujarat. Since 2008, the school has now grown to over 2000 students. Author of the book, 'Reimagining Indian Education'. Gujarat Chair of FICCI ARISE, Founder and Managing Trustee at Ultimate Sports and Education Trust.
LinkedIn: @vardan-kabra
Anoushka Jolly is the founder of Anti-Bullying Squad (ABS), an anti-bullying company that also developed an application, Kavach.
In 2018, Anoushka, a student at Pathways School in New Delhi, decided to tackle bullying in her own way. In 2021, Anoushka’s anti-bullying app, Kavach won 50 million rupees in funding from investors Aman Gupta and Anupam Mittal on the Shark Tank India show. She has recently launched an updated version of the app, Kavach 2.0.
LinkedIn: @anoushka-jolly
Suraj Shah is an IBDP Psychology and Theory of Knowledge Educator and IB Examiner in Mumbai. He is also a trained Psychotherapist, Psychologist and Mindfulness Trainer.
LinkedIn: @suraj-shah
Kirstin Coughtrie is the Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Gaia Learning. Teacher & tech lover passionate about SEN, accessible learning and creating scalable solutions to global challenges. As an ambassador for teaching the UN SDGs and as a mum of children with additional needs and challenges, Kirstin has seen first-hand how important personalised learning is to their wellbeing and how vital flexible learning is to supporting families.
Kate Longworth is the Co-Founder & CEO of Gaia Learning. Experienced 'startup' tech entrepreneur and Marketeer. Passionate about education and in particular working with SEN primary school learners. Kate is a marketing entrepreneur on a mission to help children around the world learn what they love and love what they learn.
Social Links
Linkedin: Kirstin Coughtrie - @kirstin; Kate Longworth - @katecarneyuk
Instagram: @gaialearningonline
Professor Keith Davids is Professor of Motor Learning at the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science. Keith uses an Ecological Dynamics framework for investigating skill acquisition, expertise and talent development in sport. He is an applied scientist who researches how processes of learning, development, performance preparation and participation in sport, physical activity and exercise may be facilitated. He reviews implications for coaching and teaching at elite, sub-elite and recreational levels of participants, as part of his work. Ecological Dynamics is an integration of Ecological Psychology, Dynamical Systems theory, Evolutionary Science and the Science of Complex Systems, considering individual athletes and teams as complex adaptive systems, self-organising under interacting constraints. Such systems change over different timescales, which has significant implications for learning, development and ageing in children, adults and elderly people. He has over 30 years experience of teaching and conducting research in Ecological Dynamics with collaborators in UK, Portugal, France, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Finland, Norway and Sweden in related fields like Sports Science, Psychology, Behavioural Neuroscience, Sports Coaching, Physical Education and Human Movement Science. He has held/holds research positions in the UK (Manchester Metropolitan University: 1991-2003), Finland (University of Jyvaskyla, Finnish Distinguished Professor: 2012-2016), New Zealand (University of Otago: 2003-2007), Australia (Queensland University of Technology: 2006-2014) and Norway (2020-22: Norwegian Sports Science University (NTNU, Trondheim), Adjunct Research Professor). His scientific research is applied in the work of international sports organisations (national and international teams in Association Football, NFL, Rugby Union and AFL) and national Institutes of Sport in Australia (AIS), New Zealand (NZSI), and England (EIS), as well as KIHU (Finnish Olympic Research Committee) and PESTA (Physical Education and Sports Teachers Association, Singapore).
Keith is part of the Constraints Collective with Ian Renshaw, Will Roberts and Danny Newcombe: https://www.theconstraintscollective.com/
Keith is co-author of the 2019 book, The Constraints-Led Approach: Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design. You can find links to his other books here and journal publications here.
Deepak Ramola is the Founder and Artistic Director of Project FUEL. A two time TED Talk speaker & UN Action Plan Executor, he also previously served as the Kindness Ambassador for UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development.
Deepak is a storyteller and artist forwarding the understanding of life lessons of everyone from women of the Maasai tribe to young girls in Afghanistan and sex workers of Kamathipura, earthquake survivors in Nepal to Syrian refugees in Europe.
Founded in 2009, Project FUEL collects life lessons from people all over the world and turns them into interactive and performance activities, to pass on the learnings. The passing on happens by way of workshops, seminars, and sometimes even over coffee.
Every life is important and so is what each person's life teaches them. At FUEL, life lessons are continuously collected, documented, thought about deeply and then turned into performance activities. This ensures that you don't just hear someone's lesson in words but experience it tangibly, and apply it practically in your own life.
One way that the life lessons are shared globally is through the World Wisdom Map - a collation and exhibition of human wisdom that invites people to engage, contribute and learn from everyone's stories in an artistic and interactive way.
Project FUEL's methodology has been recognised as a world's top 100 innovations in education by Finland based organisation HundrED and has also been adopted by the Education Board of Antwerp in Belgium, and schools across Asia and the US.
A celebrated lyricist in Hindi Cinema, Deepak's songs have been voiced by Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Rekha Bhardwaj amongst others. His first collection of Hindi poetry titled Itna Toh Main Samajh Gaya Hoon received the prestigious Young Writer Award in 2020 at Jaipur Literature Festival. His latest book, 50 Toughest Questions of Life, has gone into a reprint two weeks after its release.
Social Links
LinkedIn: deepak-ramola
Twitter: @deepak1811
Instagram: @deepakramola; @projectfuel
This week's episode is a wonderful conversation with Nora Bateson (https://batesoninstitute.org/nora-bateson/). In my opinion, Nora is one of the most important thinkers working today to challenge the dominant paradigm of optimization, separation and machine-like efficiency that pervades our institutions. She does so in her own beautiful style and in deep continuity with the ideas of her father, Gregory Bateson, and her grandfather, William Bateson, among many others.
Nora's work with the International Bateson Institute (https://batesoninstitute.org/) brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems. She coined the term "Warm Data" and, as you will hear in our conversation, this was in response to the disproportionate credibility and authority given to information derived by decontextualizing. I have had the privilege of working with Nora and her team to explore what Warm Data means for the way schooling and education happens. If you would like to find out more, we are hosting some online sessions in early October and also visiting schools to run Warm Data Labs with young people, in partnership with International Baccalaureate.
Nora is the author of Small Arcs of Larger Circles (https://www.triarchypress.net/small-arcs.html), released by Triarchy Press, in 2016. Her forthcoming book, Combining, which she is launching at an event in New York on September 30. You can find out more about the event here: https://nysgs.org/event-5402217
In our conversation you can hear Nora read two excerpts from the book - 'Mama Now' and 'Harvest'.
Nora also wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind, a portrait of her father, Gregory. http://www.anecologyofmind.com/
Social Links
LinkedIn: @nora-bateson
Twitter: @NoraBateson
Faith Abiodun is Executive Director at UWC International bringing a wealth of experience from his time spent as an education and social enterprise leader, international affairs analyst, writer and speaker.
Prior to UWC International, he spent nearly a decade at the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he served as an executive leading the recruitment of thousands of young leaders from all over the world for ALA’s programmes. He also headed the Communications, Marketing, Programme Recruitment and Partnerships departments, helping to build ALA’s global brand and developing strategic partnerships with governments, corporates, foundations, NGOs and schools. He also founded the ALA Model African Union, through which more than 1,500 young leaders from 58 countries participated in a simulation of the African Union.
Earlier in his career, Faith was a journalist with The Guardian in Nigeria; he also founded The Speech Academy, an elocution and public speaking institution and Future Africa, a public sector leadership organization with a network of emerging leaders spread across more than 30 African countries. Previously, he worked in Corporate Communications at the Bi-Courtney Group and served a sabbatical stint with the international secretariat of Catalyst 2030, a coalition of the world’s leading social enterprises working with national governments to accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Faith is a member of the Board of Trustees for News Decoder, a Paris-based global education news service. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University, New York. He is also an alumnus of the World Innovation Summit for Education’s (WISE) Learners Voice Executive Education programme.
UWC Harvard Impact Study: https://www.uwc.org/impactstudy
Social Links
Instagram: @UWCint
Facebook:@UWCint
LinkedIn: @UWC International @faithabiodun
Twitter:@UWCint
Jennifer Brandsberg-Engelmann has been teaching Economics, Business Management and Environmental Systems and Societies for 26 years in three countries, mainly in the International Baccalaureate. Jennifer is an expert in developing and executing educational strategies, projects, processes and curricula. Her core focus is training young people to take action for sustainable and regenerative societies. She has worked with student changemakers in the Sustainability Action Lab at Strothoff International School, Germany, developing their knowledge, skills and passions through the Youth Mayors Field Guide, a curriculum that she lead - developed with colleagues from other disciplines and other international schools.
Jennifer has co-authored Economics, Business Management and Environmental Systems and Societies textbooks integrating new economic thinking and social enterprise themes into those works. Jennifer has also delivered webinars on sustainability and works to shift curricular systems to new paradigms to address 21st century problems.
Recently, she has turned her attention to advocating for regenerative economics to be taught in secondary schools. You can find the regenerative economics syllabus she developed with Kate Raworth and other academics and teachers in an open letter posted on the Doughnut Economics Action Lab website. She is working on a prototype for the course in the coming months. If you would like to offer help or feedback on this emerging work please contact her via LinkedIn or through the form for the open letter here: https://doughnuteconomics.org/stories/259.
The Schools Plus Network was launched in May by the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, led by Andreas Schleicher (previous guest on the podcast, Ep #38). The network is intended to position schools as the drivers of innovation and gather and connect the best innovative practices from schools around the world to share them with others. The network will work across three dimensions, to:
- Foster exchange between networks;
- Scale up learning and innovation;
- Inform policy, research and practice and the global education debate.
Anna Pons is project lead of the Global Teaching InSights at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills. This initiative aims to use video to advance research on how teaching varies across countries and what practices are most effective for raising student outcomes, and to develop an online library to enable teachers to learn and share with their peers from across the globe. Previously, Anna co-ordinated the accession process of Costa Rica, Colombia and Latvia to the OECD in the area of education. Also, she co-authored in-depth reviews of the effectiveness and equity of nine education systems as well as the report Equity and Quality in Education, which identified system and school-level policies and practices for supporting disadvantaged schools and students. Prior to joining the OECD in 2010, Anna gained work experience in the Catalan government, a local government, and the private sector. Anna holds a BA in Economics and a BA in Political Science from University Pompeu Fabra, and a Master in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po, ENSAE and École Polytechnique.
Leila Loupis is the Schools Plus Network Coordinator and Analyst at the OECD. Previously she was a senior coordinator of the Teacher Task Force network for UNESCO and has worked as a Communications Specialist for the United Nations and on the UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report.
Links for further information
- Web: https://www.oecd.org/education/school/oecdschoolsnetwork.htm
- Email: OECD.SchoolsPlus@oecd.org
- Twitter: @OECDEduSkills; @OECDDev; @aponsv
Alison Clark is an Professor of Early Childhood Education and visual artist. She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK. Her main academic work is currently in Norway where she is Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN).
Since 1999, Alison has been interested in the theoretical, methodological and ethical aspects of young children’s co-construction of knowledge using visual, participatory methods. This research theme has centred on the development and adaptation of the Mosaic approach with her colleague Professor Peter Moss - a multimethod qualitative research approach for working with participant perspectives that has contributed to a ‘listening to young children discourse’ in the UK and internationally.
Cross-national collaboration and exchange is central to Alison's work. She co-founded the Special Interest Group on Children’s Perspectives, as part of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association in 2004 (with Professor Deborah Harcourt). She has also contributed to the exhibition Remembrance of Swings Past - a collaboration between the University of South-Eastern Norway, early childhood centres in the municipality of Horten, and Preus Museum, the National Photography Museum of Norway.
Alison's recent two year research study, Slow knowledge and the Unhurried Child was funded by the Froebel Trust and published in 2022 by Routledge as the book Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: Time for Slow Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education.
Alison's Blog: Slow Knowledge https://alisonclarkinthemaking.wordpress.com
Alison's artist website: http://www.alisonclark.co.uk
Social Links
LinkedIn: @professor-alison-clark
Twitter: @WestrayAlison
Email: alison.clark@ucl.ac.uk
Dr Helen Street is a social psychologist and educator and has worked extensively with schools around the world since 1999. She holds a position as Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, Graduate School of Education as well as adjunct research consultant for the health department of Western Australia’s Centre for Clinical Interventions.
Helen is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Positive Schools Initiative (PSI). Since it's launch in 2008, the Positive Schools Initiative has worked with over 26,000 educators from over 6000 schools and colleges; from around Australia and 15 other countries. Positive Schools Initiative is focused takes an evidence-based systems approach to building Contextual Wellbeing, positive mental health and resilience in school staff, parents and young people.
Helen is a bestselling author and speaker and her most recent book is Contextual Wellbeing: Creating Positive Schools from the Inside Out (2018). Her work has been met with international acclaim and has been endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama among many others.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @helen-street
Twitter: @drhelenstreet
Dr Philippa Hardman is a learning scientist and affiliated scholar at the University of Cambridge. She is the creator of the DOMS™️ learning design engine - a groundbreaking evidence-based learning design process. She is a thought leader in the world of learning design and has spent 20+ years researching learning science & designing in-person, online & hybrid learning experiences. Phil has designed some of the world's most high-impact learning experiences, including the University of Oxford's first and most successful MOOC. She also successfully led the largest learning design project in history while VP of Learning at ed-tech start-up, Aula. More recently, Phil has started to consider the role of AI in learning design and delivery and recently delivered a TEDX Talk on AI and Education.
Phil's Substack: @LearningFuturesDigest
Connect with Phil on LinkedIn here.
Carl Honoré is a bestselling author, broadcaster and the voice of the Slow Movement. His two main-stage TED Talks have been viewed millions of times. His TED Course is entitled How to slow down.
Carl travels the world to deliver powerful keynotes that put time and tempo in a whole new light. His counter-intuitive message is simple but game-changing: To thrive in a fast world, you have to slow down.
Carl’s first book, In Praise of Slow, chronicles the global trend toward putting on the brakes in everything from work to food to parenting. The Financial Times said it is “to the Slow Movement what Das Kapital is to communism.”
Carl’s second book, Under Pressure explores how to raise and educate children in a fast world and was hailed by Time as a “gospel of the Slow Parenting movement.”
Carl’s third book, The Slow Fix, explores how to tackle complex problems in every walk of life, from health and relationships to business and politics, without falling for superficial, short-term quick fixes.
Carl’s latest book, Bolder: Making The Most Of Our Longer Lives, explores ageing – how we can do it better and feel better about doing it. It’s a spirited manifesto against ageism.
Carl recently published his first children’s book: It’s The Journey, Not The Destination.
Published in 35 languages, his books have landed on bestseller lists in many countries. In Praise of Slow was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and the inaugural choice for the Huffington Post Book Club. It also featured in a British TV sitcom, Argentina’s version of Big Brother and a TV commercial for the Motorola tablet. Under Pressure was shortlisted for the Writers’ Trust Award, the top prize for non-fiction in Canada. Bolder was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and a Reader’s Digest (UK) Book of the Month.
Carl featured in a series for BBC Radio 4 called The Slow Coach in which he helped frazzled, over-scheduled people slow down. He presented a television show called Frantic Family Rescue on Australia’s ABC 1. He also spent three years on the Board of Trustees of Hewitt School in New York City.
Carl is a father of two and lives in London.
While researching his first book on slowness, he was slapped with a speeding ticket.
Following on from Part One, this episode brings together many different voices on generative artificial intelligence (AI), from students reflecting on the fragility and uncertainty of their future lives and careers through to system leaders responding to the hyperbole around the advances in AI. In this episode, Tim Logan speaks with:
- Given, Alice, Zak, Amerali, Gijs and Alex - Grade 11 students at UWC Atlantic College, Wales [starts at 01:54]
- Raja Rouissi - English Coordinator and English Language teacher at Al Durrah International School, Sharjah [starts at 30:23]
- Heather Beck - incoming Head of School at Awty International School [starts at 45:48]
- Dwayne Matthews - Chief Innovation Evangelist and Education Strategist at TomorrowNow Learning Labs [starts at 01:16:37]
- Gary Stager - Founder and CEO of Constructing Modern Knowledge [starts at 01:37:01]
- Matt Glanville - Director of Assessment at the International Baccalaureate [starts at 01:58:06]
Check out Part One in Episode #107, including:
- Martin and Rosetta - 13/14yr old students from the American international section of a public school in Bordeaux
- Chantelle Love - Grade 5 teacher at Australian International School of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Raj Bolla, Vice Principal at International School Ho Chi Minh City and Dr Tosca Killoran, Deputy Head at International School Ho Chi Minh City
- Bodo Hoenen - Co-Founder and CEO of edtech company Nolej AI
- Lord Tim Clement-Jones - Co-Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI, Chair of The Institute for Ethical AI in Education and Chair of Council at Queen Mary University of London.
Generative advanced artifical intelligence (AI) has made significant developments in recent months, confounding all expectations of how quickly its capabilities and access will progress. In this episode Tim Logan speaks with people from across the education system to create spaces for conversations in which we can understand how people are responding and what the longer-term implications are for the way we teach and learn in schools, universities and beyond. Joining me in conversation in this episode are:
- Martin and Rosetta - 13/14yr old students from the American international section of a public school in Bordeaux
- Chantelle Love - Grade 5 teacher at Australian International School of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Raj Bolla, Vice Principal at International School Ho Chi Minh City and Dr Tosca Killoran, Deputy Head at International School Ho Chi Minh City
- Bodo Hoenen - Co-Founder and CEO of edtech company Nolej AI
- Lord Tim Clement-Jones - Co-Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI, Chair of The Institute for Ethical AI in Education and Chair of Council at Queen Mary University of London.
Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang studies the psychological and neurobiological bases of social emotion, self-awareness and culture and their implications for learning, development and schools. She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program Faculty at the University of Southern California, and Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE).
Mary Helen was elected 2016-2018 president of the International Mind, Brain and Education Society by the society’s membership. She is serving as a distinguished scientist on the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Science and Practice of Learning. Mary Helen is also associate Editor for the award-winning journal Mind, Brain and Education and for the new journal AERA Open, and sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
In her research work, Mary Helen leads cross-cultural, longitudinal studies investigating adolescent brain and social-emotional development, academic success and relations to school and life achievement in urban contexts as well as the neural and psychosocial correlates of mindsets in low-SES adolescents from different cultural groups. She also serves as scientific adviser to several Los Angeles schools/districts.
Mary Helen’s 2015 book, Emotions, learning and the brain: Exploring the educational implications of affective neuroscience, is available from W.W. Norton publishers (author proceeds are donated to education-related causes).
In May 2020, Mary Helen wrote a must-read article in ASCD with Doug Knecht (Bank Street College of Education) entitled Building Meaning Builds Teens' Brains, if you're interested to find out more about the significant implications of Mary Helen's work this is a great place to start!
Social Links
LinkedIn: @maryhelenimmordino-yang
Twitter: @CandleUSC
Dr. Zachary Stein is a philosopher of education, psychologist, futurist, and author. He is a founding member of The Consilience Project, with Daniel Schmachtenberger, which is dedicated to improving public sensemaking and building a movement to radically upgrade digital media landscapes. Zak is also co-founder of Lectica, Inc. (with Theo Dawson, a non-profit dedicated to the research-based, justice-oriented reform of large-scale standardized testing in K-12, higher-education, and business), as well as the Civilizational Research Institute, and the Center for World Philosophy and Religion.
Zak is the author of Social Justice and Educational Measurement (2016) and Education in a Time Between Worlds: Essays on the Future of Schools, Technology, and Society (2019).
Prof. Yusef Waghid, a leading African philosopher of education, holds three doctorates in the fields of education, policy, and philosophy from the University of the Western Cape and Stellenbosch University in South Africa, respectively. As a tenured professor since 2002 he was honoured with the title of distinguished professor (2014-2023) on the grounds of his research excellence at Stellenbosch University. He has been a prolific author with 419 publications to date of which 54 are academic books and edited collections and, 89 invited contributions to books. He received the Association for the Development of Education in Africa's prestigious Education Research in Africa Award: Outstanding Mentor of Education Researchers (2015). Throughout his tenure, he occupied leading management positions at Stellenbosch University, such as having been appointed Chair of the Department of Education Policy Studies (2003-2007, 2022); and Dean of the Faculty of Education (2007-2012; 2017-2018). In the main, his long-standing relationship with education began as a high school science teacher (1979-1996) before he joined higher education as a senior teaching advisor to advance his professional career in higher education (1996-).
His published works includeTowards an Ubuntu University: African Higher Education Reimagined (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2023, with Zayd Waghid, Judith Terblanche, Faiq Waghid, Lester Shawa, Joseph Hungwe, Thokozani Mathebula & Foreword by Carlos Alberto Torres); Education, Crisis, and Philosophy: Ubuntu within Higher Education (Routledge, 2022); Democratic Education as Inclusion (Lexington, 2022, with Nuraan Davids); Higher Teaching and Learning for Alternative Futures (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2021, with Zayd Waghid, Judith Terblanche & Faiq Waghid); Academic Activism in Higher Education: A Living Philosophy for Social Justice (Springer, 2021, with Nuraan Davids); Towards a Philosophy of Caring in Higher Education: Pedagogy and Nuances of Care (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2019); Education for Decoloniality and Decolonisation in Africa (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2019, with Chikumbutso Herbert Manthalu); Rupturing African Philosophy of Teaching and Learning (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2018, with Faiq Waghid & Zayd Waghid); and African Philosophy of Education Reconsidered: On Being Human (Routledge, 2014). In recognition of his high quality scholarly works that also appear in many leading education journals, the National Research Foundation in South Africa rated him as an internationally acclaimed scholar who provides exemplary leadership in advancing philosophy of higher education in Africa (B-1).
He pioneered a online course on Teaching for Change, selected by the Sustainable Development Goals Academy of the United Nations: Class Central as a free online international course to learn about the United Nation's sustainable development goals and he collaborated with renowned international scholars on a leading UNESCO pioneered research project, Education for Flourishing and Flourishing in Education initiated by the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development.
In 2017, Roger L. Martin was named the world’s #1 management thinker by Thinkers50, a biannual ranking of the most influential global business thinkers.
Roger is a trusted strategy advisor to the CEOs of companies worldwide including Procter & Gamble, Lego and Ford.
Roger Martin is a Professor Emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto where he served as Dean from 1998-2013, Academic Director of the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship from 2004-2019 and Institute Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute from 2013-2019. In 2013, he was named global Dean of the Year by the leading business school website, Poets & Quants.
His newest book is A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Managerial Effectiveness (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022). His previous twelve books include When More is Not Better (HBRP, 2020), Creating Great Choiceswritten with Jennifer Riel (HBRP, 2017) Getting Beyond Betterwritten with Sally Osberg (HBRP, 2015) and Playing to Win written with A.G. Lafley (HBRP, 2013), which won the award for Best Book of 2012-13 by the Thinkers50. He has written 30 Harvard Business Review articles.
Roger received his BA from Harvard College, with a concentration in Economics, in 1979 and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1981. He lives in South Florida with his wife, Marie-Louise Skafte.
Roger's I-Think initiative works with educators and students to bring integrative thinking, innovation and design into K12 classrooms.
Social Links
Roger's Medium page: https://rogermartin.medium.com/
Twitter: @RogerLMartin
LinkedIn: @Roger-Martin
Zaretta Hammond is an international education consultant and the author of the best-selling book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. She holds a Master’s in Education in English Education, with a concentration in Writing from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Zaretta is a former high school and community college expository writing instructor. She has also served as adjunct instructor at St. Mary’s College School of Education in Moraga, California, where she taught Foundations of Adolescent Literacy. As a consultant, she has advised and provided professional development to school districts and non-profit organizations across the country around issues of equity, literacy, and culturally responsive teaching for the past 25 years. In addition to consulting and professional development, she has been on staff at national education reform organizations, including the National Equity Project and the former Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC) and she sits on the Board of Trustees for the Center for Collaborative Classroom. She has published articles in Educational Leadership, The Learning Professional, and Phi Delta Kappan.
Zaretta brings a unique focus on neuroscience to the conversation about equity, literacy and culturally responsive pedagogy to make it understandable and practical for educators.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @zaretta-hammond
Twitter: @Ready4Rigor
Dr. Ginie Servant-Miklos is Assistant Professor at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Previously she was a Senior Lecturer in the Humanities Department of Erasmus University College and held a visiting professorship in experimental pedagogics at Tyumen University, Russia.
She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Aalborg University’s Centre for Problem-based Learning in Engineering Education and Sustainability under the auspices of UNESCO.
Her research focuses on the intersection between pedagogy, identity and sustainability issues. Her forthcoming book is called 'Pedagogies of Collapse'.
She is also the founder and Chair of the Board of the FairFight Foundation, a charity that aims to empower girls and women from underprivileged backgrounds through martial arts.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @ginie-servant-miklos
The Global Bildung Network is a network run by volunteers and convened by Lene Rachel Andersen. It is a project under Nordic Bildung. Nordic Bildung is an association based in Copenhagen, Denmark and can be found at www.nordicbildung.org. If you would like to know more, you can contact them at info@nordicbildung.org
Global Bildung Day, on the March Equinox of 2023, is a worldwide gathering of bildung advocates, experts, teachers, and students; all united to support the quality of life, human and nonhuman, through universal education for daily life for all ages. Join us on March 21st as we explore Bildung, Globalization, Nation, and Peoplehood in the 21st Century: https://www.globalbildung.net/gbd2023-march-21/
European Bildung Day Conference 2023 - European Identity: Who are we? Who could we become? Join the drafting of a European Bildung Manifesto May 8-9 2023 in Vilnius: https://www.globalbildung.net/ebd2023/
Michelle Blanchet is co-author of The Startup Teacher (Times 10, 2020), co-author of Preventing Polarization (Times 10, 2023), and an educator and social entrepreneur striving to improve how we treat, train, and value our teachers. After ten years of experience working with young people, she founded the Educators’ Lab, which supports teacher-driven solutions to educational challenges. Michelle earned a master’s in international relations from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. She has taught social studies in Switzerland and the U.S. and has presented at numerous events, including SXSWedu and TEDxLausanne. Michelle is a part of the Global Shaper Community of the World Economic Forum. She has worked with organizations like PBS Education, the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, Ashoka, and the Center for Curriculum Redesign.
Brian has been in education for twenty-seven years teaching social studies and coaching varsity soccer in the US and abroad. Brian, a co-host of the 4 A Better Tomorrow Podcast, flew back and forth from Switzerland to run in the 2018 election as a US Congressional primary candidate from the 18th District of Illinois.
Brian holds a master’s degree in educational administration from Illinois State University, where he also served as an adjunct professor working in the field with student teachers in 2018 and 2019. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He currently teaches sociology and civics at Morton High School in Morton, Illinois.
Brian is the co-author of Preventing Polarization (Times 10, 2023) where he and Michelle Blanchet show how all educators can equip our youth with skills to become active and engaged citizens.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @michelle-blanchet-edulab / @brian-deters
Twitter: @educatorslab /
Dr Jo Boaler is the Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education at Stanford University. Former roles have included being the Marie Curie Professor of Mathematics Education in England, and a maths teacher in London comprehensive schools. Her PhD won the national award for educational research in the UK. She is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (Great Britain), and a former president of the International Organization for Women and Mathematics Education (IOWME). She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation ‘Early Career Award’, the NCSM Kay Gilliland Equity Award (2014) and the CMC Walter Denham Mathematics Leadership award (2015). She is the author of eighteen books and numerous research articles. She is a White House presenter on women and girls.
Jo co-founded www.youcubed.org to give teachers, parents and students the resources and ideas they need to inspire and excite students about mathematics. Her work has been published in the New York Times, TIME magazine, The Telegraph, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal and many other news outlets. Her latest book is: Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead & Live without Barriers, published by Harper Collins.
She is currently co-leading a K-12 Data Science Initiative and was named as one of the 8 educators “changing the face of education” by the BBC.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @dr-jo-boaler
Twitter: @joboaler
Aksinya Samoylova is both a pioneering HR professional, and a passionate progressive educator. She saw that versatility is often overlooked or ignored in the hiring and management process, and that the same issue is endemic to international educational practices. Aksinya felt compelled to investigate polymathy and how it impacts education and work. The result was her book, Why Polymaths?
Aksinya’s keynote speeches and public talks, delivered in English and German draw on a unique combination of the original research she has compiled over many years, and her passion for Philosophy, Psychology, World History, Art History, Science, Asian Studies, and Indian Classical Dance. She is fluent in four languages and knows three others at different levels.
As a graduate in linguistics and pedagogy, she created a concept for a polymathic approach to learning for both individuals and educational insitutions.
Aksinya manages a polymath agency, the first talent acquisition service in the world to specialize in working with companies seeking multidisciplinary professionals.
Aksinya lives with her husband and daughter in Vienna, Austria.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @aksinya
Twitter: @aksinyaPolymath
Instagram: @polymathhistory
Abby Falik is an award-winning social entrepreneur committed to launching the generation of leaders our world needs now.
In 2010 she founded Global Citizen Year, a non-profit that uses the transition after high school to teach the REAL 21st century skills: resilience, empathy, agency and leadership. As CEO, she raised and deployed over $65M in scholarships and equipped thousands of diverse, emerging leaders to change the world — for good.
In 2022 she joined the Emerson Collective as an Entrepreneur in Residence to incubate new models to transform how young people learn, launch and lead. Using Global Citizen Year as a blueprint, she is on a mission to reinvent the “gap” year as an accessible, purposeful and transformative rite of passage.
A recognized expert on social innovation, leadership, and the changing landscape of education, Abby has been profiled by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Abby is a frequent speaker and has been featured at forums including the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Obama Foundation Summit, the Fast Company Innovation Festival, PopTech, and The Nantucket Project. In 2018, Abby was named one of America's Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers by The Business of Giving.
Fast Company named her one of the Most Creative People in Business, and Goldman Sachs has selected her as one of the 100 “Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” four times. For her achievements as a social entrepreneur she has been recognized as an Ashoka Fellow, a MindTrust Fellow, and a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur.
She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of World Learning, Teach for All, and Harvard Business School, as well as on Fast Company’s Impact Council.
Abby received a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in International Comparative Education from Stanford University. She received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
She lives in Oakland, Ca. with her husband Joel Segre and their two young sons.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @abbyfalik
Twitter: @abbyfalik
Instagram: @abbyfalik
Alex Budak is a Berkeley Haas professional faculty member, a social entrepreneur, and the author of the very popular book, Becoming a Changemaker: An Actionable, Inclusive Guide to Leading Positive Change at Any Level.
Alex believes everyone has the potential to lead positive change, and he dedicates his life to helping people from all walks of life become changemakers. He co-founded StartSomeGood.com, a platform that breaks down the barriers that prevent people from enacting change. StartSomeGood.com has now helped over 1,000 changemakers in 50 countries raise over $12 million to catalyze new initiatives.
Alex previously ran Sweden’s leading social innovation incubator, Reach for Change, and worked at Change.org.
At Berkeley Haas, Alex puts his heart and soul into teaching students and executives from around the globe the mindset, leadership skills and action steps required to become changemakers. He also serves as Executive Director of the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program and Faculty Director of The Berkeley Changemaker Gateway.
Alex has given lectures on changemaking, entrepreneurship, and leadership in venues ranging from Ukraine to Cambodia, Los Angeles to the Arctic Circle, and at the White House and UN agencies.
Published in 2022, and following the same structure as his UC Berkeley courses, “Becoming a Changemaker” gives readers the tools and confidence required to become changemakers.
Alex is a graduate of UCLA and Georgetown University and the recipient of UCLA’s Recent Alumnus of the Year Award.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @alexbudak
Twitter: @alexbudak
Amala has developed the first international high school curriculum for young people who are displaced. They also offer Changemaker Courses in areas such as Peace-building, Ethical Leadership, and Social Entrepreneurship. Formerly known as Sky School, Amala was conceived in 2017 in response to the gap in quality education provision for displaced youth.
Holli Ghaisen is the Learning Lead for Amala in Kakuma, Kenya. Holli believes Amala’s High School Diploma is not only the answer to the high demand for education in Kakuma, but that it is also offers solutions to the community’s problems. He joined Amala to be part of that solution. Holli has worked for organisations such as Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
Louie Barnett is Amala's Education Lead, based in Singapore. Louie got involved with Amala as the course leader for 'Peace-building in your community' in 2018. As Education Lead, he is responsible for leading the development and delivery of Amala’s educational work and improving the impact Amala programmes have on student outcomes. Louie is an experienced chemistry teacher and Theory of Knowledge teacher and helped facilitate the Initiative for Peace programme at UWCSEA for several years. As a graduate of the Teach First programme in the UK, Louie has also worked on projects with Teach for Malaysia and Teach for Cambodia, part of the Teach for All network.
Motasim is 18 years old, from Sudan and currently living in Jordan. Motasim is a member of Amala's forth diploma programme cohort. Christine is from Uganda and currently living in Kakuma, Kenya. She is in the second cohort of the Amala diploma programme.
This week's episode is a special selection of conversations with some amazing educators and entrepreneurs who are creating vital educational spaces that tackle social, spatial and environmental injustice, build individual and community well-being and livelihoods, and develop personal agency. All three of them are achieving this, in part, by radically rethinking approaches to the way that education has historically been funded and seeking out alternative innovative approaches that create leverage points for educational systems change with very exciting potential.
Dr. Akira Drake Rodriguez writes about race, cities, and space in the US. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Weitzman School of Design. Akira’s book, Diverging Space for Deviants: The Politics of Atlanta's Public Housing (University of Georgia Press 2021), examines the dialectic between black feminist politics and public housing policy in Atlanta from 1936 to 2010. She was recently awarded a grant from the Spencer Foundation to study critical participatory planning strategies in school facilities planning in Philadelphia.
Akira was the convener and lead author on Transforming Public Education: A green new deal for K–12 public schools, an initiative of theClimate + Community Project, sponsored by The McHarg Center and Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative.
Ana Aguirre is a co-founder and worker owner at TAZEBAEZ S.Coop where she leads the cooperative development area. She is the Vice President for the International Cooperative Alliance Youth network in Europe, where she also serves in the youth executive committee. Among many other projects, she currently co-leads the course on Platform Cooperatives NOW! with The New School (NYC) and Mondragon. Ana studied at Mondragon Team Academy in the first class of the Leadership Entrepreneurship and Innovation (LEINN) degree.
Lucy Stephens is the founder, Co-Headteacher and Charity Director of The New School in south London, UK. With experience gained from a background in teaching, degrees in social psychology, nutritional therapy and herbal medicine, time spent working at the Prince’s Trust with marginalised young people, and having two of her own children, Lucy has focused her attention on what an alternative democratic model of education could look like. She founded The New School to put research into practice, to challenge the current paradigm, and to address the many deeply entrenched problems in education and society.
This week is a really special episode where we get to hear from some incredible students and teachers from around the world with one thing in common! They are all doing amazing work to explore the possibilities that come when we invite learners to be much more involved in who directs the learning process, what gets learned and what the role of the educators is in our schools.
We will hear from Amalia, Mehrbanoo, Bruno and Ollie at International School of the Hague, Natalia, Bryant, and Mark at Avenues School, New York, Michaela, Lauren, and James at Northern Bay College in Geelong, and lastly Charlie, Josie, Dylan and Nathan at Prahran High School in Melbourne.
Despite working in very different contexts and being at different stages of the process, what you'll hear is that many of the challenges and successes are the same! How much structure is the right amount to give learners freedom but also support at the right time? What skills and approaches to learning do students need and quickly develop as part of this work? How do we reduce the 'fear-factor' of these changes among parents, teachers, school leaders and sometimes amongst students themselves? How do assessments and curriculum structures also need to develop to make sure that these shifts are well-supported rather than working against the system? Because when you hear these students tell their stories, there is NO QUESTION about how significant and real the benefits are of giving them more ownership and control over their learning.
For more background on the theory and practices around supporting student agency, you can check out episode 86 with Larissa Raymond and Jayne-Louise Collins.
The schools featured in this episode are:
International School of the Hague: https://www.ishthehague.nl/academic/myp/pathfinder-curriculum
Contact - Pathfinder Programme Lead: Anne Tabak
Avenues, New York: https://www.avenues.org/open-ed/what-do-students-really-learn-in-mastery
Contact - Global Academic Dean: Mark Gutkowski
Northern Bay College, Geelong: https://www.nbc.vic.edu.au/
Contact - Year 9 Learning Community Leader: James Bayard
Prahran High School, Melbourne: https://prahranhighschool.vic.edu.au/
Contact - Executive Principal: Nathan Chisholm
Dr. Theo Dawson is the founder and CEO of Lectica, Inc. Since the early 1990s, Dawson's research has focused on developing and building an alternative assessment infrastructure and the technologies to support it. She received her Ph.D from the University of California at Berkeley's Graduate School of Education. Her award-winning dissertation presented a new approach to measuring learning and describing learning pathways.
She is the author of numerous articles, book chapters and papers on issues related to human development in journals such as Cognitive Development, Mind, Brain, and Education, The European Journal of Developmental Psychology, Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, The Journal of Applied Measurement, and Developmental Review, has contributed chapters to several edited books, has made many presentations at professional conferences and events.
Dr. Dawson has run several successful organizations, including Lectica, Inc., and its predecessor, the Developmental Testing Service, LLC. She has secured more than $1.5 million in grants from funding agencies like the Spencer Foundation, the NSF, and IES, and has held appointments at the University of California at Berkeley, Hampshire College, the Medical Center at Louisiana State University, and the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. Dr. Dawson has also acted as a consultant to institutions like the U.S. Federal Government, Harvard University, the University of Texas at Arlington, JFK University, the University of Ireland, the University of Cyprus, and a variety of businesses and schools, both in the US and abroad.
Social Links
Twitter: @theodawson
LinkedIn: @theo-dawson
Sanjay Sarma is the Fred Fort Flowers and Daniel Fort Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering. From 2012 until 2021, Sanjay led MIT Open Learning, first as director, then as dean, and finally as vice president. MIT Open Learning includes the Office of Digital Learning, the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative (MITili), the Center for Advanced Virtuality, and the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL). In 2020 Sanjay published Grasp: The Science Transforming How We Learn, which he co-authored with Luke Yoquinto.
Previously, Sanjay co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT and developed many of the key technologies behind the Electronic Product Code suite of radio frequency identification (RFID) standards now used worldwide. He was also the founder and CTO of OATSystems, which was acquired by Checkpoint Systems in 2008. Sanjay has authored over 100 academic papers in computational geometry, sensing, RFID, automation, and computer-aided design, and is the recipient of numerous awards for teaching and research, including the MacVicar Fellowship, the BusinessWeek eBiz Award, and InformationWeek’s Innovators and Influencers Award.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @mit-open-learning
Twitter: @mitopenlearning
Julie Stern has nearly two decades experience facilitating adult learning, and feels lucky to partner with educators to take their practice to the next level. She is passionate about synthesizing the best of education research into practical tools that support educators in breaking free of the industrial model of schooling and moving toward teaching and learning that promotes sustainability, equity, and well-being. She is a four-time best-selling author of Learning that Transfers, Visible Learning for Social Studies, The On-Your-Feet-Guide to Learning Transfer and Tools for Teaching Conceptual Understanding, Elementary and Secondary. She is a certified trainer in Visible Learning Plus and Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction.
Julie is also a James Madison Constitutional Fellow and taught social studies for many years in Washington, DC and her native Louisiana. She moves internationally every few years with her husband, a US diplomat, and her two children.
You can find further info and resources at Julie's website is edtosavetheworld.com.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @julieharrisstern
Twitter: @JulieHStern
Meredith and Sara taught Design & Technology at ABA Oman International School, with a focus on students learning about and engaging with real word issues and the ethical challenges that arise. From this teaching collaboration they established Harbord & Khan Educational Consultants. Meredith and Sara are curious about what it is to be human from personal, community and global perspectives, and how this impacts student learning. Their unique approach of embedding ethical dilemmas in curriculum encourages deep inquiry about DEIJ and promotes empathy and expansive thinking, while being fun for students.
The Harbord & Khan Ethical Modelⓒ is grounded in ethical approaches, drives inquiry and is compatible with all curriculums. Areas of interest include sustainability, community building and biomimicry. Recent projects include a PBL inquiry based summer school project for SPARC, Fort Worth and STEM curriculum and resources for DATTA (Design and Technologies Teachers Association, Victoria, Australia). Harbord & Khan present regularly at international conferences and are available for professional development. Their publications include ‘Interdisciplinary Thinking for Schools: Ethical Dilemmas MYP 1, 2 & 3’ and ‘Interdisciplinary Thinking for Schools: Ethical Dilemmas 4 & 5’ (2020) and they are regular columnists for Intrepid Ed News.
Harbord & Khan Educational Consultants - www.harbordandkhan.com
Social Links
Twitter: @harbordkhan; @sara_riaz_khan
LinkedIn: @meredith-harbord; @sarariazkhan
Lene Rachel Andersen is an economist, author, futurist, and Bildung activist. After studying business economy, and theology, she wrote entertainment for Danish television before becoming a full-time writer, focusing on technological development, big history, and the future of humanity. Since 2005, Lene has written 20 books and received two Danish democracy awards: Ebbe Kløvedal-Reich Democracy Baton (2007) and Døssing Prisen, the Danish librarians’ democracy prize (2012). Among her books are The Nordic Secret (2017), Metamodernity (2019), Bildung (2020) and Libertism (2022) and a publicly available paper on Bildung commissioned by the Erasmus+ Programme for the European Union. She is a full member of the Club of Rome, president of the Copenhagen based bildung lab Nordic Bildung, and initiator of Global Bildung Network, Global Bildung Day, and European Bildung Day.
This season's Global Bildung Day is approaching on 21st September and you can sign up and find out more here: https://www.globalbildung.net/gbd2022-september/
Carlota Perez is a British-Venezuelan researcher, lecturer and international consultant. She studies the mutual shaping of technical change and society and the lessons provided by the history of technological revolutions for economic growth and development.
In Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages (Elgar 2002), Carlota put forward her theory of the emergence and diffusion of technological revolutions and of the role of finance in the process. She is currently working on a sequel, Beyond the Technological Revolution, funded by Anthemis UK, which will analyse the roles that government, business and civil society play in the deployment of the potential of each revolution.
Carlota is Honorary Professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) at University College London, UK and at SPRU, the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, UK; Adjunct Professor of Technology and Socio-Economic Development at the Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance at TalTech, Estonia.
Her long career has spanned civil service, consultancy, academic research and teaching, beginning in the 1970s with an investigation into the structural causes of the energy crisis in her home country of Venezuela. After working on international technology transfer at the Institute of Foreign Trade in the 1970s, she became the founding Director of Technological Development at the Ministry of Industry (1980-83) – where, alongside other policy instruments to promote innovation, she created the first venture capital fund in the country.
Carlota has acted as consultant for several Latin American governments and for international organisations and multilateral agencies such as UN Industrial Development Organisation, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), the Andean Pact, the World Bank, the OECD and the EU, where she chaired the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Expert Group for Green Growth and Jobs.
Social Links
Twitter: @CarlotaPrzPerez
Youtube: @CarlotaPerez
Dr. Jayne-Louise Collins is Co-director and lead designer and researcher at EdPartnerships International. Her interests include organisational and system learning through a regenerative and ecological paradigm of change.
Jayne-Louise’s work is focused on educational research and building learning capacity in organisations through a partnering approach. She has had extensive experience in partnering with a range of education systems and schools across Australia to build connected leadership capacity, creating the conditions for regenerative change, and in turn flourishing and hopeful cultures of learning.
Jayne-Louise also brings a depth of knowledge and understanding of recent research and practice in the field of learner agency – for both young people and adults. Her learning designs privilege internal research processes that activate the voice of young people and adults and invite collaborate analysis and collective sense making; an important anchor for ongoing co-design with partners.
Larissa Raymond is a designer and leader of professional learning at EdPartnerships International. Prior to joining EdPartnerships she was Head of Teaching and Learning at Caulfield Grammar School.
Larissa has a wealth of experience and insight in partnering with young people and adults in primary and secondary school contexts and local communities. She recently designed, researched and published the outcomes of a longitudinal research project exploring the structural, material, and cultural challenges encountered by a secondary school when conceptualising and enacting learner agency: Beyond Student Voice: Navigating Challenges in a Time of Neoliberalism (co-authored with Anne Cloonan).
Jayne-Louise, Larissa and their EdPartnerships colleagues completed a two-year qualitative research project exploring learner agency in partnership with young people, their teachers and principals (2019-2021).
This resulted in the publication of a series of papers and a conceptual framework which continues to shape learner agency initiatives in various education sectors: Learner agency as a living ecology: A way of being in the world and being in the world with each other.
This is the introduction in a series of short podcast spotlights on schools around the world who are putting many of these ideas into practice in which we speak with young people, teachers and leaders.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @dr-jayne-louise-collins / @larissa-raymond
Twitter: @Jayne_Louise_C / @PartnershipsEd
Glenn Whitman is a History teacher and Executive Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) at St. Andrew's Episcopal School. Glenn is the co-author of Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education, the co-designer of Neuroteach Global and Neuroteach Global Student and co-editor of Think Differently and Deeply, the international publication of the CTTL. Glenn earned his MALS from Dartmouth College and a BA from Dickinson College and has shared the work of the CTTL through publications such as Edutopia, ASCD Express and EdSurge and presented around the world at public, private, and international school conferences including: Learning Forward, New Teacher Center, Learning & Brain and SXSWedu.
Social Links
Twitter: @gwhitmancttl
LinkedIn: @glenn-whitman
Dr. Nandini Chatterjee Singh is a cognitive neuroscientist and currently Senior Project Officer at UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development), in New Delhi, India. UNESCO MGIEP focuses on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world by developing programmes that promote social and emotional learning, innovate digital pedagogies and empower the youth. Their mission is to 'build kinder brains.'
After receiving a PhD in physics from the University of Pune in India, Nandini studied auditory learning mechanisms in songbirds at University of California Berkeley. She returned to India in 2002 and the first cognitive and neuroimaging laboratory in India at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) in India, where she set up SALLY (Speech and Language Laboratory). Using behavioral and functional neuroimaging experiments, her laboratory sought to understand neurodiversity especially children with autism and dyslexia. Her research laboratory at NBRC also conducted research on how Indian ragas elicit distinct emotions.
Since 2017, Nandini has been at UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) where she has led the development of EMC², a neuroscience-based framework that builds SEL competencies of Empathy(E), Mindfulness (M), Compassion (C) and Critical Inquiry (C). She is focused on designing new interactive curricula using innovative digital pedagogies like digital games, digital dialogue to cultivate SEL and she conducts cross-cultural research to assess their efficacy in school education systems.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @nandini-chatterjee-singh
Twitter: @nanchatter; @UNESCO_MGIEP
Dylan Wiliam, PhD, is one of the world's foremost education authorities. With partners Paul Black and Siobhan Leahy, Dylan has developed and helped to successfully implement classroom formative assessment in thousands of schools all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Singapore, Sweden, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Wiliam is Professor Emeritus of educational assessment at UCL Institute of Education (IOE), London, UK and Executive Director of the Learning Sciences International Dylan Wiliam Center. After a first degree in mathematics and physics, Wiliam taught in urban public schools for seven years, during which time he earned further degrees in mathematics and mathematics education.
He has served as dean and head of the School of Education at King's College London, senior research director at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ and Deputy Director of the Institute of Education, University of London. Since 2010, he has devoted most of his time to research and teaching.
Wiliam's most recent publication, Creating the Schools Our Children Need: Why What We're Doing Now Won't Help Much (And What We Can Do Instead), analyses the approaches that American schools have taken in order to improve student achievement, and shows why they are unlikely to succeed, while at the same time, providing clear advice about the steps that schools need to take to raise student achievement and close achievement gaps. His other works focus on the profound impact strategic formative assessment has on student learning. He is co-author of Inside the Black Box, as well as Embedding Formative Assessment, the Embedding Formative Assessment Professional Development Pack, and Leadership for Teacher Learning.
Social Links
Twitter: @dylanwiliam
LinkedIn: @dylanwiliam
Ulcca Joshi Hansen is an author, educational thought leader and social change advocate with a twenty-year career dedicated to shifting the foundational values and approaches that underpin America’s education system. She currently serves as the Chief Program Officer for Grantmakers for Education, a partner organization for education philanthropists as they adapt to the changes impacting our world.
Ulcca began her career as an elementary school teacher in Newark Public Schools. Over the last twenty years she has gained experience across the non-profit, public, and philanthropic sectors, in the US and abroad, leading programs, conducting research and crafting policy.
In her most recent roles as Chief Strategy Officer at Boundless and Vice President at Education Reimagined, she built partnerships between schools, districts, non-profits and higher education institutions committed to expanding access to relationship-based, relevant and real-world learning experiences in the K-12 and post-secondary spaces. As Vice President of the Public Education and Business Coalition she expanded the Colorado Teacher Residency to become the first residency-based preparation program in the country to serve both urban and rural districts. She also redesigned the residency curriculum, grounding new teachers in the fields of learning science, human development and human well-being.
Ulcca’s recently released book,The Future of Smart: How Our Education System Needs to Change to Help All Young People Thrive, traces the roots of America’s dominant approach to education, illuminates why so many reform and innovation efforts over the last three decades have fallen short and proposes a path forward.
Ulcca earned her Ph.D. in Education and Philosophy from Oxford University and a JD from Harvard Law School. She has been recognized nationally for her work in education as a Harry S. Truman Scholar; a British Marshall Scholar; and a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @ulcca
Twitter: @ulcca
Tyson Yunkaporta is an author, academic, educator, Indigenous thinker, maker, arts critic, researcher and poet. He is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland and has ties in the south. His born-country is Melbourne and adoptive and community/cultural ties all over, from Western NSW to Perth. Tyson carves traditional tools and weapons and also works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne.
Tyson is the author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World (2021) a remarkable book about everything from echidnas to evolution, cosmology to cooking, sex and science and spirits to Schrödinger’s cat.
In the book, Tyson looks at global systems from an Indigenous perspective and asks how contemporary life diverges from the pattern of creation. How does this affect us? How can we do things differently?
Tyson is also an advisor to the Consilience Project, founded by Daniel Schmachtenberger and Zak Stein.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @tyson-yunkaporta
Gregory Biggs is the Director of Fieldwork Education, the organisation that develops a range of International Curriculum for learners aged 2-14 across Early Years, Primary and Middle Years, known by many as the IEYC, IPC, and IMYC. These curricula are learnt and taught in over 1,000 schools and more than 90 countries worldwide. Fieldwork Education provides schools the International Curriculum, accompanied by their professional learning pathway and their accreditation services to schools working with the International Curriculum around the world.
Prior to leading the team at Fieldwork Education, Gregory was the global product manager for the IB’s Diploma and Career-related Programmes, located in Singapore. Before which he worked with governments and ministries on structuring national education reform efforts across the Middle East and South East Asia, out of Abu Dhabi. With a Master’s from the University of London’s Institute for Education in Education and International Development, Gregory has spent the last 12 years supporting institutions delicately balance global perspectives with local contexts.
Tristian Stobie's career has spanned a wide range of educational contexts. Starting as a teacher, and then Secondary Principal, he has worked in New Zealand, UK, Lesotho, Monaco, Austria and the Netherlands.
He has also worked in a number of roles for the International Baccalaureate Organisation. He was involved in the early development of the International Schools Association Curriculum, which became the IBMYP, and later he became Head of IB Diploma programme curriculum development.
Tristian joined Cambridge International as Director of Education in July 2011, and was appointed Director of Curriculum & Qualifications Development in February 2020. He leads the design and development of Cambridge programmes and qualifications for learners aged 5 to 19.
Tristian completed a Master’s and a Doctorate degree at the University of Bath with research interests in curriculum and pedagogy. He has written various articles and contributions to books as well as presented widely at educational conferences and events.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @tristian-stobie / @gregory-biggs
Twitter: @CambridgeInt / @gregory_biggs
Wendy Kopp is CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All, a global network of independent organizations working to develop collective leadership to ensure all children have the opportunity to fulfill their potential.
Prior to launching Teach For All in 2007, Wendy founded and led Teach For America – which has proven to be an unparalleled source of long-term leadership for expanding opportunity for children in the United States – for 24 years. Wendy led the development of Teach For All to be responsive to the initiative of social entrepreneurs around the world who were determined to adapt this approach in their own countries.
Wendy is the author of A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn’t in Providing an Excellent Education for All(2011) and One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way(2000). She holds honorary doctorate degrees from 15 universities and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Wise Prize for Education (2021), Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2008) and the Schwab Foundation’s Outstanding Social Entrepreneur Award (2003).
Wendy holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and resides in New York City with her husband and their four children.
In the news
- Quartz, “The World in 50 Years”
- Diplomatic Courier, “To Remake the World, Let’s Rethink Education”
- NPR’s How I Built This With Guy Raz, “Teach For America: Wendy Kopp”
- The Wall Street Journal, “Copying Singapore’s math homework”
- TIME, “How to help national school systems succeed”
- The Economist, “High fliers in the classroom”
- Financial Times, “Philanthropy must shift its focus to the global education crisis”
- World Economic Forum, “Why it’s time for International Development to Put People First”
Social Links
LinkedIn: @wendy-kopp
Twitter: @wendykopp
Michele Dal Trozzo is currently in charge of the Montessori department of GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori.
GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori is an Italian company based in Gonzaga, Mantua. GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori is well known worldwide for its unique history in the manufacturing and marketing of Montessori materials and furniture. Its origins in the early twentieth century are strongly connected to the presence of Maria Montessori in Gonzaga, as a friend of Maria Maraini Guerrieri Gonzaga, who started one of the first Casa dei Bambini. Nowadays GAM designs, manufactures and markets furniture for nurseries, schools, libraries and cultural centers.
Michele started working for Gonzagarredi in 1996, right after graduating in Business and Economics at the University of Parma. In more than 25 years, he has been involved in several different areas of the company business - sales, customer care, logistics, purchasing and manufacturing, product development, classroom design, including the design of the Montessori Museum located in the company headquarters. He also has been attending conferences, trade shows, visiting schools meeting teachers and customers in more than 30 countries, keeping constantly in touch with people deeply committed to provide excellent education to children.
Social Links
GAM Gonzagarredi Montessori
Professor Deborah Eyre is a global educational leader, academic researcher, writer helping good schools become world class through a focus on student performance. Using her 25 years researching into how gifted students think and learn and then creating frameworks to help schools and enrichment providers to enhance provision for these students, she created High Performance Learning with the aim of enabling all students to reach that same advanced performance.
As well as being a widely published author, Deborah's career has included a variety of senior education roles both globally and in UK and she has advised governments and educational foundations in UK, Hong Kong, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, USA and Singapore. From 2010-2014 she was Global Education Director for Nord Anglia Education and prior to that served as Director of the UK government’s innovative National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY), based at the University of Warwick, where she published Room at the Top: Inclusive education for high performance (2016).
Deborah holds an Honorary Professorship at the University of Warwick and Professorship from Oxford Brookes University. She is a practical academic and writes for a variety of audiences from policy makers to parents but her first love is teachers and teaching. Deborah had served on many board and is currently is Board Member of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), a Trustee of the Swan Multi-Academy Trust (Oxford) and the Inspiring Futures Foundation, a Board member at Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland (CTYI) a Freeman of the City of London and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @deborah-eyre
Twitter: @eyre_deborah
Todd Shy has taught for more than twenty-five years in Cary, North Carolina, San Francisco, California, and New York City. He is currently Head of Upper Division at Avenues The World School in New York. His writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Raleigh News and Observer, where he was a regular contributor, the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Salmagundi, and numerous other publications. In 2008 he was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. His recent book Teaching Life: Life Lessons for Aspiring (and Inspiring) Teachers was described by the founder of the Academy for Teachers as a “an eloquent love letter to teaching and to life.”
Social Links
LinkedIn: @todd-shy
Twitter: @avenues_org
Teddy Pahagbia is the founder and Chief Executive Druid of BLVCK PiXEL, a design-led strategy firm that bridges the gap between technology & business, merging the realms of virtual and real worlds. As an expert in emerging technologies like AR/VR, Blockchain, AI and advanced data management, he designs new disruptive experiences based on the way we interact with technology. Teddy has been identified as one of the Top 30 most influential people in the metaverse. Known by many as Mr Metaverse, he is one of the "leading voices helping to evangelize, educate, advise, develop and create the successor to today’s mobile internet." Teddy is a former Consulting Manager and has worked for mid to large size companies from various industries and government agencies in Western Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Social Links LinkedIn: @teddypahagbia Twitter: @mr_metaverse; @blvck_pixel
This is the second conversation that I have had with Prof. Gert Biesta, and it is a special episode reflecting on the current crisis in Ukraine and the wider context of this - that some call the meta-crisis. Our first conversation earlier this year, on World-Centred Education, can be found here: https://anchor.fm/futurelearningdesign/episodes/On-World-Centred-Education---A-Conversation-with-Prof--Gert-Biesta-e1cqcj5.
For more information on Gert - he is Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy, Maynooth University, Ireland, and Professor of Educational Theory and Pedagogy at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. He holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Agder, Norway, and Uniarts, the University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland. Gert is a prolific author and has written many books on the theory of education and educational and social research, and his work has appeared in 20 different languages. He has particular interests in national and global education policy, curriculum, teaching and teacher education, democracy and citizenship education, religious education and arts education. His latest book is World-Centred Education: A View for the Present (2021) and this is a good overview of the key ideas in this seminal book. A selection of his previous books are The Rediscovery of Teaching (2017); Beyond Learning: Democratic Education for a Human Future (2015); The Beautiful Risk of Education (2015); Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy (2015) and Complexity Theory and the Politics of Education [edited with Deborah Osberg] (2010) Gert is co-editor of the British Educational Research Journal, co-editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, and associate editor of Educational Theory. He co-edits a two book series with Routledge: Theorizing Education (with Stefano Oliverio), and New Directions in the Philosophy of Education (with Michael A. Peters, Liz Jackson and Marek Tesar).
Social Links
LinkedIn: @gert-biesta
Twitter: Gert suspended his Twitter account only to return when Donald Trump was no longer on the platform!
Bas van den Berg is the educational coordinator of the Centre of Expertise Mission Zero at the Hague University of Applied Sciences where he leads large scale educational innovation projects such as The Challenge, coordinates the Mission Impact minor and lectures in courses related to sustainability, circular economy, ethics and regenerative futuring. Bas is also the host of The Regenerative Education Podcast (available on all major platforms). Bas was awarded the accolade of Sustainable Higher Educator of the year 2021 in the Netherlands and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts since 2021.
Bas is an external PhD-candidate at Wageningen University in Education & Learning Sciences. His research interest focuses on how higher education can be redesigned to tackle wicked eco-social problems and what this type of regenerative learning asks from educators and educational design. Exploring how ecologies of learning can be designed that connect societal learning-based change with the transition towards more regenerative futures.
Social Links
Medium: @bvandenb
LinkedIn: @bas-van-den-berg
Email: B.vandenBerg@hhs.nl
Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., president of CBK Associates, and ABCD Books, travels throughout the United States and globally providing professional development programs, conference keynotes, in-depth institutes, and exceptional education and learning resources on service learning, 21st century competencies, social and emotional realms, climate and culture, youth engagement, effective teacher strategies, and environmental sustainability. Cathryn is the author of The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social Action (Free Spirit Publishing, 2010), and two books with Philippe Cousteau and EarthEcho International: Going Blue: A Teen Guide to Protecting Our Oceans and Waterways (Free Spirit Publishing, 2010), and Make a Splash: A Kid’s Guide to Protecting Our Oceans and Waterways (Free Spirit Publishing, 2012). In addition to her extensive consulting in public education, Cathryn also has been consulting with the International Baccalaureate for five years, infusing her dynamic service learning model into CAS, MYP, IBCC and exploring advancements in PYP, and establishing alignment with Approaches to Learning.
Cathryn is described as “lively,” “astounding energy,” with the “ability to both inspire and inform, offering practical ideas teachers can put to use immediately.” Find articles, blogs, Cathryn’s international calendar and more at www.cbkassociates.com. Here is Cathryn's article on Meaningful Reflection, which we discuss in our conversation. Social Links Twitter: @cbkaye Instagram: @documentar_
Enterprise Professor Sandra Milligan is the Director of the Assessment Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. She specialises in research on assessment, recognition, micro-credentialing and warranting of hard-to-assess capabilities and is a lead on the New Metrics for Success: Transforming what we value in schools research project. Sandra is also the Director of the Australian Council for Educational Research. Sandra convened the Melbourne University MOOC targeting professional learning for teachers in the area of assessment and teaching of 21C skills, which has to date enrolled over 30,000 teachers worldwide. Originally a teacher of science and mathematics, Sandra trained in educational measurement and is a former Director of Curriculum in an Australian state education department, and has held senior research, management and governance positions in a range of educational organisation. She also has a background in software, digital media and publishing. Sandra has co-authored the excellent report Future Proofing Students (2020) and is a contibuting author to the book, Re-imagining University Assessment in a Digital World (2020).
Social Links
LinkedIn: @sandra-milligan
Twitter: @SandraMilligan3 @ARCMelbourne
Julia Middleton is passionate about helping people from all backgrounds to develop as leaders and make an active and tangible contribution to their communities and to wider society. Julia is the author of two bestselling books: Beyond Authority: Leadership in a Changing World and Cultural Intelligence: The Competitive Edge for Leaders Crossing Boundaries. In the autumn of 1989, Julia founded Common Purpose, which has grown to be one of the biggest leadership development organizations in the world. Julia stepped down from the position of Chief Executive in 2019. In 2015, Julia gave a very well-received talk at TEDxEastEnd on Cultural Intelligence: The Competitive Edge for Leaders. In April 2020 she launched Women Emerging from Isolation which she now leads. Julia is also a member of the Advisory Group of Common Purpose in Pakistan and is a Patron for Common Purpose of the Europe101 initiative. She is on the board and chairs the investment committee of Alfanar (delivering Venture Philanthropy in the Arab World), is on the International Advisory Council for Fundação Dom Cabral, business school in Brasil, is a Senior Fellow of Babson College, is a trustee of The Wren Project and is a Goodwill Ambassador of the Aurora Forum. Julia was born in London and educated at French Lycées around the world. She worked for the Industrial Society after receiving an economics degree from the London School of Economics. Social Links Twitter: @JuliaMiddleton LinkedIn: @juliamiddleton
Gert Biesta is Professor of Public Education in the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy, Maynooth University, Ireland, and Professor of Educational Theory and Pedagogy at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. He holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Agder, Norway, and Uniarts, the University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland. Gert is a prolific author and has written many books on the theory of education and educational and social research, and his work has appeared in 20 different languages. He has particular interests in national and global education policy, curriculum, teaching and teacher education, democracy and citizenship education, religious education and arts education. His latest book is World-Centred Education: A View for the Present (2021) and this is a good overview of the key ideas in this seminal book. A selection of his previous books are The Rediscovery of Teaching (2017); Beyond Learning: Democratic Education for a Human Future (2015); The Beautiful Risk of Education (2015); Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy (2015) and Complexity Theory and the Politics of Education [edited with Deborah Osberg] (2010) Gert is co-editor of the British Educational Research Journal, co-editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, and associate editor of Educational Theory. He co-edits a two book series with Routledge: Theorizing Education (with Stefano Oliverio), and New Directions in the Philosophy of Education (with Michael A. Peters, Liz Jackson and Marek Tesar). Social Links LinkedIn: @gert-biesta Twitter: Gert suspended his Twitter account only to return when Donald Trump was no longer on the platform!
Estelle Baroung Hughes is the Founding President of Africa Learning International, focused on SDG 4 (Quality Education for All) in Africa. As a Cameroonian citizen, Estelle is passionate about the cultural wealth of her 250 languages country. The focus of her NGO is to honour the diversity of African nations by supporting culturally responsive education on the continent. ALI provides teacher professional development, Master Teacher programs, shares educational resources and opportunities and organizes conferences and teacher exchanges.
As an educator, Estelle specializes in international education. She is a teacher, a researcher, and an educational coach. She is a teaching and talent development consultant to Enko Education (where she was part of the founding team) and she is also a Language & Literature teacher at the Ecolint: International School of Geneva.
Estelle is also a blogger and a musician.
Social Links
Twitter: @EstelleHughes20
LinkedIn: @estelle-hughes
Dr Kevin House is Education Futures Architect at Education in Motion, a growing family of premier education brands, including Dulwich College International and Green School, with more than 11,000 students. As part of this work, Kevin is leading the development of a new and innovative high school concept called SE21. You can find out more about SE21 here.
Kevin is also Associate Professor in Practice in the Education faculty at Durham University.
Prior to this, Kevin led quality assurance processes for the International Baccalaureate Organisation as the Head of IB World Schools.
He was Head of High School at the German European School of Singapore, Director of Curriculum at Suzhou Singapore International School and Head of English at the International School of Valencia.
Kevin completed his doctoral thesis in International Education at the University of Bath and has been working to align programme standards across awarding bodies such as CIS, WASC and IB. Kevin is also a qualified trainer for global safeguarding practices and protocols.
Social Links
Email: Kevin.House@eimglobal.com
LinkedIn: @dr-kevin-house
Twitter: @KevinHo17644986
AJ Juliani is the Founder/CEO of Adaptable Learning and serves as Faculty for the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education (PLN).
Prior to his current role, AJ served as Head of Learning & Growth at NextLesson, Director of Learning and Innovation for Centennial School District, and Education and Technology Innovation Specialist for Upper Perkiomen School District. Previously AJ worked as a K-12 Staff Developer (Instructional Coach) in the Wissahickon School District where he also taught middle school and high school English/LA.
Juliani's latest book is Adaptable: How to Create an Adaptable Curriculum and Flexible Learning Experiences That Work in Any Environment. Previously he authored EMPOWER, an education best-seller and the award-winning LAUNCH on bringing design thinking into K-12 classrooms. Juliani's previous books include "Learning By Choice" and "Inquiry and Innovation in the Classroom: Using 20% Time, Genius Hour, and PBL to Drive Student Success" available from Routledge Press.
Juliani now speaks at conferences, organizations, universities, schools, and events around the world on innovation in learning, teaching, and leadership.
Juliani spent two summers in South Africa and Swaziland, volunteering at clinics, running kids camps, preparing a community structure to be used for a medical clinic, church, school, and food shelter. Since then Comfort For Africa built a six-building school that has over 300 students!
AJ received his MS Degree from Drexel University in “Global and International Education”. He founded –Project: Global Inform – a project that gives students the power to do something about human rights violations.
Most importantly, AJ is someone who truly believes in the "inquiry-driven" education movement. He has five kids of his own and wants them to grow up in a world that values their ideas. His award-winning blog and website serve as a place to share ideas and thoughts around "Intentional Innovation" and the future of learning.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @ajjuliani
Twitter: @ajjuliani
In this episode, Tim Logan discusses a fresh new Regenerative Leadership paradigm with its authors, Giles Hutchins and Laura Storm.Giles Hutchins is a pioneering practitioner and senior adviser at the forefront of the [r]evolution in organizational and leadership consciousness and developmental approaches that enhance personal, organizational and systemic agility and vitality. He is author and co-author of several leadership and organizational development papers, and the books The Nature of Business (2012), The Illusion of Separation (2014), Future Fit (2016) and Regenerative Leadership (2019). Chair of The Future Fit Leadership Academy and Founder of Leadership Immersions, co-founder of Biomimicry for Creative Innovation and Regenerators, he runs a 60 acre leadership centre at Springwood Farm, an area of outstanding natural beauty near London, UK. Previously held corporate roles - Head of Practice for KPMG, and Global Head of Sustainability for Atos (150,000 employees, over 40 countries). You can connect with Leadership Immersions here.
Laura is an international thought leader and expert on sustainability leadership and has spent her entire career advising global leaders on sustainability and building impact- and purpose-driven organizations, and movements, including the Copenhagen Climate Council, the World Business Summit on Climate Change, Project Green Light and Sustainia. Under Laura's leadership, Sustainia became a global mega-brand within sustainability with an outreach to more than 150 million people, a database of 4000 sustainable solutions, multiple state-of-the art publications and a unique partner network.
In 2018, she founded Regenerators - a collective focused on teaching leaders from all walks of life about regenerative design, regenerative organizations and leadership and regenerative living. For her work, she has been awarded the title ‘Worldchanger’ by Greenbiz and is selected by the World Economic Forum as a ‘Young Global Leader’. She serves on multiple Boards and on the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network as an expert in sustainable development and climate change. Her academic background is a Master in Political Communication and Leadership from Copenhagen Business School.
Sir Michael Barber is a world leading expert on government delivery, education systems, systemic innovation and education reform.
Sir Michael led the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit for the Blair administration in the UK from 2001-2005. Since then, he has worked on delivery and system-wide reforms in more than 50 countries. He personally leads high-stakes engagements with political leaders, such as quarterly cabinet retreats in Canada with PM Justin Trudeau, to help them adopt the delivery approach.
Michael held the first Chair of the Office for Students in the UK from 2017 to 2021, and prior to that as Chief Education Advisor at Pearson, Michael led a worldwide programme delivering Pearson’s strategy for education in the poorest sectors of the world, especially in fast-growing developing economies.
Michael was a Partner at McKinsey & Company and Head of McKinsey’s global education practice. He is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter. Before joining government he was a professor at the Institute of Education at the University of London.
Sir Michael has written extensively on education at all levels, government delivery and innovation. His most recent publication 'How Seventeen Secretaries of State for Education, through Thirty Years of Constant Change, Enabled the System to Improve' was published this month and is a synthesis of the reflections of the UK education ministers since 1986.
Michael's book Accomplishment: How to achieve ambitious and challenging things was also published earlier this year and sets out the ingredients for success based on the stories of many inspirational people and Michael's own experiences of delivering success for governments and education systems around the world.
Other books he has authored are Deliverology 101: A Field Guide For Educational Leaders and How to Run A Government: So that Citizens Benefit and Taxpayers Don't Go Crazy.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @sirmichaelbarber
Twitter: @MichaelBarber9
Professor Daniel T. Willingham earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University in 1990. He is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1992. Until about 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. Today, all of his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-16 education.
Daniel writes the “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator magazine, in which he has translated relevant cognitive science research for educators since 2003. He is also a prolific author whose writing on education has appeared in seventeen languages. His classic book, Why Don't Students Like School?, has recently been republished in its second edition with additional material. He has also written When Can You Trust the Experts?, Raising Kids Who Read, and The Reading Mind. His forthcoming book (set for release in August 2022) is entitled Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy, this time directed at students themselves to support them to develop their self-management and study skills.
In 2017, Professor Willingham was appointed by President Obama to serve as a Member of the National Board for Education Sciences.
Social Links
Twitter: @DTWillingham
Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang studies the psychological and neurobiological bases of social emotion, self-awareness and culture and their implications for learning, development and schools. She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program Faculty at the University of Southern California, and Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE).
Mary Helen was elected 2016-2018 president of the International Mind, Brain and Education Society by the society’s membership. She is serving as a distinguished scientist on the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Science and Practice of Learning. Mary Helen is also associate Editor for the award-winning journal Mind, Brain and Education and for the new journal AERA Open, and sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
In her research work, Mary Helen leads cross-cultural, longitudinal studies investigating adolescent brain and social-emotional development, academic success and relations to school and life achievement in urban contexts as well as the neural and psychosocial correlates of mindsets in low-SES adolescents from different cultural groups. She also serves as scientific adviser to several Los Angeles schools/districts.
Mary Helen’s 2015 book, Emotions, learning and the brain: Exploring the educational implications of affective neuroscience, is available from W.W. Norton publishers (author proceeds are donated to education-related causes).
In May 2020, Mary Helen wrote a must-read article in ASCD with Doug Knecht (Bank Street College of Education) entitled Building Meaning Builds Teens' Brains, if you're interested to find out more about the significant implications of Mary Helen's work this is a great place to start!
Social Links
LinkedIn: @maryhelenimmordino-yang
Twitter: @CandleUSC
Joshua Freedman is a leading expert on applying emotional intelligence (EQ) to optimize performance. He is the CEO of Six Seconds, the world’s most extensive EQ organization, now with offices and representatives in 25 countries.
Josh teaches people how to increase EQ to be happier, stronger, and more effective professionally and personally. He works with leaders and teams around the world helping them use emotional intelligence to get better results. His clients include FedEx, Microsoft, INTEL, Amazon, all branches of the US armed forces, and the United Nations.
Josh is the bestselling author of At the Heart of Leadership, as well as Inside Change, the Handle With Care EQ Activity series, the SEI EQ Leadership Assessment, and the Organizational Vital Signsand coauthor of The Vital Organization.
Michael Eatman is an experienced inclusion strategist, educator, and coach. He is the Founder of Culture7 Coaching, blending expertise on emotional intelligence and EDIB (equity/diversity/inclusion/belonging) to build leadership capacity and organizational culture for a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Previously Michael was Director of Community Life at The Pike School, Director of Diversity and Community Life at University School of Nashville and Director of Intercultural Programs at Spring Arbor University
Michael's is a Certified Diversity Professional for Organizational Leadership from Diversity Training University International and Advanced Certified Personal & Executive Coach from the College of Executive Coaching. He is Preferred Partner and Certified EQ Advanced Practitioner from Six Seconds EQ Network.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @michael-eatman / @freedman
Twitter: @EatmanatPike / @eqjosh
Jonathan James is a teacher, education consultant and doctoral candidate at the UCL Institute of Education.
Jonathan's own doctoral research investigates how policies developed in response to the threat of terrorism are being implemented in schools in England and France in light of the two countries’ policy traditions, and educators’ pre-existing values and practices.
Jonathan has written extensively on the role of schools in anti-terrorism policy and is an expert on values education and countering radicalisation. His book, co-authored with Dr Jan Germen Janmaat, Civil Disorder, Domestic Terrorism and Education Policy: The Context in England and France was published in 2019.
At the UCL Institute of Education, Jonathan has taught on the 'Minorities, Migrants, and Refugees in National Education Systems' and 'Comparative Education: Theories and Methods' Master's courses.
Since 2020, Jonathan has provided consulting services to the OECD’s Education Policy Outlook.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @jonathan-james
Twitter: @JonathanJames30
Sharath Jeevan is one of the world’s leading experts on reigniting our inner drive (intrinsic motivation). He founded and led STiR Education – arguably the world’s largest intrinsic motivation initiative. STiR has re-ignited the motivation of 200,000 teachers, 35,000 schools and 7 million children in emerging countries.
Sharath is currently the Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs, which supports organizations all around the world to solve deep motivational challenges, from governments to leading UK universities and high-profile corporations. He was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2014 and was recognised as one of the UK’s ten leading social entrepreneurs in 2019.
His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Economist, NPR, CNN, the Hindustan Times and the Times of India. Sharath holds degrees from Cambridge University, Oxford University and INSEAD.
Sharath's first book Intrinsic is out now on Amazon and other retailers. It is a book which takes readers on a journey around the world to find practical and inspirational answers to solving our motivational crisis. It harnesses ground-breaking research, from psychology and economics to philosophy and behavioural science. Sharath helps us to see how we can achieve more lasting fulfilment and success in our work, careers, relationships, parenting, and as citizens. Intrinsic has received glowing testimonials from global thought leaders, the CHROs of leading companies and bestselling authors.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @sharathjeevan
Twitter: @sharathjeevan_
Andreia Mitrea is the CEO of Colina Learning Center - a new educational project seeking to change the way people think about learning. As part of the Colina Nouă residential development in Romania, Colina Learning Center is developing a new educational concept in response to the question: “How might we use school to serve the learning of both children AND adults?" As the residential development and school grow, Andreia is leading the development of an innovative "integrated adult-child curriculum".
Andreia believes that “It doesn’t take a village, it takes a GREAT village to raise a child.”
With a background in the corporate sector, Andreia is now an experienced educational entrepreneur. In 2007, she co-founded the Avenor College and Foundation, which has now become one of the best-reputed private schools in Bucharest, Romania.
As a leader and manager, Andreia saw her role as a ‘partner’ and a ‘critical friend’ to the educational team, constantly connecting them to our vision, values and strategic objectives and enabling them to create policies, processes, standards which created a sustainable, high-quality organization.
Andreia is passionate about organizational learning and systemic approaches and has a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the Institute of Education, London.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @andreiamitrea
Dr. Samah Karaki is a neuroscientist, and the founding director of the Social Brain Institute. SBI is an NGO based in Geneva and operating in Europe and the Middle East where it implements research-based strategies to support individual and organisational change.
Samah's research focuses on the neuronal basis of stress affecting emotional and social behaviours. She is also interested in the neural basis of memory and unconscious processes, empathy, behavioural change and creativity. Combining scientific outreach and consultancy experience with neuroscience insights, Samah has delivered tailored seminars to over 2000 academics, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, scientific institutes as well as universities, teenagers at schools and consulted on change management programs for leaders in various organisations.
Samah also works on bridging the gender and racial gap in the field of STEM and is active in outreach and public communication of science. She has written about the psychology of empathy, creativity, implicit bias and gendered leadership.
In October, Samah's book Le travail en équipe (Dunod, 2021) was published, which addresses the factors that allow human groups to collaborate effectively, from the perspective of cognitive science.
Samah received her BA in Biology at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, her Masters in Neuroscience from The University of Lyon, and earned her PhD in Neuroscience in 2011 from the University of Montpellier.
She also holds an Masters degree in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Montpellier and Max Planck Institute.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @samah-karaki
This is the first episode in our series of conversations that we hope will inspire and support the positive transformations going on in education, and other sectors.
In this introductory episode, Tim Logan introduces the Future Learning Design podcast, and we hear from a selection of the fantastic guests who have appeared on the podcast so far.
Among these guests are: Valerie Hannon, Yong Zhao, Kiran Bir Sethi, John Hattie, Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Andreas Schleicher, Andy Hargreaves, Priya Lakhani, Rose Luckin, Sugata Mitra, Sir Anthony Seldon, Estelle Hughes, Ewan McIntosh, Dave Snowden, Raya Bidshahri and many more.
This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Intrepid Ed News. With an abundance of fresh and authentic voices, the mission of Intrepid Ed News is to build the capacity of parents and educators to improve learning. Intrepid Ed News is a lighthouse for educators and parents, at the intersection of journalism and professional development.
If you enjoy listening, do recommend us to a colleague or friend or give us a positive review wherever you get your podcasts.
Find out more about Future Learning Design at www.futurelearningdesign.com/podcast and follow Tim on Twitter @teb_logan or on LinkedIn.
As Dean of the African Leadership Academy, Hatim Eltayeb leads the Diploma Program, enabling the rich community of colleagues bringing the leadership learning program to life.
Hatim is a life-long educator with pan-African and south-south tendencies. Sudanese by spirit and nationality; born in Kuwait; reared in Oman; raised in Cairo and flourishing in Johannesburg.
Alongside a committed team, Hatim works to translate ALA’s mission into the daily work of building, learning, innovating and leading school community. He has represented ALA’s work at conferences and convenings across the continent as well as in Singapore, Japan, the US and at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Between 2012 and 2016, Hatim was back in his formative home of Cairo, Egypt. With two partner educators, he founded Symposium, a school services and consulting company. Symposium’s flagship product, sympoSAT, grew to serve hundreds of students at 15 leading independent schools in Cairo. He left his executive position in 2016 to return to the Academy. Outside of ALA, Hatim serves on the board of Streetlight Schools, an organization working to make world-class education accessible to every South African child.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @hatim-eltayeb
Twitter: @ALAcademy
Mart Laidmets is the General Director of Education and Youth Board of the Republic of Estonia. Previously, from January 2019 until August 2021, he held the position of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Estonia, responsible for directing the work of deputy secretary generals and departments of the Ministry as well as co-ordinating the work of state institutions and government bodies under the Ministry’s sphere of administration.
In addition to this, Mr Laidmets has been board member of Foundation Innove, and has been working for the non-profit association Universities Estonia and the University of Tartu. He has been a Researcher at the Uppsala University, Advisor to the Chancellery of the Riigikogu (parliament) and an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Estonia.
Mr Laidmets has a degree in history from the University of Tartu.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @mart-laidmets
Twitter: @Harno_ee
Jessica Cavallaro is an innovative educator and curriculum designer who brings the agile mindset into the classroom. She is a champion of project based learning and creating purposeful educational experiences both in and out of the classroom. Jessica has delved into applying Agile and Scrum to keep students connected, collaborating and creating while teaching in a hybrid setting. She is passionate about developing better systems that put students first in education.
Roslynn Jackson is an educator that believes failures are the stepping stones to success. She is a co-founder of the Agile Mind, which strives to help teachers learn to use an Agile mindset to help students acquire the skills they need to solve real world problems while learning educational concepts. She is passionate about making education engaging and meaningful for teachers and their students. She believes the best strategies for doing so involve “organized chaos” and getting your hands dirty- this means using systems that provide opportunities for authentic hands-on learning. Roslynn believes that using Agile skills with students, and helping other educators to do the same, is the way to transform our education framework into one that truly prepares our learners for the real world challenges ahead of them, and gives them the tools to do it.
Social Links
Jessica - LinkedIn: @jessicacavallaro; Twitter: @JesGilbert5
Roslynn - LinkedIn: @roslynn-jackon; Twitter: @RoslynnJackson
Kiran Bir Sethi is a designer who became a teacher, a principal who grew into an education reformer and subsequently morphed into a social entrepreneur. A trained graphic designer from the National Institute of Design, she comfortably uses the language of design – iteration, prototype, design specs – to develop not only curriculum innovation, but also community-based social programmes.
Kiran founded the award winning Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India, in 2001. Riverside, is viewed as a laboratory to prototype design processes that uses a systems approach to build a culture of empowerment, graduating young citizen leaders with an ‘I CAN Mindset’ – using their agency for the greater good.
Riverside Learning Centre (RLC) started in 2016, has codified the practices and processes of The Riverside School and designed training programmes around the 6 Pillars of Curriculum, Parent Partnership, Personal & Professional Development, Community, Administration and Leadership that empower more schools to become user centered.
Kiran is also the founder of aProCh—an initiative to make our cities more child friendly, for which she was awarded the Ashoka Fellow in 2008.
In 2009, Kiran launched Design for Change which uses a simple 4 step design framework – FIDS (Feel, Imagine, Do, Share) to cultivate the I CAN mind-set in all children. Today, DFC is the world's largest movement of change - of and by children, and is in 60+ countries—impacting over 2.2 million children and 65,000 Teachers.
Kiran is a judge for the prestigious YIDAN Prize and a Visiting Global Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2019, she was awarded the Earth Prize in Luino, Italy, the Lexus Design Award for 2019, in Pune, India, and DFC has been recognised as one of the 100 most innovative educational programmes in the world by HundrED.org in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
Social Links
Twitter: @kiranbirsethi
LinkedIn: @kiranbirsethi
Raya Bidshahri is a serial education entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and award-winning educator.
Raya is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the School of Humanity, a revolutionary online high school with a progressive model and skill-based curriculum.
Raya is also the Founder of Awecademy, an award-winning organization offering future-focussed & wisdom-based education. She has served on the founding teams of multiple organizations including SciFest Dubai, and SheWorks.
Raya serves as an advisory board member to multiple EdTech companies and is a member of the Bett Future Education Council. She was named one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2019.
Raya has spoken at many conferences including the G20/Y20 Summit, Global Education Forum, UNESCO Expo-Sciences, GESS Leaders, HR Tech Summit and much more.
She has been sharing her expertise as a keynote speaker for over a decade – since the age of 16 – and brings a much-needed youth perspective to discussions about the future of education.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @rayabidshahri
Twitter: @raya_bid
Dave Snowden is the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cognitive Edge. His work is in the area of naturalising sense-making, seeking to base social science research and practice in the natural sciences. He is generally considered to be a pioneer in the application of complex adaptive systems theory to a range of social issues, and in the development of narrative as a research method. His work extends across government and industry in a variety of fields including knowledge management, strategic planning, conflict resolution, counter terrorism, decision support and organisational development.
Snowden, then of IBM Global Services, began work on a Cynefin framework in 1999 to help manage intellectual capital within the company. He continued developing it as European director of IBM's Institute of Knowledge Management, and later as founder and director of the IBM Cynefin Centre for Organisational Complexity, established in 2002. Cynthia Kurtz and Snowden described the framework in detail the following year in a paper, The new dynamics of strategy: Sense-making in a complex and complicated world, published in IBM Systems Journal.
Snowden holds a variety of academic positions. He is a visiting professor at the University of Canberra, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and University of Pretoria and is a visiting fellow at Warwick University, Nanyang University, the Universita' Cattolica in Italy and the Singapore Management College. He was Director of the EPSRC (UK) research programme on emergence in 2006 and was appointed to the NSF (US) review panel on complexity science research in 2007. He is also on the editorial boards of several knowledge management journals and is an Editor in Chief for Emergence: Complexity and Organisation. His HBR cover article with Mary Boone A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making was selected as the 2007 Best Practitioner-Oriented Paper in Organizational Behavior by the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.
Earlier this year, Dave Snowden (and Friends) published the book Cynefin®: Weaving sense-making into the fabric of our world (2021: Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd).
Dave lives in the UK where he pursues his passions of Welsh Rugby, Wagnerian Opera and walking.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @dave-snowden
Twitter: @snowded
Priya Lakhani OBE is the Founder CEO of CENTURY Tech, the award-winning artificial intelligence education technology company. CENTURY is the global leader in AI-powered learning tools for schools and families, working in dozens of countries across the world.
In 2008, Priya left her career as a barrister to launch a successful cooking-sauce business, which through its charitable foundation provided millions of meals and thousands of vaccinations to the underprivileged in India and Africa, and funded several schools.
Priya was awarded Business Entrepreneur of the Year by the Chancellor in 2009 and Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2014. She was a business advisor to the UK’s coalition government, was appointed to the UK government’s AI Council in 2019 and is a regular commentator on global news for the BBC.
In 2018, Priya co-founded the Institute for Ethical AI in Education. In 2018, CENTURY won a prestigious MIT SOLVE (Education) award, and in 2019, Priya was named Economic Innovator of the Year by The Spectator. In 2020, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Coventry University’s engineering faculty and appointed Honorary Vice President of the Council of British International Schools.
Social Links:
LinkedIn: @priyalakhani
Twitter: @priyalakhani; @thisiscentury
Olli-Pekka Heinonen is the Director General at the Finnish National Agency of Education. Mr Heinonen has been the Minister of Education and Science (1994-1999), Minister of Transport and Communication (1999-2002) and Member of the Finnish Parliament (1995-2002). He has also been the Television Director at the Finnish Public Broadcasting Company and State Secretary in five different ministries. Mr Heinonen has held various positions of trust within different sectors of society.
Mr Heinonen is a member of the Education Advisory Group for the United Nations Technology Innovation Labs. And from the beginning of May, he will start as the new Director General of the International Baccalaureate.
Mr Heinonen holds a Master’s Degree in Law. He is married and has three children.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @olli-pekka-heinonen
Twitter: @Heino1Olli
Professor John Hattie is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly 30 years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His influential 2008 book Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement is believed to be the world’s largest evidence-based study into the factors that improve student learning. Hailed by the Times Education Supplement as “teaching’s Holy Grail”, this ground-breaking study involved more than 80 million students from around the world and brought together 50,000 smaller studies.
Since 2011, John Hattie has been Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne. He is also the Chair of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). He is also past-president of the International Test Commission and Associate Editor of the British Journal of Educational Psychology and American Educational Research Journal.
John Hattie was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours, is a Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders and the American Psychological Association, and has published and presented over 500 papers, and supervised 190 thesis students.
John's notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12, 10 Mindframes for Visible Learningand, most recently, 10 Mindframes for Leaders.
Social Links
Twitter: @john_hattie
Conrad Hughes (MA, PhD, EdD) is Campus and Secondary Principal at the International School of Geneva, La Grande Boissière, the oldest international school in the world. He has been School Principal, Director of Education, International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Coordinator and teacher in schools in Switzerland, France, India and the Netherlands.
Conrad, who is also a member of the advisory board for the University of the People, senior fellow of UNESCO's International Bureau of Education and research assistant at the University of Geneva's department of psychology and education, teaches philosophy.
His PhD (2008) is in English literature: The Treatment of the Body in the Fiction of JM Coetzee. His EdD thesis (2018), written at Durham University, is on the relationship between prejudice and education with specific focus on how education can reduce prejudice.
He is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and as Director of Education at the International School of Geneva he led the publication of Guiding Principles for Learning in the 21st Century with UNESCO. He has been chief editor for special editions of Springer’s Prospects Journal with entries by leading academics such as Sugata Mitra, Steve Higgins, Doug & Lynn Newton, Scilla Elworthy, Paul Black, AC Grayling and Juan Carlos Tedesco.
Conrad's most recent books are Elitism and Education: Challenges and Opportunities (2021, Routledge), Educating for the 21st Century: Seven Global Challenges (2018, Brill) and Understanding Prejudice and Education: The Challenge for Future Generations (2017, Routledge).
Social Links
LinkedIn: @conrad-hughes
Twitter: @conradhughes0
Valerie Hannon co-founded Innovation Unit and leads Innovation Unit’s international education work. She has supported education change programmes in numerous systems, including the UK, Europe, USA, Australia and Africa, and is a founding member and Co-Chair of the Global Education Leaders Partnership (GELP).
Valerie Hannon’s career spans leadership of education systems, research, teaching, and capacity building. In the UK, she was Director of Education for Derbyshire and an advisor on creativity in the Department for Education. She has led many Innovation Unit education programmes, including Next Practice projects, Learning Futures (in the UK), and Learning Frontiers (in Australia). She has been consultant adviser to Finland, South Africa and British Columbia, Canada and is an established thought leader in the field of education innovation.
Valerie is an expert adviser on education to the OECD, and a frequent contributor to the World Summit on Innovation in Education (WISE). She is a regular keynote speaker and facilitator at international conferences and workshops. Valerie’s new book, published by Innovation Unit Press, is called Thrive: The Purpose of Schools in a Changing World (2nd Edition, released Feb. 2021), co-authored with Amelia Peterson.
Social Links
Twitter: @valeriehannon
George Couros is an Innovative Teaching, Learning, & Leadership Consultant and speaker and the author of The Innovator’s Mindset and Innovate Inside the Box, co-authored with Katie Novak - and co-owner of IMPress Books. He has worked at all school levels, from K-12 as a teacher, technology facilitator, and school and district administrator. He is currently an Adjunct Instructor with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
George is the father of two wonderful children, Kallea and Georgia, and is driven to ensure that they and every student have amazing experience in their K-12 schooling. He is not focused solely on preparing students for the “real world” but wants them to make the real world better.
George believes that meaningful change happens when you first connect to people’s hearts and then their minds, and he does his best to model this through his speaking, writing, and daily work.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @georgecourosim
Twitter: @gcouros
Girish Menon joined STiR Education as CEO in January 2021 after five years as Chief Executive at ActionAid UK. He brings more than 30 years’ experience as a leader in the international development sector, having previously held roles as International Programmes Director and Deputy CEO at Water Aid UK, where he was responsible for programmes in 22 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia.
Girish was born and brought up in India, and started his career with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. He has also worked at Action Aid, Plan International and DFID in India. Since moving to London in 2005, he has served on the boards of various non-profit organisations. He is currently on the board of Hope and Homes for Children.
John McIntosh is the Director of Design and Programme Readiness and oversees the design of STiR’s programmes for teachers and government officials. He has worked as a teacher trainer and an advisor to professional development programmes in India, Sri Lanka, and China.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @stireducation
Twitter: @STIReducation
Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), is responsible for a wide spectrum of education in Dubai’s private sector, spanning early learning, school, and higher education and training Institutes. Dr. Abdulla has the distinction of holding key positions across the United Arab Emirates, as well as being a Board member of the National Qualifications Authority, of the UAE Federal Government. He was also appointed to the Board of the Social Sector, Government of Dubai. He has recently been nominated a member of the Higher Committee for Protection of the Rights of People with Disabilities in the Emirate of Dubai.
Previously, Dr. Abdulla held positions in various government sectors, including: Vice Chairman and Secretary General, Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance; Chairman of the Dubai Government’s Human Resources Committee, which was set up as the link between human resources programmes and initiatives and Dubai’s goals and strategic priorities; Board member, Dubai Knowledge Fund, which seeks to effectively participate in developing Dubai’s knowledge capital through profitably managing funds.
He was also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Education 2010. Prior to the formation of KHDA, Dr. Abdulla held the post of CEO of Dubai Knowledge Village, which ushered in the International Branch Campus, with a remit to diversify the educational landscape in Dubai. Before that, Dr. Abdulla headed the Research Unit at Dubai Internet City and began his career working as a software engineer in the United States and France.
Dr. Abdulla holds a PhD in computer engineering from the University of South Carolina.
Social Links
Twitter: @khda
LinkedIn: knowledge-&-human-development-authority
Brad Carter has spent 20 years exploring the role of education in society and the way we go about educating people. A former leadership development executive with Apple Inc. and head of the innovative THINK Global School, his work has taken him across Europe, Australia, China, and North America. A highly creative thinker with a talent for finding clarity in complexity, he brings his global expertise to innovative curriculum building and a deep study of the learning process, whether in formal school settings, communities or enterprise. A former teacher and school administrator, Brad was Director of the Centre for Innovation at Mulgrave School, Vancouver and Assistant Head of School at Island Pacific School on Bowen Island.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @bradfordrcarter
Twitter: @Braddo
Andy Hargreaves is Director of Chenine (Change, Engagement and Innovation in Education) at the University of Ottawa and Research Professor in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. He is Past President of the International Congress of School Effectiveness and Improvement, recent Adviser in Education to the Premier of Ontario and currently to the First Minister of Scotland, and founder of the ARC Education: a group of nations committed to broadly defined excellence, equity, wellbeing, inclusion, democracy and human rights www.atrico.org
Andy has consulted with the OECD, the World Bank, governments, universities and teacher unions worldwide. Andy’s more than 30 books have attracted multiple Outstanding Writing Awards – including the prestigious 2015 Grawemeyer Award in Education for Professional Capital (with Michael Fullan). He has been honored with the 2016 Horace Mann Award in the US and the Robert Owen Award in Scotland for services to public education. Andy is ranked by Education Week in the top scholars with most influence on US education policy debate. In 2015, Boston College gave him its Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Education University of Hong Kong and the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His most recent book, Moving: a memoir of social mobility and education, is published by Solution Tree. His two upcoming books in 2020 with Dennis Shirley are Five Paths of Student Engagement: Blazing the trail to learning and success(Solution Tree), and Well-being and Socio-emotional Learning: How to Build Everyone Back Better (ASCD).
Social Links
LinkedIn: @HargreavesBC
Twitter: @HargreavesBC
Dr. Katie Martin is the author of Learner-Centered Innovation and Chief Impact Officer at Altitude Learning. She teaches in the graduate school of Education at High Tech High and is on the board of Real World Scholars. Dr. Martin has worked in diverse contexts to learn, research, and support deeper learning for all students. She has served as a middle school English language arts teacher, instructional coach, and led the district’s new teacher mentoring program.
At the university, district and school level, Katie Aspires to create experiences that empower all learners to develop the knowledge, skills, and mindsets to thrive in a changing world. As a mom, she wants her kids to have learning experiences in school that build on their strengths and interests, and as an educator; she is passionate about making sure we do the same for all kids.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @katie-martin
Twitter: @katiemartinedu
Matt Barnes is the co-founder of The Education Game with Dr Scott Van Beck
Matt believes that “normal” is broken in traditionally structured schools and wants to make “weird” the new normal. Over 25 years, Matt has distributed $500m in philanthropy, led an education reform nonprofit, served on nine educational boards from pre-K to university, and coached thousands of parents on education system navigation. In 2020, Matt launched “The Education Game,” a platform that inspires parents to embrace a Future-Ready learning model that shamelessly deemphasizes grades and academic compliance while radically emphasizing learning, problem-solving, and student-engagement. He is the father of three teens who were educated in alternative models.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @matthewcbarnes
Twitter: @mattbarnes4kids
Liz Nilsen’s passion is for creating programs that nurture the next generation of thinkers and doers, through the development and growth of innovation and STEM education ecosystems. As the Associate Director at the University of North Alabama Agile Strategy Lab, Liz shepherds the expansion of the Lab’s programming and manages the Strategic Doing Institute on behalf of that organization, including partnerships with other universities interested in deploying Strategic Doing.
Liz was senior program director at the Purdue Agile Strategy Lab; she is also a former senior program officer at VentureWell, where she provided leadership to the Pathways program for the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter), an effort to engage with 50 colleges and universities to redesign undergraduate engineering education.
Prior to joining VentureWell, she led STEM initiatives at the Penn State Center – Pittsburgh, was the southwest regional coordinator for the Pennsylvania STEM Network, and served as Director of Outreach and New Economy Program Development at the Institute of Advanced Learning & Research, a Virginia Tech initiative. She earned her BA from Stanford and an MBA from Northeastern University.
Ed Morrison is Director of the Agile Strategy Lab at the University of North Alabama, and was the founder of the Purdue Agile Strategy Lab. Ed’s work emphasizes the strategic value of focused regional collaborations and open innovation, network-based models in today’s global economy.
Ed is the developer of Strategic Doing to accelerate collaborations, now widely used across the U.S. and is now gaining attention internationally. His work won the first Arthur D. Little Award for excellence in economic development presented by the American Economic Development Council.
Prior to starting his economic development work, Ed worked for Telesis, a corporate strategy consulting firm. In this position, he served on consulting teams for clients such as Ford Motor Company, Volvo, and General Electric. He conducted manufacturing cost studies in the U.S., Japan, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Sweden, and France.
Ed started his professional career in Washington, D.C., where he has served as a legislative assistant to an Ohio Congressman, staff attorney in the Federal Trade Commission, and staff counsel in the US Senate. He holds a BA degree cum laude with honors from Yale University and MBA and JD degrees from the University of Virginia.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @liznilsen; @efmorrison
Twitter: @STEMetc; @edmorrison
Dr Siva Kumari was appointed seventh Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in January 2014 based in the Netherlands office, becoming the first woman to hold the post.
Dr Kumari joined the IB in April 2009 as Asia Pacific Regional Director in the Singapore office. In May the following year she was appointed first Chief Operating Officer based in the Washington office, with global responsibility for research, university recognition, school improvement and professional development and relationships with schools, governments and foundations across the three IB regions: Americas, Asia Pacific, and Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Prior to joining the IB, Dr Kumari ended her 15-year tenure at Rice University, USA as the first Associate Provost for K-12 Initiatives. In her career at Rice she won competitive US National Science Foundation funding, local and national corporate foundation funding, and national and regional awards for her research and work in teaching and learning.
She has a bachelor of science degree from India, a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, and a doctorate in education from the University of Houston, Texas, USA in online learning. For her work in international education, she has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Amity University, India.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @sivakumari
Twitter: @siva_kumari
Andreas Schleicher is Director for Education and Skills at the OECD. He initiated and oversees the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and other international instruments that have created a global platform for policy-makers, researchers and educators across nations and cultures to innovate and transform educational policies and practices. He has worked for over 20 years with ministers and education leaders to improve education. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that Schleicher “understands the global issues and challenges as well as or better than anyone I’ve met, and he tells me the truth”. Former UK Secretary of State Michael Gove called Schleicher “the most important man in English education” – even though he is German and lives in France. He is the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including the “Theodor Heuss” prize, awarded in the name of the first president of the Federal Republic of Germany for “exemplary democratic engagement”. He holds an honorary Professorship at the University of Heidelberg. Andreas is also the author of the 2018 book, World Class: How to Build a 21st-Century School System. Social Links LinkedIn: @Schleichereduskills Twitter: @SchleicherOECD
Malcolm Parlett has had an active and distinguished career in educational research, training and gestalt therapy. He obtained a first class honours degree in Psychology from the University of Nottingham in 1962. He became a research student working in the Psychological Laboratory at King’s College, Cambridge. His Ph.D research was into memory and selective perception.
Moving from experimental psychology to pursue applied studies in education, he worked in the Education Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning Analysis, before being appointed as a Lecturer in Educational Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. At MIT he developed his innovative qualitative research method, “illuminative evaluation”, to investigate students’ experiences of education. He also conducted a major study for Wellesley College, and became a colleague and friend of Professor Donald Schön.
Malcolm was Principal research officer at the National Foundation of Educational Research and a member of the Group for Research and Innovation in Higher Education at the Nuffield Foundation. He was also a research associate in the Department of Educational Studies at Oxford University. Later, he directed a consulting group – the Higher Education Study Group – in Newton, Massachusetts and worked for a variety of colleges, foundations, and overseas agencies, including the Exxon Education Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, UNICEF, and USAID. Malcolm was also a Professor at the Open University, in the Institute of Educational Technology.
Malcolm went on to train in gestalt philosophy and methods and then worked all over the world as a distinguished gestalt therapist, consultant and speaker. He was the founding Editor of the British Gestalt Journal, a position he held for 16 years.
In his early research he was the author of several papers and chapters about higher education, qualitative research, and science education, including one in Nature. In 1977 he co-edited Beyond the Numbers Game – A reader in educational evaluation and also Introduction to Illuminative Evaluation: Studies in higher education.
In 2015 his book, Future Sense: Five explorations of whole intelligence for a world that’s waking up, was published and has been reviewed in the Gestalt Review and the BGJ. In 2016 he edited and contributed to a collection, Contact and Context: New directions in gestalt coaching.
In 2020 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Gestalt Organisation and System Development Center, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @malcolmparlett
Website: www.wholeintelligence.org
Email: malcolm.parlett@myphone.coop
Abdul Matheen Yousuf is Executive Director of Project You, and an award winning social entrepreneur with a focus on youth issues and education. He has a bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering and a LLM in International Business Leadership. He cofounded Project You with Hend Al Rais in 2017 and has led the development of auxiliary learning systems to bridge the gap in learning that youth face today.
With support from Expo Live during the first cycle of its University Innovation Programme (UIP), Project You is a collaborative platform to facilitate self-discovery, capacity building of skill and talent and mentorship and guidance to align each individual's skill to achieve the best to their ability. They do this through a robust program involving schools, national and international strategic organizations, passionate psychologists and industry leaders to uncover and harness the best in youth potential.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @AbdulMatheenYousuf
Twitter: @abdlmateen; @projectyoux
Jennifer Groff, PhD is an educational engineer, designer, and researcher, whose work focuses on redesigning learning environments and systems. Currently, she is the Innovation Fellow at WISE (Qatar Foundation), where she is leading the development of their Global Innovation Hub--a platform helping schools transform for our modern world. Previously, she was the Chief Learning Officer for Lumiar Education, a network of innovative, redesigned schools. She has spent much of her career doing leading-edge work at the MIT on new learning pedagogies and game-based assessments, and recently earned her PhD from the MIT Media Lab. Previously, she was the co-founder of the Center for Curriculum Redesign, an international NGO dedicated to redesigning the general curricula for the 21st century.
Previously, she was the Vice President of Learning & Program Development for the Learning Games Network—a non-profit spin-off from the MIT Education Arcade, where she led the national Playful Learning initiative. She also served as the technology expert on the OECD Innovative Learning Environments project, and was a Fulbright Scholar to the UK, at Futurelab Education in Bristol, United Kingdom.
A former K-12 educator, Jennifer was named one of 12 Microsoft Innovative Teacher Leaders in 2005, one of the Top 100 Influencers in Ed Tech (2017-18) by Ed Tech Digest.
Social Links
Twitter: @jsgroff
Linked: @jennifersgroff
Website: http://learningfutures.global
Dr. James Mannion is an education researcher and consultant who worked as a Science teacher for 12 years, and spent 8 years in school leadership roles. James has an MA in Person-Centred Education from the University of Sussex, and a PhD in Learning to Learn from the University of Cambridge. James’s doctoral thesis is an evaluation of Learning Skills, a whole-school approach to teaching and learning that led to significant gains in subject learning, with accelerated gains among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. James works part-time as a Bespoke Programmes Leader at the London Centre for Leadership in Learning at the University College London Institute of Education. In this role, he works with teachers and schools throughout the UK to promote research-informed approaches to professional development and school improvement. James is a passionate advocate of practitioner inquiry as a basis for professional development, and he regularly presents at educational conferences on this subject. He is also a member of Oracy Cambridge, a study centre and think tank dedicated to promoting effective speaking and listening skills in schools and the wider society.
James runs research-informed training and consultancy through Rethinking Education with Kate McAllister.
In 2020, James co-authored Fear Is The Mind Killer: Why Learning to Learn deserves lesson time - and how to make it work for your pupils with Kate McAllister.
Social Links
Twitter: @RethinkingJames
LinkedIn: @james-mannion
Email: james@rethinking-ed.org
Ed Fidoe is co-founder and President of the London Interdisciplinary School. LIS will provide a fully interdisciplinary undergraduate degree, with students studying complex problems rather than specific subjects. Students will graduate with a BASc in Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods. LIS also runs professional/leadership programmes.
In 2012, with Peter Hyman and Oli de Botton, Ed co-founded School 21, an innovative 4 – 18 school in Stratford, East London, designed for children from all starting points and backgrounds (achieved Outstanding Ofsted in 2014).
Ed has advised leaders at Cambridge University, the London School of Economics along with some of the UK’s most exciting schools that are exploring new ways of teaching students. He has also worked with organisations specialised in working directly with disadvantaged students such as ARK Schools and Teach First.
Ed was also the co-founder of EDSPACE, a co-working space for innovative education companies. Prior to founding School 21, Ed worked at McKinsey & Co and ran a theatre production company.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @Edward-Fidoe; @LIS
Twitter: @weareLIS
Prof. Sugata Mitra is Professor Emeritus at NIIT University, India. He retired in 2019 as Professor of Educational Technology and Principal Research Investigator in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. In 2012, he was Visiting Professor for the MIT Medialab in Massachusetts, US.
In 1999, Sugata began the now world-renowned ‘Hole in the Wall (HIW)’ experiment, when a computer was embedded within a wall in an Indian slum at Kalkaji, Delhi and children were allowed to freely use it. The experiment aimed at proving that kids could be taught computers very easily without any formal training. Sugata termed this as Minimally Invasive Education (MIE). The experiment has since been repeated in many places around the world.
Sugata is the recipient of many awards from India, the UK, USA and many other countries in the world and has conducted research that has pushed the boundaries of many disciplines including electrical engineering, medicine and computer science.
He has a PhD in Physics and is credited with more than 25 inventions in the area of cognitive science and educational technology. He was conferred the prestigious Dewang Mehta Award from the Government of India for Innovation in Information Technology in 2003. Amongst many other awards, he was also awarded the 1 million dollar TED Prize in 2013.
In 2006, Sugata invented Self-Organized Learning Environments (SOLEs), now in use throughout the world. In 2009, he created the Granny Cloud, of teachers who interact with children over the Internet.
Since the 1970s, Professor Mitra’s publications and work has resulted in training and development of perhaps a million young Indians, amongst them some of the poorest children in the world.
Sugata published hundreds of ground-breaking academic papers, and in 2019 pulled many of his ideas together into his book, The School in the Cloud: The Emerging Future of Education.
Social Links
Twitter: @sugatam
Web: www.cevesm.com
Zoe Stanton is an entrepreneurial, creative and collaborative leader with more than 15 years experience working in design and social change and a passion for addressing the most important and complex issues. Zoe has had leadership roles creating and scaling new ways to bring about change, transform organisations and design better services for positive social impact.
In 2005, Zoe co-founded Uscreates, a strategic design agency specialising in applying design to social challenges, in health, well-being and education. As Managing Director Zoe led teams through significant transformation across sectors with notable clients including NHS England, Homes England, Macmillan and Nesta. Uscreates was acquired by FutureGov in 2018 bringing together the two company’s shared ambition to design public services and transform organisations for the 21st Century.
At FutureGov, Zoe's role as Experience Director focused on amplifying the positive impact of the organization and facilitating reflection and iteration on what the experience of working with FutureGov should be.
Zoe studied Design at Goldsmiths College and loves working with young talent to help them develop and grow.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @ZoeStanton
Twitter: @StantonZoe
Rose Luckin is Professor of Learner Centred Design at the UCL Knowledge Lab in London. Her research involves the design and evaluation of educational technology using theories from the learning sciences and techniques from Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Rose is the Director of EDUCATE, a London hub for educational technology startups, researchers and educators to work together on the development of evidence-informed Educational Technology, and author of Machine Learning and Human Intelligence: the future of education in the 21st century (2018).
Rose was named on the Seldon List 2017 as one of the 20 most influential people in Education. She is Specialist Adviser to the UK House of Commons Education Select Committee and Co-founder of the Institute for Ethical AI in Education. She also holds roles as UFI charity trustee, a governor and trustee of St Paul's school in London and a governor of the Self-Managed Learning College in Brighton.
Rose has taught in the state secondary, Further Education and Higher Education sectors, and she was previously Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of Sussex.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @rose-luckin
Twitter: @Knowldgillusion
Considered one of the founding fathers of Project Based Learning, Thom Markham is an educator by trade, a positive psychologist by training, and a global entrepreneur dedicated to expanding educator mindsets in service to a positive future. In 2015, Thom founded PBL Global, a world-wide partner-based organization offering online courses and onsite professional learning for a transformative strengths-focused model of project based learning that integrates high quality project design, student centered growth, and social emotional wellbeing. Thom has worked with over 400 schools and 6000 teachers in 20 countries.
His previous best-selling books include Project Based Learning Design and Coaching Guide: Expert tools for innovation and inquiry for K-12 educators (2012) and Redefining Smart: Awakening Students’ Power to Reimagine Their World (2015), as well as numerous articles on school transformation.
Social Links
Email: thom@pblglobal.com
LinkedIn: @thom-markham-phd
Twitter: @thommarkham
Sir Anthony Seldon is a leading authority on contemporary British history and education and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education and is the author on, and honorary historical advisor to, Downing Street.
After gaining an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Worcester College, Oxford, and a PhD at the London School of Economics, Anthony qualified as a teacher at King's College, London, where he was awarded the top PGCE prize in his year.
From 1993 to 2015, Anthony held headships at St Dunstan's College in South London, Brighton College in E. Sussex and Wellington College in Berkshire. In 2015, he left Wellington College to become Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, a position he held until last year.
Sir Anthony is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and King's College London. He was knighted in the Queen's 2014 Birthday Honours list for services to education and modern political history. He founded the Sunday Times (now Telegraph) Festival of Education and most recently the Festival of Higher Education, and is widely known for introducing and promoting happiness, well-being and mindfulness across education.
Sir Anthony founded, with Professor Lord Peter Hennessy, the Institute of Contemporary British History, and Action for Happiness with Professor Lord Richard Layard and Geoff Mulgan. He is governor of several bodies, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, and is Chair of The Comment Awards.
Sir Anthony also co-founded The Institute for Ethical AI in Education with Rose Luckin and Priya Lakhani.
Some of Anthony's latest books include:
- The Fourth Education Revolution Reconsidered: Will artificial intelligence enrich or diminish humanity? with Oladimeji Abidoye and Timothy Metcalf (2020);
- Beyond Happiness: How to find lasting meaning and joy in all that you have(2016);
- May at 10 (2019) with Raymond Newell;
- Cameron at 10: The Verdict (2016) with Peter Snowdon
- ...and many others.
Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas and a professor in Educational Leadership at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education in Australia. He previously served as the Presidential Chair, Associate Dean, and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he was also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership.
Prior to Oregon, Yong Zhao was University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, and executive director of both the Confucius Institute and the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence.
He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow of the International Academy of Education. Yong has written many groundbreaking books on education, including:
Teaching Students to Become Self-Determined Learners [co-authored with Michael Wehmeyer] (2020)
An Education Crisis Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: How Radical Changes Can Spark Student Excitement and Success [co-authored with Trina E. Emler, Anthony Snethen and Danqing Yin] (2019)
What Works May Hurt: Side Effects in Education (2018)
Reach for Greatness: Personalizable Education for All Children (2018)
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World (2014)
World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students (2012)
Social Links
LinkedIn: @YongZhao
Twitter: @YongZhaoEd
Gidion Peters is the co-founder of the Dutch training & consultancy company Organize Agile specialized in organizational change, agile transformation, business agility and Agile HR. They serve their clients; wide-ranging and including Fortune 500 retail, finance, pharma, telecommunications and engineering organizations as well as the public sector. Their offices are located in New York and The Netherlands.
Gidion defines himself as an 'Organizational change specialist and entrepreneur' with a focus on applying Agile and Scrum outside of IT. He leads and consults on Agile transformations worldwide and frequently speak and publish on topics like Agile HR, Agile Portfolio Management, Agile Auditing, Agile Strategy and Agile Marketing & Sales.
He is the co-author of books Agile HR – the (un)missable role of HR in agile organizations, nominated for Management Book of the Year 2018, and Scrum in Actie (2015). In collaboration with HU University of Applied Sciences, Gidion and Organize Agile also published The 1st International State of Agile HR 2020, an overview of innovative practitioners of Agile HR across the globe.
He believes that everyone can be a changemaker, stable teams are the engine of innovation and the future belongs to flexible organizations.
In this episode, we discuss a cultural values map, which you can find here: Inglehart–Welzel cultural map of the world
Social Links:
LinkedIn: @GidionPeters
Twitter: @gidionpeters
Joysy John is an entrepreneur, digital consultant, advisor and speaker. She is a global connector and a collaborator who makes things happen. She wants to inspire others, especially women and those from low-income backgrounds, to achieve their potential. She mentors startups and high potential leaders.
Until very recently, Joysy was the Director of Education at Nesta and led their work in education across innovation programmes, research and investment.
She is the former Chief Industry Officer of Ada, the National College for Digital Skills where she led the College’s industry engagement and Ada. Advance, online learning website. Prior to this, Joysy headed up international strategic development for EF Learning Labs, led business development for Emerge Venture Lab, Europe’s first education technology accelerator and advised Level 39, technology incubator based in Canary Wharf.
Joysy is passionate about technology education, entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment. She helped launch three non-profits focused on education: Flow (to develop essential qualities), STIR Education (to identify and scale micro-innovations) and Startup Leadership Program (to train entrepreneurial leaders). She founded Founders Fit to help people find the right cofounders based on interests, skills and stage of venture.
Joysy has over a decade of experience in technology, business management, strategy and sales roles with JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley in Singapore, US and UK. She was the youngest person selected into the Future Leader Development Programme at JP Morgan Chase.
She holds a Computer Engineering (Honours) degree from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and an MBA with Distinction from London Business School where she was the President of the Women in Business Club and a Forte Scholar.
Social Links:
LinkedIn: @JoysyJohn
Twitter: @joysyj
Chris Menagé is an interdisciplinary educational leader, consultant, public speaker and the driving force behind e².
Chris has over 20 years’ international experience across private enterprise, government administration and education sectors. For the past 15 years, Chris has successfully applied his critical and systems thinking to educational contexts both in Australia & abroad.
Chris’ wide ranging experience, combined with living with different cultures around the world, is reflective of the transformative competencies educational systems seek to instil in students. He has first had knowledge of how interdependent networks create new possibilities and real opportunities. This unique perspective is ideally suited for our ever-changing world, allowing Chris to bring his fresh insight of future-focused, real world, engaging learning cultures to life – for schools, educators and students alike. His award winning track record at systems level, including a State board, NFP committees and local community groups as well as other practical initiatives, have all contributed to sustained industry wide learning and educational change through collaborative innovative practice.
Through e², Chris now activates partnerships, empowering others to focus on what they do best: co-creating transformative cultures of learning and practice.
Social Links:
Twitter: @EducationalEco1
LinkedIn: @Christophemenage
Will Richardson has an international reputation as someone who effectively challenges traditional thinking about schools. A former classroom teacher of 22 years, Will is an author, as well as a blogger, podcaster, leadership coach, and serial entrepreneur. Last year, he co-founded The BIG Questions Institute with Homa Tavangar, which was created to help educators use "fearless inquiry" to make sense of this complex moment and an uncertain future.
Will has spent the last 15 years developing an international reputation as a leading thinker and writer about the intersection of social online learning networks, education, and systemic change.
In 2017, Will was named one of 100 global "Changemakers in Education" by the Finnish site HundrED, and was named one of the Top 5 "Edupreneurs to Follow" by Forbes. He has given keynote speeches and provided coaching services in over 30 countries on 6 continents. He has also authored six books, most recently Freedom to Learn, that have sold over 200,000 copies worldwide, and given TEDx Talks in New York, Melbourne, and most recently Vancouver.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @willrichardsonspeaks
Twitter: @willrich45
Will Richardson has an international reputation as someone who effectively challenges traditional thinking about schools. A former classroom teacher of 22 years, Will is the author of six books, most recently "Freedom to Learn," as well as a blogger, podcaster, leadership coach, and serial entrepreneur. Last year, he co-founded The BIG Questions Institute (bigquestions.institute) with Homa Tavangar. [RE]LEARN Session: We're Not Disrupted Enough Yet: Why Real Change in Schools Will Take More Than a Pandemic, Monday, November 9 • 20:15 - 20:45 (CEST)
Kirti Diwan, currently a Skilling and Capability Lead at Google . She's also a research student and a champion of women's diversity, education and wellbeing. Passionate about supporting SMEs, she loves white spaces where she can apply her problem solving and interpersonal skills to drive change, growth and transformation. [RE]LEARN Session: Learn with a latte, not with a blackboard, Monday, November 9 • 12:15 - 12:45 (CEST)
Blessing Akpan is an educator, social entrepreneur and the Founder of The Innovative Child Network, a not-for-profit organization leveraging mentorship, and training to raise innovative children through skill-based learning. As an Ambassador for HundrED.org, Theirworld, and Xtalks.org, she seeks and shares innovation in inclusive K12 education, promotes literacy among children, and amplifies the voices of young people throughout Africa and beyond. [RE]LEARN Session: Reimagining Asynchronous and Synchronous Delivery for Low-income communities, Monday, November 9 • 15:45 - 16:00 (CEST)
Sandy Hooda is a first-generation entrepreneur who has created successful technology and hospitality ventures. To better understand whether anyone had solved the education puzzle, he spent three years travelling around the world, identifying and visiting the most progressive schools, and galvanising some of the superstar education Leaders behind these schools to create Vega Schools. [RE]LEARN Session: Parenting for the future - timeless skills, Tuesday, November 10 • 15:15 - 15:30 (CEST)
Christophe Menagéis an interdisciplinary educational leader with over 20 years’ experience across private enterprise, government administration and most recently education. Chris offers a unique perspective and fresh insight, bringing future-focused, real world learning experiences to reality – for educators and students alike. Having now founded e2 educational ecosystems, Chris activates partnerships, empowering others to co-create transformative initiatives. [RE]LEARN Sessions: Learning about meaning, not things, Thursday, November 12 • 10:30 - 11:15 (CEST) and Unshackling the elephant in the room. Thursday, November 19 • 11:00 - 11:45 (CEST)
Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas and a professor in Educational Leadership at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education in Australia. He previously served as the Presidential Chair, Associate Dean, and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he was also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership. [RE]LEARN Session: In conversation with Yong Zhao: learning beyond 2020, Thursday, November 12 • 20:15 - 20:45
Jennifer Groff, PhD is an educational engineer, designer, and researcher, whose work focuses on redesigning learning environments and systems. Currently, she is the Innovation Fellow at WISE (Qatar Foundation), where she is leading the development of their Global Innovation Hub. Previously, she was the Chief Learning Officer for Lumiar Education, and earned her PhD from the MIT Media Lab. [RE]LEARN Session: Designing Learning Futures: Helping Schools Catalyze Deep Change to Support Modern Learners, Monday, November 9 • 21:30 - 21:45 (CEST)
Jean (Barack) Habumugisha is passionate about innovative learning. He is member of the Learnlife Alliance and previously spoke at the Thought Leaders Summit in Barcelona. Barack is currently pioneering the creation of Learnlife’s Kigali hub, the first of its kind in Africa. [RE]LEARN Session: The impact of COVID-19 on developing countries’ education sector; case of Rwanda, Tuesday, November 10 • 15:45 - 16:15 (CEST)
Rahmatullah Arman leads Teach For Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s largest youth led organization, as its President and Founder. Arman was selected as an inaugural member of the Malala Fund’s Gulmakai Network of champions for girls’ education. [RE]LEARN Session: Providing Equal, Quality and Safe education in a state of emergency, Thursday, November 12 • 17:30 - 18:15 (CEST)
Gahmya Drummond-Beyis a TED-speaker, global instructional designer, author, educator and CEO of Evolved Teacher. She has redesigned learning programs in more than 30 countries and taught through 2 pandemics. [RE]LEARN Session: This is my 3rd pandemic: Let's Redesign your Remote Learning approach together, Thursday, November 12 • 08:15 - 09:00 (CEST)
Bena Kallick is the co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Habits of Mind with Art Costa and program director for Eduplanet21, a company dedicated to online professional learning and curriculum development based on the Understanding by Design® framework. She is a consultant providing services to school districts, state departments of education, professional organizations, and public agencies throughout the United States and abroad.
Bena received her doctorate in educational evaluation from Union Graduate School. Her areas of focus include group dynamics, creative and critical thinking, and alternative assessment strategies in the classroom.
Formerly a teachers' center director, Bena also created a children's museum based on problem solving and invention. She was the coordinator of a high school alternative designed for at-risk students.
Bena has taught at Yale University School of Organization and Management, University of Massachusetts Center for Creative and Critical Thinking, and Union Graduate School. She served on the board of Jobs for the Future and was a cofounder of Performance Pathways.
Social Links
LinkedIn: @benakallick
Twitter: @benakallick
Kevin Bartlett has held leadership positions in the UK, Tanzania, Namibia, Austria and Belgium, where he was the Director of the International School of Brussels from 2001-2015. Kevin currently leads the Learning Design Team at Escuela Internacional Sampedrana in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where he is based.
Kevin is Founding Director of the Common Ground Collaborative (CGC), which he established with Gordon Eldridge in 2014. CGC is a nonprofit, global community of sense-makers, innovators, educators and partners who share a common goal to co-create a compelling alternative to traditional ‘curriculum’ designs: a coherent Learning Ecosystem that connects learning, leading, teaching and assessing into one simple, systemic approach.
Kevin has co-designed accreditation systems for European Council of International Schools (ECIS), Council of International Schools (CIS) and New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and was part of the small team under the leadership of Peter Mott, who developed ACE Learning, an innovative new NEASC accreditation protocol.
Kevin is a regular author of articles on a range of topics, a keynoter/workshop leader at multiple international and national conferences, and on-site consultant on a wide range of topics.
He is a writer and trainer in the field of curriculum design and leadership for learning for the Principals’ Training Center. As a curriculum designer he was the initiator and early leader of the IB Primary Years Programme.
Social Links
Email: kevin@thecgcproject.org
LinkedIn: @kevinbartlett
Twitter: @CGCKevin
LearnLife's [RE]LEARN festival is coming up on November 9th - you can find out more and register here: https://relearnfestival.com/
Christopher Pommerening is the Founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of Learnlife. Christopher is an entrepreneur and learning visionary on a journey in which he has evolved from an internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist, into a high impact entrepreneur on a mission to change education positively worldwide.
Christopher has engaged a global team of more than 100 learning experts and thought leaders to build an open ecosystem for a new lifelong learning paradigm. His impact goal is to empower 100 million learners to experience the new paradigm for learning that is suited to the rapid and evolving changes in our world and societies by 2030. Learnlife launched the first Learning Hub in Barcelona and is currently in the process of building a 10.000m2 lighthouse for lifelong learning in Germany. In the next 10 years more than 2,000 Learning Hubs will be launched in every country around the world to inspire and show-case the future of learning.
Christopher started his professional career in Spain in 1998, when he co-founded AutoScout24 Spain. In 2002 he founded the venture capital company ACTIVE Venture Partners, one of Europe’s few entrepreneurial-driven VC companies. He has founded 10 companies and organisations and invested in more than 30 start-ups. In 2017, after two years of preparation and research, he started Learnlife, his “once in a lifetime” adventure aiming to change the world's learning landscape.
Dr. Stephen Harris, after 40 years as an educator within existing systems (government & independent), has chosen to work now outside, but alongside, traditional education.
From 1999 to 2017 Stephen was Principal of Northern Beaches Christian School in Sydney. In 2005, Stephen founded the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning.
Stephen has completed his doctorate in education focused on the role of collective envisioning in educational leadership and change. He also received recognition at the 2011 Australian Awards for Outstanding Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), as the Australian Secondary Principal of the Year (NSW). Stephen was also recognised in 2017 as a recipient of the prestigious John Laing Award by Principals Australia Institute (PAI) presented to exceptional school leaders.
Social Links
Twitter: @ChristopherPomm; @Stephen_H; @wearelearnlife
LinkedIn: @christopherpommerening; @stephenharris; @learnlife
Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs is an author and internationally recognized education leader known for her work in phenomena-based learning, learning structure design, curriculum mapping and integration and developing 21st century approaches to teaching and learning.
Heidi is the Founder and President of Curriculum21, Curriculum Designers, Inc. and Executive Director of the Curriculum Mapping Institute. She works as an education consultant with schools and districts K–12 on issues and practices pertaining to: curriculum reform, instructional strategies and strategic planning.
She has taught in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, from 1981 to the present. She is a co-founder of The Hollingworth Center also at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Heidi has written many inspirational books including:
- Bold Moves For Schools: How We Create Remarkable Learning Environments, ASCD, Alexandria, VA 2017. (with Dr. Marie Hubley Alcock)
- Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World, ASCD, Alexandria, VA. January, 2010. (with Jaimie Cloud)
- The Curriculum Mapping Planner: Templates, Tools, and Resources for Effective Professional Development, ASCD, Alexandria, VA. 2009. (with Ann Johnson)
And many more...
Heidi collaborates with Allison Zmuda and has recently launched the transform.curriculum21.com intiative in order to support learners, families and teacher leaders adapt to the demands of the COVID pandemic and breathe life back into a lifeless curriculum.
During our conversation, Heidi shares a useful resource for schools making vital decisions about what to cut, keep and create in physical, hybrid and home learning scenarios.
Social Links:
Email: heidi@curriculum21.com
Twitter: @heidihayesjacob
LinkedIn: @heidihayesjacobs
Peter Mott served as NEASC Director of the Commission on International Education at New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) from 2012 to 2017. During his time at NEASC, Peter challenged international schools with the notion of Transformative Accreditation through the development of the ACE Learning accreditation protocol.
Previously Peter served as Director of Zurich International School (ZIS) from 2001-2012, and from 1989-2001 as Director of the American International School of Zurich (AISZ). He served on the Boards of the Council of International Schools and of the Academy of International School Heads, and was a member of the Commission on American and International Schools Abroad (CAISA). He is a Trustee on the Board of the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools’ (NAIS) Commission on Accreditation.
Since 2017, Peter has been working with Learning Beyond Horizons and TreeTopVisions - a consultancy and advocacy company supporting aspirational K-12 learning communities: Empowering progressive learning communities; designing alternative leadership-for-learning models; facilitating thoughtful reflection and professional learning; transforming K-12 education.
Social Links:
Twitter: @pmott2
LinkedIn: @petercmott
Anne Fischer is a learning leader and innovator turned UX Designer. With two decades of experience in designing and leading for change and adaptability in schools in Germany, France, Switzerland, Dubai and US. Anne is an expert in Design Thinking and Agile methodologies. She is the Assistant Principal and Curriculum Coordinator at Phorms Campus Berlin Süd.
Anne is also the co-founder of WomenEdDE with Angeline Aow.
Anne earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and a Master in Science from the London School of Economics.
Social Links:
Twitter: @EdtechAnne
LinkedIn: @Anne-Fischer
Email: annefischer.uxdesign@gmail.com
Leading projects around the world for clients in education and industry, Ewan McIntosh is the passionate and energising tour de force behind NoTosh.
As the name suggests, NoTosh is a jargon-free but game-changing strategic consultancy with a passion for learning and a conviction that innovation and creativity can change the way people think, the way they learn and the way they work
A highly regarded keynote speaker at events around the world, Ewan is also the author of How To Come Up With Great Ideas and Actually Make Them Happen and regularly writes about learning on his blog (and previously here).
Ewan’s professional career started as a French and German high school teacher in Scotland back in the 1990s. He wanted to find new ways to help students engage with their learning and felt strongly that technology was both critical to this and underused in the classroom, so his classes were among the first in Europe to podcast and blog as part of their daily learning.
Ewan then became the National Advisor on Learning and Technology Futures for the Scottish Government, and in 2006, with some friends in a pub in Edinburgh he began Teachmeet as a way to enable teachers to network and learn from peers and disrupt the traditional model of prescribed teacher professional development.
In 2008, Ewan became the Digital Commissioner at Channel 4. It was there that he became fascinated by the strategies and tactics that colleagues were using to create imaginative and engaging digital services for young people. So he founded notosh in order to make similar impacts for young people in education.
You can connect with Ewan on the links below, and check out the NoTosh team’s new suite of online offers at learn.notosh.com.
Social Links
Twitter: @ewanmcintosh
LinkedIn: @ewanmcintosh
Facebook: @ewanmcintosh
Paul Magnuson attributes his progressive views on education to over twenty years of experience working in summer camps. He's done with command and control models that tend to favor conformity and compliance over self-regulation, whether it be for students or teachers. Paul leads educational research at Leysin American School and is a frequent blogger for the international school organizations, The International Educator and ECIS. Opportunities for workshops in innovative teaching and learning can be found at peakchallenges.ch.
In our conversation, Paul draws on inspiration from eduScrum, Agora schools and we talk about NEASC's ACE Learning accreditation protocol.
If you are interested in contributing lessons to Paul's collection (with Nicola Cosgrove) Pulling Agile into Education, please see the template in the link and write to them at pmagnuson@las.ch and ncosgrove@las.ch.
Social Links
Email: pmagnuson@las.ch
Twitter: @zebmagnuson
LinkedIn: @paulmagnuson
Greg Curtis is an author and independent education consultant. He is currently based in Beijing and has spent much of his career working with international schools around the world in all-school capacities. Greg has been a technology director, a curriculum and professional learning director and a strategic planner for schools in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.
Greg has been heavily invested in deep, systems-focused school improvement efforts for his entire career. With over 27 years of experience working from early years through high school programs, he has developed considerable experience in leading curriculum revitalization, 21st century learning, technology infusion, assessment shifts and change initiatives.
Greg is the author of the three books:
- Moving Beyond Busy: Focusing School Change on Why, What, and How (Student-Centered Strategic Planning for School Improvement) (2019)
- Leading Modern Learning: A Blueprint for Vision-Driven Schools (foreword by Jay McTighe) (2015)
- Learning Personalized: The Evolution of the Contemporary Classroom (co-authored with Allison Zmuda and Diane Ullman) (2015)
Greg has recently been working with the Mastery Transcript Consortium as they develop their alternative to the High School GPA-focused transcript to one which "authentically and holistically captures student learning, progress, and interests."
Greg is also the creator of LearningBoard® - a software solution that supports schools make the shift to a focus on transformational learning. It enables schools to plan curricula and collect, organize, analyze and report evidence of student learning against performance indicators for transformational learning goals such as leadership, creativity, and critical thinking, as well as against academic standards.
Social Links
Email: greg@gregcurtis-consulting.ca
Twitter: @jgcurtis
LinkedIn: @greg-curtis
Oluwatosin Olowoyeye-Taiwo is an activist and social entrepreneur campaigning for equity and access to education for at-risk children in Nigeria. She founded her organisation Street to School Initiative in 2009 to sponsor out-of-school children back to school. Through her educational sponsorship programs and school support scheme, Tosin has been able to support more than 20,000 vulnerable pupils into schools. In 2015, she established a tuition-free school in Alimosho, strictly for out-of-school children in Nigeria.
She has also supported children's entries into national examinations such as IGCSEs, A-levels, West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
Tosin is a 2013 recipient of the United States Consul General Award, and a 2014 alumnus of the US government-sponsored International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP). In 2017, Tosin received the Yemisi-Ransome Kuti Leadership Award.
At the Street to School Centre, children are taught, mentored & provided learning materials & free school meals, this is to boost school attendance and improve learning outcomes. In 5 years of establishment, 78 children have transitioned into high school, with 198 children currently enrolled and in various classes.
Street to School Initiative is being supported by terrific individuals, and corporations such as Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Parcel Service, the Embassy of Japan in Nigeria, and the US Embassy.
Tosin is a graduate of Computer Science from the University of Lagos and Social Sector Management from Pan-Atlantic University.
Social Links
Twitter: @Street2SchoolNG
LinkedIn: @Oluwatosin-Olowoyeye-Taiwo
Facebook: @Street2SchoolNG
Charles Cassidy is the Director of the Evidence-Based Wisdom project. The site translates academic research regarding the science and psychology of wisdom into understandable and helpful resources for the wider public. Charles studied Physics at the University of Manchester in the UK. Following the development of educational research projects with The British Council across South America and Asia, Charles taught Mathematics and Science in London for 15 years. Since the start of the project, he has conducted interviews with many leaders in the field of wisdom research, compiled and translated many of the key papers from the field and created many public-facing resources, including video animations, info-graphics, articles and podcasts. He has also written about wisdom research for publications including Psychology Today and The Huffington Post, as well as appearing on talk radio across the United States.
Igor Grossmann is a social-cognitive scientist and world traveller. Born during the downfall of the Soviet Union on a day of October revolution, and growing up in Ukraine and Germany, ever since childhood he has been wondering about how people make sense of complex social challenges. He is the Director of the Wisdom and Culture Lab at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, Canada. His work has been published in such outlets as PNAS, Proceedings of the Royal Academy: B, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Psychology, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. His contributions have been recognized through numerous awards (e.g., SAGE Young Scholar award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science, APA Dissertation Award, USERN Prize for Social Sciences). Igor is an Associate Editor of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science and co-hosts the On Wisdom Podcast, disseminating scientific insights from psychology, philosophy and cognitive sciences to the general public.
Social Links
Email: Charles - charles@evidencebasedwisdom.com; Igor - igrossma@uwaterloo.ca
Twitter: Charles - @EBasedwisdom; Igor - @psywisdom; On Wisdom podcast - @onwisdompodcast
LinkedIn: @CharlesCassidy; @IgorGrossmann
Facebook: Igor - @iGorAG
Steve Peha is the founder of Teaching That Makes Sense, an education consultancy specializing in literacy, student engagement, and instructional innovation. He has written extensively on developing young people’s literacy and his book ‘Be a Better Writer’, written with his wife, Margot Carmichael Lester, was an Amazon #1 “Hot New Release” in teen writing. The book also won a Parents’ Choice Recommended Award, a 2016 Best Book Gold Medal Award in Young Adult Nonfiction. It has also received an award nomination from YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, part of the American Library Association.
Steve’s new novel ‘Jordan's Run’, a near-future dystopic look at American culture, won the 2019 Spark Award at New York's BookCon. He is also working right now on an essay collection for the 2020 election called "We All Breathe the Same Air" based on JFK's famous American University speech.
Since 1995, Steve has written widely on teaching, learning, and writing for publications like The Washington Post, The National Journal, Psychology Today, Edutopia, Education Post, and many others. In 2001, he created The Effective Learning Series for The Seattle Times and received an Innovators in Education from the Newspaper Association of America.
In particular, Steve wrote a very prescient piece for InfoQ in June 2011 entitled, ‘Agile Schools: How Technology Saves Education (Just Not the Way We Thought it Would)’. He has also spoken at Yahoo, Google and Paypal on the topic of introducing Agile strategies into education.
Prior to starting Teaching That Makes Sense, Steve held top management positions with several technology companies. As founder of Music Technology Associates, a multimedia consulting company, he developed Music Mentor, an award-winning music education program for the Windows Multimedia PC platform.
Social Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevepeha
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevepeha/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevepeha
A versatilist and somewhat of a polymath, Carla started her career in the performing arts, before moving into the digital domain. Becoming captivated by the international education landscape and the role of technology for learning, her focus turned to learning with technologies in diverse contexts.
For many years, Carla managed international transformation programmes and innovation initiatives for education publishers. She was Global Digital Director of Education for Cambridge University Press and Director of Futures at UCL – Institute of Education, where she led the mentoring and training of 250 edtech start-ups. This summer Carla launched the Refracted! Inter- and transdisciplinary learning community - free to join - in order to facilitate essential dialogue and knowledge sharing that pierces through the education silos.
Prior to this, Carla also set up and ran the Tmrw Institute, a thought leadership and catalyst organisation focused on the role of technologies for education and learning, from policy to practice. She runs the Next Billion EdTech Prize for start-ups working in resource-poor contexts, a Varkey Foundation initiative.
Carla speaks at international conferences: including Les Rencontres à Aix, Global Education and Skills Forum, FT Live, Reimagine Education, EdTechX, e-Learning Africa, etc. Carla was involved in the 2019 workshop that led to the publication of the World Economic Forum Generation AI report, developed in partnership by UNESCO, CIFAR and WEF.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/underthebanyan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlaaerts/
In this episode, Tim Logan is joined by Ulrike Suwwan (from Guide and Lead) and Graham Brown-Martin to talk about the challenges and opportunities of rebuilding something different and more regenerative in our current situation. How can we lead our teams through a great depression, or enable a great transformation?
Graham is a hugely inspiring and restlessly innovative thinker and leader who has challenged and disrupted many industries, years before it was cool and mainstream to do so (check out his epic bio here - it’s well worth a read!). He continues to evolve his fascinating career in the education, technology and entertainment sectors and contribute to the human project of preparing ourselves for the future by bringing together social, economic, political and technological trends and adding a bit of his own unique and anarchic take to keep everybody on their toes! He is the author of Learning {Re}imagined, the best selling book on global education published by Bloomsbury. He is the founder of Learning Without Frontiers (LWF), a global community bringing together renowned educators, technologists and creatives to share provocative and challenging ideas about the future of learning. He is the founder of BeyondTomorrow.Global a growing international intelligence network of interdisciplinary thinkers designing a blueprint for society to thrive beyond the 22nd century. He is co-founder of regenerative.global with William Rankin, a transformative learning consultancy based in London and New York using circular economy principles to inform innovative learning and design practices.
Today he runs a strategic insight and leadership coaching practice to help organisations and their leaders navigate the future, achieve their goals and maintain resilience.
Doreen Kessy is a Chief Business Officer at Ubongo. At Ubongo, she is instrumental in the growth of the organization, innovating, and finding ways to continually deliver fun learning to over 17 million families in Africa. She has expertise in business development and leadership in the edtech and fun learning space. Doreen has an MBA and BSc in International Business and Economics from Liberty University and has worked at the International Justice Mission in Washington DC, Wells Fargo and Smile for Africa in Zimbabwe. She was named “Entrepreneur of the Year in Education” by Women In Africa, is a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum, and a 2018 Acumen Fellow. Doreen loves to have fun, she acts the English voice of one of Ubongo Kids cartoon characters, Ngedere (a playful monkey).
With the huge number of children across Africa still lacking access to quality learning opportunities, it is so inspiring to hear about what Doreen and Nisha and the team at Ubongo are doing. And Ubongo is a great example of an organization working directly at the nexus between education and social entrepreneurship, not only working to support the learning of children and families across Africa, but also feeding back ideas and support into the education system itself. So I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
Doreen, with the Ubongo team, won the Global Education and Skills Forum, Next Billion Edtech Prize in 2019 and, as a result, established The Building Brains Conference on early childhood learning and development.
Dina L G Borzekowski is researching the impact Ubongo is having, which you can read more about here: The Impact of an Educational Media Intervention to Support Children’s Early Learning in Rwanda
Willy Wijnands is the creator and founder of eduScrum and co-founder of the worldwide initiative 'Agile in Education'. Willy taught Chemistry and Science at the Ashram College in Alphen aan de Rijn, Netherlands for forty years and is an Aikido and Tai Chi and Shiatsu teacher. He is the author of the eduScrum guide and co-author of ‘Scrum in Actie’ and contributor to ‘Agile and Lean Concepts for Teaching and Learning.’
Willy’s work was identified by Jeff Sutherland, co-creator of Scrum in his TEDx Aix talk and highlighted as a ‘new model of education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ in the World Economic Forum report, ‘Schools of the Future’ (2020).
You can also find out more on our Trello board ‘Conversations with Agility’ .
You can follow Willy on Twitter (@WillyWijnands and @eduScrum), Facebook, or message him on LinkedIn.
Allison Zmuda is an author, education consultant with 19 years of expertise specializing in curriculum, assessment, and instruction and curator of learningpersonalized.com an online community for teacher-leaders, administrators and students.
Allison recently co-founded Habits Personalized with longtime friend and colleague, Bena Kallick, a merging of personalized learning with Habits of Mind. She also co-founded Learning Sets with longtime friend and colleague, Heidi Hayes Jacobs. Learning Sets are collections of content with targeted actions to engage, examine, & demonstrate with corresponding tools, tasks, and resources.
Allison also recently became a co-director for the Institute for Habits of Mind, founded by Art Costa and Bena Kallick, adding a new perspective to a longstanding brand.
She has co-authored 11 books, her most recent being How to Leverage Personalized Learning in the Classroom (Fresh Grade), co-authored with Jill Thompson, The Quest for Learning (Solution Tree), co-authored with Marie Alcock and Michael Fisher and released October 2017, and Students at the Center: Personalized Learning and Habits of Mind (ASCD) co-authored with Bena Kallick, which was released in January 2017. Allison also wrote Learning Personalized: The Evolution of the Contemporary Classroom with Diane Ullman and Greg Curtis.
You can follow Allison on Twitter (@allison_zmuda), Facebook, LinkedIn, or reach her via e-mail at allison@allisonzmuda.com.
