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?

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. 

Professor Natalia Kucirkova⁠ is Professor of Reading and Early Childhood Development at the University of Stavanger.

⁠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.

Alicia Juarrero, is Co-Founder and President of VectorAnalytica and Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Prince George’s Community College (MD).

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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! 

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.