I'm a big fan of Sugata Mitra. His work creating environments for and documenting self organizing learning environments (SOLE) is stunning. And here in his 2103 TED Talk about half way into the talk he raises the question, "Is Knowing obsolete?" And answers YES! I'm going to send him Fred Newman's...
Each June, I spend 2 weeks or so with an international group of innovators/activists/scholars/community organizers. They are the Institute's International Class, in NYC for the third and final residency of their 10 month program. It's a unique kind of time together—intensely active, intellectually and emotionally challenging and growthful for all, and...
For this year's Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association in Chicago, I organized a symposium to bring Vygotsky's relevance to bear on the conference theme of "social justice." It worked! Those who attended the symposium—which I titled Vygotsky and Social Justice: Community Education and Community Development"—told me how...
March 24, 2015 article in The Independent Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' as country reforms its education system A step in the right direction...
The Sunday, December 21, 2014 New York Times feature article, "Raising their Sights," on inspiring students at community colleges. The piece features La Gaurdia Community College psychology professor, Eduardo Vianna. Eduardo is a long-time friend and colleague. Read about his inique and effective program, the Peer Activist Learning Community....
My colleagues and I at the East Side Institute have been leading online seminars and study programs for about ten years. They’re more like written conversations than formal classes, because even though there are readings and assignments, we’re not grading or evaluating anyone. No one’s getting university or continuing education...
My week in Japan was gratifying in so many ways, most of all the experience of being a participant in the ongoing process of organizing the young generation of Japanese teacher educators and psychology researchers. (A close second was the wonderful taste and visual pleasure of every meal I was...
I spent the past weekend in Philadelphia at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. One of the events I participated in was a half-day professional development course. My task was to share aspects of my version of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) in relation to the issues...
I'm excited to share a new project of mine. I'm series editor for a new collection of books for Palgrave Macmillan on the topic of Play, Performance, Learning and Development. Over the next three years (and maybe beyond) researchers and practitioners will have a multi-disciplinary "home" to publish their work...
Hats off to Rachel Berstein for writing Communication: Spontaneous Scientists in the January 1, 2014 issue of Nature. Featured in the article along with funny man and improv devotee Alan Alda, is cell biologist Raquel Holmes, who began her business improvscience while a student in the program I run, The International Class....