The EML Podcast: Roger Schank

In addition to publishing articles from a wide range of authors here at Educating Modern Learners, we plan from time-to-time to sit down and record conversations with various leaders in education, technology, politics, business, and science and publish the audio. Here, EML co-founder Will Richardson chats with researcher Roger Schank.

icon-question Roger Schank is one of my favorite bloggers/authors in that he brings a brazenly clear voice of common sense to the conversation around learning and education, especially in this moment given the technological changes we’re experiencing. One of my favorite reads of the past few years is Teaching Minds: How Cognitive Science Can Save Our Schools, where he makes a compelling case to rethink the very premise of schooling in a way that’s hard to argue. His blog at Education Outrage is also at the top of my reading list.

In this 30-minute podcast, we explore a wide range of questions, from what should actually be taught in schools, to the role of higher education, the future of work, and the new assessments required for a new world of learning. Some snips to whet your appetite:

“I hate the word assessment. Assessment is killing education.”
“Curricula should be less about intellectual activities and more about doing.”
“The point of online education is to change the very nature of education.”
“I think the curriculum is wrong, outdated, irrelevant, never mattered…”
“The number one question is to think about how would you raise your own child as opposed to how to you want them to be taught in school.”

Enjoy!