Lifelong Kindergarten with Mitch Resnick

Want to learn more about microschools? These intentionally small schools serve as experimental testbeds for new approaches to education and learning. In this episode, I talk with Lizette Valles, who started a microschool in Los Angeles, and then started the California Microschool Collective to connect and share ideas with founders of other microschools. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

Too often, young people from marginalized communities are viewed in terms of their deficiencies instead of their strengths. Jaleesa Trapp discusses how young people can leverage their often-overlooked skills, creativity, and lived experience to create new opportunities for themselves and their communities. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

Fueled by the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, many people blame mobile phones and social media for the rise in teen anxiety. But Peter Gray, a leading authority on the role of play in children’s lives, has a different explanation. His research shows that reduced opportunities for self-directed play and rising pressures at school are the most important factors underlying the increase in anxiety and other mental-health issues among teens. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

Carmelo Presicce joins Mitch Resnick to discuss the Learning Creative Learning (LCL) online course and community, where people from around the world come together to learn about creative learning as they engage in creative learning experiences. Carmelo focuses especially on his approach for creating a culture of caring within the LCL community -- and discusses why caring communities are more important than ever for countering the technological and political disruptions in today’s world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

What if classrooms were organized more like design studios, providing students with opportunities to create projects based on their interests -- and supporting their development as self-directed learners? Harvard professor Karen Brennan joins me to discuss ideas and stories from her new book: “Start with Questions: The Classroom as Design Studio” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

In the late 1980’s, the government of Costa Rica initiated a bold program to transform education by introducing computers to schools throughout the country. Eleonora Badilla Saxe, one of the leaders of the initiative, joins Mitchel Resnick to discuss the early success of the initiative -- and also the challenges of sustaining values and innovation over time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, joins Mitch Resnick to discuss how new AI technologies will open new possibilities but also pose new challenges for learning and education. What skills and ideas will become more important? And who (or what) will drive the learning process? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

Steve Seidel joins Mitch Resnick to discuss how the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, founded in reaction to Italian fascism in 1945, can provide important lessons for educators everywhere today, as authoritarianism is again on the rise around the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

Mimi Ito joins Mitch Resnick to discuss the interest-driven, equity-oriented approach of Connected Learning -- and how Connected Learning can provide a framework for thinking about the role of new AI technologies in children’s lives. Mimi also discusses how she is using Connected Learning principles to inform a new research initiative focusing on neurodiverse learners. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com

Mitch Resnick talks with his long-time collaborator Natalie Rusk about ways to support young people in building on their interests, expanding opportunities for more motivating, memorable, and meaningful learning experiences. Natalie draws on examples from her work as co-creator of the Computer Clubhouse network, Scratch, and OctoStudio. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mitchresnick.substack.com