Actual Intelligence with Steve Pearlman

This interview with Kieran delves into fascinating neuroscience about learning that can help transform what we do in our classrooms through understanding things like the Reticular Activating System, working memory, and neurotransmitters.  Kieran offers concrete things every educator can immediately adapt in order to improve their learning outcomes and their students' enjoyment of education. ...

What is the relationship between STEM and creativity?  Or, at least, what's the perceived relationship?  And what happens when we invest millions of dollars and years of effort to improving STEM educational practices?  What happens cognitively when we do it well for just a few months?  All that and more, including a shoutout to Louisiana. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss...

Steve interviews Dr. Cornelius N. Grove about his most recent book,  A Mirror for Americans,  which delves into the research as to why students in East Asia invariably outperform American students on international tests.  The discussion explores myths about education in East Asia, such as the misconception about drilling, and delves into educational and cultural differences that make students in E...

Steve tackles some of the controversy around Critical Race Theory (CRT), in part by examining its lineage back to critical theory and critical pedagogy.  In doing so, he delves into broader question of how power is wielded in the academy, and what the academy is as a power structure.  Curiously, also, Ferris Bueller. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscriber...

What's "imposter syndrome" and how does it impact our students' relationship with us?  How does it impact our relationship with students?    Just how critical are our relationships with students with respect to their academic success and our achievement of desired learning outcomes?  What are simple things we can do as individual educators to build more meaningful relationships...

Do you want to teach critical thinking but struggle to do so given how much content you need to cover? Do you feel departmental, institutional, or disciplinary pressures to cover certain material? What are the four major objections educators voice about teaching critical thinking relative to content? Why are critical thinking and content actually  never at odds? What does the Brad Pitt movie,  Mon...

Jesse Stommel of the University of Denver, author of An Urgency of Teachers , and “ungrading” maven joins Steve for a thought provoking and, at times, joyously contentious discussion about inviting students to assign their own grades to themselves.  Ultimately, the conversation swerves into grading’s and education’s implications for society and politics.  But who could have seen that coming?  This...

Steve delves into A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence, by Jeff Hawkins, which holds immediate implications for the teaching of critical thinking as understood through the literal functions of neurons!  But contrary to the title, teaching critical thinking doesn’t become easier through thousands of things; it actually becomes easier, and more successful, through very few. This is a publ...

Want to know what your colleagues mean when they talk about "critical thinking"? Want to know how to stimulate dialogue about it at your institution? Want to know why Steve is like Annie Wilkes ? Two recent studies shed new light on how educators conceptualize critical thinking and, more importantly, which particular aspects of critical thinking they value most.  But while the studies in...

We're excited to welcome Zoe Weil from the Institute for Humane Education Zoe is the author of  The World Becomes What We Teach and is a notable TedX contributor.  Zoe focuses her work on helping educators build "solutionaries" who tackle real world problems.  Join us as we discuss the overlays between her work and ours, and critical thinking in general. This is a public episode. If...

A recent article in  The New York Times  argued that critical thinking is a dangerous "rabbit hole" and isn't the right tool for fighting "fake news."  Dave and Steve discuss the article's alternative, and, of course, advocate for stronger critical thinking in media literacy.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get a...

Did you know that at any given point during an online lecture, 40% of students' minds are wandering?  Join Dave and Steve to learn about "persistence" vs. "transience" in memory, and how to improve your learning outcomes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.subs...

Dave and Steve return with a podcast on combating fake news and why we should all be jealous of Finland.  Also, the new Critical Thinking Initiative Online learning experience, and Steve's new book,  America's Critical Thinking Crisis: The Failure and Promise of Education. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,...

Join us for an exciting announcement and an interview with John Eyler, Ph. D., author of  How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching.   Wishing everyone wellness, safety, and satisfying teaching (or a much needed break!) in this time of COVID. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit p...

Given the sudden mass migration to online learning because of COVID19, The Critical Thinking Initiative offers this brief, "emergency" podcast about simple measures every instructor, K-Ph. D.--can take to ensure that the online learning experience is a positive one for the students.  Please feel encouraged to share this one with everyone you know who has suddenly had to transition their...

Steve and Dave delve into recent research on critical thinking growth throughout college. Learn the extent to which it is happening and why. Warning: this episode may contain some ranting. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com

Steve and Dave tackle the complex issue of how to respond to student work effectively. Spoiler alert: It's somewhere between a pat on the back and psychiatric analysis. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com

Mindfulness education is gaining popularity in academia, but does helping students get their Zen on also help them to think critically? Take some deep breaths, find your center, and start listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com

Steve & Dave respond to an article and, more broadly, to the "ungrading" movement, which assert that grades interfere with deeper learning.  Listen in to find out why grades do, don't, and shouldn't hinder learning, and how we can use them constructively.  Also, a little known fact about Zeus. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscriber...

Several faculty members from the University of Wyoming share their perspectives on critical thinking after a three-day workshop with Dave and Steve. This is a rare opportunity to listen to other educators' perspectives on incorporating critical thinking into their teaching practice. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episo...

Dave and Steve engage the questions and critiques around whether or not the term "critical" is the best one for the kind of thinking we want students to do. Do its connotations outweigh its intention? Is there a term that's better? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.subs...

Steve and Dave welcome Jackson Nickerson, Ph. D., who is the Frahm Family Professor of Organization and Strategy at the Olin School of Business, and who founded the Leading Thinking program through Brookings Executive Education. This is a powerful conversation that culminates in the many risks for our students if we fail to forge forward with thinking-driven learning. This is a public episode. If...

Steve and Dave look at the recent article from  The Chronicle of Higher Education  about James Madison University's X-lab, and they examine rising contemporary calls for opportunities for students to innovate and problem solve.  Are X-Labs the future of learning?  Should your school have one?  In related news, Steve drops a bomb about lucite. This is a public episode. If you would like to dis...

Dave and Steve welcome Michael S. Roth, author of  Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters.   Michael offers wonderful perspectives on the relationship between critical thinking, the liberal arts, and interdisciplinary.  He also raises critical perspectives about the importance of pushing students to step outside their own viewpoints about the world. This is a public episode. If you w...

What's the relationship between certain video games and critical thinking skills?  According to some recent assertions, select video games promote critical thinking by creating rich worlds in which players must make difficult choices.  To what extent do those choices foster critical thinking?  And to what success are video games being employed in classrooms?  Also, why are Steve and Dave maki...