ML116: Alex Beard on Korean Exam Factories, Silicon Valley Superschools and the Finnish Education Phenomenon

Alex Beard is an author, speaker and the Senior Director of the Global Learning Lab at Teach for All network of independent organizations working to help all children fulfill their potential.

After starting out as an English teacher in a London comprehensive, he completed an MA at the Institute of Education before joining Teach For All.  Alex has travelled around the world in search of the practices that will shape the future of learning and these experiences form the basis of his book Natural Born Learners which he describes as a user's guide to transforming learning in the twenty-first century,

Alex’s experiences formed the basis of our discussion in this episode we discuss three big issues, concretised in his experiences:

• The power of education for development and the dangers of exam factories in South Korea
• The potential of personalised learning and the dangers of over optimisation in Silicon Valley
• The human centred model of education and celebration of teachers in Finland

We also discuss the personal takeaways Alex got from his trip around the world that you can apply to your learning on an individual basis – so whether you’re a parent, teacher or learner this episode has you covered.