The Learning Future Podcast with Louka Parry

Hear part 2 of this episode podcast at Coconut Thinking!https://coconut-thinking.captivate.fm/episode/we-are-human-beings-not-humans-doings-ft-louka-parryHow comfortable are you with not knowing, how often do you change your mind? How do cultures of personalised learning arise? What happens when the boundaries of disciplines dissolve, replaced with meaningful projects that can have an impact on themselves, others, and the world?Benjamin is the co-founder of Coconut Thinking, whose ambition is to create spaces for purposeful thinking and action that contribute to the welfare of the bio-collective. Coconut Thinking imagines learning ecosystems that extend beyond physical and conceptual walls. They would be inter-generational and collaborative. Alongside future-ready skills, they would teach future-saving ethics such as “practice eco-reciprocity,” “stand up for justice,” “share with solidarity,” and “act with kindness.”Benjamin is also the Whole School Leader of Learning and Teaching, Prem Tinsulanonda International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Benjamin focuses on the ‘lived’ curriculum: on pedagogy, and what classroom practice looks like. He thinks about how to develop a culture of active learning, where the boundaries of disciplines start to disappear and learners engage projects that are meaningful and have an impact on themselves, others, and the world.Benjamin speaks English and French natively, Spanish fluently, and German, Japanese, and Vietnamese, all at intermediate levels.He holds a Ph.D. in History from the National University of Singapore (2013), a MSc of Education from Mercy College (2015), an MBA of International Business from the Thunderbird School of Global Management (2000), an MA of International Relations from the University of Denver, Joseph Korbel School of International Studies (1997), among other bachelor and graduate diplomas.

Why is it that sometimes even the most rudimentary tasks seem hard?How can we convince ourselves and others to improve our teaching, will it take a revolution or something more practical, and what happens if we imagine “what would make this easy”?In this episode Louka speaks with Dr Karen Edge about school leadership and school improvement strategies. She is known for her ability to blend theory and evidence-based strategy with practical insights and humour.Dr Karen Edge is a researcher, leader and author and is currently a Reader in Educational Leadership at UCL Institute of Education and recently served as Pro-Vice Provost (International) at University College London, UK. She has conducted research in over 30 countries including a 6 jurisdiction study of teacher motivation and retention.Karen's Global City Leaders Project worked with Generation X school leaders in London, New York City and Toronto to understand more about their work, lives and ambitions. Karen is also preparing two books on Generation X leader and City-based education policy contexts and the influence on school leaders.Karen’s PhD focussed on knowledge management and educational reform at the Ontario Institute Education/University of Toronto.She sits on ESRC (UK), Danish and Swiss National Research Review Panels and the Advisory Panel for International School Leadership Principals [http://internationalschoolleadership.com/] in Ontario.She is Past Editor-in-Chief of Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability (EAEA) and a current Editorial Board Member for EAEA, School Leadership and Management and Leadership and Policy in Schools.

Hunter Johnson is the Founder & CEO of two purpose-driven organisations.Hunter leads The Man Cave, an emotional intelligence charity that has impacted the lives of 20,000 young men across Australia.Hunter is also the CEO of STUFF™, a men's personal care brand that champions healthy masculinity. He also works as an Advisor to The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT), a charity supporting young people throughout the Commonwealth alongside Prince Harry.Hunter's work has led him to speak around the world including presenting at the United Nations, Government House, Human Rights Commission, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Town Hall, Graduation Ceremonies and various Universities. Hunter has been recognised as a Finalist for the 2020 Young Australian of the Year Awards (VIC), listed as one of Harper's Bazaar's "Visionary Men of 2019", named a 2018 Queen's Young Leader by Her Majesty The Queen, and 2018 Winner of the EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Southern Region).

Today we don't have a guest, we have a whole team, one that believes educational expertise lies in a collective rather than an individual. We have 6 amazing humans from the Educational Experiences Team from the School of Cybernetics at Australian National University!Their mission is to take cybernetics to the world, through creating and delivering innovative, research-informed educational experiences for industry, government and our communities.Featuring Amy McLennan, Adrian Schmidt, Andrew Meares, Jess Thompson, Ben Swift, & Kelly Frame. If you’ve run out of questions about your toaster, check out Simone Rebaudengo’s Brad the Toaster Addicted products: The story of Brad the Toaster. Connect with them at https://3ainstitute.org/.

Why would a country cut 25 - 50% of its curriculum from schools? And what are the most powerful learning experiences to place in this new space of autonomy? Discover what Portugal is doing at a National level to build future skills through social emotional development programs from one of its chief architects of change. In this episode Louka speaks with Pedro Cunha, who served as Deputy Director-General for Education in Portugal across four governments (2010-2017), where he was responsible for school improvement, ECEC, early school leaving, Health and Wellbeing, Inclusive Education, Curricula Enrichment, Psychology and support services. Pedro is now Director of the Gulbenkian Program for Knowledge at the Gulbenkian Foundation, and holds a Degree, Masters and Ph.D (ongoing) in the Psychology of Education. He started his career as a school psychologist, and as coordinator of social innovation programs on substance abuse, community development and social exclusion, was Program Director and Head of Education at the Aga Khan Foundation Portugal (2003-2010) and taught at Teachers College (2008-10).He has worked as expert at the European Commission, UN, UNICEF and the OECD. He is part of a Think Tank at the National Professional Association of Psychologists and an Observatory at the University of Minho.

Ross Hall is strategist with a fixation on transforming education into thriving learning ecosystems. He is currently co-lead of the Jacobs Foundation’s Learning Societies Portfolio, jacobsfoundation.org, which creates trustful and dynamic communities using evidence based resource allocation. Based in Zurich, Switzerland. Ross Hall co-founded The Weaving Lab that aims to advance leadership practices that are prerequisites to creating and sustaining learning ecosystems, healthy interdependence, and ultimately universal wellbeing. See more at https://weavinglab.org.

What routines and methods do you use to innovate? And how can you design for more creativity and experience idea flow? In this episode, Louka speaks with Perry Klebahn and Jeremy Utley who lead Stanford University's d.school Executive Education. We cover innovation, learning, leadership and the concept of Ideaflow: an experience built on discrete repeatable practices that can increase your creativity and a forthcoming book. Take a listen to hear how you can become more creative in the way you contribute at work, in school and in society and check out https://www.ideaflow.design.On our guests: When it comes to startups, corporations and executive leadership, Perry’s seen just about everything. He's a seasoned entrepreneur, product designer, chief executive and co-founding member of the d.school faculty with over 20 years of experience. He also loves math, motorcycles and making things. Perry brought two out of three of those interests to bear when he created a new category of sportswear by way of a high-performance shoe — a snowshoe — for his product design master’s thesis. He went on to found the Atlas Snowshoe Company, which remains the leader in snowshoe design and technology. Perry sold Atlas and became the head of Sales and Marketing for the clothing brand, Patagonia in 2000. He then went on to be named the CEO of the iconic bag company, Timbuk2 in 2007. Both opportunities gave him extensive experience in brand turn-around, design and innovation. Despite his years running startups and corporations, Perry’s true calling is teaching. He leverages the breadth and depth of his experience as he pushes his students to bring rigor and precision to their fast-paced design work. His students often tell him that, while they were intimidated by him during the course, they're grateful for the pressure he placed on them to exceed their own expectations. Perry is a founding teaching team member for the d.school’s startup gauntlet class, Launchpad, the innovation leadership course, d.leadership and the week-long executive education intensive, Bootcamp. He is also on the teaching teams for the personal development course, Designer in Society and the organizational change course, d.org. In every class, Perry guides his students to look back in order to discover what to do next and works from the unshakeable belief that it’s always possible to see a problem differently.Perry is an Adjunct Professor and Director of Executive Education at the d.school. He holds a B.A. in Physics from Wesleyan University (1988) and a Master’s degree in Product Design from Stanford University (1991).Jeremy never expected to be a designer. On his 10th birthday, his father asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Jeremy replied,”I want to be one of the people who carry boxes with handles.” A little over a decade later, Jeremy became a briefcase-carrying management consultant focusing on economic development. Then, in 2008, d.school derailed him completely. His time as a student and a fellow at the d.school showed him that “how” he worked was more important than “what” he did. Today, Jeremy is dedicated to helping others along the same path to becoming a designer. He helps people change their deeply-engrained behaviors and discover, as he did, that it is possible for them to make a difference. He does this through teaching as well as through growing alongside his students to become better in his own life and work every day.Jeremy is the Director of Executive Education at the d.school. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin’s Red McComb’s School of Business (2005) and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business (2009).

Rajika Bhandari is a scholar and practitioner in international higher education, Dr. Bhandari's work has spanned the nonprofit, private and higher education sectors across 22 countries. She is also a widely published author and speaker on issues of international education, the global competition for talent, skilled immigrants, and educational and cultural diplomacy. She is the founder of Rajika Bhandari Advisors, offering strategic guidance to nonprofits, multilateral organizations, and higher education institutions around the world, and also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. She is author of the forthcoming book, America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility.A product of international education herself, Dr. Bhandari was educated in India and the U.S. and now lives outside New York City. Learn more about her work at: www.rajikabhandari.com

How might we better understand and embrace diversity so that it leads to greater intercultural communication and empathy? In a world of so much challenge and conflict through division, what is the role of education to create peace?In today's episode, Louka speaks with Peter Mousaferiadis, an internationally recognised thought leader of culture as a driver of peace and innovation. Before founding Cultural Infusion in 2002, Peter had an extensive career in the arts as a creative director, producer, artistic director, music director, composer, and intercultural dialogue champion. He is an expert in intercultural understanding and has produced major intercultural productions for the United Nations, the Parliament of World Religions, and the United Religions Initiative. His latest initiative is Diversity Atlas, which provides deep insights into organisational workforce and unlock the potential of diversity.

In a world where childhood has migrated online, what must we know and teach our students and children to keep them safe and help them be successful in this digital world? In today's episode, Louka speaks with Nicholas Carlisle; a changemaker, lawyer and champion for social justice and children's well-being. He is CEO of the Power of Zero, a global campaign to reshape early learning for an increasingly connected world, by teaching young children the skills and values that they need. The campaign brings together leaders in technology with experts in children and NGOs around the world. Nicholas graduated in philosophy and ancient history from Oxford University, worked as a barrister in Lincoln’s Inn and served as chairman of the Amnesty International UK. He has practiced as a child and family psychotherapist, and founded and led No Bully, a US based non-profit with the mission to eradicate bullying and cyberbullying worldwide. He has been recognised by Toms as a Game Changer, Ashoka as a Champion of Children’s Wellbeing and by Hearts on Fire as a visionary.