
Headagogy, with Steve Pearlman
Brought to you by The Critical Thinking Institute (theCTInstitute.com), Headagogy disrupts the soft-spoken, NPR-mold for education discussion and does justice to the vibrant, challenging, meaningful, frustrating, empowering, complicated, fulfilling thing that is education, as well as the hardworking, dedicated, heartfelt, and (too often) pissed-off people who are educators. Ferociously serious, chronically sardonic, intolerant of anti-intellectualism, and fed up with disrespect for education and educators, Headagogy is hosted by Steve Pearlman, Ph.D., founder of The Critical Thinking Institute, author of America’s Critical Thinking Crisis, and educator of 30+ years.
Latest episodes

Mar 22, 2020 • 15min
Quick Tips for Online Learning Satisfaction
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 teaching online.

Jan 7, 2020 • 29min
Does Higher Education Improve Critical Thinking?
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.

Dec 6, 2019 • 33min
How to offer students feedback. Or not.
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.

Nov 20, 2019 • 22min
Getting Thoughtful About Mindfulness Education
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!

Oct 8, 2019 • 26min
Do Grades Hinder Learning?
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.

Sep 8, 2019 • 39min
Straight from the Wyoming Institute
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.

Aug 16, 2019 • 29min
Should thinking really be "critical"?
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?

Jun 7, 2019 • 36min
Wicked Problems: An Interview with Jackson Nickerson
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.

Apr 1, 2019 • 31min
Are X-labs the Future of Learning and Thinking?
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.

Feb 21, 2019 • 38min
Interview with Michael S. Roth
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.