Coconut Thinking

In this episode, I speak with Jeremy Lent. Jeremy was described by Guardian journalist George Monbiot as “one of the greatest thinkers of our age,” and his work investigates the underlying causes of our civilization’s existential crisis, and explores pathways toward a life-affirming future. His new book, The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, offers a coherent and intellectually solid foundation for a worldview based on connectedness that could lead humanity to a sustainable, flourishing future. In this episode, we discuss: 

• The power of social and network intelligences, which go beyond what the individual can do,
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• How instilling passion and purpose among our students might just save the planet,
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• How the greatest lesson we can teach is that there is no separation between us and nature.
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In this episode, I speak with Jenny Finn, Head of School at Springhouse, a learning community with life at its center. Springhouse takes learning beyond traditional-progressive continuum as the school focuses on vitality, meaning, and cultivating wholeness. Jenny sees education as a primary agent to create regenerative cultures, reflecting how we are all connected, as inhabitants of the planet. This episode hopes to continue the conversation about what a post-humanist approach to learning could look like. We discuss: 

• How education is culture-making (so what kind of culture do we want to make?),
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• How if you're not encountering resistance, you're not trying anything new,
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• The dangers of being addicted to knowing.
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In this episode, I speak with Chris Menagé. Chris is an interdisciplinary educational leader with over 20 years’ international and national experience across private enterprise, government administration and most recently education. Chris has lived around the world and has an award winning track record contributing to educational change through innovative practice. Chris is the founder of E2, which brings together innovators across education and industry. In this episode, we discuss:

• How remote learning provides opportunities for deeper learning and meaningful connections,
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• How education is an ecosystem that exists beyond the classroom or the school building,
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• How we can all take action to have impact and grow together.
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Join us for another episode and we look forward to your thoughts.

In this episode, I speak with Peter Sutoris. Peter is a development professional, researcher, writer and educator, who spent a decade working on issues of education, health and social development. Peter is the author of the article "Anthropocene skills need to be at the centre of curricula" and the author of two books: Visions of Development, about the history development policy in India, and Educating for the Anthropocene, about the refocussing of education interventions needed in the face of the current environmental crisis. We discuss:

• Breaking away from the meritocratic narrative to imagine our possible futures,

• How following the blueprint for success may be a threat to the planet as well as ourselves,

• How education is not the same thing as schooling.

Join us for another episode and we look forward to your thoughts.

In this episode, I speak with Helen Kopnina, Researcher in Sustainability and Biodiversity at The Hague University of Applied Science (HHS) and Coordinator of the Sustainable Business program. She conducts research within three main areas: sustainability, environmental education and biological conservation. Helen is the author of over two hundred articles and (co)author and (co)editor of seventeen books. She recently wrote an article with Haydn Washington on Ecocentrism is the pathway to sustainability. In this episode, we discuss: 

• The role of education in helping us take the little and bigger steps toward sustainability,
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• How so many experiences in school take from nature, but forget to give back,
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• How anthropocentrism opens the gateways to sexism, racism, economic injustice... as well as the degradation of the planet.
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Join us for another episode and we look forward to your comments.

In this episode, I speak to Haydn Washington, environmental scientist and writer at the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW. His interests are sustainability (as a step toward regeneration), solutions to the environmental crisis, human dependence on nature, and humanity's denial of its problems. He is also keenly interested in wilderness and the 'sense of wonder' humanity feels towards nature. We discuss:

• Thinking in terms of eco-reciprocity rather than sustainability,
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• Overcoming Nature Deficit Disorder through wonder and experience,
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• The politics of healing through small, meaningful steps.
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This is the latest episode of a series that brings the voice of those outside K-12, opening up to the larger ecosystem where thinking, learning and action can contribute to the welfare of the bio-collective.

In this episode, I speak with Noah Sobe, Senior Project Officer in the Education Research and Foresight program at UNESCO. Noah is a key part of UNESCO's new flagship initiative on the Futures of Education, which brings together researchers of different backgrounds around the predicted, probable, and possible futures for the planet. He is a former president of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) and holds a faculty position as Professor of Cultural and Educational Studies at Loyola University Chicago. In this episode, we discuss:

• Commoning—as a verb—to bring together all those who have an interest in the healthfulness of the planet,

• The role of school as a place for new experiences, ones that often cannot exist outside of school,

• The need to democratize education and open up to an ecosystem that drives purpose.

This episode marks the first of a series that goes beyond the education industry towards thinkers, writers, and activists who seek to open a conversation on a possible post-humanist future, one that starts to move away from anthropocentric worldviews. As always, we look forward to your thoughts.

In this episode of the Meaningful Learning Podcast, I speak with Valerie Hannon. Valerie is a global thought leader, inspiring systems to re-think what educational ‘success’ will mean in the 21st century. The co-founder of both Innovation Unit  and of the Global Education Leaders Partnership, Valerie is a radical voice for change, whilst grounded in a deep understanding of how education systems currently work. A former Director of Education for Derbyshire and then an adviser in the UK Department for Education, she now works to release and harness the agency and creativity of both learners and educators. Currently, she is Senior Adviser to the OECD in its Education 2030 project. In this episode, we discuss:

• Thinking about learning in terms of "what for?" before moving onto "how?"
• Learning to thrive in a transforming world (ecologically and through biotech and infotech)
• How we need to re-write the story in order to build the public will for change.

Please leave us your thoughts and comments.

In this episode of the Meaningful Learning podcast by Coconut Thinking, I speak with Jennifer Groff. Jennifer is the Founder of Learning Futures and was the Chief Learning Officer at Lumiar Education. Her work largely focuses on redesigning systems, learning environments, and digital innovations that align with the learning sciences. Jennifer brings tremendous, positive energy and thinking to curricular innovation and supporting teachers, students, and schools through the pedagogical changes that education just might need. We discuss:

• The emerging ecosystem of competency- and mastery-based evidencing (including digital passports)
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• Embedding Design Thinking into creating learning experiences
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• How maybe we just need to start over...
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Join us for this episode where Jennifer's ideas and connections are sure to provoke. As always, we look forward to your thoughts.

Erratum: I referred to cyborgs when what I really meant were androids. 

In this episode of the Meaningful Learning podcast by Coconut Thinking, I speak with Bern Nicholls. Bern is a school-based researcher who focuses on creating cultures of curiosity that support students and teachers to pursue their inquiries. She embraces curiosity as the fuel for her own learning and many interests. Bern and I had an earlier conversation about adopting a more biocentric worldview and set of values to address the problems that lay ahead for the planet and all living beings. I wanted to capture more of her inspiring thoughts in this podcast. In this conversation, Bern and I discuss:

• How it’s not either/or; it’s both/and… breaking through binaries and dualism.  
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• How curiosity is the precursor to thinking. 
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• The need for teacher agency, not just student agency.
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• The power of animals in learning and well-being. 
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Join us for this episode and we look forward to your thoughts.