There are at least three distinct ways of thinking about mindset. All are bound up with emotion, and each has its own implications for learning and development. — Even the most cursory exploration of the mindset literature quickly reveals that mindset is not a single, unified construct. In this article, I lay out three common ways of thinking about “mindset,” and explore their implications for learning and development.

On metrics and virtuous cycles of learning I recently sat down for a conversation with Tim Logan, from the Future learning design podcast series. It was a wonderful opportunity to describe Lectica’s mission, learning model, and approach to assessment. Here is a synopsis of what Tim had to say about the podcast: With trillions of public money…

In horticulture, there is an oft-repeated bit of advice given to new gardeners, “Right plant, right place.” It’s pure wisdom. When we choose a location that naturally provides the right environment for a given plant, that plant is likely to thrive with minimal care. …

Back in 1996, after many years of bemoaning the state of modern education, I set out to see if it was possible to create a new educational assessment technology focused on measuring and supporting optimal mental development. In addition to being accurate and richly formative (supportive of learning and development)…

As you may know, my colleagues and I are on a mission to change the focus of education from learning for correctness to building robust and agile minds. …

Well, maybe not so simple… — Mental illness is at an all-time high. For example, according to the CDC, the national rate of Major Depressive Episodes (MDE) in youth has doubled since 2011. In 2023, 17% of 12 to 17-year-olds had experienced at least one Major Depressive Episode during the previous 12 months. In fact, all…

This year (2023–2024), Lectica (the nonprofit that owns me) is offering a celebratory edition of our post-graduate-level course, Foundations of Lectical Assessment. In essence, this course is the long academic answer to the question, “What are the origins of the mighty micro-VCoL?” Since few of my readers will be able…

I’ve been working for decades on developing a scalable alternative to multiple-choice tests largely because they are narrowly focused on correctness rather than competence (the ability to put knowledge & ideas to work in the real world). Consequently, I wasn’t surprised to see the long list of multiple-choice tests that…

Lectica (the nonprofit that owns me) is releasing the first lecture of Lectica’s course, Foundations of Lectical Assessment, to the public — for free. The FOLA is a graduate-level survey course developed by Zak Stein and Theo Dawson. During the teens, FOLA was delivered in Harvard’s Mind, Brain, and Education…