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)…

At Lectica (the nonprofit that owns me), we believe that if everyone had the opportunity to learn optimally, we’d be living in a healthier, more compassionate world. That’s why we created Micro-VCol Makers. Micro-VCoL Makers allow anyone to create powerful little learning tools that improve people’s lives by helping them…

Do feelings drive learning? If so, what are they and where do they come from? — For many years, I’ve drawn attention to the dangers of treating cognition and emotion as though they are (or ought to be) independent of one another—especially when it comes to mental development. Like many scholars working within the Piagetian paradigm, including luminaries like Lawrence Kohlberg and Kurt Fischer, I view…

At Lectica (the nonprofit that owns me), we create formative developmental assessments that are scored for developmental level (Lectical Level) with CLAS—our computerized developmental scoring system. CLAS relies upon a large curated developmental dictionary—the Lectical Dictionary—in which meaning chunks, which we call items, are assigned to developmental phases to create…

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…

Reform is in the air! It seems like the American educational pendulum is beginning to swing from a primary focus on academic content to an increased focus on skill. …