Actual Intelligence with Steve Pearlman
A podcast on critical thinking hosted by Dr. Steve Pearlman, a renowned expert in the field. The show explores reasoning, logic, and mental frameworks to improve decision-making. Based on his viral TEDx talk, Dr. Pearlman offers practical insights for clearer thinking. Each episode aims to help listeners sharpen their analytical skills.
Episodes
ChatGPT "Improves" Critical Thinking in Kids...But Not Really
📍 📍 📍 think. This study found some evidence for enhancing critical thinking through the use of ChatGBT. The researchers followed 25 students as they wrote essays with the assistance of ChatGPT. Afterwards, students reported gains in critical thinking, system thinking, and strategic competence.That sounds great, right? Well, the devil is in the details. Toward the end of the report, the researc
Free Your Brain from ChatGPT "Thinking"
If you you’re someone who values being able think independently, then you should be troubled by the fact that your brain’s operates all too much like ChatGPT. I’m going to explain how that undermines your ability to think for yourself, but I’ll also give you a key way to change it.How ChatGPT “Thinks”Let’s first understand how ChatGPT “thinks.” ChatGPT is one of several Artificial Intelligences th
Is Higher Ed to Collapse from A.I.?
Steve Pearlman: Today on actual intelligence, we have a very important and timely discussion with Dr. Robert Neber of a SU, whose recent opinion piece in inside higher education is titled AI and Higher Ed, and an impending collapse. Robert is a teaching professor and honors faculty fellow at the Barrett Honors College at a SU.And the reason that I invited him to speak with us today on actual intel
Get Recognized for Thinking Outside the Box
How does your brain tackle a new problem? Believe it or not, it tackles new problems by using old frameworks it created for similar problems you faced before. But if your brain is wired to use old frameworks for new problems, then isn’t that a problem? It is. And that’s why most people never think outside the box.So, how do you get your brain to think innovatively? Divergently? And outside the box
Did the APA just end critical thinking in colleges?
Thanks for reading Actual Intelligence with Dr. Steve Pearlman! Subscribe FREE to receive new posts and support my work.APA to Students: Don't Bother to Think for Yourselves Anymore. Let AI Do It.If in the future you want a psychologist who can actually think about psychology, or a doctor who can actually think about medicine, or a teacher who can think about what their teaching, or a lawyer who c
Kids Want Off Their Phones. Here's How!
Thanks for reading Actual Intelligence with Dr. Steve Pearlman! This post is public so feel free to share it.Thanks for reading Actual Intelligence with Dr. Steve Pearlman! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Want Your Kids Off Their Phones: They Just Told Us How to Do ItIn a new Harris poll conducted with The Atlantic, kids have reminded us about the importance unstructure
Is ChatGPT Dumbing Down your Kid? New MIT Study Says, “Yes.”
Is ChatGPT dumbing down your kid? It is and here’s what you can do.A new MIT study reveals the powerful consequences of artificial intelligence on actual intelligence, and guess what? Simply (and terrifyingly) put, the use of artificial intelligence undermines your child’s actual intelligence. In short, when children don’t think for themselves, they don’t learn to think for themselves. That should
Is ChatGPT Dumbing Down your Kid? A New MIT Study Says, “Yes.”
We finally have emerging research on Artificial Intelligence's consequences for actual intelligence. If you're an educator or parent--or if you're anyone who just thinks that thinking is important--then you need to learn about this study. It offers hard evidence that our young people are in danger of diminished thinking skills for life. This is a public episode. If you would like
QUICK TIP: Unlocking Divergent Thinking--The Physical Connection
Stuck in a mental rut? Need a way to break out of your current thought patterns? Want to unlock and unleash your creative, divergent, disruptive thinking skills? Who doesn't? Listen to learn how! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com
Headagogy Update!
More Headagogy coming soon! Also, check out The Critical Thinking Institute pdocast, with me!!! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com
Thinking Critically in College with Louis Newman
Steve interviews Louis E. Newman, author of Thinking Critically in College: The Essential Handbook for Student Success. What's the relationship between thinking and studentship? How can we -- and why should we -- move students to think about disciplinarity? Are colleges promoting the thinking of which Newman advises students? And how can they benefit from his ideas regardless? This is a p
ChatGPT - A Loaded Blessing In Disguise?
Is ChatGPT friend or foe? Should the whole world, as Australia has done, relegate essay writing to inside classrooms? Is "the academic essay dead"? Or is ChatGPT, as some have contended, a tool for critical thinking that we should embrace as a new ally in teaching students?As Steve discusses, ChatGPT certainly is a revelation, but no one is really talking about why, and it might not b
Rubric Nation: Are We Rubricizing Our Humanity (Part 2)
Continuing their discussion of the pedagogical, institutional, and societal implications of rubrics and rubricizing, Joe, Michelle, and Steve get into rubrics and questions of ...privilege and the expression of structuralized racismthe effort to dismantle public education through standardizationhow rubrics as a concept contribute to the undermining of teaching as a profession, and so much more. Th
Rubric Nation: Are we Rubricizing our Humanity?
Steve and the authors of Rubric Nation -- Michelle Tenam-Zemach and Joseph E. Flynn, Jr. -- get into it about all things rubrics and rubricization, as well as whatever it is that we are doing, good and bad, as an educational system regarding teaching, learning, democracy, assessment, studentship, dialogue, politics, critical thinking, teacher training, privilege, race, class, and our greater (and
Frances Valintine: Progressive Teaching; Institutional Shifting
Steve welcomes futurist Frances Valintine: Founder of MindLab--the Best Start-up in Asia Pacific as judged by Steve Wozniak and Sir Richard Branson in 2014. Frances is a member of the New Zealand Hall of Fame for Women Entrepreneurs (2022), and named one of the top 50 EdTech Educators in the World by EdTech International (2016). They discuss progressive teaching practices and the wide-scale impl
Academic Rigor-mortis: A possible cure?
Listen for an in-depth discussion of the rigamarole around academic rigor, including what might be a very surprising--though nonetheless perfectly sensible--root of its challenges. Student vs. faculty conceptions of rigorG.I. infections"Summer School" This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactuali
NYU's Firing of Dr. Maitland Jones (pt. 2)
Part 2 on Jones's firing, including a cranky look at curious statements by NYU, and an uncomfortable look at time traveling through the academy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com
NYU's Firing of Dr. Maitland Jones (pt. 1)
Steve takes an in-depth look at NYU's expedited decision to fire distinguished Organic Chemistry professor, Dr. Maitland Jones, after receiving a petition from students complaining about his course. What's really at the heart of NYU's actions? What role did the petition play? What role should rigor play in education? And what in the world does the movie, Demolition Man, have to do
Ungrading through Peer Assessment - A Case Study (Part 2)
Steve welcomes the University of Wyoming's own TK Stoudt and his students, Amy Bezzant, Maddy Davis, and James Roberts. Hear about the triumph (and trials!) of peer assessment from an educator who's newer to implementing it, and from students who encountered it for the first time. What really happens when we give Excalibur to Uryens? Why should you have a campfire in your classroom?Sh
Ungrading through Peer Assessment - A Case Study (Part 1)
Steve welcomes the University of Wyoming's own TK Stoudt and his students, Amy Bezzant, Maddy Davis, and James Roberts. Hear about the triumph (and trials!) of peer assessment from an educator who's newer to implementing it, and from students who encountered it for the first time. What really happens when we give Excalibur to Uryens? Why should you have a campfire in your classroom?Sh
Supercourses, with Ken Bain
Ken Bain, author of What the Best College Teachers Do and What the Best College Students Do, joins Headagogy to discuss his latest book, Super Courses: The Future of Teaching and Learning. The discussion with Bain not only delves into examples of these courses and their relationship with problem based learning, but also into critical ideas for teaching and learning, such as why "expectatio
Ungrading through Peer Assessment (Part 3)
In this concluding episode on peer assessment, Steve conveys the research on peer assessment, learning outcomes, and soft skills. There should be no doubts about its value, especially, in the words of Walter Lippman, "It takes wisdom to understand wisdom. The music means nothing if the audience is deaf." This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers
Ungrading through Peer Assessment (Part 2)
Continuing his assessment into peer assessment as an important method of ungrading, Steve not only talks about how he implements it, but several other important issues, such as how peer assessment:De-emphasizes the focus on gradesRelieves students' stressFosters democratic ideals and an empowered populous, andIMPROVES learning outcomes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss t
Ungrading Through Peer Assessment (Part 1)
In this first episode of a three part series, Steve delves into the hot topic of "ungrading" with a focus on the particular and unique value that involving students in assessment brings to the greater ungrading discussion. Learn more about grades as the locus of power in academia, the unconscious forces behind grades, students' literal capacity (or lack thereof) to understand grade
The Brain Based Classroom with Kieran O'Mahony (part 2)
The continuation of the interview with Kieran O'Mahony. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com
The Brain Based Classroom with Kieran O'Mahony (part 1)
This interview with Kieran delves into fascinating neuroscience about learning that can help transform what we do in our classrooms through understanding things like the Reticular Activating System, working memory, and neurotransmitters. Kieran offers concrete things every educator can immediately adapt in order to improve their learning outcomes and their students' enjoyment of education.
A Time Machine out of a DeLorean? STEM, Creativity, and Critical Thinking
What is the relationship between STEM and creativity? Or, at least, what's the perceived relationship? And what happens when we invest millions of dollars and years of effort to improving STEM educational practices? What happens cognitively when we do it well for just a few months? All that and more, including a shoutout to Louisiana. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss
Dr. Cornelius Grove & "A Mirror for Americans"
Steve interviews Dr. Cornelius N. Grove about his most recent book, A Mirror for Americans, which delves into the research as to why students in East Asia invariably outperform American students on international tests. The discussion explores myths about education in East Asia, such as the misconception about drilling, and delves into educational and cultural differences that make students in Eas
Thinking Critically about Critical Race Theory
Steve tackles some of the controversy around Critical Race Theory (CRT), in part by examining its lineage back to critical theory and critical pedagogy. In doing so, he delves into broader question of how power is wielded in the academy, and what the academy is as a power structure. Curiously, also, Ferris Bueller. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscriber
Relationship Rich Education with Peter Felten and Leo Lambert
What's "imposter syndrome" and how does it impact our students' relationship with us? How does it impact our relationship with students? Just how critical are our relationships with students with respect to their academic success and our achievement of desired learning outcomes? What are simple things we can do as individual educators to build more meaningful relationships?
Critical Thinking vs. Content: Resolving the Frictions
Do you want to teach critical thinking but struggle to do so given how much content you need to cover?Do you feel departmental, institutional, or disciplinary pressures to cover certain material?What are the four major objections educators voice about teaching critical thinking relative to content?Why are critical thinking and content actually never at odds?What does the Brad Pitt movie, Moneyball
Ungrading: What? How? Why?
Jesse Stommel of the University of Denver, author of An Urgency of Teachers, and “ungrading” maven joins Steve for a thought provoking and, at times, joyously contentious discussion about inviting students to assign their own grades to themselves. Ultimately, the conversation swerves into grading’s and education’s implications for society and politics. But who could have seen that coming? This
A Thousand Neuroscientific Imperatives for Teaching Critical Thinking
Steve delves into A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence, by Jeff Hawkins, which holds immediate implications for the teaching of critical thinking as understood through the literal functions of neurons! But contrary to the title, teaching critical thinking doesn’t become easier through thousands of things; it actually becomes easier, and more successful, through very few. This is a publ
The Critical Thinking Skills Educators Value
Want to know what your colleagues mean when they talk about "critical thinking"? Want to know how to stimulate dialogue about it at your institution? Want to know why Steve is like Annie Wilkes?Two recent studies shed new light on how educators conceptualize critical thinking and, more importantly, which particular aspects of critical thinking they value most. But while the studies in o
Creating "solutionaries" with Zoe Weil
We're excited to welcome Zoe Weil from the Institute for Humane Education Zoe is the author of The World Becomes What We Teach and is a notable TedX contributor. Zoe focuses her work on helping educators build "solutionaries" who tackle real world problems. Join us as we discuss the overlays between her work and ours, and critical thinking in general. This is a public episode. If
Fighting Fake News: The Critical Thinking Rabbit Hole
A recent article in The New York Times argued that critical thinking is a dangerous "rabbit hole" and isn't the right tool for fighting "fake news." Dave and Steve discuss the article's alternative, and, of course, advocate for stronger critical thinking in media literacy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc
Improving Outcomes When Lecturing Online (or not)
Did you know that at any given point during an online lecture, 40% of students' minds are wandering? Join Dave and Steve to learn about "persistence" vs. "transience" in memory, and how to improve your learning outcomes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.subs
Fake News but Real Education
Dave and Steve return with a podcast on combating fake news and why we should all be jealous of Finland. Also, the new Critical Thinking Initiative Online learning experience, and Steve's new book, America's Critical Thinking Crisis: The Failure and Promise of Education. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, v
How Humans Learn
Join us for an exciting announcement and an interview with John Eyler, Ph.D., author of How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching. Wishing everyone wellness, safety, and satisfying teaching (or a much needed break!) in this time of COVID. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pea
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 t
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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com
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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com
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! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.substack.com
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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscriber
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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episo
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? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pearlmanactualintelligence.subs
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. This is a public episode. If y
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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discu
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. This is a public episode. If you wou
Do Some Video Games Promote Critical Thinking?
What's the relationship between certain video games and critical thinking skills? According to some recent assertions, select video games promote critical thinking by creating rich worlds in which players must make difficult choices. To what extent do those choices foster critical thinking? And to what success are video games being employed in classrooms? Also, why are Steve and Dave maki
Creating Changemakers - An Interview with Vipin Thekk
Vipin Thekk of ChangemakerCommunities.org joins Dave and Steve to discuss the work he does in helping reshape schools and communities so that they prepare students for an unknown future. The discussion includes ways that critical thinking, empathy, and discourse will be vital to our students, as well as how to create change where needed. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this
Does Grading Improve Learning?
Steve and Dave explore the relationship between grades and learning, including a brief look at the history of grades. Even though grading often fails to develop learning, they discuss how grading can actually play an important if not critical role in the cultivation of strong and authentic learning outcomes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get
Strategies for Overcoming Student Resistance
Special guest Anton Tolman, the lead editor of the book, Why Students Resist Learning: A Practical Model for Understanding and Helping Students, joins Steve and Dave in a discussion of how to convert the "signal" of student resistance into a force for educational growth. Tolman discusses why student resistance is natural, his research on its causes, and strategies for addressing it, inc
Critical Thinking, Hoaxes, and Constructivism
Dave and Steve tackle the controversial "Sokel Squared" hoax by academics who got fabricated articles published in academic journals. Join us for spirited commentary on what this hoax accomplishes, why it is dangerous, and how it possibly emerges from an erroneous conception of constructivism. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acces
Writing to Learn ... and THINK
Steve and Dave offer some concrete, class-ready exercises for using writing to learn to improve learning outcomes and foster deeper critical engagement of subject matter. They explain why WTL doesn't require extensive time or effort in order to produce better outcomes. They also discuss the inherent power in writing, and in writing to learn, explain why it holds such power. This is a public
Fostering a Growth Mindset in Your Students
Steve and Dave welcome Dr. Marianne Fallon for a fascinating discussion about the power of a growth mindset for students' educational performance. Marianne speaks to research on growth vs. fixed mindsets, how even high-performing students can still suffer from a fixed mindset, common mistakes educators make in reinforcing fixed mindsets, and easy measures any educator can use in any class, su
Can we be critical yet creative? Can we be critical yet inclusive?
By popular demand, Steve and Dave respond to some of the backlog of listener questions. One listener asks about whether or not critical thinking based on evidence undervalues creativity. A second listener asks about how to maintain standards for critical thinking while also ensuring a cultural diverse classroom in which all perspectives are valued. Can we be creative and critical at the same ti
"Robo Assessment"--Computerized Paper Grading
Some high stakes assessments of student writing are currently being done by computers. Steve and Dave tackle the question of whether or not cutting-edge artificial "intelligence" successfully evaluates papers for critical thinking, or anything else. Will your job as an educator soon be replaced by a computer? Tune in to find out. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss thi
Responding to Papers: Ways that Work
Many educators are frustrated by student writing, frustrated by the time they devote to responding to student writing, and frustrated by the lack of revision, if not improvement, between drafts. In this episode, Dave and Steve not only dispel myths about what constitutes an effective response to a student paper, they also offer a step-by-step process for responding in a way that produces meaningf
When Trump Supporters and West Coast Liberals Meet
What happens when someone creates a dialogue between west coast liberals and southern Trump supporters? Find out in this episode! Steve and Dave are joined by Spaceship Media founders and journalism activists, Eve Pearlman and Jeremy Hay. Spaceship Media's "dialogue journalism" is fostering constructive discourse between people who hold conflicting viewpoints, and striving to res
Problem-Based Learning: Myths, Realities, and Critical Thinking Connections
Dave and Steve tackle one of the more over- and misused terms in education, Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Learn the research behind PBL, what it is, for what it works well and for what it doesn't work well. In news of the week: How Artificial Intelligence is going to force educational change, and how critical thinking might just offer hope for the world in terms of climate change. Maybe.
Never read a 5-paragraph essay again! Three alternatives for any class.
Having blamed all the world's problems on the 5-paragraph essay in the previous episode, Steve and Dave offer three alternatives to the 5-paragraph form. These are tested, easily implemented essay structures that emphasize critical thinking and foster stronger content acquisition. News of the week explains why critical thinking can't be taught (but it can) and covers a letter to educat
Why the 5-Paragraph Essay is from Hell
Warning: This episode may provoke strong reactions from 5-paragraph-essay devotees. Not for the faint of heart! Listen in as Steve and Dave unfairly blame all of the world's problems on the 5-paragraph essay format frequently used in secondary and higher education. Also news of the week: Why even young children possess strong critical thinking skills, and how the Air Force explores "fo
Critical Thinking & Reading with Dan Willingham
Critical thinking pioneer and guru Dan Willingham joins Dave and Steve in discussing the relationship between critical thinking, reading, and teaching. They delve into the role that existing bodies of knowledge play in decoding thinking. News of the week examines whether or not reading to evaluate produces stronger outcomes than reading to comprehend. Also, to get "meta," Dave talks a
Fostering Metacognition, Growth Mindset, and Grit, with Dr. Peter Arthur
TCTI welcomes Peter Arthur, Ph.D. Peter is a frequent keynote speaker and sought-after workshop facilitator on “Enhancing Metacognition, Growth Mindset and Grit for Student Success.” He speaks with Steve and Dave about the intersects between his work and critical thinking. Plus, Steve has some depressing news of the week, and we learn why critical thinking isn't the same thing as being smar
Three Critical Thinking Exercises
Struggling to find ways to integrate direct critical thinking instruction into your courses? In this week's episode, Steve and Dave offer some modified versions of three exercises straight from The Critical Thinking Initiative handbook, exercises you can easily adapt into your coursework regardless of subject, discipline, or even grade level. Also, learn about a mysterious "mental grem
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