#19 - Joe Sweeney: On Improving Education and Making Better Decisions
In this episode of the It’s Not What It Seems podcast, I have an educational conversation with Joe Sweeney. Joe is the Executive Director of How I Decide, the foundation dedicated to bringing decision skills and critical thinking to youth education. His favorite part of the work is finding new participants in the field of decision education for youth, connecting them with others, and supporting their collaborations. Prior to working with the team and partners at How I Decide, Joe was an independent school leader, software entrepreneur, and award winning teacher. He currently invests the balance of his professional time teaching research methods and mentoring doctoral students at the Strategic Leadership program at Jefferson University. Joe is a fellow of the Systems Wisdom Institute, a member of the American Psychological Association, and a member of the Society of Judgement and Decision Making.
Joe is an incredibly savvy education leader, plus he’s just an all around great guy. I hope you enjoy our wide-ranging conversation.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
Joe’s favorite Pennsylvania hideout (4:08)
The key lesson sailing has taught Joe (7:01)
One big challenge K-12 education is facing (11:44)
Some key strategies to improve the field of education (17:52)
How artificial intelligence could aid the improvement of education (19:03)
The value in robust feedback (28:01)
The impact of the persuasion economy (35:43)
What a good decision education field would actually look like (38:10)
The amazing “Weight and Rate Method” for making decisions (47:00)
*** ENTER TO WIN - 2018 HOLIDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY ***
LINKS & RESOURCES:
Refer a teacher or researcher to the How I Decide Foundation: http://bit.ly/HowIDecideFoundation
Check out How I Decide’s free online programs: http://bit.ly/ProgramsHID
Joe’s favorite PA hideout, Lake Mauch Chunk: http://bit.ly/MauchChunkLakePA
Kahneman and Tversky on “The Framing of Decisions”: http://bit.ly/TheFramingofDecisions
Seth Godin on creating and our fear of shipping: http://bit.ly/FearofShipping
My article on quantity vs. quality: http://bit.ly/TheLemmingMyth
Martin Seligman on positive psychology and PERMA: http://bit.ly/PERMASeligman
“Catalyzing the Field” from How I Decide: https://bit.ly/2QlhJov
“Habitwise” from How I Decide: http://bit.ly/Habitwise
“GM Genius” from How I Decide: http://bit.ly/GMGenius
“Mindful Choices” from How I Decide: http://bit.ly/MindfulChoicesHID
“High School Explorer” from How I Decide: http://bit.ly/HighSchoolExplorer
“Burnout Blockers” from How I Decide: http://bit.ly/BurnoutBlockers
Joe’s article on the Weight and Rate Method: http://bit.ly/WeightandRate
BOOKS FROM EPISODE:
Mindset by Carol Dweck: http://bit.ly/DweckMindsetBook
The Third Wave by Steve Case: http://bit.ly/ThirdWaveCase
The Robot’s Rebellion by Keith Stanovich: http://bit.ly/RobotsRebellion
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (a book that’s changed Joe’s thinking): http://bit.ly/SelfishGene
Flourish by Martin Seligman: http://bit.ly/FlourishSeligman
The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh: http://bit.ly/HeartofBuddhasTeaching
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: http://bit.ly/TaoTeChingBook
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