Learning, Doing, Being: A New Science of Education [On Being]

Learning, Doing, Being: A New Science of Education

October 21, 2010

What Adele Diamond is learning about the brain challenges basic assumptions in modern education. Her work is scientifically illustrating the educational power of things like play, sports, music, memorization and reflection. What nourishes the human spirit, the whole person, it turns out, also hones our minds.

About the Image

Students at the Nepalese Karuna-Shechen Bamboo School fly kites painted by Canadian students and given by Adele Diamond and her husband.

+ (photo: Adele Diamond)

Program Details

Unheard Cuts

» Unedited Interview with Adele Diamond
(mp3, 68:20)

Hear the Music

» Show Playlist ¦ listen to full-length tracks of each song played in the program

Like-Minded Shows

» The "Happiest" Man
in the World

Matthieu Ricard, a renowned Buddhist teacher, on how he understands spirituality as "contemplative science."

» Play, Spirit,
and Character

Physician Stuart Brown studies pleasurable, purposeless activity and its value in preventing violence and promoting trust, empathy, and adaptability.

SoundSeen (our multimedia stories)

» In the Room with Adele Diamond
[video, 64:41]

From a hotel in downtown Vancouver, Krista and Diamond discuss education and its roles, cognitive development in children, the importance of social dramatic play, and more.

» Dramatic Play +
the Developing Brain
[slideshow, 5:10]

An improvisational storytelling class of 5th and 6th graders draw on Adele Diamond's educational philosophy and demonstrate three important executive functions.

Music of El Sistema

» The Music of El Sistema
The great young conductor Gustavo Dudamel, a product of El Sistema, leads the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. Listen musicians from 18 to 28 play Beethoven, Shostakovich, Mahler, and Marquez! Lovely.

Pertinent Posts from the On Being Blog

» First Time Flying a Kite
[video, 2:15]
Children at a Nepalese "bamboo school" discover new joy in the act of flying kites from children in Canada.

» "For His Holiness the Dalai Lama"
We highlight some of the passages Adele Diamond presented to the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala — including texts from Rabbi Heschel, Bashevis Singer, Rachel Naomi Remen, and Henri Nouwen.

» Producing "Dramatic Play + the Developing Brain"
A bit of the backdrop for producing a slideshow about executive function for this program.

» Echoes of the Golden Rule
Karen Armstrong prefers Hillel's version; Adele Diamond prefers Jesus' variation. Both take away a call to action. Hear them both.

» Tools of the Mind
A New York Times article features Adele Diamond's work the weekend before our interview.

» Learn More About Adele Diamond's Work
A conference organized by Adele Diamond that "takes the research out of the ivory tower and addresses how it applies to what people do."