Session

In playful learning in the library, the learner chooses what they will learn. This makes it challenging for non-formal educators to see and explain the learning that’s happening. In this talkshop, Ben Mardell of Harvard Project Zero, Maria Xanthoudaki of the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, and Amos Blanton talk with the audience about playful learning they saw during NEXT 2023.

Maximum capacity: 50 people

Hosts

Ben Mardell, Maria Xanthoudaki & Amos Blanton

Ben Mardell is a principal investigator at Project Zero, a research organization at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For 40 years, Ben has taught and conducted research in early childhood settings.

Maria Xanthoudaki is director of education and of the Centre for Research in Informal Education at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Italy. She teaches research methods in education at the Faculty of Education in the Catholic University of Milan. She holds a PhD in museum education and a master’s degree in art education, both from the University of Sussex, UK, and a BA in pedagogy from the University of Crete, Greece.

Amos Blanton is a constructionist designer and educator who specializes in interest-driven environments, activities, and communities that nurture the learner’s curiosity.