Conceptually Speaking
Conceptually Speaking is a show about exploring the cognitive processes and social practices that help us make sense of our world. As as teacher-scholar interested in the intersection of educational theory, practice, and scholarship, I host conversations with guests ranging from practicing educators to neuroscientists and literary scholars to YouTube video essayists. Each episode shares a common purpose: to consider, critique, and reconceptualize what we think and feel about education. If you enjoy the show and want to learn more, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, find me on Substack, and check out trevoraleo.com for more information, resources, and details on professional learning.
Conceptually Speaking
Matthew Murrie Talks Curiosity and Connection
Our guest this week is entrepreneur and chief curiosity curator at What If? Curiosity, Matt Murrie. As you can tell by his title, he loves to get curious—about education, about people, about things, events, processes, and well, basically everything. It’s what makes him and his method for curiosity-based learning so compelling. Matt regards curiosity as a natural resource—fuel that can provide the power necessary to tackle complex, important problems. As you’ll be able to tell from our conversation, he has a full tank and his energy and enthusiasm are as contagious as his trademark question: What If? If there’s a better question to define our current moment, I can’t think of one. Education is in a state of flux. Everything educators, administrators, and parents have known has been thrown out of the window. It’s going to take a ton of “What-If” style creativity and curiosity to create the new normal, and this episode will provide plenty of inspiration. Over the course of the episode, Matt will explain his “What-to-Wow” method to show how students can take ownership of their learning and get curious. I met Matt a few years ago at the Business Innovation Factory conference, and its been awesome to hear his work grow and evolve to the current model. He is one of the most passionate and enthusiastic people I know, so you’re in for a captivating conversation. Enjoy!