Just as Harvard University is a place âwhere world-class professors, innovative research, and a dynamic student community come together to advance education and foster change in the worldâ, Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), founded in 1920, grants students and visiting scholars who are determined to âlearn to change the worldâ valuable opportunities to meet great professors and participate in shaping meaningful research.
The bookâs twenty interviews are organized into five parts: Values and Goals, Development, Media, Student Life and Institutions, and Putting Learning into PracticeâEngineering Education. While our team of interviewees consists largely of HGSE professors and administrators, it also includes world-renowned professors and deans from other Harvard schools, as well as an outstanding representative of global engineering education transformation. Each chapter consists of an interviewee profile, editorsâ note, the interview dialogue itself, references, and notes, so that our dear readers can experience the impact of the intervieweesâ ideas and reliably trace their sources. While each individual interview is an instructive snapshot of a specific area of educational research and practice, we hope that the collection as a whole will enlighten and inspire each of our readers to do their part to improve the world.
Contributors are: Jane (Chao) Bai, Joseph Blatt, Jack (Jiajie) Chen, Chris Dede, Catherine Elgin, Tracy Elizabeth, Tianyu Fu, Yidan Gao, Hunter Gehlbach, Paul Harris, Helen Haste, Mingzhu He, Thomas Hehir, Siang Huat (Jason Hong), Arthur Kleinman, Charles H. Langmuir, Stephen Lassonde, Harry Lewis, Yinqi Li, Yi (Elaine) Lin, Jed F. Lippard, Richard K. Miller, Siwen Zhang Minero, Samuel Odamah, Robert L. Selman, Nancy Sommers, Justin M. Thomas, Sonia Maria Pereira Vidigal, Lianjiang Wang, Richard Weissbourd, Gary Yu, Haiqin Yu, Ting Zhang, Jing Zhao, Qiuzi Zhou, Songyu Zhu and Julie.
Haiqin Yu, Ph.D. (2012), Ocean University of China, was a visiting scholar at Harvard Graduate School of Education from 2014 to 2015, and is a senior editor for Journal of University of Jinan (Science and Technology). Her research focuses on general education, engineering education, and reading and writing education.
Justin M. Thomas earned a masterâs degree in Regional Studies-East Asia from Harvard University in 2014 and a bachelorâs degree in Chinese from Georgetown University in 2012. He served in the Peace Corps in China from 2015 to 2017.
Foreword
âHarry Lewis
Foreword
âRichard K. Miller
Foreword
âHelen Haste
The Intention of the Project
Acknowledgements
The Origin of the Book Name and Cover Design
Notes on Contributors
Fulcrum Team Member Profiles
Introduction: Kindness Is a Choice
âHaiqin Yu
PART 1: Values and Goals
1 To Retrieve and Guard the Soul of Higher Education: An Interview with Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science Harry Lewis, Interim Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (2015, 1â6), Former Dean of Harvard College (1995â2003)
âHaiqin Yu and Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
2 What Really Matters â Endurance, Meaning, and the Moral Life of the Person: An Interview (2015) with Harvard Anthropology and Psychiatry Professor Arthur Kleinman (Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology; Professor of Medical Anthropology in Global Health and Social Medicine; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)
âJustin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao), Haiqin Yu and Mingzhu He
3 Updates on COVID, Aging, and the U.S.-China Relationship: A second Interview (2023) with Professor Arthur Kleinman (Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology; Professor of Medical Anthropology in Global Health and Social Medicine; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)
âJustin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
4 Constructing Culture and Creating Competence: An Interview with Professor Helen Haste
âMingzhu He, Haiqin Yu and Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
5 The Differences between American and Chinese Education Should Not Be Overstated: A Conversation with Harvard University Victor S. Thomas Professor Paul Harris
âSiang Huat and Haiqin Yu
6 Art and Education: An Interview with Harvard University Professor of the Philosophy of Education Catherine Elgin
âMingzhu He, Haiqin Yu and Sonia Maria Pereira Vidigal
7 How to Build a Habitable Planet â A General Education Course: An Interview with Higgins Professor of Geochemistry Charles H. Langmuir
âYinqi Li and Haiqin Yu
PART 2: Development
8 Developing Social Awareness and Engagement Competencies â Research and Practice: An Interview with Roy Edward Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development Robert L. Selman
âSiwen Z. Minero, Haiqin Yu and Chao Bai
9 Making Caring Common â an Uncommonly Caring Project: An Interview with Faculty Director of the Human Development and Psychology Masterâs Program Professor Richard Weissbourd
âYi Lin, Songyu Zhu and Haiqin Yu
10 Better Relationships, Higher Grades â The Importance of Social Perspective Taking in the Classroom: An Interview with Professor Hunter Gehlbach
âHaiqin Yu, Jing Zhao and Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
PART 3: Media
11 Digital Ecosystems in Todayâs Education: An Interview with Harvard University Timothy E. Wirth Professor Chris Dede
âJulie
12 The Nature and Future of Special Education: An Interview with Silvana and Christopher Pascucci Professor of Practice in Learning Differences Emeritus, Thomas Hehir
âSiwen Z. Minero, Haiqin Yu and Ting Zhang
13 New Ways of Learning and Teaching in a Media-Saturated Environment: An Interview with Harvard University Professor Joseph Blatt
âSongyu Zhu and Haiqin Yu
14 Socioacademic Crossmedia Curricula â Enhancing Literacy and Social Skills through Books and Films: An Interview with HGSE Doctoral Candidate Tracy Elizabeth
âHaiqin Yu and Yi Lin
15 How Expository Writing Has Become the Only Required Course at Harvard University: An Interview with the Former Sosland Chair in Expository Writing Nancy Sommers
âHaiqin Yu, Mingzhu He, Sonia Maria Pereira Vidigal, Yi Lin and Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
PART 4: Student Life and Institutions
16 Every Child, Every Classroom, Every Day: An Interview with Dr. Jed F. Lippard, former Head of School at Prospect Hill Academy Charter School, former President of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association
âHaiqin Yu and Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
17 Harvard Stories: An Interview with Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumnus and Harvard University Administrative Staff Samuel Odamah
âSonia Maria Pereira Vidigal, Haiqin Yu and Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
18 Student Life â An Indispensable Part of a Harvard Education: An Interview with Former Harvard College Dean of Student Life Stephen Lassonde
âHaiqin Yu, Songyu Zhu and Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao)
PART 5: Putting Learning into Practice â Engineering Education
19 Olin â Becoming a âCollaboratoryâ for Innovation in Engineering Education: An Interview with Olin College of Engineering President Richard K. Miller
âHaiqin Yu, Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao), Lianjiang Wang, Gary Yu, Tianyu Fu and Qiuzi Zhou
20 The Olin Effect in School Management on Emerging Engineering Education â Small in Size but Large in Impact: A Conversation between President Richard K. Miller and Lianjiang Wang, Haiqin Yu
âRichard K. Miller, Lianjiang Wang, Haiqin Yu, Justin M. Thomas (Zheng Tao), Gary Yu, Jack Chen and Yidan Gao
Index
This volume is of interest to professionals in education practice, policy, research, and theory as well as in associated disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, and linguistics, and in institutional climates and innovation management.