Story OverviewIn this MAGICademy podcast episode, we dive into the realm of creativity and artificial intelligence with Dr. Robin Sargent, founder of IDOL Instructional Design Academy. Dr. Sargent shares her journey from running a niche recruiting agency to establishing a full-fledged vocational school, highlighting the unexpected turns that led to her current role. She discusses her innovative approach to integrating AI into skill development, including the development of an AI chatbot to support her students' learning process. The conversation explores Dr. Sargent's unique perspective on creativity, emphasizing the importance of a calm, stress-free environment for fostering growth & development.She introduces her "do it messy" approach, encouraging students to embrace imperfection and childlike wonder in their creative endeavors. The discussion extends to the future of instructional design and creativity in the age of AI, examining how these tools can enhance human creativity. Dr. Sargent also shares personal insights on overcoming self-criticism and achieving a balance between achievement-driven motivation and inner peace, offering valuable strategies for us to apply in our own creative initiatives.Read more: https://www.magicademy.club/learning-science/do-it-messy-childlike-wonder-meets-artificial-intelligenceChapters00:00 Highlight02:49 The Founding Story04:09 Love in Teaching & Student Growth04:25 AI Chatbot Addressing Learning Challenges07:26 Building an AI Chatbot with Explainability09:23 Defining Creativity10:45 Childlike Sense of Wonder12:46 About Shame and Self Judgement17:06 Future of AI + Creativity21:10 Guardrails and Challenges of AI in Creativity22:48 Protect Our Creativity with Awareness25:49 Recap and Conclusion27:29 Dr. Robin's Childhood Passion29:27 Challenges that shape Robin32:45 Dr. Robin's MAGIC

Story OverviewIn this MAGICademy podcast episode, neuroscientist Dr. Paul discusses his research on "immersion" - a measurable data stream from the brain that indicates how we value social-emotional experiences. He explains how immersion happens when we're both present and emotionally engaged, revealing that our brains process immersive moments through neurochemicals like dopamine and oxytocin. The conversation explores how peak immersive experiences influence behavior, from consumer decisions to learning retention, and how they contribute to psychological well-being. Dr. Paul shares research findings from real-world applications, including restaurant experiences, training programs, and sales interactions, demonstrating how immersion is fundamentally a shared human experience. The discussion extends to the physiological aspects of persuasion, the importance of psychological safety, and how measuring immersion through wearable technology might help improve mental health in an increasingly disconnected world.Read more: https://www.magicademy.club/culturetech/the-story-of-immersion-tracing-the-brains-social-emotional-pathways00:00 Intro03:00 How to Measure Immersion07:55 Dopamine + Oxytocin + Human Experience during Immersion11:53 The Impact of Immersion on Mental Health14:21 Peak Immersion in a business environment17:03 Neuro-responses During Persuasion19:58 Optimizing Information Delivery22:36 Measuring Immersion for Emotional Well-being24:44 Creating Psychological Safety and Trust26:15 The Immersive Experience and Losing Track of Time28:09 The Importance of Psychological Safety for Immersion29:59 Setting Hard but Achievable Goals for Immersion at Work32:24 Improving Emotional Health for a Better Future35:06 Conversation Recap36:03 The Magic of Curiosity and Making Mistakes40:41 Building Strong Teams to Overcome Challenges

Story OverviewIn this episode of the MAGICademy Podcast, we welcomes Genein Letford, a national thought leader and creator of "Lyrics & Leadership." This innovative program combines music, neural somatic leadership concepts, intercultural creativity, and prismatic leadership to help us unlock our creative potential. As America's Creative Coach, Genein explores how Prince's profound lyrics contain powerful leadership lessons, explains the science behind connecting our brain, mind and body to enhance creativity, and discusses how embracing curiosity and childlike wonder can transform personal and professional growth. The conversation delves into how music and movement can unite people across different cultures and perspectives, ultimately highlighting the importance of these creative approaches in an era where adaptability, resilience, and curiosity have become essential rather than optional skills in our rapidly evolving world.Read more: https://www.magicademy.club/wonder-leadership/create-a-company-anthem-unlock-potentials-through-neurosomatic-leadership

Welcome to S6E1 of the @MAGICademy Podcast! Today, our guest is Jasmin Jodry, an award-winning creative director based in New York, renowned for crafting transformative immersive experiences. She specializes in merging art and entertainment to create shared 'Story-living' concepts that foster participation and emotional connection, which then lead to transformative perceptual shifts. We had an amazing conversation about her work and the different types of immersive experiences she creates, how awe and playfulness play a crucial role in those experiences and our development as human beings, and the variety of impacts that these powerful activities have on leadership environments.Read article here: https://www.magicademy.club/neuroarts/art-of-social-immersion-transforming-digital-spaces-into-social-catalystsConversation Outline00:00 - Introduction and Jasmin talking about herself00:58 - What makes Jasmin’s designs immersive experiences02:30 - Case stories and examples from Jasmin’s career06:46 - The framework that helps create these experiences08:52 - Defining playfulness and other concepts11:11 - Building spaces to activate playfulness13:31 - Social and human connections16:50 - Making people feel safe21:45 - Creating transformative experiences25:49 - Measuring the impact29:01 - Challenges or risks to take into account when creating experiences32:31 - Jiani’s recap of the episode34:26 - Jasmin at 11 years old42:10 - Jasmin’s magic#MAGICademy #Podcast #Participation #ImmersiveExperiences #Playfulness #Safety #JasminJodry #Storylines #Art #Entertainment #Storyliving #EmotionalConnection #EntertainmentForWellness #ProductivityBoosters

On S5E10 of the @MAGICademy Podcast, we give a warm welcome to Robert Dunham! Bob is an expert in leadership development and founder of the Institute for Generative Leadership (IGL). We had an amazing conversation about generative leadership and what it truly means, how it generates positive things in our lives, and what motivates us and connects us as humans. According to Bob, we’re in a constant state of generation, whether they may be positive or negative. In this episode, we discuss how to focus our efforts on generating good for ourselves and others, how to reframe our way of thinking and open up to new possibilities, how to foster confidence in ourselves and our teams, and much more. Read article here: https://www.magicademy.club/wonder-leadership/beyond-command-the-architecture-of-generative-leadershipConversation Outline00:00 - Introduction and Bob talking about himself01:19 - Exploring Generative Leadership08:50 - External vs internal action11:18 - Conversations and reframing ourselves14:22 - Opening ourselves to the possibilities19:15 - Stories and examples from Bob’s career24:22 - How to accept different perspectives29:02 - Referring to workers as “talents” instead of “employees”37:00 - Measuring the impact of Generative Leadership42:20 - How does the future of Generative Leadership look like for Bob45:25 - The role of childlike wonder48:42 - Bob at 11 years old50:00 - Challenges that Bob had to overcome52:45 - Bob’s magic#MAGICademy #Podcast #GenerativeLeadership #ConsciousLeadership #CollaborativeGrowth #MindfulProductivity #NurturingExperiences #DiversePerspectivesInLeadership #EffectiveCommunicationStrategies #OpenDialogue #FosteringConfidence #EngagingConversations #TalentEngagement #Feedback #InclusiveSpaces

Welcome to S5E8 of the @MAGICademy Podcast! Today we welcome Lorenz Sell as a guest for the show. Lorenz is a notable engineer recognized for his contributions to the electrical and mechanical systems fields, and building spaces and software to advance and help human connections. The developer side of this business is not often looked at, and he drops by the show to talk long and hard about human connections, spaces, and peace. Especially what these concepts mean and how we are supposed to see and live our life experiences to find meaning in them. In this episode, we discuss the importance of spaces for heartfelt conversations and authentic human connections, the emotional quality of relationships, vulnerability and the importance of feeling seen and felt, the role of new technology in relational spaces, and much more! Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction and Lorenz talking about himself 02:47 - About the Burning Man experience 06:20 - Lorenz talks about Sutra 11:39 - How to build a relational space 16:45 - The importance of the quality and authenticity of the space 29:23 - Role of VR in relational spaces 32:56 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 34:41 - Lorenz at 11 years old 36:50 - Challenges that Lorenz had to overcome 39:08 - Lorenz’s magic Please read more here: https://www.magicademy.club/wonder-leadership/space-as-teacher-the-hidden-language-of-authentic-connection #MAGICademyPodcast #LorenzSell #Engineering #HumanConnections #EmotionalIntelligence #Vulnerability #Authenticity #Leadership #HeartfeltConversations #RelationalSpaces #TechnologyAndRelationships #MeaningfulConnections #ListeningSkills #TeamDynamics #EmbodiedReceptivity #VirtualReality #ConnectionInTech #PeaceBuilding #PersonalGrowth #CommunityDynamics

On S5E7 of the @MAGICademy Podcast, we give a warm welcome to Sarah Hill! She is the founder and CEO of Healium, a company specializing in interactive media and mental fitness solutions. Aside from that, Sarah is an accomplished journalist with 12 Emmy awards under her hat, having dedicated over 25 years to storytelling and media innovation, and a background working with major news networks, including NBC, ABC, and CBS. She joins us today to talk about self-awareness and the power of immersive content for us to properly get to know about ourselves, our feelings, and how to behave in a corporate environment. Sarah describes herself as a storyteller, using biometric inputs such as brain patterns and heart rate to tell her stories. We talk deeply about the different inputs the body gets, immersive stories and the effect they have on people, mental fitness as a relatively new concept, and how to leverage new technologies to have an effective and productive state of mind. Article link: https://www.magicademy.club/culturetech/scent-of-serenity-mastering-the-stress-olympics-through-multisensory-healing Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction and Sarah talking about herself 01:07 - Background behind Healium 02:48 - What happens in our brains when we watch immersive videos 05:36 - The process of designing a successful immersive story 09:33 - Visual representations of what Healium does 15:17 - The importance of scent 18:07 - Indicators for different brain patterns 20:28 - How can leaders leverage these tools for mental fitness 23:30 - Impact stories 32:12 - The best possible future for immersive stories and mental fitness 37:50 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 39:53 - Sarah at 11 years old 43:22 - Challenges that Sarah had to overcome 47:17 - Sarah’s magic #MAGICademy #Podcast #SarahHill #Healium #InteractiveMedia #ImmersiveExperiences #MentalFitness #EmotionalRegulation #Entr

Welcome to S5E6 of the @MAGICademy Podcast! Our guest today is Megan Powell Cuzzolino, who is a prominent educational researcher and a project director at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She studies the role of awe in learning and development, and how emotional experiences can enhance educational outcomes in different fields, but particularly in science education. We had a very interesting conversation about awe as a worker in different fields and how is essential for every type of talent to feel a certain level of awe when serving in a company or organization. One thing we know for certain is that money or benefits alone don’t make people happy at work, some sense of belonging or motivation is needed. And that’s where awe and fulfillment come in. Megan shares some insights on childlike wonder and adult wonder; we deep dive into the concepts of gratitude and awe; we go over the role of cultural and individual differences in organizations when trying to boost awe; and much more! Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction and Megan introducing herself 02:12 - Why focus on awe? 05:23 - What happens in the brain when we experience awe 07:40 - Megan’s research findings 11:52 - Awe and motivation in other industries besides science 17:30 - About the Prisoner’s Dilemma 23:38 - Separating gratitude and the sense of awe 28:38 - Awe in children and adults 33:35 - The role of culture 38:38 - Influence of the fast-emerging technologies in our sense of awe 43:06 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 45:02 - Megan at 11 years old 48:15 - Challenges that Megan had to overcome 51:51 - Megan’s magic Read more on our blog: https://www.magicademy.club/neuroarts/building-a-sustainable-company-culture-through-the-magic-of-awe #MAGICademy #Podcast #MeganPowellCuzzolino #Education #Research #Harvard #Science #EmotionalExperiences #Emotions #Fulfillment #Awe #Learning #Development #Gratitude #Culture

On S5E5 of the @MAGICademy Podcast we welcome Dr. Britt Andreata to the show! She is a thought leader and expert in brain science, leadership, and education, with experience developing brain science-based training programs for organizational effectiveness and personal growth. We had a great conversation about emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and how those concepts positively influence the workplace environment, as emotionally skilled leaders can empower themselves and talents more efficiently and magically. Dr Britt is the CEO of Brain Aware Training, which focuses on applying neuroscience to improve workplace learning and development. In this episode, we dive deeper into empathy and psychological safety, what happens in the brain while emotional intelligence works, and the huge impact it can have on organizations to train their workforce to be emotionally skilled. Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction and Dr Britt introducing herself 01:53 - Emotional intelligence and wellness as today’s priorities  03:23 - E.I. in the workplace and why not everyone has it 05:17 - Britt defines Emotional Intelligence 06:17 - Stories about leaders with high E.I. and the impact on the organization 10:41 - Key components of E.I. 14:53 - The role of childlike wonder for emotionally intelligent leaders 16:21 - Psychological safety and its importance in the workplace 17:17 - Tips for talents to give guidance or feedback to their leaders 19:36 - What goes on in the brain when we use emotional intelligence 23:40 - About Dr Britt’s book and courses 25:05 - The best possible future for E.I. for Dr Britt 28:28 - Thought leaders that Dr Britt recommends following 30:24 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 33:20 - Dr. Britt at 11 years old 34:42 - The role of childlike wonder in Britt’s life 35:30 - Challenges that Dr Britt had to overcome 39:29 - Dr Britt’s magic #MAGICademy #Podcast #BrittAndreata #Neuroscience #EmotionalIntelligence #Leadership #WorkEnvironment #WorkCulture #Psychologica

Welcome to a new episode of the @MAGICademy podcast! Today on S5E4, our guest is Lisa Cannata, a leadership development expert currently associated with The Blanchard Companies, with over 27 years of diverse experience under her hat in developing new and interesting learning strategies. We talk a lot about mindfulness and the relation between a good state of mind and a good skill set to be a well-balanced and empathetic leader. As the work environment continues to evolve, the role of the leader needs to evolve as well, and Lisa shares a lot of valuable insights on this matter. Currently based in Orlando, Florida, Lisa has focused on visionary learning and talent engagement, leveraging her extensive background in management and healthcare to enhance organizational effectiveness. In this episode, we delve into her pivot to Blanchard, multiculturalism and diversity in the workplace, and how to enter a focused state and concentrate to keep working when we don’t feel like it. Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction 00:42 - Lisa introduces herself 02:03 - Why did Lisa join The Blanchard Companies 04:00 - About mindfulness at work and how it’s much more accepted now 05:20 - How to dive deeper into the breath work and the heart space 11:35 - Connection between our mindfulness and how we perform at work 15:30 - Leadership framework developed by Blanchard 21:00 - Multiculturalism and diversity in situational leadership 23:10 - Importance of childlike wonder and playfulness in the workplace 27:30 - The future according to Lisa 30:13 - Possible risks or challenges that come with technology 32:58 - Thought leaders that Lisa recommends following 34:50 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 37:02 - Lisa at 11 years old 39:50 - Challenges Lisa had to overcome 42:09 - Lisa’s magic #MAGICademy #LeadershipDevelopment #Leadership #MindfulLeadership #SituationalLeadership #EmployeeEngagement #DiversityAndInclusion #LeadershipSkills #WorkLifeBalance #MentalWellbeing #EmployeeWellbeing #LeadershipTraining #PersonalGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #LeadershipExcellence

Welcome once again to the @MAGICademy Podcast! On S5E3 we give a warm welcome to Jelena Aleksich to the show. She is a creative entrepreneur, visual storyteller, and founder of The Confetti Project, which began as a photography challenge in her bedroom and now has evolved into a global mental health storytelling platform. We talk about our playfulness and how it’s often something that we ignore but it ends up being vital for us to have a healthy and balanced adult life. Like many entrepreneurs, Jelena had a completely different background from what she ended up doing, starting as a psychology student and then pivoting to follow a more creative path. In this episode, we explore this pivot and the motivations behind it, the playful mindset and how to cultivate it, mental health and Jelena’s answer to the issue, and much more! Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction 00:17 - Jelena talks about her background and founding The Confetti Project 06:20 - Success stories in Jelena’s career 13:33 - About the playful mindset and the “play print” 19:03 - Our way of thinking as a society and how we’re learning to live differently 20:50 - Lack of answers to the mental health issues after the pandemic 25:52 - The role of playfulness and childlike wonder in teams and companies 30:32 - Practicing our playfulness  35:25 - Jelena at 11 years old 42:10 - Jelena’s magic #MAGICademy #Podcast #JelenaAleksich #ConfettiProject #Confetti #MentalHealth #Photography #Storytelling #Entrepreneurship #Playfulness #ChildlikeWonder #Startup #Creativity

Welcome to a new episode of the @MAGICademy Podcast! In S5E2 we are joined by Evan Sitler-Bates who drops by to have a great conversation about VR. Evan is the CEO and co-founder of XpertVR, a consulting firm that specializes in e-learning and virtual reality solutions, providing companies and skill development initiatives with new ways to deliver their content innovatively and interestingly.  In this episode, we go through the founding and establishment of XpertVR from a passion project to a viable business; what motivates people to learn through VR and the advances in the industry; some pros, cons, and room for improvement in VR-aided skill development techniques; and much more. Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction and Evan’s introduction of himself 01:43 - Story and motivations behind XpertVR 04:35 - Interesting stories from Evan’s career 09:35 - Reasons behind people connecting with VR training than other forms of training12:00 - Pros and cons of the VR world 13:25 - Finding the right balance between VR and actual reality 16:20 - Choosing the right framework to guide ourselves 20:00 - VR training is not meant to replace real-life training 21:35 - The future of VR 28:40 - Potential challenges and risks 32:38 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 34:15 - Evan in his childhood 37:08 - The role of childlike wonder in Evan’s past 39:56 - Challenges in Evan’s life 41:55 - Evan’s magic #VRTraining #VirtualReality #ElearningSolutions #FutureOfLearning #SkillDevelopment #LearningInnovation #ImmersiveLearning #VRInEducation #FutureOfWork #EdTech #VRForTraining #DigitalLearning #InnovativeTraining #TechInEducation #WorkplaceTraining

On S5E1 of the @MAGICademy Podcast we’re happy to welcome Stella Lee to the show. She is the Director of Paradox Learning, a consulting firm that specializes in developing innovative learning solutions across various sectors, and she has been working on digital learning strategy, design, and implementation for over 20 years, becoming a known figure in the e-learning and AI fields. We talk about her AI literacy framework, its importance within organizations, and the diverse uses of AI and other tools in education. One of Stella’s key messages is that while AI can enhance learning experiences, it still requires significant human oversight to ensure accuracy and relevance, creating a necessity for L&D professionals to continuously evaluate AI-generated outputs. In this episode, we explore the need to improve the assessment part of the framework, the importance of feedback mechanisms, and how different tools can be used to improve the digital learning experience for different organizations. Conversation Outline 00:00 - Introduction 01:03 - Philosophy behind Paradox Learning 03:33 - Stella describes herself in one phrase 04:55 - Why AI Literacy Framework? 07:42 - Defining AI Literacy and AI Pedagogy 14:41 - Room for improvement on Stella’s AI framework 18:04 - Discussing Assessments and case studies 20:52 - Defining Formative Feedback 25:07 - The ideal future for Stella 29:20 - Stella’s ideas at 11 years old 31:52 - Stella’s magic #MAGICademy #Podcast #PodcastEpisode #StellaLee #AI #Learning #Frameworks #AILiteracyFramework #Business #Technology #ParadoxLearning #DigitalLearning #AIPedagogy #TalentDevelopment

💕 Story Overview Welcome to S4E12 of the @MAGICademy Podcast, where we’re joined by Kirill Krasnogir as our guest this week. Kirill is an entrepreneur and the founder of CleverPoint, a company specializing in neurotechnology and virtual reality applications for mental health assessment. We talk a lot about CleverPoint; stress, burnout, how these concepts influence our professional and personal lives; and how productivity can be improved through the power of will and hard work. Kirill´s vision is to leverage technology to improve mental health outcomes, making significant strides in how psychological well-being can be assessed and supported by using advanced tools. In this episode we also talk about these advanced tools, analyze some of his stories about mental health and managing stress in the workplace, and how stress doesn’t affect us all the same, but we can still find ways to manage it. Conversation Outline 00:33 - Kirill introduces himself 01:40 - About CleverPoint and its foundation 03:44 - Measuring stress, calmness and productivity 10:53 - The healthy dose of stress to spark productivity 14:10 - Early signs of burnout 16:53 - First hand stories about stress from Kirill 20:28 - Evolving the way in which we manage and handle stress 23:54 - Advices for leaders 26:50 - Accuracy of the data 30:40 - Vision on the future by Kirill 32:29 - Potential risks for physiological studies 33:41 - Thought leaders to follow 34:56 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 37:16 - Kirill at 11 years old 39:23 - Particular challenges for Kirill 40:07 - Kirill’s magic #MAGICademy #Podcast #PodcastEpisode #KirillKrasnogir #VR #Learning #Stress #Burnout #Patience #DealingWithStress #Healthcare #MentalHealth #Productivity #Physiology #Technology #Workplace

Welcome to a new episode of the @MAGICademy Podcast! Our guest for S4E10 is Dr. Alexander Young, who is very well-known in the fields of education technology and health. Dr. Alex is mostly recognized as the founder and CEO of Virti, an innovative platform aimed at transforming how individuals learn and perform in professional settings. We talk about AI and coaching, how these two concepts intertwine, and how they can be harnessed to develop talents and form excellent professionals. Dr. Alex graduated with a degree in Medicine from the University of Bristol in 2009 and subsequently trained as a trauma and orthopedic surgeon until 2018 when he decided to fully dedicate himself to Virti and focus on enhancing training and performance in business environments by leveraging advanced technologies. In this episode, he also shares some insights about AI-powered avatars, recognizing AI from real people, and some stories on how AI + coaching have improved talent development. Conversation Outline 00:57 - Dr. Alex introduces himself 03:24 - The story behind Virti and its foundation 08:42 - Creating micro-scenarios  11:11 - Staying within the learning objectives 14:31 - Defining effective coaching inspired by sports 19:04 - Stories about overcoming challenges in Dr. Alex’s life 23:21 - Best skills for coaches to have 27:57 - Developing empathy 31:14 - Role of childlike wonder in performance and coaching 33:31 - The landscape for AI one-on-one coaching 36:42 - Room for improvement and benefits of AI-powered avatars 40:14 - Recognizing human voices and AI voices 42:40 - Fighting inaccuracy or AI hallucination 45:25 - Virti impact stories 47:46 - Thought leaders to keep in mind 47:27 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 50:12 - Dr. Alex at 11 years old 51:28 - Particular challenges in Dr. Alex’s life 53:52 - Dr. Alex’s magic #MAGICademy #podcast #surgery #surgeon #innovation #Virti #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #coaching #talents #workplace #workenvir

On S4E9 of the @MAGICademy Podcast, we’re joined by Michael Rucker to talk about something we often forget to prioritize: having fun! Michael is an organizational psychologist, behavioral scientist, and author of “The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life”. We talked about fun and happiness in organizations and in our personal lives, the different types of fun and how they have different effects on us, and how we react and process fun internally. Michael's journey into the realm of fun began after a series of personal challenges in 2016, including the loss of his younger brother. This prompted him to reassess conventional approaches to happiness and led to the realization that chasing happiness often results in feelings of inadequacy. Michael talks about this and also shares some vital insights on fun and mental health while providing some tips on how to improve it by ourselves. Conversation Outline 00:40 - Michael introduces himself and talks about positive psychology 05:29 - Focusing on fun while avoiding toxic positivity 11:50 - Different types of fun 15:24 - Stories on organization pivoting towards fun environments 24:18 - Role of childlike wonder in fun and mindfulness 27:59 - Tips on fostering type-2 fun 33:52 - Michael’s vision of organizational fun in the future 36:43 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 37:55 - Michael’s background and childhood 40:04 - Major challenges in Michael’s life

Welcome to S4E8 of the @MAGICademy Podcast, where we give a warm welcome to Barbara Oakley. She is a professor and the master brain behind the course “Learning How to Learn”, available in Coursera, which has been took by more than a million people making it one of the more successful open learning courses on the platform. We talked about the curiosity in all of us, and how it’s necessary for everyone who wishes to learn a new concept, language or anything they need to know. Barbara tells us how she developed the course after seeing the disconnection between what was being taught and what actual, modern students need to be taught. She found out that the most important part was to focus on the way of learning before diving into the subject per se, so we can use our curiosity to interest ourselves more on what we need to learn. Barbara also shares some insights on the neurological process behind learning and curiosity, and gives some advice on how to use tools at hand to prepare us to learn something new. Conversation Outline 02:30 - Barbara introduces herself 03:28 - About “Learning How to Learn” and Barbara’s background 08:02 - The neurological process behind curiosity 12:35 - Different types of curiosity 17:18 - Activating the closure-driven curiosity in learning 19:59 - Harnessing curiosity to learn faster 23:36 - The future for Barbara 35:44 - Jiani’s recap of the episode 37:52 - Barbara’s passion when growing up 38:44 - The role of childlike wonder in Barbara’s life #LearningHowToLearn #CuriosityDrivenLearning #NeuroscienceOfLearning #EffectiveLearningTechniques #BoostYourCuriosity #LearningStrategies #BrainBasedLearning #UnlockLearningPotential #ScienceOfLearning #CuriosityInEducation #MindsetForLearning #MemoryAndLearning #CognitiveSkills #NeuroscienceForGrowth #CuriosityAndKnowledge

In S4E7 of the @MAGICademy Podcast, we welcome Leigh Sachwitz from Berlin, Germany. She has been dedicated to creating immersive experiences for over 25 years, finding new ways for people to learn and explore different concepts and challenging traditional educational environments. We have a great conversation about these types of experiences and how they manage to provoke an emotional response in people by creating stories that touch them in emotional ways they might not have thought about. Leigh shares some of her background studying architecture in Scotland and pivoting to the music business, where she started experimenting with immersive experiences and had a chance to analyze the deep emotional response they spark in people. She also shares some insights on what makes these experiences unique and tells some anecdotes about past successful events and their outcomes. Magical Insights: Multi-Sensory Experiences: According to Leigh, multi-sensory experiences have a greater effect on our bodies and minds since they’re felt from within and involve several stimuli on our bodies. It’s worth exploring the potential of introducing these types of practices into talent development, to guarantee the person feels connected and comfortable on the situation in front of them. An immersive experience on a particular subject will have a more positive impact on the talent than simply another course or conference delivered in a traditional way. Releasing our Inner Child on Immersive Experiences: The way to ignite a reaction from a participant is through an immersive experience that they can relate to, and spark that childlike wonder into them wanting to learn more. To achieve that, a good story is necessary. It’s not just about putting any type of knowledge into an immersive experience format, it’s about getting people interested in the subject matter by creating stories that touch them in emotional ways. The bulk of the information must be there, but it must be told attractively. Simple Versions of an Idea: It’s the simpler versions of a thought the ones that get deep into our subconscious and provoke an emotional response on our end. When developing immersive experiences for learning or sharing knowledge, it’s important to make people feel like they’re not learning something but instead, it’s just an experience for t

In S4E6, Dr. Keith Heating joins us at the @MAGICademy Podcast. He is an author and a learning advisor who’s passionate about encouraging and empowering people to take control of their futures by truly learning how to learn. We talk about his recent book, “The Trusted Learning Advisor” and his views on formal education, which require a change since they don’t provide the right tools for talents to fully develop their potential and be the figure the business needs them to be. Dr. Keith shares some insight into business strategy; the pivoting from its business without a clear goal to what the Innovation Lab is now; and some other stories about learning and analyzing the potential and gaps in businesses, which invite reflection on how we, as professionals in the modern business environment, need to properly develop our talents and our company culture. Conversation Outline 00:50 - Dr. Keith introduces himself 02:29 - What prompted Dr. Keith to write his book 06:33 - Dr. Keith’s view on business strategy 10:04 - What is the Innovation Lab 14:45 - How to build trust 23:30 - Steps to level up the learning development 29:41 - Defining curiosity  37:35 - Learning Development in the future 43:25 - About Dr. Keith’s background and motivations 45:45 - Struggles for Dr. Keith to become the man he is today 48:45 - Dr. Keith’s magic #MAGICademyPodcast #podcast #education #keithkeiting #learning #trust #companyculture #author #formaleducation #thetrustedlearningadvisor #learningdevelopment #talentdevelopment #businesspartners #development

In S4E5 of the @MAGICademy Podcast, my guest is Andrew Cohen. He is the founder of Brainscape, which is a programmed and adaptive flashcard app to learn and practice new skills and keep information fresh. We talk about his adventure and exploration of optimizing memorization, from learning a new language to optimizing skill and performance development; as well as how new technologies can support this optimization by helping us overcome the forgetting curve. Andrew shares his views on the newest educational models presenting a more holistic approach, challenging their effectiveness, and advocating for a more traditional way of learning while still leaning on new technologies, algorithms, and feedback. He sees a way in which these new techniques can impact how we digest knowledge and how we can apply it to our personal and professional lives. Conversation Outline 00:40 Andrew introduces himself 01:41 Brainscape and the reason behind it 03:05 Andrew’s background and personal motivations 06:25 The algorithm to help people remember things 12:45 Feedback mechanisms 15:05 Ways to understand when we’re wrong 18:30 Handling cognitive dissonance and keeping things realistic 19:20 Andrew’s own learning experiences 22:10 Different motivational strategies 24:52 Points and leaderboards  27:20 The role of childlike wonder in Brainscape and for Andrew 30:15 Andrew’s view on the future 33:40 Challenges and struggles when looking into the future 34:40 Corporate uses for Brainscape 37:15 Andrew’s magic #MAGICademyPodcast #education #brainscape #andrewcohen #flashcards #learning #skills #educationalmodels #spacedrepetition #activerecall #study #talent #technology #feedback #algorithms