Inside Learning welcomes Eisner Award winning comics artist and San Francisco State University professor Nick Sousanis, whose Teachers College Columbia PhD dissertation was created entirely in comics and later published by Harvard University Press as The Unflattening. Nick and Aidan discuss drawing as a form of thinking and embodied learning, and Nick argues that AI-generated outputs can bypass the productive struggle where learning happens. He recounts a formative teaching moment when delayed textbooks revealed his students were learning most through making and play, which shaped his approach of "study and play." They explore doodling, movement and retention, productive failure and persistence, Rancière's The Ignorant Schoolmaster and self-directed learning, and how constraints can increase creativity through activities, copying and tracing for analysis. Nick also describes his ongoing work to make comics accessible for blind and low-vision readers through panels, conferences and adapted formats.

Find Nick and his work at https://spinweaveandcut.com

All of Nick's books on Amazon.ie https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Nick+Sousanis

Inside Learning is brought to you by the Learnovate Centre in Trinity College Dublin. Find out more about Learnovate's research on the science of learning and the future of work at https://learnovatecentre.org

00:00 Learnovate Intro 00:13 Meet Nick Sousanis 02:03 Textbooks Never Arrived 04:37 Embodied Thinking 08:29 Doodling Boosts Learning 10:49 Struggle and Practice 12:24 Rancière Self Teaching 15:49 Constraints Set You Free 18:47 Process Over Talent 21:02 Completion Based Grading 25:44 Tracing and Copying 29:27 Accessible Comics Project 37:09 Where to Find Nick 40:55 Learnovate Outro

Nick Sousanis

Unflattening https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Unflattening+Nick+Sousanis

With Great Power Comes Great Pedagogy (eds. Susan Kirtley, Antero Garcia, Peter Carlson) https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=With+Great+Power+Comes+Great+Pedagogy

Mentioned in this episode

The Ignorant Schoolmaster by Jacques Rancière https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=The+Ignorant+Schoolmaster+Ranciere

The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald D. Davis https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=The+Gift+of+Dyslexia+Ronald+Davis

Tinker Dabble Doodle Try by Srini Pillay https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Tinker+Dabble+Doodle+Try+Srini+Pillay

Productive Failure by Manu Kapur https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Productive+Failure+Manu+Kapur

Eunoia by Christian Bök https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Eunoia+Christian+Bok

99 Ways to Tell a Story by Matt Madden https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=99+Ways+to+Tell+a+Story+Matt+Madden

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Understanding+Comics+Scott+McCloud

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Green+Eggs+and+Ham+Dr+Seuss

Scratch (DVD, dir. Doug Pray) https://www.amazon.ie/s?k=Scratch+Doug+Pray+DVD