I created STEM Learning Studios to establish a disruptive innovation space in which STEM industry professionals, accomplished teachers, and digital-age youth join forces in learning teams to tackle complex learning challenges. Learning Studios, which are similar to design studios in other fields, create the space and collaborative learning culture that educators and STEM professionals need to rapidly prototype the transformation of schools from teaching organizations to learning organizations.
A small cabin on a spring-fed lake in the woods of Western New York during the height of fall color, watching the sun set, with anticipation of a night of star gazing, and if we are lucky, a meteor shower and the Aura Borealis. This was our family retreat while I grew up, and the lake in full Autumn color is my screen saver.
The future of education is about less teaching and more learning. I am committed to transforming schools from teaching organizations into learning organizations.
Tom Carroll leads NCTAF’s efforts to empower educators who are transforming their schools into 21st century learning organizations. He founded the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology, “PT3,” program, and created the Technology Innovation Challenge Grants Program at the U.S. Department of Education. He served as the first Director of Technology Planning and Evaluation for the E-Rate program, and was the U. S. Secretary of Education’s liaison to the Corporation for National Service during the start-up of the AmeriCorps Program. He was Deputy Director of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, prior to which he was Director of the National Research Centers and Regional Laboratories program at the National Institute of Education (NIE). He holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from SUNY Buffalo, and taught as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Education at Clark University (1975-1979). He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in community development in Lesotho from 1967 -1969. NCTAF publications are at: www.nctaf.org
