{"id":1008,"date":"2025-10-04T12:56:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T11:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/rumpus\/?p=1008"},"modified":"2025-10-07T15:14:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T14:14:38","slug":"at-harvard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/rumpus\/index.php\/2025\/10\/04\/at-harvard\/","title":{"rendered":"At HARVARD!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Two Decades, Two Encounters: From Gardner to Perkins and the genuine fun of the Whole Game<\/h1>\n

I met Howard Gardner in the early 2000s, just as I was discovering Project Zero through work at the Open University. The encounter left an impression that would shape my thinking for years to come. Two decades later, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with David Perkins at Harvard University\u2014 and suddenly, the circle felt complete.<\/p>\n

Project Zero was launched in 1967 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education by philosopher Nelson Goodman, an enthusiast of the arts who sought to establish firm knowledge about arts education \u2014 hence the whimsical name, starting from zero. Founding members Howard Gardner and David Perkins directed it for many years, leaving a profound legacy in educational research. Gardner became famous for Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences<\/em> (1983), which revolutionized how we understand human capabilities. Perkins authored Knowledge as Design<\/em> (1986) and Making Learning Whole<\/em> (2008), offering a practical framework for authentic learning.<\/p>\n

\"\"Image 1:\u00a0 Howard Gardner, Alexandra Okada and Tony Sherborne at The Open University UK<\/p>\n

\"\"Image 2\u00a0 Alexandra Okada and David Perkins at Harvard University, USA<\/p>\n

For several decades, Gardner and Perkins led Harvard’s Project Zero, conducting transformative research in education. Their collaboration addressed artistic knowledge, creativity, ethics, and the nature of human potential \u2014 laying foundations that continue to shape educators worldwide.<\/p>\n

Perkins’ Theories Helping Me Advance CARE\u2013KNOW\u2013DO<\/h2>\n

Perkins identified two common “diseases of learning” in education:<\/p>\n

Elementitis:<\/strong> Learning disconnected bits without the whole game. Children memorize times tables without solving real problems, students drill grammar rules without writing texts that matter, and learners know musical scales but never play a full song.<\/p>\n

Aboutitis:<\/strong> Learning about<\/em> something without actually doing<\/em> it. Students read about science experiments instead of performing them, and learn about entrepreneurship from textbooks rather than launching real initiatives.<\/p>\n

Perkins argues for engaging with the “whole game” from the start, through simplified but authentic versions of real practice. His call to move beyond these diseases is a reminder that learning must be authentic, holistic, and transformative.<\/p>\n

Understanding the Whole Game<\/h2>\n

As we talked, something clicked for me. The core parts of CARE\u2013KNOW\u2013DO were not just a sequence \u2014 but dimensions of the whole game itself. And when you play the whole game, learning stops feeling like work and starts feeling like fun.<\/p>\n

Connecting the Principles<\/h2>\n

With my notebook in hand, we sketched the connections. Perkins lays out five core learning principles:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Play the whole game \u2013 Experience the complete, authentic activity.<\/li>\n
  2. Make it worth playing \u2013 Connect learning to real-world purpose.<\/li>\n
  3. Work on the hard parts \u2013 Focus effort where challenges often arise.<\/li>\n
  4. Play out of town \u2013 Transfer skills to unfamiliar new contexts.<\/li>\n
  5. Uncover the hidden game \u2013 Reveal underlying strategies and thinking<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These principles align meaningfully with CARE\u2013KNOW\u2013DO:<\/p>\n

    CARE \u2013 Motivation & Value<\/h3>\n

    Perkins stresses “make the game worth playing<\/em>.” Learners need to see purpose, relevance, and meaning \u2014 not just deferred rewards. When students care about real-world problems like local pollution, climate change, or social justice, the meaning is immediate and real. And here’s the secret: when learning matters, it becomes genuinely fun. CARE compels learners to value the whole game and engage with it fully.<\/p>\n

    KNOW \u2013 Understanding & Knowledge<\/h3>\n

    Perkins highlights how “elementitis” and “aboutitis” fragment understanding. Learners must “uncover the hidden game<\/em>” \u2014 grasping big ideas, cognitive strategies, and conceptual models that clarify authentic practice. His “theory of difficulty” calls educators to anticipate misconceptions and tacit challenges. In our projects, students learn ecosystems and pollution science, but more crucially, they learn how<\/em> to investigate, question their own assumptions, and build knowledge together. KNOW is about grasping rich knowledge structures, far beyond isolated facts.<\/p>\n

    DO \u2013 Practice & Application<\/h3>\n

    Perkins\u00a0 advocates for “play the whole game<\/em>” (even in junior versions) and “work on the hard parts<\/em>” through deliberate action. Authentic engagement means solving problems, experimenting, creating, and performing \u2014 not just describing them. Education must prepare learners to “play out of town<\/em>,” transferring skills to unfamiliar contexts. In our work, students don’t just learn about<\/em> environmental activism; they practice it. They tackle genuine difficulties: persuading officials, organizing teams, presenting data convincingly. DO means practicing authentic activities and building competence through real action.<\/p>\n

    The Framework in Action<\/h2>\n

    In short:<\/p>\n