Why human behavior is at the center of education

A new TEDx talk at the Leipzig International School outlines the centrality of understanding the human condition as a focus for 21st century education. Teaching at the intersection of evolution, behavior, and sustainability science offers a new landscape for interdisciplinary learning

Published in Neuroscience

Nov 24, 2020

Global ESD

Educational innovation and curriculum design, as part of our work within the Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Why human behavior is at the center of education

Like Liked by Gabrielle Ahern and 1 other

In September 2020, students at the Leipzig International School organized a TEDx event around the theme of boundaries, personal, social, and planetary. Our own Dustin Eirdosh presented a talk entitled "Why human behavior is at the center of education", which frames how the science of human behavior offers new ways for students to extend their learning beyond the boundaries of classic school subjects.

The talk highlights why human behavior is central to understanding the human condition more broadly, and how our understanding of human behavior impacts how we relate to ourselves and others. The talk concludes with a call to action regarding how schools can re-conceptualize the role of human behavior as both scientific content to be engaged, and an empowering context for school and community action towards a more sustainable future.

Watch here:

Learn more here:

Global ESD

Educational innovation and curriculum design, as part of our work within the Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Global ESD works internationally to support sustainability education initiatives that connect concepts in human evolution, behavioral ecology, and sustainability science. By linking scientific perspectives on social change with students and classrooms seeking to make the world a better place, our aim is to foster a more global discussion about where we are going in the light of where we all have come from. Global ESD co-founders Dustin Eirdosh and Dr. Susan Hanisch are also researchers within the Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.