Punya Mishra is Associate Dean of Scholarship & Innovation and Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University (with an affiliate appointment in the Design School). As associate dean, he leads a range of initiatives that provides a future-forward, equity driven, approach to inter/trans-disciplinary educational research. He is internationally recognized for his work in educational technology; the role of creativity and aesthetics in learning; and the application of collaborative, design-based approaches to educational innovation. He has received over $11 million in grants; published over 200 articles and edited 5 books. With over 58,000 citations of his research, he is ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide and the top 50 scholars (top 10 in psychology) who have the biggest influence on educational practice and policy in the United States. An AERA Fellow (2024), TED-Ed educator (2023), he co-hosts the award-winning Silver Lining for Learning webinar as well as the Value Laden and Learning Futures podcasts. He is also an award-winning instructor, an engaging public speaker, and an accomplished visual artist and poet. More here…
Must reads
Webinars & Podcasts:
Value Laden (archived)
Apple | Spotify | Simplecast
Blog Posts
Working with constraints: Creativity through repurposing
Teaching is an inherently creative act, requiring educators to navigate constraints and find innovative ways to engage students. In our recently published chapter, Danah Henriksen, Lauren Woo and I explore the notion of "repurposing" as a vital skill for fostering...
Connecting Math to Verbo-Visual Art: New Publication
Ambigrams are a form of visual wordplay in which words are written/designed such that they can be read or interpreted in multiple ways. Ambigrams exploit how words are written. In doing so, they bring together the mathematics of symmetry, the elegance of typography,...
But is it cheating? AI in Education podcast episode
I was recently invited as a guest on the 3Ps in a Pod, a podcast from Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at Northern Arizona University and the Arizona K12 Center. I joined hosts Dr. Chad Gestson and Dr. LeeAnn Lindsey to discuss a topic that has been on...
Teacher Knowledge in an Age of Gen AI: SITE 2024 Keynote
16 years ago, Matt Koehler and I were invited to present a Keynote at the Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education (SITE) conference. That keynote changed our lives (link to YouTube video). I was invited back again this year for the same. A lot has...
Metaphors, Minds, Technology & Learning
Note: The shared blogging experiment with Melissa Warr and Nicole Oster continues. This time we delve into metaphors of the mind, technology and generative AI. The core idea and first draft came from Melissa, to which I contributed a substantial rewrite. The final...
Who speaks for the university? Social fiction as a lens for reimagining higher education futures
Note: Image above created using Adobe Firefly, Photoshop and composed in Keynote. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of connecting with author Dr. Phoebe Wagner through the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. We discussed her...
Why are we surprised? Hallucinations, bias and the need for teaching with and about genAI
By Punya Mishra, Melissa Warr & Nicole Oster Note: This is the first post in an experiment at shared blogging by Melissa Warr, Nicole Oster and myself. Over the past months we have found ourselves engaged in some fascinating conversations around genAI, education,...
SITE 2024: A recap
The Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education (SITE) conference has been an integral part of my professional journey for over two decades. My first presentation at SITE was back in 2001 with Matt Koehler and through the years, SITE has played a pivotal...
AI in Education: Potentials, Perils & Policies
NORRAG, based at the Geneva Graduate Institute, is a global network focused on international education policy and cooperation, known for its commitment to addressing under-researched topics related to education quality and equity and amplifying voices from the Global...
… or check out some random blog posts
Eye Twisters
Eye Twisters: Ambigrams & other Visual Puzzles to Amaze and Entertain is a book edited by Burkard Polster, a professor of mathematics at Monash University. It features some of my work... From the back cover: Eye Twisters is all about ambigrams--words that are...
Religious & Magical Thinking, the Darwinian way
Two interesting articles about religions and magical thinking. The first from the Economist is about how scientists are attempting to explain religion in evolutionary terms. As the article says, "religion cries out for a biological explanation," though previous...
Announcing: Short film competition, cool prize for winner!!
Those of you who have been following this blog know, over the past few months I have made a few short videos with my kids. The ones I am most proud of are a set of three made around the words Explore, Create, Share (you can see them all here). There were great fun to...
Recreating D-Day…
... on a shoe-string budget. Three designers and a big empty beach, see the results! http://www.youtube.com/v/WRS9cpOMYv0
ISTE 2010, TPACK Radio/Video Show!
I have never been able to make to the ISTE (formerly NECC) conference since it falls bang in the middle of my summer teaching. This year was no exception. The only problem is that, this year, Matt and I had been invited to a special forum by SIGTE (titled "Considering...
Designing 917: A conversation
Danah Henriksen and I taught CEP917 (Knowledge Media Design) last semester. This was a somewhat unique class, with half the students being present here on campus and the other half online. We met synchronously once every two weeks and the rest of the class happened...
MSU college of Ed leads US News rankings!
The 2012 U.S. News rankings of graduate programs in education have been released and there is good news for our college and department. Overall, the College of Education at Michigan State is ranked 17th which is where we were last year. It appears that our reputation...
Multiple metaphors & science learning: New article, new illustrations
180-degree rotational ambigram for "metaphor." I have been (co)writing a series of articles for iWonder: Rediscovering School Science, a journal for middle school science teachers, published by the Azim Premji University. (Previous articles in...
Creativity is just connecting things
Steve Jobs retired as CEO of Apple this past week. The Wall Street Journal marked this event by creatingSteve Job's Best Quotes compendium. There are all worth reading - but a couple stood out for their connection to this course. Creativity is just connecting things....