Pixar doesn’t just make great movies. They also have a lot to show us about how to facilitate learning more effectively.

Today’s guest, Josh Eyler, and I talk about Lessons in teaching from Pixar.
PODCAST NOTES
#065: Teaching lessons from Pixar
Guest:
Dr. Joshua Eyler, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Rice University

Former guest on episode #016, Biology, the Brain, and Learning
Josh Eyler's Blog
Josh Eyler on Twitter

Josh’s Pixar course

The hero's journey
Loss in children’s media
WallE - environmental messages, religious messages/themes

Student-taught teaching, supported by Rice’s Center for Teaching Excellence
Heard on Twitter: Pixar favorites
Brian Croxall - Toy Story 2

https://twitter.com/briancroxall/status/641298742843441152

Shyama - Finding Nemo and The Incredibles

https://twitter.com/MedievalPhDemon/status/641254627082641408

Edna Mode

https://twitter.com/MedievalPhDemon/status/641258572383428608

Sandie Morgan

Monsters Inc.

https://twitter.com/sandiemorgan/status/641327082807672833
Cautionary note
Funny episode of Very Bad Wizards where they discuss the criticisms of the Inside Out movie, when it should have been clear to everyone that the movie wasn’t intended to actually represent how the brain works...
Opportunities to learn from our students are abundant
Finding Nemo

“If we only focus on [our role of imparting wisdom], we miss out on those moments when students can share something with us that opens our eyes to the material in a way we have never seen it before.” - Josh Eyler

Bonni shared about making assumptions on episode 63
Great teaching begins with a boundless passion for our subject
Ratatouille

Great teaching begins with a boundless passion for our subject

“Passion is sometimes an underrated part of what we do as teachers that can be really effective in reaching our students.” - Josh Eyler

Gradually reducing coaching helps students learn
Finding Nemo

David Merrill’s advice on instructional design: Instructional guidance should be gradually reduced

“In order to learn anything, we need to confront the failure of faulty knowledge, of faulty mental models. Students aren’t given enough opportunity to do that and when they are, the stakes are way too high for them.” - Josh Eyler

Mindset matters and so does proximal development
Toy Story