The Burning Mind Project

The Burning Mind Project was established to explore how the 10 Principles of Burning Man can be applied to transform the institution of higher education from the inside out.

Our Vision

Inspire people to share their gifts!

Our Mission

The mission of the Burning Mind Project is to operationalize the gift economy in higher education through the systematic application of the Ten Principles.

Activities

The BMP was started in October 2012. Our primary activities have been to:

• make presentations
• write 2 papers and 33 blog posts
• network with other progressive thinkers who are connected to both education and Burning Man
• attend Burning Man and organize events there
• innovate with pedagogy inspired by the 10 Principles

Refereed Journal Publications

Radziwill, N. M., Benton, M. C., & Moellers, C. 2015. From STEM to STEAM: Reframing What it Means to Learn. The STEAM Journal (Claremont, CA), July.

Radziwill, N. M. & Benton, M. C., 2013. Burning Man - Quality and Innovation in the Spirit of Deming. Journal for Quality and Participation, April.

Invited Presentations

Benton, M. C. & Radziwill, N. M. 2016. Choose Your Own Grade: Instructional Civil Disobedience. HASTAC, Phoenix AZ, May 12.

Radziwill, N. M. & Benton, M. C. 2016. Design for Neurodiversity (DfN*): A Design for X Process for Alternative Cognitive Styles. HASTAC, Phoenix AZ, May 13.

Radziwill, N., and Benton, M. 2014. The 10 Principles: A New Paradigm for Collaboration & Innovation, IAJC/ISAM Annual Meeting, 2014 Sep 26.

Radziwill, N. M. & Benton, M. C., 2013: The Burning Mind Project - Creating a Culture of Radical Innovation in Technology Education. ATMAE Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, November 21.

Benton, M. C., 2013: I Will F You Up! Getting Rid of Grades. Transforming Learning Conference, Black Rock City NV, August 30.

Organizing and Attending Events

We participated in Burning Man in 2013, 2014, and 2015. At all three events we organized the annual un-conference held by the Black Rock Educators Consortium (aka the Burning Nerds). In 2013, we also co-chaired the Transforming Learning Conference held in PlayaSkool. TEDxBRC in Black Rock City, NV, 2013 Aug 29.

Pedagogical Innovations

I have developed a lot of software for teaching my courses according to the 10 principles. Also, the Choose-Your-Own-Grade philosophy draws a lot of its inspiration from the spirit of Burning Man.

Impacts

As a result of our activities, we have begun to develop a reputation internationally for being progressives on the forefront of education and pedagogy. It has earned us invitations to events, such as:

• Burning Man Education Symposium (San Francisco, CA), 2017 Nov 7-10.
• First International Seasteading Conference (Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia), 2017 May 15-18.
• Transformative Technology Conference (Palo Alto, CA), 2016 Oct 14-15.
• Digital Raign “Shifting the Paradigm” VR/AR Summit (Big Sur, CA), 2016 Oct 9-14.
• March Catalyst Week, Hosted by the Las Vegas Downtown Project (Las Vegas, NV) 2014 Mar
• Burning Man Project Global Leaders Conference. (not attended yet)

As some of these organizations begin to ramp up their educational offerings, we expect to be consulting and helping to design and build them.