Chi·as·mus (/kīˈazməs/) from Greek khiasmos ‘crosswise arrangement’, or intersection. Any criss-cross structure in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point.
We are a group of engineers, designers and data researchers in education technology. We are driven by a common question: what makes students curious and how can curiosity be cultivated into motivation for lifelong learning? We believe curiosity is developed through individual narratives of identity, knowledge and circumstance. We hope to develop a deeper understanding of these stories and how we can ignite student imagination and motivation. Our goal is to create an open and free resource for all students to learn through play.
Athena enjoys long trains of thought and making something of them. She is currently a UX Designer working out of Chicago, focusing in developing meaningful and exciting learning adventures for young minds. Before her status as a gainfully employed human-centered designer, Athena studied Industrial Design and how to “people” as a student and active community member at RISD. There, she fell in love with that act of gaining knowledge through exploration, as well as literal and figurative splinters.
“Curiosity awakens the same adrenaline as fear, the difference is that it is the curious mind that embraces the unknown and steps forward to greet it. Instead of stopping at, “what is that,” we go beyond with “why’s” and “how’s” until we become accidental experts on a topic, event, or system of thoughts. This hunger to learn is a unique form of motivation as it comes entirely from within and feeds itself; the act of learning and gaining knowledge on something personally gratifying or relevant (in whatever degree of the word) is its own reward”
Allyson does interesting stuff here.
“As a kid, I was fascinated by space and often day-dreamed about going on an exploratory mission in outer space, to another planet. So what drove that fascination? This fascination has persisted throughout my life, with some blips in between, but ultimately the driving force behind this is curiosity.”
Cathleen is a data researcher based out of the bay area. She is currently working on student learning measures for personalized learning platform. Previously, she has worked on education research projects funded by Gates Foundation and TIF grant, at Aspire Public Schools and in collaboration with Bayes Impact. She has volunteered at Build and Codeed to help student explore alternative learning. She wants to explore how technology can close the learning gap for all students.
“My curiosity is often piqued when something is weaved into a narrative through an interesting medium. Sometimes, this can be musical. For example, the broadway piece Hamilton got me interested in American History by telling the human stories of founding fathers through lyrical rhymes. In a similar vein, the context of social injustices and individual narratives has rekindled a fascination with hip hop history.”
Kairui (pronounced kai-ray) is currently a software engineer working in education technology. He has also been a teacher at Chicago Splash, a program bringing fun and interactive classes to high school students in Southside Chicago. He has taught everything from applying game theory to Pokemon to experimental psychology. He is curious about how games can be a platform for learning for all people.
“A healthy sense of curiosity may involve a fine balance between a propensity to dig deeper, in addition to seeing possibilities for questioning in many aspects of life. Therefore, in developing curiosity, allowing students to pursue their own narrative and interests as far as they can is important, but some element of exposing students to areas they may not be aware of or have an established interest in will be important as well.”
Chiasmus