Dear all, There are a couple of new video resources on the website, including a University of Canberra Masterclass on 12 evidence-based strategies for wellbeing, happiness and resilience (44:54min) and a Curriculum of Giving® Rotary Adelaide talk (36:51min). These and lots of other resources can be found on the Downloadable Content & Links page, which we try Read More
“The way up is the way down!” Citing Heraclitus, Roger was looking at me with those eyes that were both fierce and compassionate at the same time. And he had a big grin on his face. For a long moment, I was lost at sea in terms of comprehension, searching for what that strange assertion Read More
Speech at the 2016 National Volunteer Week Forum, given by Associate Professor Thomas Nielsen, University of Canberra, at the NSW Parliament House, May 9. I have a proposition for you today. Giving —and by extension, volunteering—is a key to solving the pressing challenges of today. This claim may, at first, sound far-fetched; especially given the Read More
An introduction to the Educational Philosophy Perspectives Series: I currently convene and lecture a course in the Philosophy of Education for undergraduate students. Each week we cover a new philosophical perspective or paradigm. The following series will encompass short pieces written when wearing different “paradigm hats,” the purpose of which is to illustrate differing viewpoints within the Philosophy of Read More
An introduction to the Educational Philosophy Perspectives Series: I currently convene and lecture a course in the Philosophy of Education for undergraduate students. Each week we cover a new philosophical perspective or paradigm. The following series will encompass short pieces written when wearing different “paradigm hats,” the purpose of which is to illustrate differing viewpoints within the Philosophy of Read More
Republished from The Conversation, 8 July 2015. This article is part of a series, On Happiness, examining what it means and how it might be achieved in the 21st century. In The Conversation’s series On Happiness, it has been pointed out that the pursuit of happiness for its own sake might be a futile and even counterproductive enterprise. It has also been pointed out Read More
I have had the privilege of working with Canberra Weekly on their back to school articles over the past two years. The 2014 article was written by Melanie Collins, where I spoke about discrete strategies that parents can employ to help smooth their children’s transition into starting or continuing school. The 2015 article was written by Madeline Power, Read More
Thomas W. Nielsen Republished from Character Scotland, 25 Feb 2014. I have often heard it argued that values are subjective, relative, or a construct, and therefore have no place in public education. The modern scientific era of the last 500 years have brought incredible advances to human thought and living, but it has also meant Read More
Republished from The Conversation, 5 May 2013. It’s nothing new to say we have a problem in education. But I’m not here to discuss the usual gripes with teachers and test scores. I believe we have a more fundamental problem with defining what we want education to do. At the moment, our definitions of educational “success” Read More
Thomas W. Nielsen, University of Canberra The Canberra Times, October 4, 2010. Occasionally, students shed a tear in my office. That is the nature of teaching and looking after students – even at university level. In the last couple of years, however, there have been a few more tears than usual. It has not been Read More
