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Building the Intentional University: Minerva and the Future of Higher Education

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Higher education is in crisis. It is too expensive, ineffective, and impractical for many of the world's students. But how would you reinvent it for the twenty-first century -- how would you build it from the ground up? Many have speculated about changing higher education, but Minerva has actually created a new kind of university program. Its founders raised the funding, assembled the team, devised the curriculum and pedagogy, recruited the students, hired the faculty, and implemented a bold vision of a new and improved higher education. This book explains that vision and how it is being realized.

The Minerva curriculum focuses on "practical knowledge" (knowledge students can use to adapt to a changing world); its pedagogy is based on scientific research on learning; it uses a novel technology platform to deliver small seminars in real time; and it offers a hybrid residential model where students live together, rotating through seven cities around the world. Minerva equips students with the cognitive tools they need to succeed in the world after graduation, building the core competencies of critical thinking, creative thinking, effective communication, and effective interaction. The book offers readers both the story of this grand and sweeping idea and a blueprint for transforming higher education.

457 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2017

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About the author

Stephen M. Kosslyn

92 books37 followers
Stephen Michael Kosslyn (born 1948) is an American psychologist who specializes in the fields of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Until 31 December 2010 he was John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James and Dean of Social Science at Harvard University, having previously been chair of the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. As of 1 January 2011, he became director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

Kosslyn received his B.A. in 1970 from UCLA and his Ph.D. in 1974 from Stanford University, both in psychology. His Ph.D. advisor was Gordon Bower. His former teaching career includes Johns Hopkins and Brandeis Universities.

Kosslyn is known primarily for his research and theories on mental imagery. His theory is that, contrary to common assumption, imagery is not a unified phenomenon. Rather, it consists of a collection of distinct functions, which are responsible for different aspects of imagery. For example, he decomposes imagery into four sets of processes, responsible for generating the image (i.e., activating information stored in long-term memory and constructing a representation in short-term memory), inspecting the object in the image (e.g., by reinterpreting it), maintaining the image over time, and—possibly—transforming the image (e.g., by rotating it, adding or deleting parts, or changing the color). His research, which includes fMRI-imaging and similar techniques, has located some of these functions to different neural networks, some of which are in different cerebral hemispheres of the brain. For example, his laboratory demonstrated that the left half of the brain is better than the right at encoding categories and generating mental images on the basis of categories, whereas the right half of the brain is better than the left at encoding specific examples or continuous distances and at generating images that have such characteristics.

Kosslyn also works on visual display design, showing how psychological principles can be used to produce displays that can be read at a glance. Most recently, he has extended this work to showing how psychological principles of perception, memory, and comprehension can be used to make and deliver PowerPoint presentations.

He has received numerous honors for his research. These include the National Academy of Sciences Initiatives in Research Award, the Prix Jean-Louis Signoret, and three honorary doctorates (from the University of Caen, France; the University of Paris-Descartes, France; the University of Bern, Switzerland). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Society of Experimental Psychologists.

Kosslyn has published over 300 scientific papers and written or co-authored 15 books and edited or co-edited 13 books; his authored books include Image and Mind (1980), Ghosts in the Mind's Machine (1983), Wet Mind (1992, with Olivier Koenig), Elements of Graph Design (1994), Image and Brain (1994), The Case for Mental Imagery (2006, with Thompson and Ganis), Graph Design for the Eye and Mind (2006), Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations (2007), and Better PowerPoint (2010). He is also the co-author (with Rosenberg) of the textbooks Psychology: The Brain, the Person, the World (2000, 2004), Psychology in Context (2006), Abnormal Psychology (2010), and (with Smith) Cognitive Psychology: Mind and Brain. His forthcoming Top Brain/Bottom Brain (with G. W. Miller) develops a new theory of "cognitive modes" -- different thinking styles that affect how each of us approaches the world and interacts with other people.

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
98 reviews
April 25, 2022
If you could design an elite liberal arts university from scratch, what would it be? This book sets out to answer that question, with each chapter meticulously detailing the thought process used by the Minerva Project. I finished the book feeling inspired! My only hesitation is that the book can be a bit repetitive (started skimming some chapters). I look forward to an updated edition that shows some real world success stories and metrics from the first few years of Minerva alumni.
Profile Image for Akio Kobayashi.
10 reviews1 follower
April 24, 2019
Must read this book to think of the latest and the future education. Minerva Univ. is far from authentic academic education and I like the authentic one, but we can't ignore Minerva's new approach. This book makes us understand the approach totally.
Profile Image for Ope Bukola.
51 reviews13 followers
June 13, 2020
In-depth look at a new model for higher education

This book is a detailed look at the operations and principles behind the Minerva project. I appreciated the details it goes through in all areas, from curriculum development to accreditation. It also ask a lot of really important questions about the state of higher education today and why it is so costly. what would have made this more interesting from my perspective is to hear from graduates of Minerva and get more of a student perspective on this really unique higher education experiment. I would have also liked to see more discussion of other innovative models and higher ed but that's admittedly out of the scope of this.
Profile Image for Luis EGV.
53 reviews
February 7, 2024
4.5/5 (Rounded to 5). As a former Minerva student, it's hard to describe the feeling that reading this book generated in me. I look very fondly to my time at Minerva, and it amazes me that the administration and staff thought so much about everything about the university and also made sure to detail their thought process and results in the book. The content of the book and the results of Minerva as an institution are truly amazing, but the book is written in a form that makes the information not too accessible to the average person.

In terms of structure, the book is not very cohesive since it's broken down into sections written by different authors, some of which are about very niche things like "Community Building in Minerva" and others that encompass very macro trends like the chapters about "Current State of Higher Ed". It sometimes feels unstructured and as if multiple authors with vastly different ideas all tried to cram their thoughts into a single piece of work. However, I still rate this book highly because I truly think that Minerva is a novel solution to higher education that is needed in the world. The findings and results of the Minerva experience as well as the stories that Ben and Stephan detail about starting a university, are too valuable to skip on if anyone is interested in education reform, edtech, or any interest in improving education as a whole.

I also want to note, that I don't think that the audience for the book would be a random person wanting a casual read, but rather people influential in the ed-tech space, senators, and of course former students :) So ultimately, although I found it hard to read in some instances, it makes total sense given its audience and target goals the book has. Furthermore, I think that the Minerva community and culture thought about by the founding team was ultimately created and lives on today for all students and staff. Lastly, I will admit that I gained a lot more appreciation for the countless people who worked day and night to create such an amazing experience which shaped me to be who I am today. If I had the chance to turn back time and restart my university search experience, I would pick Minerva every single time. Thank you.
Profile Image for Alberto.
8 reviews1 follower
January 27, 2020
Some chapters are great summaries of the pedagogy and US higher ed analysis that are foundational to Minerva, while others do not go in sufficient depth or ground its work in any meaningful research or initiative.
1 review
August 21, 2020
An Innovative Look at Higher Education

The team at Minerva paints a radically different, evidence based, and innovative picture of what higher education can be. What I most appreciate is that the authors recognize that this model will have value for future Minerva students and other higher ed institutions while challenging others to find ways to iterate and improve upon what they have done. Ari Betof
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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