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At NGL, we are focused on using technology in service of pedagogy. We are always asking: What do students need? What is the best way to give them what they need? Sometimes, technology helps us deliver exactly that.
We remind ourselves of this approach every day through the name we’ve given our AI tutor. His full name is Benjamin Paul Monte Paski, though we call him Paski in our daily discussions. His name is derived from prominent learning theorists whose work underpins our pedagogical approach: Benjamin Bloom, Paul Pangaro, Maria Montessori, and Gordon Pask.
Paski is dedicated to helping students learn deeper and faster, and he was developed with rigorous pedagogy built into his system prompt.
In this series of blogs, we’ll share more about the theorists who inspired Paski’s name and who inspire us to use technology to enable learning gains and support students.
First up, let’s learn more about Gordon Pask, the theorist whose playful approach to combining technology and learning theory reminds us to find the unexpected in our work, while retaining rigor and a sharp focus on serving students.
Pask is most recognised for developing Conversation Theory, which emphasises the role of interaction and dialogue in learning processes. Conversation is central to an NGL learning experience, with students discussing ideas with faculty, their peers, and with Paski.
His work highlights the importance of interaction among students, suggesting that learning stems from active engagement between individuals and their environment. Pask also explored the simulation of intelligence using electro-mechanical machines. He believed that intelligence arises from the dynamics of interaction, not solely from within individuals.
Pask’s way of thinking about the relationship between learning, technology, and conversation gives us a useful foundation for using generative AI and programmable human voice in ways that help students to express and deepen their knowledge.
Pask, G. (1961). An Approach to Cybernetics. London: Hutchinson.
Pask, G. (1980). Developments in conversation theory: Actual and potential applications. Paper presented at the International Congress on Applied Systems Research and Cybernetics, Toronto, Canada. Retrieved from https://www.pangaro.com/pask/pask%20developments%20in%20conversation%20theory%20actual%20and%20potential%20applications.pdf
University of St Andrews. (1996). Gordon Pask (1928–1996) – Biography. Retrieved from https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Pask/
