Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel

- Socrates -

Engines for Education is a nonprofit organization founded by Roger Schank, whose goal is to radically change our notions of school. At Engines for Education, we believe that we can replace boring and increasingly irrelevant schools with new exciting learning environments. We are attempting to change both what and how people learn. We seek to avoid traditional lecture-based formats and the usual classroom structures in favor of story-centered curricula that simulate real-life situations with meaningful goals that encourage students to explore their own interests with guidance from skilled mentors. Our theories and approaches are derived from Dr. Schank’s work at the Institute for the Learning Sciences, at Northwestern University.

Review our catalog of courses for offerings currently available.

Announcing a new offering for high schools — career exploration courses and virtual internships!

Contact info@engines4ed.org for more information.

Our Story

Dr. Roger Schank has devoted his career to understanding how people think and learn. In the 1970’s, as chairman of the computer science department at Yale, he focused on Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science, figuring out how to get computers to "learn". Around this time something happened that changed his focus permanently-- his children went to school. When Roger looked at what they were doing in school, he was appalled. Continue reading…