The Problem Solvers - The teachers, the students and the radically disruptive nuns who are leading a global learning movement

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Asher

The Problem Solvers explores how learning happens and what sustains motivation across the second half of the 21st century. It addresses the knowledge and skills learners need, and how smart digital technologies can enable more personalised education. The work examines dynamic learning and education at scale through curricula, systems, and assessments, and outlines the emergence of a learning movement. It emphasizes combining knowledge, personal growth, social skills, agency, and being more human.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages115

Reading Time4 h 50 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgements

Executive Summary

1. The Learning Dynamo

2. The Dynamics of Learning

3. A Turning Point

4. The Power of Combination

4.1 Knowledge

4.2 Personal Growth

4.3 Social Skills

4.4 Agency

4.5 Dynamic Learning

5. Dynamic Education at Scale

5.1 A Dynamic Curriculum

5.2 Dynamic Systems

5.3 Dynamic Assessments

6. The Dynamic Learning Movement

7. Learning to be More Human

References

Resources

School Profiles

Charles Leadbeater THE PROBLEM SOLVERS The teachers, the students and the radically disruptive nuns who are leading a global learning movement Open Ideas at Pearson Sharing independent insights on the big unanswered questions in education THE PROBLEM SOLVERS About Open Ideas at Pearson Pearson’s goal is to help people make progress in their lives through learning. This means we are always learning too. This series of publications, Open Ideas, isone of the ways in which we do this. We work with some of the best minds in education – from teachers and technologists, to researchers and big thinkers – to bring their independent ideas and insights toa wider audience. How do we learn, and what keeps us motivated to do so? What is the body of knowledge and skills that learners need as we move into the second half of the 21st century? How can smart digital technologies be best deployed to realise the goal of a more personalised education? How can we build education systems that provide high quality learning opportunities to all? These questions are too important for the best ideas to stay only in the lecture theatre, on the bookshelf, or alone in one classroom. Instead they need to be found and supported, shared and debated, adopted and refined. Our hope is that Open Ideas helps with this task, and that you will join the conversation. About Pearson Pearson is the world’s learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our mission is to help people make progress through access to better learning. We believe that learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. About the Author Charles Leadbeater is a leading authority on innovation and creativity. He has advised companies, cities and governments around the world on innovation strategy and drew on that experience in writing his latest book We-think: the power of mass creativity, which charts the rise of mass, participative approaches to innovation from science and open source software, to computer games and political campaigning. Charles has worked extensively as a senior adviser to the governments, advising the 10 Downing St policy unit, the Department for Tradeand Industry and the European Commission on the rise of the knowledge driven economy and the Internet, as well as the government of Shanghai. He is an advisor to the Department for Education’s Innovation Unit on future strategies for more networked and personalised approaches to learningand education. He is a co-founder of the public service design agency Participle. A visiting senior fellow at the British National Endowment for Science Technologyand the Arts, he is also a longstanding senior research associate with the influential London think-tank Demos and a visiting fellow at Oxford University’s Said Business School and the Young Foundation. He is co-founder of Participle, the public service innovation agency, which is working with central and local government to devise new approaches to intractable social challenges. His published works include We-think, Living on Thin Air, Up the Down Escalator and In Search of Work. Creative Commons This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 or send a letter to](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 or send a letter to)[ ](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 or send a letter to)[Creative Commons](Creative Commons), PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. Suggested reference: Leadbeater, C (2016) . The Problem Solvers: The teachers, the students and the radically disruptive nuns who areleading a global learning movement. London: Pearson. Copyright 2016 The contents ofthis paper and the opinions expressed herein are those of the Author’s alone. ISBN: 9780992425654 Designed an

FAQs

What questions does The Problem Solvers aim to answer about education?

It focuses on how people learn and what motivates them, what skills and knowledge learners need in the later 21st century, and how digital technologies can support personalised education. It also considers how to build education systems that provide high-quality learning opportunities to all.

How does the paper describe “The Power of Combination”?

It frames learning through a combination of elements, including knowledge, personal growth, social skills, agency, and dynamic learning. These components are treated as interconnected rather than separate factors.

What are the main themes of the later chapters?

Later sections address dynamic education at scale, including curriculum, systems, and assessments, and then develop the idea of a dynamic learning movement. The work concludes by focusing on learning to be more human.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Asher