Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesEducation Technology

Human First: Redefining Intelligence and Self-Actualization in Education

This episode of 'The Future of Education: Class Disrupted' brings together Michael B. Horn, Diane Tavenner, and cognitive scientist Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman to examine how education can shift from standardized achievement metrics toward nurturing individual human potential. Kaufman argues that students should be treated as humans first, with self-actualization as a central educational goal. The conversation also explores the nuances of growth mindset and what a truly human-centric learning environment looks like.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Education Technology teams put it to work with Executive Thought Leadership.

Promoted content from The Future of Education with Michael Horn on MarketScale.

By Michael B. Horn · Class DisruptedDiane TavennerEducation SolutionsFuture of Education
Share

Key takeaways

01

Students should be treated as individuals first, not defined by test scores or standardized metrics.

02

Self-actualization — helping each student fulfill their unique potential — should be a core goal of education.

03

Growth mindset is valuable but nuanced; how it is applied in schools matters as much as the concept itself.

Free workspace

Turn your Education Technology expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

How can education evolve to prioritize human potential and self-actualization over standardized results?

In the latest episode of "The Future of Education: Class Disrupted," hosts Michael B. Horn and Diane Tavenner, along with their esteemed guest Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, a Cognitive Scientist, Podcaster, Author, and Coach, explore the transformative power of viewing education through a human-centric lens. Kaufman's insights challenge the conventional focus on standardized achievements, advocating for an approach that recognizes and nurtures each student's unique potential.

Horn, Tavenner, and Kaufman's conversation covers the following:

  • The emphasis on treating students as individuals first
  • Highlighting self-actualization as a core educational goal
  • The importance and nuances of a growth mindset

"I believe firmly that all students should be treated as human first," Kaufman emphasized, highlighting the critical shift needed in educational paradigms to unlock true human potential.

All students should be treated as human first.
— Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, Cognitive Scientist, Podcaster, Author, and Coach

The Future of Education with Michael Horn

Part of this channel

The Future of Education with Michael Horn

Michael Horn interviews the people redesigning how students learn

Visit the channel

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Education Technology starts with a company putting its implementation leads, instructional designers, and district partners on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Procurement teams read long before they ever call, and your implementers get to answer their questions first.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

Michael B. Horn
Michael B. HornSpeaker, Writer & Advisor on the Future of Education, Clayton Christensen Institute

Michael Horn speaks and writes about the future of education and works with a portfolio of education organizations to improve the life of each and every student. He is the co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, and host of the Future of Education podcast on MarketScale.

B2B Weekly

The week in Education Technology, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Education Technology: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Education Technology buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Education Technology expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your implementation leads, instructional designers, and district partners into the articles, video, and social content Education Technology buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Education Technology Insights

Impact Public Schools wants software to sort students into intervention tiers

Impact Public Schools wants software to sort students into intervention tiers

Impact Public Schools, a Washington charter network, wants a custom tool that sorts students into Tier 1-3 groups from benchmark data and recommends interventions for students in Tiers 2 and 3. Proposals are due Oct. 9. Missouri's North Kansas City Schools wants a dashboard that consolidates data from its student information system and its assessment, attendance and behavior systems. Side by side, the requests suggest one buyer wants to see its data and the other wants to act on it.

  • 01A decade after the national ed-tech plan made dashboards a priority, a 1,751-student charter network is asking software to do the student grouping itself and recommend Tier 2 and 3 interventions.
  • 02North Kansas City's dashboard request is a useful spec to measure against: student information, assessment, attendance and behavior data in one platform, built for district leaders, principals and teachers.

Sep 27, 2026

Ellucian brings AI built on 10,000 cataloged college processes to EDUCAUSE

Ellucian brings AI built on 10,000 cataloged college processes to EDUCAUSE

Ellucian's campus AI pitch rests on process context.

  • 01Ellucian is selling its campus AI on a map of about 10,000 codified college processes, so fit with local workflows is the thing to test in a demo.

Sep 27, 2026

Organizational support is positively tied to faculty agility in a survey of 497 faculty

Organizational support is positively tied to faculty agility in a survey of 497 faculty

A study of 497 faculty at public and private universities in India finds organizational support positively and significantly associated with faculty agility. Agility, in turn, partly links digital transformation to sustainable work outcomes.

  • 01Faculty agility partially mediates the link between digital transformation and sustainable work outcomes; the article frames the takeaway as a conditional: campuses adopting AI may need to plan for faculty readiness and support alongside measuring adoption, rather than treating it as a software purchase alone.
  • 02The findings come from a cross-sectional survey, so they show association rather than cause, and they sit alongside other research where the proposed middle step did not carry AI's effect through.

Sep 26, 2026

Explore More Education Technology Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Education Technology.

Browse Education Technology Hub

About the Experts

Michael B. Horn headshot
Michael B. Horn

Co-founder, Clayton Christensen Institute; Author and Education Researcher

Clayton Christensen Institute

Michael B. Horn is a co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation and a leading voice on the future of education. He is the author of several books on disruptive innovation in education, including 'Disrupting Class.' Horn hosts 'The Future of Education: Class Disrupted' podcast and advises educators, policymakers, and entrepreneurs on transforming learning.

DT
Diane Tavenner

Co-host; Founder and CEO

Summit Public Schools

Diane Tavenner is the founder and CEO of Summit Public Schools, a network of public charter schools in California and Washington. She is a co-host of the 'Class Disrupted' podcast and author of 'Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life.' Tavenner is a prominent advocate for personalized, student-centered learning.

DS
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman

Cognitive Scientist, Author, Podcaster, and Coach

Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist specializing in human intelligence, creativity, and self-actualization. He is the author of multiple books including 'Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization' and hosts the 'The Psychology Podcast.' Kaufman advocates for reimagining how education recognizes and nurtures individual human potential.

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Education Technology and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512