Kohn's Zone

March 1, 2026

Who’s Cheating Whom?

We’re often warned about an “epidemic” of academic cheating and urged to do more to deter and punish the devious culprits. But we’ve had a century of research showing that the frequency of cheating is predicted not by the compromised morality of individual students but by the policies, priorities, and practices of schools. Specifically, cheating is far more common in competitive, achievement-oriented environments and much rarer when students experience the learning as meaningful and engaging and believe that their teachers care about them. In this episode we consider how systemic features not only increase the likelihood of cheating but are responsible for determining which actions (such as collaborating or consulting reference sources) constitute cheating in the first place.

RESOURCES:

Eric M. Anderman and Tamera B. Murdock, Psychology of Academic Cheating (Elsevier, 2007)

Character Education Inquiry, Studies in the Nature of Character. Volume 1: Studies in Deceit (New York: Macmillan, 1928) — https://tinyurl.com/72jrrnrz

Y. Kanat-Maymon et al., “The Role of Basic Need-Fulfillment in Academic Dishonesty,” Contemporary Educational Psychology 43 (2015) — https://tinyurl.com/yjvxswsy

 

A note from Alfie Kohn:

If you’ve been enjoying, or at least listening to, the podcast but have put off supporting it with a modest quantity of cash, I am pleased to inform you that it is not too late to do so. It will also not be too late to do so tomorrow, but doing so today would be even better. Microphones, as my late father might have said, do not grow on trees.

Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. And if you have feedback about an episode you’ve listened to, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/.





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ART: Abi Kohn

February 15, 2026

The Whole Point Is That There’s No Point

Early-childhood educators remind us how vital it is for kids to have plentiful opportunities to engage in free play – which, sadly, is often denied to them as academic pressures are imposed too early and too intensely. But let’s consider some perspectives on play that are less obvious: how the word is sometimes applied to activities that really aren’t play at all; how important play is for older students and adults, too; how play isn’t the only alternative to “work” in a school setting; and why we shouldn’t try to justify play on the basis of the skills or dispositions it supposedly helps children to acquire. True play has no goal other than itself, and the chance to enjoy it shouldn’t be conditioned on whether it proves to be useful.

RESOURCES:

https://allianceforchildhood.org/

https://www.naeyc.org/

NIFplay.org

Deborah Meier et al., Playing for Keeps (Teachers College Press, 2010): https://tinyurl.com/2hbamnpt

Vivian Gussin Paley, A Child’s Work (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2005): https://tinyurl.com/34yzzscw

David Elkind, The Power of Play (Hachette, 2007): https://tinyurl.com/y94mhxfz

A. Kohn, “Students Don’t ‘Work’ — They Learn,” Education Week, September 3, 1997: https://tinyurl.com/yzzwbkxx

 

A note from Alfie Kohn:

I made two decisions when I decided to start this podcast. The first was not to accept ads. The second was to avoid putting certain episodes behind a paywall (or offering special content only to those who pay). But this means that I depend on the generosity of everyone who listens to help cover the production costs. So: Can you afford a modest contribution — ideally on a regular basis, since a podcast, after all, is not a one-shot event? If so, I’d be grateful if you’d support the project with whatever amount seems fair to you. (Your generosity will also confirm the thesis of my book The Brighter Side of Human Nature.)

Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. And if you have feedback about an episode you’ve just listened to, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/.





Please click the button below to donate.

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ART: Abi Kohn

February 1, 2026

Beyond “Electronic Flashcards”: A Conversation with Gary Stager

Computers in classrooms may have the potential to radically enrich and democratize student learning, but the reality of ed tech typically looks very different. This extended episode of Kohn’s Zone features a stimulating conversation with Gary Stager, one of our foremost experts on this topic. He takes us beyond banal generalities (“technology has pluses and minuses”) in order to tease out which types, uses, and purposes are constructive and which are a waste of time – or worse. In what he calls our current “age of rising pedagogical authoritarianism,” tech often is put in the service of “managing children, ‘delivering’ instruction, narrowing the curriculum, and turn[ing] kids into question-answering ATMs.” Whereas, Stager insists, computers can and should help students to mess around with possibilities, create thrilling projects, and make sense of the world.

RESOURCES

Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager, Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom (2nd ed.), 2019: https://tinyurl.com/33k48zd8

Gary Stager, Twenty Things to Do with a Computer – Forward 50, 2021: https://tinyurl.com/mpdky2cw

https://constructingmodernknowledge.com/

Alfie Kohn, “The Sneaky Conservatism of Ed Tech,” Education Week, September 27, 2023: https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/tech-conservatism/

 

A note from Alfie Kohn:

My sincere thanks to the listeners who have taken a minute to click on the DONATE link and helped to cover our production costs, thereby keeping the podcast ad- and paywall-free. If you are not yet one of the listeners who has done this, it’s not too late. It will also not be too late tomorrow, but doing so right now would be even better.

Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it! 

 





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ART: Abi Kohn

January 15, 2026

How to Kill Kids’ Interest in Reading

Surveys reveal that fewer children and adults are reading for pleasure. This might be due partly to social media, but certain classroom strategies and school policies likely play a role. In this episode we come at the issue backwards: What would teachers do if their goal was to extinguish kids’ enthusiasm about books? Well, they would adopt a “fonix fetish” when teaching young children. They would require older students to read for a certain length of time — and keep a log to prove they complied. They would assign books rather than letting kids choose, test them on the content, and offer rewards for reading. These and other traditional practices are extremely effective…at leading kids to regard reading as an activity to be endured rather than enjoyed.

RESOURCES:

Jessica K. Bone et al., “The Decline in Reading for Pleasure Over 20 Years…,” iScience, 2025: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12496190/

Teresa Cremin, “Reading for Pleasure,” Language and Education, 2024: https://tinyurl.com/376jcra8

Katherine Marsh, “Why Kids Aren’t Falling in Love with Reading,” The Atlantic, March 2023: https://tinyurl.com/mrxyfdpd

Alfie Kohn, “A Closer Look at Reading Incentive Programs,” excerpt from Punished by Rewards (1993/2018): https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/reading-incentives/

For a list of sources debunking claims of the “Science of Reading” campaign about phonics instruction, see note 11 of A. Kohn, “The Siren Song of ‘Evidence-Based Instruction,” 2024: https://tinyurl.com/24nyam6y.

Seth A. Parsons & Joy Dangora Erickson, “Where Is Motivation in the Science of Reading?“, Phi Delta Kappan, 2024: https://tinyurl.com/mus7vn5p

Michael Becker et al., “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reading Motivation as Predictors of Reading Literacy,” J of Educational Psych, 2010: https://tinyurl.com/3z34ctdd

Linda M. Pavonetti et al., “Accelerated Reader: What Are the Lasting Effects…?”, J of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2002/2003: https://tinyurl.com/yj8dfnwb

Barbara A. Marinak & Linda B. Gambrell, “Intrinsic Motivation and Rewards,” Literacy Research & Instruction, 2008: https://tinyurl.com/2yc3zrjp

 

A note from Alfie Kohn:

I made two decisions when I decided to start this podcast. The first was not to accept ads. The second was to avoid putting certain episodes behind a paywall (or offering special content only to those who pay). But this means that I depend on the generosity of everyone who listens to help cover the production costs. So: Can you afford a modest contribution — ideally on a regular basis, since a podcast, after all, is not a one-shot event? If so, I’d be grateful if you’d support the project with whatever amount seems fair to you. (Your generosity will also confirm the thesis of my book The Brighter Side of Human Nature.)

Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. And if you have feedback about an episode you’ve just listened to, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/.





Please click the button below to donate.

If you don’t see a button, please go to this page (https://coff.ee/kohnszone).

Donate

PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio

ART: Abi Kohn

January 1, 2026

Who Gets to Decide? – Part 2

Intellectually vibrant classrooms are distinguished by teachers who do a lot more asking than telling. Their motto when confronting challenges or planning lessons is “Bring the kids in on it!” Regular class meetings offer a significant role for students to reflect on “how we want our class to be” (rather than focusing on specific rules). This second of a two-part episode digs deeply into strategies for supporting student autonomy and then explores some of the structural and psychological reasons why some teachers are reluctant to move in this direction. It’s tough to give up control, but that’s when the learning really starts.

RESOURCES:

Daphne Blunt Bugental et al., “Who’s the Boss?”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 72 (1997): 1297-1309

Child Development Project, Ways We Want Our Class to Be: Class Meetings That Build Commitment to Kindness and Learning (Developmental Studies Center, 1996) [https://tinyurl.com/4zkptxec]

 

A note from Alfie Kohn:

My sincere thanks to the listeners who have taken a minute to click on the DONATE link (or to visit coff.ee/kohnszone) and helped to cover our production costs, thereby keeping the podcast ad- and paywall-free. If you are not yet one of the listeners who has done this, it’s not too late. It will also not be too late tomorrow, but doing so right now would be even better.

Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell other people about it. And if you have feedback about an episode you’ve just listened to, send it to https://www.alfiekohn.org/contact-us/.





Please click the button below to donate.

If you don’t see a button, please go to this page (https://coff.ee/kohnszone).

Donate

PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio

ART: Abi Kohn