Dave McAlinden
Beautiful Ideas, Missing Machinery: Why Bad Ideas Spread in Education, and How to Use Models Without Being Used by Them
Why do some educational ideas become popular even when they do not reliably help people learn?
This keynote explores how educational models, theories, and frameworks become attractive, protected, and sometimes harmful. Through examples from reading instruction, instructional theory, and large-scale educational reform, the talk considers how educators can distinguish between ideas that are merely appealing and ideas that are genuinely useful. The goal is not to reject models, but to use them more responsibly. That is, to ask what they help us see, what they hide, when they apply, and whether they actually improve learning.
Rather than offering another facile call to “back to basics,” this talk argues for a more pragmatic way forward. Some ideas are wrong at the core. Some begin as useful ideas but mutate into slogans. Others are legitimate theories that become weakened through shallow application. Ultimately, the talk is a warning against cynicism and a case for agency. This is just one tool educators can use to become more discerning, more evidence-informed, and more responsible in how they choose, use, and revise the ideas that guide their work.
Biography
Dave McAlinden is Associate Director of Instructional Design and Media at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, where he works across instructional design, learning science, media production, faculty development, and online education strategy. His work focuses on helping faculty and program teams design learning experiences that are clear, accessible, evidence-informed, and connected to real-world performance.
Dave’s career in education has spanned higher education, online learning, and ESL education. He previously worked with Columbia University’s Center for Veteran Transition and Integration on the development of massive open online courses. He also brings several years of experience in ESL education, with a focus on teaching, technology implementation, and instructional design in international contexts.
Dave holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Letters and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Speech and Hearing Sciences from Portland State University, as well as a Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Delivery from Manhattan College. He is currently completing his Doctorate in Applied Learning Sciences at the University of Miami.