Kolas Yang

My mission is to develop and nurture positive partnerships between students and teachers by navigating the infinitely interesting intersections between relational theory, cognitive science, and adaptive expertise that support empirical innovation in the classroom.

Having taught high school, middle school, ESL, English, and Special Education in the Boston Public Schools, USA, and then in Taiwan through the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program raised many questions for me about how to deepen student engagement while simultaneously supporting social, emotional, and cognitive development in the digital age.

As an instructional coach, seminar leader, and collaborative critical friend of educators, I realized that to best nurture the growth of students, we need to nourish the capacities of adults to be entrepreneurs, architects, and mindful leaders of student creativity.

Teaching and learning is deeply personal, creative, and entrepreneurial work!

Through my education and training, I’ve explored pathways for collaboration and facilitated theory to practice between researchers and practitioners. When teachers have access and support to apply cross-disciplinary research on learning and motivation with their students, and are given the tools to collaborate on the most challenging problems of practice, then schools might deliver on the promise of meaningful and joyful learning for all students.

Opportunities to collaborate with people to unpack and develop solutions to shared problems gets me up in the morning.

My research interests range from literacy, language, power, and democracy, adolescent development, social-emotional learning, mindfulness, and second language acquisition. My goal is to deploy knowledge on these topics to ensure every child has access to high quality, student-centered instruction.

These days, I’m a competitive triathlete in Taiwan, and I believe in the power of storytelling as the primary vehicle for exploring community and identity.

When I'm not in classrooms, you can find me cycling in Taiwan’s mountains, running along rivers, reading, and spending quality time with my family and friends.