In the Studio & in the Lab
Two halves of the same work: what is being built right now, and the open questions being explored next.
In the Studio
The ecosystem keeps growing — books, apps, curriculum, and research in active development.
A developing ESL assessment framework that helps students and instructors reflect on language learning through the eight domains. Not a traditional exam — a developmental profile combining student self-reflection, instructor observation, portfolio evidence, AI/ethics reflection, and growth over time.
The classroom application of the Meta-Self Learning Initiative™ — integrating language instruction with reflective writing, critical thinking, artificial intelligence, emotional awareness, creativity, and whole-person development for multilingual learners.
The EZ approach in your pocket: songs, stories, practice, and progress — interactive experiences combining language learning, reflection, multimedia, and AI within accessible digital environments.
An interdisciplinary project exploring culture, migration, identity, empathy, and human connection through stories, reflection, discussion, and language learning — appreciating diversity while recognizing the shared experiences that connect us all.
How can AI support reflection, critical reasoning, and emotional development — without replacing the human at the center? See the talk “Learning to Dance with the Devil.”
Exploring the connections between environment, well-being, and learning.
An original song for each of the eight domains, with lyric videos and classroom guides.
A Persian language and culture program — Dari and Farsi — for anyone who wants to learn Persian. It brings together teaching manuals, presentations, and Persian–English materials, taught through language, story, and culture with the same whole-person philosophy as the Meta-Self Learning Model™.
Inside ESL 110
A transparency- and process-based approach that supports reflection, ethical AI use, and student success — piloted in ESL 110 Integrated Reading and Writing, Spring 2026.
Emerging themes: increased confidence and participation · greater awareness of the writing process · more thoughtful and ethical AI use · reduced anxiety and stronger classroom connection · increased motivation.
This work is still evolving, but the preliminary feedback suggests that process-based, reflective AI integration may support student confidence, transparency, engagement, and critical thinking in ESL writing instruction. I welcome your feedback and reflections.
Share your thoughtsThe Research Laboratory
Where questions become new possibilities. Every publication begins as a question. Every model begins as an unfinished idea.
This is a living collection of developing ideas that continue to shape the Meta-Self Learning Initiative™. Rather than presenting only completed research, it offers a glimpse into the ongoing process of exploration, reflection, and interdisciplinary thinking. Some of these ideas may become journal articles, books, frameworks, or digital tools. Others may remain open questions that invite dialogue and collaboration.
Learning itself is never finished — and neither is this page.
Current Ideas
Refining the relationships among the Meta-Self, the meta-domains, attention, becoming, and whole-person learning. How do the domains continuously influence one another? How does balance emerge? How can the model be empirically studied — and inform assessment?
Education emphasizes acquiring new knowledge — yet meaningful growth also requires letting go. How do learners release limiting beliefs, fears, habits, or identities that no longer support development? Can educational environments intentionally support both?
Can attention serve as the common starting point for all domains of learning? How do learners become aware of their thinking, emotions, body, motivation, culture, values, and environment? How might attention itself become an educational practice?
Inspired by Hofstadter's work on self-reference and recursion: meaningful learning often begins when individuals can step outside the system they inhabit — observing thoughts, emotions, habits, and assumptions from a higher level of awareness. How can education cultivate this meta-perspective?
If each stave represents a domain of development, overall growth may be limited by the least-developed domain rather than the strongest. Should education focus only on strengths — or also help learners strengthen the dimensions that limit their growth?
Rather than asking what AI can do, a different question: what should remain uniquely human? How should education cultivate wisdom, creativity, empathy, ethical judgment, and meaning in partnership with intelligent technologies?
Assessment has traditionally measured performance. What if it could support becoming — encouraging reflection, growth, self-awareness, curiosity, and lifelong learning rather than classification? Continuing through collaboration with Professor Edmund W. Gordon.
An Invitation
The ideas shared here are intentionally unfinished. They are offered as invitations to think together rather than conclusions to accept. Some of the most meaningful educational discoveries begin with thoughtful questions, open dialogue, and the willingness to continue learning.