User:JivaGroup/Steven Rudolph

Steven Rudolph (born May 3, 1967, in New Jersey, USA) is an American educator, researcher, TV personality, public speaker, and bestselling author based in India. He is the proponent of a novel concept in education called ‘Multiple Natures’, a psychological framework that helps in understanding people’s natures and personality traits that result in particular behavioral patterns, specifically related to learning and work.

A pioneer in innovative teaching methodologies, Rudolph is a propagator of personalized learning in schools. His alternative and innovative approaches to education seek to identify the uniqueness in children and help them achieve their potential.

Rudolph is the Educational Director of Jiva Institute and conducts life skills workshops and educational lectures for both students and parents.

Early Life and Education

Rudolph did his schooling from Wayne Valley High School and graduated with a B.A. degree in English from the University of Florida. He started his career as a teacher at the Center for American Language, New York, and also taught English as a Foreign Language at Kanda Gaigo Gakuin (Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages) in Japan. He received his Masters degree in Education from Temple University, Tokyo, in 1993. Rudolph moved to India in 1994 and co-founded the Jiva Public School.

Career in Education

In 1995, Rudolph set up the first Internet connection in an Indian school – Jiva Public School – through tie-ups with ERNET (Education and Research Network, Government of India), Apple Computer, and Intel. Through this initiative, he introduced the Internet into hundreds of schools across the country.

In 1997, Rudolph launched a series of innovative, modern computer books that familiarized Indian students and teachers with new uses of the computer. His books advocated computers as a tool for learning, communicating, drawing, creating music, etc., as opposed to the existing curriculum that primarily dealt with programming languages like BASIC, operating systems like DOS, hardware, and the history of computers. The curriculum was instrumental in influencing the standards and methodologies of modern computer education in Indian schools.

In 2001, Rudolph authored textbook materials based on Howard Gardner’s framework of Multiple Intelligences. Known as ICOT (India’s Curriculum of Tomorrow), the curriculum was learner-centric and incorporated High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), technology, and value-based activities.

He started his television show, Jiva Ki Paathshala in 2008 as an interactive platform for parents to address various issues related to parenting and education. With this program, he became India’s first foreigner to host a TV show. The show, now known as Discover Your Child, airs on Care World TV.

In 2009, Rudolph authored a bestselling parenting book, The 10 Laws of Learning, which was specifically written for Indian parents. The book proposes a number of educational principles, which, if followed, can lead to increased levels of learning.

Multiple Natures

In June 2008, Rudolph introduced his theory of ‘Multiple Natures’, a psychological model that attempts to understand people’s natures and defining personality traits. The model seeks to explain why certain people are drawn more towards certain activities and careers. It also reasons that the dominance or weakness of a particular nature is dependent on the events and circumstances faced by a person during the course of his or her life. In all, Rudolph has identified nine such natures in each person - Protective, Educative, Administrative, Creative, Healing, Entertaining, Providing, Entrepreneurial, and Adventurous.

Career in Health

Together with Dr. Partap Chauhan of Jiva Ayurveda, he created the first online Ayurvedic clinic in the year 1995. Their rural medicine program TeleDoc won them the World Summit Award in 2003.

Publications

• Project-Based Learning, Newbury House, Tokyo
• ICOT Series of Textbooks (over 50) for Jiva Institute
• The 10 Laws of Learning (2009)

Awards

• World Summit Award for e-Health in 2003
• ED Leadership Award by Ed Leadership Foundation in 2009

External links

• Jiva Education Jiva Education Website
• Jiva Public School Jiva Public School Website
• What's My Nature Multiple Natures Website