Robert J. Torres

Biography

Robert J Torres, PhD, is the chief design and research officer at Institute of Play where, for the past two years, he has worked as the coach of the design team for the games-based school, Quest To Learn. He just completed his PhD in games and learning at New York University, focusing on Gamestar Mechanic and its potential to help kids learn systems thinking. Robert has worked as a teacher, school principal, and education consultant since 1988. He taught 5th grade as a Teach for America (TFA) teacher, served as a school director as part of TFA teacher induction programs, and eventually became President of TFA’s National Faculty. As a spin-off of TFA, Robert designed and became principal of The Learning Project One Middle School from 1995 to 1999, a school primarily serving low-income students of the Lower East Side. Since 1999, Robert has focused mostly on school design and currently runs a not for profit organization, designbydesign.org, which has designed or supported the creation of over 30 small progressive schools across New York City and Connecticut. designbydesign works with teachers, parents, and CBOs to create exemplary learning communities that depart from traditional industrial-era models of schooling. Robert has a BA from Oberlin College, a master's in policy and school administration at Bank Street College of Education, and was a Stanford University Research Fellow.

Sessions