About

Robert calls on his years as a professional journalist when developing materials for the education field. He brings clear writing, storytelling, and an appetite for curiosity to instructional design. Robert was a senior editor for Wired magazine and a freelance writer for Wired, Popular Science, Make, and other publications. His book, Makers, was the first book about the maker movement, consisting of one hundred profiles of citizen engineers from diverse backgrounds. 

By conducting thousands of interviews with inventors and scientists over his career, Robert gained an unusual perspective on STEM knowledge-making — it’s often improvised, contested, non-linear, and driven by hunches, unusual collaborations, and (most of all) curiosity. His goal is to support teachers in envisioning the STEM classroom not as a funnel for technical vocabulary but as a stage for student-led experiences that promote deep understanding. 

Robert is a curriculum designer for MIT App Inventor, creating student and teacher materials for this innovative coding platform. Previously, he was at WGBH Educational Foundation, where the programs he developed and managed received praise from STEM educators nationally. He lives in Vermont with his wife and two children.

Contact: bobparks@gmail.com