Paul Flowerman: The Ei Mindspark Evangelist Jumpstarting Digital Education at Scale in India where it is Most Needed

Paul Flowerman’s vision for the future of education is one where Personalised Adaptive Learning plays a central role in addressing educational disparities

?Paul Flowerman’s philanthropic contributions are notable for his hands-on involvement and strategic vision in improving educational outcomes in underserved areas. His implementation of Ei Mindspark has brought measurable improvements in student learning, impacting hundreds of thousands across India and South Africa.

Paul’s path was inspired by his family’s humble beginnings and transformative educational opportunities. His Eastern European Jewish grandparents immigrated to the USA with minimal resources and basic trades but also with a strong emphasis on literacy and scholarship. His parents were the beneficiaries of the free education offered by Brooklyn College of the City of New York, and the preciousness of high-quality education was instilled in him from an early age. Academic excellence was expected.

Paul had distinguished high school and college careers, graduating from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in history with distinction in History and Philosophy of Science.

Paul’s distant two generations older cousin, Morris Raphael Cohen, was also an Eastern European immigrant. He became a revered professor of philosophy at the City College of New York, where he inspired a generation of first-generation Americans to become among the most distinguished contributors to the USA’s emergence as a comprehensive global leader. He is Paul’s model for making a strategic contribution to empowering young people to improve their lives through impactful education. The main library of CCNY is named after Cohen.

Paul appropriated a UNICEF experimental chemistry program for use in the emerging but resource-constrained “Pueblos Jovenes” around Arequipa, Peru. He utilized inexpensive local materials such as leaves and locally fabricated apparatus to cost effectively empower the students through doing their own experiments. The program was adopted by the local college for the training of science teachers. ??

As a USA Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia, Paul outfitted and set up a physics laboratory, helped translate the curriculum into Bahasa, the national language, which he then taught for two years. The parents of his students mostly had not studied beyond primary school, but the students had shown promise in their village primary schools. One of Paul’s students became a professor of Nanophysics, and several students remain in contact with Paul five decades later.

Association with Ei Mindspark

Paul’s introduction to Ei Mindspark occurred during his participation in the 2018 Advanced Leadership Program at Harvard University. He sought out cost effective digital educational interventions at scale demonstrating measurable outcomes. He participated in evaluating a 2017 Harvard Business School case study featuring Pranav Kothari, who was spearheading the social impact arm of Ei known as Ei Shiksha.

Under Pranav’s leadership, Ei Shiksha had initiated the first pilot project implementing Ei Mindspark in low-income settings with encouraging results. Ei Mindspark had been developed over fifteen years into a cutting edge personalized, gamified, interactive, and adaptive learning system. Ei Mindspark was already getting a positive reception at selected private schools in India and the Middle East. However, a more significant introduction of Ei Mindspark into the public school system, where it was most needed, was a daunting challenge. The crux of the case study was to evaluate whether Pranav should champion such a risky initiative with Ei’s leadership. Pranav was virtually present for the presentation. Paul was impressed and arranged to meet him in Cambridge, MA, that March and then in India that summer.

Paul had been working for over four decades with Indians and visiting all over India as CEO of his natural products company, PLT Health Solutions Inc. He has deep affection and respect for India, and he saw in his support for Ei Mindspark the opportunity to apply his resources in the service of Indian education at scale where it is most needed. He and Pranav visited schools near Gunter, Andhra Pradesh and Udaipur, Rajasthan, where they visited schools, learned about the challenges. They observed Mindspark in action in the Udaipur school, where 7th grade students at seven different learning levels each received an accessible personalized learning opportunity. This trip was pivotal, laying the groundwork for future collaborations and giving Paul firsthand exposure to the educational landscape where Ei Mindspark could make a significant impact. He and Pranav agreed on a “jumpstart” funding model, where he would fund pilots whose measurable success would attract more substantial grants.

One of the key milestones in Paul’s work was the adaptation of Ei Mindspark for local use in Andhra Pradesh by translating Ei Mindspark into Telugu. By localizing the content, Ei Mindspark became relevant and effective for the students, thus?broadening its reach and impact. Ei and Paul’s approach to piloting Ei Mindspark in targeted settings demonstrated its effectiveness and attracted larger funding bodies. His efforts culminated in securing major ongoing support from organizations such as USAID, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Amazon, and the Mahindra Foundation. These partnerships were pivotal in scaling the projects into the tens and in some cases hundreds of thousands of students, notably village girls.

Paul’s involvement didn’t stop at implementation. He has been actively engaged in lobbying for Ei Mindspark, advocating for its expansion not only in India but also internationally. His efforts in South Africa, for instance, saw the first Ei Mindspark CSR project funded and implemented in six schools in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town. This project, which involved around 1500 students, demonstrated average learning gains of 40% yearly. Another pilot in? Mpumalanga Province applies the best resources of five complementary organizations to bring accessible education to several of the most challenging, indeed dangerous, communities. His commitment to improving learning equity continues as he mobilises support for Ei Mindspark interventions in an additional 40 schools in the Western Cape, aiming to impact 20,000 children.

Solving for scale

Paul’s strategy revolves around using initial pilot projects to showcase success, thereby attracting larger funders to scale the initiatives. This approach has proven successful, with significant funding secured and considerable improvements in learning outcomes documented. For example, evaluations by J-PAL and IDinsight have shown substantial enhancements in student achievement levels in mathematics and language studies in regions where Ei Mindspark was implemented.

Paul’s vision for Ei Mindspark extends beyond India and South Africa. He sees the potential for the platform to transform education globally, particularly in underserved regions. By leveraging technology and a personalized learning approach, Ei Mindspark can address educational disparities and provide quality education to those who need it most. His efforts in South Africa and his continued advocacy for international expansion highlight his commitment to this vision.

A legacy of impact

Paul Flowerman’s story is one of passion, innovation, and profound impact.? His heartfelt wish is that more funders will commit to experimentation with adaptive learning systems in the communities where this opportunity may be truly life transforming. This is the vision of Morris Raphael Cohen that has been the “North Star” for Paul’s education work.