Speaker ◦ Scholar ◦ Teacher Educator

I help teachers and schools make their classrooms transformative.

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I am a educational researcher and Senior Lecturer of Ethics and Multiculturalism at the University of Applied Sciences for Policing and Public Adminstration NRW. I give talks and workshops for educators around Europe and the USA on central topics of educational practice. A regular keynote speaker at major educational events, I was awarded the Life Worth Living Teaching Fellowship at Yale University in 2024, and in 2021 I was awarded the TU Dortmund prize for excellence in teaching.

Whether you want to create transformative lessons and course designs, increase intrinsic motivation and a love of learning, advance democratic values and skills, or cultivate the character and moral understanding of students in your school, I am here to help.

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In the Media.

One of the most pressing problems facing educators today is the “stimulation gap” — the stark contrast between the captivating consumption of digital media and the standard experience of school learning. How can the Pythagorean Theorem ever compete with a 15 second TikTok dance sequence? How we can capture the imagination of young people, when they are so deeply immersed in sensational media and exciting digital content? The answer is simpler than you think. Check out the TEDx talk.

Mit Wissen berühren. Begeisterung bei Schülerinnen und Schülern wecken – wäre schön, wenn es so einfach wäre. Für Douglas Yacek ist es aber kein "Nice-to-have", sondern eine Voraussetzung für erfolgreichen Unterricht. Und es ist nicht nur eine Frage der Persönlichkeit, ob einer Lehrperson das gelingt. Es gibt auch hier Methoden. Auch und gerade, wenn es um die Vermittlung moralischer Ideen und demokratischer Prinzipien geht, stößt die reine Wissensvermittlung schnell an Grenzen. Wer Demokratie vermitteln will, muss sie erlebbar machen. Douglas Yacek sagt, wie das gelingen kann.

Und die Idee des transformativen Lernens ist, das wir als Lehrkräfte versuchen, eine Brücke zu schlagen zu diesen Facetten unserer Fächer, die wirklich intrinsisch an und für sich wertvoll, faszinierend, spannend und Begeisterung weckend sind. Das ist die Aufgabe. (aus dem Interview)

Upcoming Events.

  • Presentation

    Didacta Bildungsmesse, Köln

    Begeisterung wecken! Anleitung zu transformativem Lehren und Lernen

  • Workshop

    ZfsL, Paderborn

    Kontroverse im Klassenzimmer — Unterrichtsstörung oder Bildungschance?

  • Keynote | Workshop

    Dalton-Kongress, Menden

    Leistungsfähige Unterrichtsplanung für die Generation TikTok

  • Keynote

    Erich-Kästner Schule, Bochum

    Democracy now! Demokratiekompetenz und Demokratiebegeisterung als fachübergreifende Lernziele

  • Workshop

    Boston Trinity Academy, Boston

    On the Edge of Their Seats: What the Best Teachers Do to Engage and Inspire Their Students

  • Keynote

    NECE, Lisbon

    Should Education Be Transformative?

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

With intuitive instructional designs and teaching methods, we can make the classroom a place of wonder, joy, fascination and longing, just as Exupéry urges. In fact, we must do so, if we want to avoid losing the battle for young peoples’ hearts and minds to digital tech.

Let's Start Now

Just Published.

  • Post & Lintel Books, 2024

  • Reclam, 2023

  • Cambridge UP, 2023

  • J.B. Metzler, 2022

  • Routledge, 2021

  • Cambridge UP, 2023

  • Kohlhammer, 2025

  • Oxford University Press, 2026

Yacek lays a striking new path forward for educators seeking to develop a classroom of transformation."

Hannah Morgan, high school English teacher in South Chicago, on The Transformative Classroom

Yacek inspires the reader to a vision of the transformative classroom . . . that ignites the imagination. . . . I am confident Yacek’s book will inspire educators to take ethically justified risks in their pursuit to become truly transformative teachers.

William Merrifield, Director of Education at IDEAS (ideasworld.org), on The Transformative Classroom

It is rare to see a volume on moral education that . . . relates moral education to issues in today’s world. I strongly recommend this new volume which . . . adds nuance and substance to salient moral topics.

Kristján Kristjánsson - University of Birmingham, UK, and Editor, Journal of Moral Education on Moral Education in the 21st Century

A true landmark, for many years to come.

Rainer Forst - Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, on The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education

There is so much to appreciate in this boldly imaginative book.

Megan Laverty, Columbia University, USA on Moral Education in the 21st Century

Who I Work With.

Workshop Testimonials.

  • “What I liked most was [Mr. Yacek's] friendly demeanor and his excellent integration of video clips."

    Participant in Workshop “Controversy in the Classroom”

  • “Mr. Yacek has a passion for the topics he teaches and a strong commitment to student motivation.”

    Participant in Workshop “Awakening Student Engagement”

  • “I found [Mr. Yacek's] combination of educational research and teaching experience really interesting.”

    Participant in Workshop “Grappling with Intolerance in the Classroom”

  • “Really well prepared and executed! I thought the transitions between info and group work was great.”

    Participant in Workshop “Awakening Student Engagement”

Get in Touch.

Every note submitted is read and I will do my best to respond to you in a timely manner!