By Allan Alach
So what’s the truth, Hekia?
My
latest article for The Daily Blog.
US educator Antony Cody: “I offer
this warning to the people down under and beyond. This misguided emphasis is no
more likely to work there than it has in the US—unless of course, New Zealand
truly is “opposite land,” where hot snow falls up.”
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it
to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.
This week’s homework!
Quality of learning, process
vs. product
‘Measuring quality in education is
hard, partly because there is not one universal definition what good quality
learning looks like. People have different connotations about educational
quality, and the cultural perceptions are also very
diverse. Learning, like play, is individual and very situational and
contextual.’
Poverty is what’s
crippling public education in the US—not bad teachers (via Dianne Khan)
Recently New Zealand’s Minister of Education, Hekia Parata,
referenced Eric Hanushek’s ‘four great teachers will solve all poverty related
education issues’. Yeah right, as Antony Cody points out.
‘So I offer this
warning to the people down under and beyond. This misguided emphasis is no more
likely to work there than it has in the US—unless of course, New Zealand truly
is “opposite land,” where hot snow falls up.’
The Only Thing You Need To Be A
21st Century Teacher
If
you’re not a 21st century teacher already then you’ve missed the boat and
should seriously consider whether another occupation is in order. Today’s 5
year olds hit the work force about 2028 and many will live to see the 22nd
century. Are you teaching for their future or your past?
Writing survives the digital
onslaught
“Can
kidz rite 2day? Despite popular perceptions that the onslaught of texting,
tweeting and other digital technologies is ruining students writing skills, a
national survey of US teachers released last week found they offered such
advantages as greater creativity, personal expression and increased
collaboration.”
England vs Scotland:
Competing school reform visions
Let’s move to Scotland; or, how the Scots will kick butt …
‘England and
Scotland may both be part of Great Britain, but they do not share a primary and
secondary education system. Indeed, those two systems appear to be headed
in decidedly different directions.’
Study Finds Spatial Skill Is Early
Sign of Creativity
And
not a national standard in sight...
“A gift for spatial reasoning —
the kind that may inspire an imaginative child to dismantle a clock or the
family refrigerator — may be a greater predictor of future creativity or
innovation than math or verbal skills, particularly in math, science and
related fields…”
Girls Should Play More Video
Games, And Other Thoughts On “Cognitive Balance”
This
follows on from the previous article, which found that girls were less
competent in use of their spatial skills.
‘But males’ spatial edge may also
reflect, in part, differences in the leisure-time activities of boys and girls,
activities that add up to a kind of daily drill in spatial skills for boys.
 |
| Madam Curie - girls can do anything |
If that’s the case, then offering
girls more opportunities to practice their spatial skills may begin to close
the spatial-skills gender gap—and produce more female scientists, engineers and
mathematicians in the bargain.’
Why
teachers should read more children's books
“A research project has found that
teachers who read for pleasure have better book knowledge and feel more
confident, calm and stress-free in the classroom. Research has shown that there is value in helping teachers become reading
role models for the pupils they
teach, and that developing teachers'
subject knowledge of children's literature can contribute to a child or young person's enjoyment of
reading.”
Project Learning in History Class
(via Bruce Hammonds)
“The idea behind Project
Based Learning is that students will understand more if they make meaning
through inquiry based creation. Project Based Learning can apply to any
discipline. We’ve tried it in our history classroom to varying levels of
success. Being proponents of constructivism, Project Based Learning was not too
much of a stretch for us to embrace, pedagogically. However, there are some
challenges that result.”
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