By Allan Alach
All teachers should reflect on these ‘thunking’ points that are
raised by Tony Gurr….
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!
How to Create Nonreaders:
Reflections on Motivation, Learning, and Sharing Power
Another
gem from Alfie Kohn.
“But if we're serious about
helping students to fall in love with literature, to get a kick out of making
words fall together in just the right order, then we have to be attentive to
what makes these things more, and less, likely to happen. It may take us
awhile, but ultimately our classrooms should turn the usual default setting on
its head so the motto becomes: Let the students decide except when
there's a good reason why we have to decide for them.”
A Glimpse into the future of
learning.
Here’s
an interesting infographic.
Theories for the
digital age: Connectivism
Steve Wheeler, discussing a 21st century learning theory. Do you
agree? Is constructivism dead, or is it
part of connectivism? Behaviourism? Cognitivism?
 |
| Jo Boaler |
Helping Children Love
Mathematics – Jo Boaler; and the need to
question ability grouping in our schools. (via Bruce Hammonds)
Dan
Murphy, the very competent principal of Winchester School (Palmerston North), made the
decision a couple of years back, to break away from the Ministry of Education’s
Numeracy Project, and for the school to develop its own mathematics programme.
A major resource for this was the book ‘The Elephant in the Classroom: Helping Children Learn and Love
Maths’. Dan lent this to Bruce Hammonds, who wrote this article. (NB Dan has contributed to Kelvin
Smythe’s excellent booklets “The Primary School Diaries - Curriculum.” ksmythe@wave.co.nz )
Give Them a Hand: Gesturing
Children Perform Well On Cognitive Tasks
‘Studies
have shown that gesturing can help older children learn new math concepts, for
example. "Really, though, there is evidence that gesturing helps with
difficult cognitive tasks at any age.."’
Nah, politicians, economists, business experts and
media moguls know the answer lies in didactic instruction and lots of testing.
11
things missing (via David Kinane)
“What follows are the first
eleven things that leapt to my mind while sitting in a mainstream classroom
that were utterly absent, and which I believe to be absolutely essential to any
useful practice of education ….”
Pedagogy v Education
Australian educator Greg Whitby with some thought provoking
observations. I may never use ‘pedagogy’ again!
‘Pedagogues are enthusiasts for
measurement and precision and look for certain outcomes. Educators assume
that the most important elements in human life are uncertain and speculative,
defying precise calibration.’
Curriculum - Could a stitch in
time save Finland's international rank?
‘Its education system has been
hailed as the best in the world, but Finland is facing increasing competition
in international league tables that compare performance in reading, mathematics
and science. So how does the country respond? By voting for more time in the
curriculum for non-academic subjects, including physical education, music, and
arts and crafts.’
 |
| American 'bubble tests' - high tech!!!!! |
Nah,
they’ve got it wrong. Testing, testing and more testing is the answer…
What
about this bit?
‘Ultimately,
however, Finland is not concerned about being overtaken in international
comparisons and it remains confident that its methods are right for students,
she said.”
Right on!
Is Pisa fundamentally flawed?
The
smoking gun, that destroys the basis for GERM!
‘They are the world’s most trusted
education league tables. But academics say the Programme for International
Student Assessment rankings are based on a ‘profound conceptual error’. So
should countries be basing reforms on them?’
Why We Need To Value
Students’ Spatial Creativity
‘Not everyone is
going to be an Einstein, Tesla, or Edison, but if we identify the many
spatially talented students who have been neglected in our school systems we
might discover many brilliant kids who are just waiting to develop their
creative potential. We need to help them. After all, we will
ultimately depend on their visions to help create our future.’
How Thinking in 3D
Can Improve Math and Science Skills (via Jedd Barlett)
‘All of us, children
included, live in a three-dimensional universe—but too often parents and
teachers act as if the physical world is as flat as a worksheet or the page of
a book. We call kids’ attention to numbers and letters, but we neglect to
remark upon the spatial properties of the objects around us: how tall or short
they are, how round or pointy, how close or far. Growing evidence suggests that
a focus on these characteristics of the material world can help children hone
their spatial thinking skills—and that such skills, in turn, support
achievement in subjects like science and math.’
1 comment:
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