By Allan Alach
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!
The Perils of Plans: Why Creativity Requires Leaping into the
Unknown
Which is a pretty good reason why standardising
education is a step back into the past….
“Keats
termed the willingness to embrace uncertainty, live with mystery, and make
peace with ambiguity “negative capability” and
argued that it’s essential to the creative
process.
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| A valuable book |
Integrating the 16 Habits of Mind
“The
habits themselves aren't new at all, and significant work has already been done
in the areas of these "thinking habits." However, in a 21st century
learning environment -- one often inundated with information, stimulation and
connectivity -- there may be a newfound context for their application.”
The Maker Movement: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants to Own the
Future
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“From
constructivist theories of psychology, we take a view of learning as a
reconstruction rather than as a transmission of knowledge. Then we extend the
idea of manipulative materials to the idea that learning is most effective when
part of an activity the learner experiences is constructing a meaningful
product.”
Teachers on naughty step over pupils’ bad behaviour, but Ofsted report is unfair
More teacher blaming from England.
“The
report’s headline that a “failure
of leadership in tackling poor behaviour” is “costing
pupils up to an hour of learning a day” will, of
course, worry parents. But, even a cursory reading of the survey data invites
scepticism.”
What Happens When Your Teacher Is a Video Game?
More moves towards the corporate vision of
computerised instruction to replace humans.
“Rocketship's
model is based on four principles. First, the company cuts costs by eliminating
teachers. Starting in kindergarten, students spend about one-quarter of their
class time in teacherless computer labs, using video-game-based math and
reading applications. The company has voiced hopes of increasing digital
instruction to as much as 50 percent of student learning time.”
Online Learning is Just as Effective as Traditional Education,
According to a New MIT Study
On the other hand, Tony Gurr
tweeted a link to this article. What do you think?
“But
a new study from MIT suggests naysayers should think otherwise. Massive open
online courses are not only effective, researchers have discovered, they are as
effective as what's being traditionally taught in the classroom — regardless
of how prepared or in the know students are.”
How teachers sometimes fool themselves
Another Alfie Kohn article to make you reflect…
“You
have to look harder and think deeper to realize that what appears to be
progressive instruction sometimes turns out to be more traditional and less
impressive than it seemed at first glance. And if it’s your classroom, then acknowledging that possibility may require
courage as well as insight.”
This week’s contributions from Bruce Hammonds:
30 Ideas To
Promote Creativity In Learning
“Much of the
blame for a lack of creativity, and therefore innovation, can be traced to our
traditional educational systems. It relies on teaching to the correct answer. An innovative thinking model is needed. Robinson recently tweeted an article about a
new study that suggested 80% of educators surveyed preferred creativity to be
included as part of learning standards.”
What the Marshmallow
Test Really Teaches About Self-Control
“One of the
most influential modern psychologists, Walter Mischel, addresses misconceptions
about his study, and discusses how both adults and kids can master willpower.”
Inspire
Thoughtful Creative Writing Through Art
Bruce’s
comment: For teachers who believe in integrating the arts into their curriculum
check out this excellent link.
“Children
naturally connect thoughts, words, and images long before they master the skill
of writing. This act of capturing meaning in multiple symbol systems and then
vacillating from one medium to another is called transmediation. While using
art in the classroom, students transfer this visual content, and then add new
ideas and information from their personal experiences to create newly invented
narratives.”
Letting Go and
Gaining Understanding
Bruce’s
comment: Sensible stuff.
“Rather than completely overhauling
ourselves as teachers, we need to simply feel safe to reexamine how we do
things. As I prepare for this school year, I will return to the three big ideas
I gleaned from last spring: understanding drives learning, reexamination precedes
revolution, and collaboration depends on trust. This school year, reference
these concepts to reexamine your differentiation practices in your own
classroom.”
30 Inspiring
Quotes To Help You Get Through Your Work Day
Bruce’s
comment: Some inspirational quotes to share with staff
From Bruce’s oldies but goodies file:
Educational
Quotes 5: Leadership and Teamwork
A collection of
quotes on leadership.
“Imposed
bureaucratic 'top down' changes have resulted in school being 'over managed and
under led.' Now is the time for courageous leaders, at all levels, to emerge
and add their 'voices' to the debate. There are no experts with 'the answer' -
we will have to invent the future ourselves together as we go along.”
1 comment:
I am a big fan of inspirational and motivating workday quotes. I even post them in my office to keep me going and encourage visitors.
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