Education Readings
By Allan Alach
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come
across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
The Golden Age of Autodidacts
Thanks to Ben Rachinger for this link.
‘There are several components, but the real shocker is that more of
us aren't embracing the current age of access to mastery of any topic. But that
may not be so surprising—most of us were taught to be passive learners, to just
"get through" school. It's easy to be lazy. The rewards of becoming
an autodidact, though, include igniting inner fires, making new connections to
knowledge and skills you already have, advancing in your career, meeting
kindred spirits, and cultivating an overall zest for life and its riches.’
How Good Are Your TEACHers?
Tony Gurr is back….
‘It’s not a bad question to kick off with, if you believe (as I do)
that the talents, skills and savvy of language teachers is one of the critical
determining factors in determining the level of LEARNing and success that
LEARNers ultimately achieve.
Some TEACHers do not like it!’
Unleashing the Power of the Creative Classroom
‘What is a creative classroom? Creative learners are not linear
thinkers. Contrary to popular belief, while others have a plan from the
beginning, creative learners are different. They might need to play first and
experience the medium before they begin to come up with ideas of their own.
That’s why the students in a creative classroom strive for innovative solutions
to unexpected problems.’
The Intervention That Works Across Settings With All Children
‘If you learned there was an intervention to improve student
outcomes that worked for nearly all children across communities, what would
stop you from using it? This intervention has closed learning gaps, both in
urban communities serving predominantly low-income minority students and in
isolated rural areas with large numbers of white and Native American students
living in poverty. It has worked in suburban, urban, and rural settings with
white, African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, and multi-racial
students. That intervention is collaboration.’
How should reading be taught in schools?
‘When my son was nine years old, he put aside the large Harry Potter
novel he had been slowly, but enthusiastically, reading each evening and
instead began ploughing through lots of fairly
uninspiring books that he
brought home from school each day. It turned out the Year 4 teachers had
devised a competition at his school - whichever class read the most books would
be rewarded with an end of term pizza party. The aim, I presume, was to
motivate the children to read. It is ironic then that the effect was that my
son stopped reading for pleasure and instead began reading for the numbers. Reading
is now increasingly being reduced to a numbers game in schools.’
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
Students as evaluators in inquiry-based classrooms
‘When we provide open-ended, authentic tasks, students are placed in
the role of evaluators, thus allowing them to see the varied ways that these
problems can be solved. What resources did this student consider? Which parts
of her solution were effective? Which parts have not been addressed?’
Connecting iGeneration to the Natural World
‘Mobile technology was a powerful teaching tool to introduce and
encourage core scientific practices such as observing, hypothesizing,
identifying, and sharing information, all while submerged in nature. There was
a spark in the air, and it was contagious. All students were pining to go into
the field again with the devices. Students were self-identifying and using the
app on weekends. With this developing connection also came a growing sense of
stewardship about the natural world around them.’
A Capitalist Command Economy
 |
| George Monbiot |
‘This is a story about England’s schools, but it could just as well
describe the razing of state provision throughout the world. In the name of
freedom, public assets are being forcibly removed from popular control and
handed to unelected oligarchs.’
Rewild the Child
George Monbiot:
‘What is the best way to knacker a child’s education? Force him or
her to spend too long in the classroom.An overview of research into outdoor
education by King’s College London found that children who spend time learning
in natural environments “perform better in reading, mathematics, science
and social studies.” Exploring the natural world “makes other school
subjects rich and relevant and gets apathetic students excited about learning.”’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
Asterix theory of talent development
In the well known cartoon, about a Gaul village
resisting the Roman Empire, there is a very neatly drawn set of roles.
The village comprises of a strong man ( Obelix),
a chief ( Vitalstatisitix), a druid (Getafix), a bard (Cacophonix), a
blacksmith (Fulliautomix), a fishmonger( Unhygenix) and a man with bright ideas
( Asterix). The harmony of the village owes something to the fact that each man
respects the others’ talents - with the exception of Cacophonix, the bard whose
songs are universally dreaded.No human being is rich in all talents in the same
way but all have potential talents to develop as has been explored by Howard
Gardner in his theory of multiple intelligences.
Developing a democratic curriculum.
 |
| James Beane |
‘Relating back to the ideas of John Dewey Beane believes that if
people are to live democratic lives they must have the opportunity to learn
what that way of life means. His ideas are based on the ability of students to
participate in their own education. Democratic schools share a child centred
approach but their larger goal is to change the undemocratic conditions of
school themselves and in turn to reach out to the wider community.’
Education to realize the talents of all - students and teachers.
‘This post, is all about tapping the power of teachers to enable all
students to succeed. It is about helping teachers learn rather than telling
them what to do; about putting student learning at the heart of the educational
process; about developing a explicit inquiry approach to learning for teachers,
students and principals; about engagement not compliance. It seems like
common sense - but well researched common sense.’
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