Education Readings
By Allan Alach
Every week Bruce Hammonds and I collect articles
to share with teachers to encourage a creative approach to teaching and
learning. I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it
to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
This edition will be the last one for 2018. We appreciate it a busy time with political action, end of term activities, and school reports but suggest you save readings to cherry pick mid January
Sir Ken Robinson: What makes a teacher great?
‘Education innovator Sir Ken Robinson, School News deliberated over
misconceptions about great teaching. “It’s assumed, I think, that to be a good
teacher essentially all you need is to have a good degree in whatever it is you’re
being paid to teach,” Sir Ken noted. “It’s simply not true, it was never true.’
Rewards Are Still Bad News (25 Years Later)
By A
‘It’s not just that these two are different but that the first tends
to undermine the second. Intrinsic motivation (loving what you do) is also the
best predictor of high-quality achievement, which is why — brace yourself for
another counterintuitive discovery — people promised a reward for doing
something often end up doing it more poorly than people who weren’t.’
How Schools Thwart Passions
‘Pursuit of passions requires time for play and self-directed
education. Play, almost by definition, IS following your passions. But we’ve pretty much removed play from young
people’s lives.’
The habits of highly effective teachers
‘Teachers who have high levels of self-efficacy, or those who
believe in their own abilities, have the biggest impact on student learning, a
new University of Melbourne review shows.'
Every Kid Can Do Amazing Things
‘Potential identified, at a very early age; then nurtured,
War on Boys
‘What ever happened to letting "boys be boys?" Take these
two cases: In one, a seven-year-old boy
Finland’s
digital-based curriculum impedes learning, researcher finds
“'The more that digital tools were used in lessons, the worse
learning outcomes were. This was
Why Pedagogy First, Tech Second Stance is Key to the Future
‘While I am a huge advocate for the purposeful integration of
technology in schools, we must resist the temptation to think that this is the
solution to solve all the ills in our current education system.
What concerns me most is how many districts and schools are going
all in with one-on-one or bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives with no real
plan for implementation and evaluation of effectiveness. This lack of planning
and support will likely result in devices never achieving the outcomes that
they were designed to achieve. It’s foolish to think that students will learn
just by putting a device in their hands.’
If People Talked To Other Professional The Way They Talk To
I am sure you will all relate to this!
Cursive: the reason it is still relevant today and the science
behind it.
‘Fine motor skills are the building blocks our brains need to
connect and make sense of the world
Student Writing in the Digital Age
‘Essays filled with “LOL” and emojis? College student writing today
actually is longer and contains no more errors than it did in 1917.’
Grouping students in mathematics... more than just mixed ability
 |
| Sue Pine |
‘In recent years many teachers have moved away from the use of
ability groups in mathematics towards a more flexible approach using mixed
ability groups.When students are given the opportunity to work in mixed ability
groups on carefully designed tasks they begin to see themselves as being able
to do mathematics, which builds a positive mathematical mindset and identity.’
A Grading Strategy That Puts the Focus On Learning From Mistakes
'Teachers know that students learn a tremendous amount from
scrutinizing their mistakes, but getting them to take the time to stop and
reflect is a challenge.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
A short story : Why isn't Sione in the dance group.
‘This short story was sent to me by a 'teachers' friend' from the
North. It poetically illustrates the
Creativity – its place in education
‘Once the arts are restored to a more central role in educational
institutions, there could be a tremendous unleashing of creative energy in
other disciplines too.’
Quality learning: William Glasser - 'Schools without Failure' ; and
Jerome Bruner - solving 'learning blocks'.
‘A number of years ago many schools implemented the ideas of Dr
William Glasser . Glasser had written a number of books all with a focus on
achieving quality work.’
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| Time to throw out formulaic teaching - be creative |
