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6 Questions That Healthy Organizations Ask | Inc.com
Why do we exist?
How do we behave?
What do we do?
How will we succeed?
What is most important–right now?
Who must do what? -
I think my friend @SteveG_TLC does a GREAT job of showing how #Curiosity and #Story can be the path drivers for learning – as opposed to the traditional-school path driver of “subject area knowledge.” In this video, Steve demos how curiosity about a profile – “the Bionic Chef” can spur learning about bioengineering, geography, heathcare, psychology, etc. And this pursuit was catalyzed by a project called The Flying Classroom, created by Barrington Irving. If you are interested in seeing other ways to organize and catalyze paths of learning, @SteveG_TLC’s Google Earth videos are a super way to explore possibilities.
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http://t.co/psgz7I8lun @jbrettjacobsen @scitechyEDU @GrantLichtman @Learn21Tech @boadams1 fantastic resource for you Design peeps!
HT @dmonaco
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In the archers’ doggedness Lewis finds the central distinction that serves as a backbone of her book — far more important than success (hitting the bull’s-eye) is the attainment of mastery (“knowing it means nothing if you can’t do it again and again”), and in bridging the former with the latter lives the substance of true achievement. (The distinction isn’t unlike what psychologist Carol Dweck found in her pioneering work on the difference between “fixed” and “growth” mindsets.) Lewis writes:
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Mastery requires endurance. Mastery, a word we don’t use often, is not the equivalent of what we might consider its cognate — perfectionism — an inhuman aim motivated by a concern with how others view us. Mastery is also not the same as success — an event-based victory based on a peak point, a punctuated moment in time. Mastery is not merely a commitment to a goal, but to a curved-line, constant pursuit.
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One essential element of understanding the value of failure is the notion of the “deliberate incomplete.”
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There is an inevitable incompletion that comes with mastery.
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Masters are not experts because they take a subject to its conceptual end. They are masters because they realize that there isn’t one.
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People driven by a pursuit that puts them on the edges are often not on the periphery, but on the frontier, testing the limits of what it is possible to withstand and discover.
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the opposite of failure, which may not be success—that momentary label affixed to us by others — but reconciliation, aligning our past with an expanded vision that has just come into view.
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we choose how we designate and how we relate to our own experience, and out of that choice, especially amidst tribulation, springs our capacity for triumph
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Category Archives: #MustRead Shares – Weekly Reading
#MustRead Shares (weekly)
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What I Learned Today | A teacher modeling empathetic global engagement
Want an INCREDIBLE example of curiosity-based, journey-driven learning? Follow Steve Goldberg’s blog. Instead of bucket-ing curriculum in siloed subject areas, what if (at least part of) the school day launched from current events as a means for deep, integrated, transdisciplinary learning?!
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What Schools Can Learn From Google, IDEO, and Pixar | Co.Design | business + design
Great piece on innovation, project-based learning, and the spaces that help energize such work and learning.
HT @TJEdwards62-
What would it mean for schools to have a culture centered on design thinking and interdisciplinary projects instead of siloed subjects? What if the process of education were as intentionally crafted as the products of education (i.e., we always think about the book report or the final project, but not the path to get there). What if teachers were treated as designers?
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philosophy behind the design reveals something deeper — that its layout was designed to foster “forced collisions of people,” because “the best meetings were meetings that happened spontaneously in the hallway.”
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Imagine what could happen if the advanced physics student and the photography student had meaningful collisions in the average American high school. What if they did by design — if their classwork wove together diverse content and skills intentionally and elegantly? What would young people see as possible? They might come to understand that the lines between music, math, physics, and art are much blurrier than textbooks make them appear. Schools could be the breeding ground for a new millennium of Renaissance young men and women where creating something trumps memorizing it.
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valuable innovations are born from serious play, deep teamwork, and a holistically engaged (and cared for) staff.
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Imagine what might happen if students had this same power to edit and make their own spaces within the school environment.
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What are the school environments in your community telling you? Telling your young people? It is time to re-imagine and invest in schools and spaces ripe for creativity and cross-pollination.
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Slow Down Your Problem Solving – Explore Create Repeat – by 4ormat
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A big part of brainstorming isn’t finding the perfect creative concept, but understanding the core problem better.
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The key is to be open to slowing down.
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#MustRead Shares (weekly)
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Review: MODA’s inspiring “Design for Social Impact” shows how it can be done | ArtsATL
“Design for Social Impact, MODA’s current exhibition, challenges that perception. An exploration of design as a tool for real-world problem solving, it takes visitors on a journey through the careful process of observation, research, development and execution that leads to effective design.”
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True and impactful design can create safe spaces, solve difficult problems and help make the world a better place for all.
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Resting Makes You a Better Creative – Explore Create Repeat – by 4ormat
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What’s the story?: The Fuzzy Front End
Problem definition can be so much more critical than solution-ing.
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Problem Finding and Student Ownership | Steve Mouldey
I love strong examples of design thinking and PBL. This post from Steve Mouldey (@GeoMouldey) is just such a strong example.
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Why is Pruning Important? | Chip HoustonChip Houston
What are you pruning organizationally and programmatically so that things/people are their healthiest?
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We Don't Like "Projects" | Edutopia
Great piece via @ThinkThankThunk about the perceptions and problems with the word “project” http://t.co/CHmMkMNgal #idiploma @boadams1 [HT @MeghanCureton]
Great questions asked “before granting resources to our students to begin working on their projects…”
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The answer is almost always that we eclipse the standard curriculum sometime in the winter, simply because so many big ideas are packaged together.
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It’s truly amazing to watch a student dig into something he or she loves.
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- Is this something you’ll be proud of in five years? Or will you at least be proud of the younger you for taking this on five years ago?
- Does this combine two or more disciplines?
- Will you work on this when no one is watching over you?
- Who else cares about the results of your project?
- What content do you think you’ll learn?
Before granting resources to our students to begin working on their projects, we ask the following:
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Moving Back and Forth Between Fantasy and Reality | The Curious Creative
Allowing for time to really explore our imaginations. Creating opportunity in schools for learners to stay with a discovery path for longer. Navigating the portal between reality and imagination.
#MustRead Shares (weekly)
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Innovative Education: Make Room for “What Ifs” | Edutopia
Project point of origin work. The more I dig into real-world PBL and innovation, the more I am struck by how the “big stories” begin with personal connection. Making space for learners to journey from a story of personal connection needs to be the next “big thing” in school design and scheduling.
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What if we invite students to solve real problems? What if the classroom doesn’t have walls? What if learning activities don’t always end with letter grades?
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When Lehrer pitched the idea to students, he made it clear that they would be heading into uncharted territory.
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Van As generously offered to fabricate a prosthetic hand for the child himself, but Lehrer decided to “keep that offer in my back pocket. I think he was surprised when I explained that I wanted to build this with my students.”
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In hindsight, Lehrer can see how the club structure offered a range of benefits for this unusual project. He didn’t have to map the project to learning goals or think about grading. “I didn’t need to do assessments for these kids. Not that rubrics aren’t important,” he adds, “but there are times when you want kids to just take an idea and soar. What these students have learned is so clear to them. Their level of reflection is like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
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“This wasn’t just an assignment. This is real life,”
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If anyone’s thinking we can’t do real things with kids, I’m telling you you’re wrong.”
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Four Ways to Move from ‘School World’ to ‘Real World’ | MindShift
“By shifting from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance, we can move from school world to real world.”
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When leaders exchange a scarcity mindset for one of abundance and innovation, they open the door to an empowering click-through curriculum.
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it’s about self-direction, passion, interests, persistence, critical thinking, curation, and outcomes. There’s a greater focus on what they have done and will do with what you’ve learned, rather than how they learned it.
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The Benefits of Blue Sky Thinking – Explore Create Repeat – by 4ormat
“We should embrace the challenge of trying to outdo ourselves in all forms.”
#MustRead Shares (weekly)
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How to Stimulate Curiosity | MindShift
Three practical ways to use information gaps to stimulate curiosity:
1. Start with the question
2. Prime the pump
3. Bring in communication.HT @MeghanCureton
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uriosity is the engine of intellectual achievement—it’s what drives us to keep learning, keep trying, keep pushing forward
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Curiosity arises, Loewenstein wrote, “when attention becomes focused on a gap in one’s knowledge. Such information gaps produce the feeling of deprivation labeled curiosity. The curious individual is motivated to obtain the missing information to reduce or eliminate the feeling of deprivation.”
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Loewenstein’s theory helps explain why curiosity is such a potent motivator: it’s not only a mental state but also an emotion, a powerful feeling that impels us forward until we find the information that will fill in the gap in our knowledge.
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Strategy or Culture: Which Is More Important?
Great piece on symbiotic nature of strategy AND culture. Really important for schools to pay attention to this “lesson” if they hope to successfully transform as modern learning organizations.
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HT @KristynGatesA
What would help faculty feel more energized, cared for, focused, inspired? http://t.co/10g6vUsnlv via @centerteach @EmilyBreite @boadams1-
If we intend to truly reform schools, we may have to put greater emphasis on the importance of relationships between different members of the community.
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Self-actualized people are: problem-focused; incorporate an ongoing appreciation for life; focus on personal growth; and are able to realize peak experiences.
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Clearly, the strong connection between their models suggests that all school leaders should pay close attention to creating communities where their faculty’s core needs are met.
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Redesigning School to Graduate Capable, Confident Learners | MindShift
Projects, Portfolios, Learning Outcomes, and Defenses (Pitches) woven together for deeper learning.
Check this out via @MindShiftKQE -ideas & catalysts in developing iProject @KristynGatesA @EmilyBreite @boadams1 http://t.co/8WakA2Dzjp
HT @MeghanCureton
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Students have to master academic content and skills, collaborate effectively, think critically, reflect on how they learn, and understand how they can have an impact on their own success.
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The Portfolio Defense is the culminating assessment of these skills: four years of working to learn specific class content, and a steady progression towards proficiency in the deeper learning outcomes.
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Tidwell explained her philosophy of education as falling until one learns how and where to stand.
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How Young Engineers Will Mold the Future | Technology+Policy
A collaboration among universities and a high school around engineering and entrepreneurship. I think this is great stuff, AND I wonder why we tend to offer “this kind” of learning more in the summer — why not in the academic year as much?
http://www.kent-school.edu/academics/seek
HT @emilybreite