Category Archives: 21st C Learning

Moonshot teaching: “real-life problems that require hands-on solutions”

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“Getting Our Students to Own Their Educational Experience”
Raymond W. Cirmo
Independent School Magazine
Winter 2014
(HT @nicolenmartin)

If our interest and motivation are piqued when we work on tasks that interest us, that directly involve us, that have outcomes based on our abilities, and that succeed or fail based on our level of understanding, effort, and involvement, then why not apply this same logic to student learning in our classrooms?

To do this, we first need to realize that the students are not in our classroom, we are in their classroom. And the room is not set up for us to teach; it is here for us to be facilitators in the students’ learning. We are here for the students, not the other way around. This means that we need to educate them in a fashion that makes sense to them and the world they live in. And the best approach I have found is to assign them tasks involving real-life problems that require hands-on solutions — in other words, learning by creating and doing.

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Solution Seekers, TMB Panyee Football Club, HT @MikeyCanup

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What if we never said, “It can’t be done?”

#GrowthMindset

#SolutionSeeker

HT @MikeyCanup

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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

“The tyranny of the curriculum” #TEDx @ThinkThankThunk

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An extraordinary 17 minutes about the intersections of 1) our personal interests and passions, 2) the “interdisciplinarity” of life, and 3) the world as external audience looking for an improved world.

Well…no, that’s not exactly right. It’s really about widening and deepening the options of school so that “school” is more well aligned with what life beyond school demands of us and the leaders we need.

And Shawn wonderfully wants it to be ordinary. Not “extraordinary.”

Go BIG!

HT @occam98 (THANK YOU!)

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  • The Stereotypes That Distort How Americans Teach and Learn Math – Jo Boaler – The Atlantic

    “All of my research studies have shown that when mathematics is opened up and broader math is taught—math that includes problem solving, reasoning, representing ideas in multiple forms, and question asking—students perform at higher levels, more students take advanced mathematics, and achievement is more equitable.”

    tags: math commoncore Common_Core JoBoaler mindset #MustRead

    • When all aspects of mathematics are encouraged, rather than procedure execution alone, many more students contribute and feel valued.
    • I refer to this broadening and opening of the mathematics taught in classrooms as mathematical democratization. When we open mathematics we also open the doors of math achievement and many more students succeed.
    • In mathematics education we suffer from the widespread, distinctly American idea that only some people can be “math people.” This idea has been disproved by scientific research showing the incredible potential of the brain to grow and adapt.

  • Expose and Own Your Failures – Explore Create Repeat – by 4ormat

    tags: failure success feedback assessment #MustRead

  • Does Teaching Kids To Get ‘Gritty’ Help Them Get Ahead? : NPR

    In the sixth paragraph from the END of the article, I think the reporter finally gets to a fundamental, key aspect – making space for learners to pursue their passions and interests and curiosities!

    tags: Grit mindset #MustRead

    • “I don’t think people can become truly gritty and great at things they don’t love,” Duckworth says. “So when we try to develop grit in kids, we also need to find and help them cultivate their passions. That’s as much a part of the equation here as the hard work and the persistence.”
    • It’s a little bit of a chicken-and-egg kind of question. Passion may drive kids to be gritty, but being gritty and able to tolerate failure also enables kids to develop and pursue a passion.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.