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If our profession exists to enable understanding of new ideas, should we really have our own language? Consider the following opening paragraph from a recent journal article: “Education is an all-encompassing institution where schools can be found in each and every continent, culture, and society; their functional principles, organizational structure, and modus operandi are quite universal.”1 CONTINUE READING Daniel Willingham, a cognitive scientist and author of Why Don’t Students Like School, made an insightful presentation at the Learning and the Brain Conference in DC. As you read through these “tweets,” keep in mind that I was posting the comments/ideas of the presenter. These do not necessarily represent my conclusions from the research. . . . → Read More: Learning and the Brain Presentation: Daniel Willingham One of my favorite conferences is the Learning and the Brain Conference held at various locations several times a year. The most recent conference was held in Washington, D.C. in early May. I tried to play the role of on-the-spot-reporter and “tweeted” live from the conference. As you read through these “tweets,” keep in . . . → Read More: Learning & the Brain Presentation: Martha Denckla “We need effective, high quality, meaningful professional development,” I wrote in a recent blog post. “Otherwise we do a disservice to hard-working professionals and deserve the bruises their opinions inflict on our egos.” While leading the best possible professional development session for every teacher in the room is unlikely to ever happen, there are . . . → Read More: Be the Change. Listen. Follow-up. One of my favorite conferences is the Learning and the Brain Conference held at various locations several times a year. The most recent conference was held in Washington, D.C. in early May. I tried to play the role of on-the-spot-reporter and posted on Twitter live from the conference. To provide readers with a sense . . . → Read More: Learning & the Brain Presentation: Michael Posner Teacher conversations about professional development often include the terms worthless and waste of time, and a general disdain for typical approaches is often evident. The back-and-forth can be a bruising arena for those who actually provide professional development, and I’ve been feeling a bit bruised recently. Don’t worry. The bruises have only been blows . . . → Read More: Professional Development: A Defense “Come on, you can do it!” They were wrong. In my youth I played a sport that makes up a chunk of many-a-child’s early athletic endeavors. My father was passionate about it. My older brother was MVP of his high school team. And I…just didn’t get it. In the final game of my final . . . → Read More: Motivation, the Elusive Drive Time. Is there a greater challenge for educators? It seems like instructional time is often the target of well-meaning but time-devouring programs. Assemblies, pep rallies, fund-raising motivational events, and those intercom announcements eat precious minutes, and these are on top of an already bloated curriculum. As a result, we tend to eliminate anything that . . . → Read More: Creative Thinking in the Classroom, Part 2 Sirens seize our attention. They scream, “Crisis!” and we scan the horizon or media streams to secure the details. Despite their obvious function, sirens do little to actually address the emergencies they signal. After awareness is achieved, sirens fall silent while those charged with solving problems shift into high gear. The perp is pursued, . . . → Read More: Creative Thinking in the Classroom, Part 1 No matter how close to the center their shot lands, beginning marksmen achieve success simply by hitting the target. As they learn, practice, and gain experience, the target’s center becomes their focus. They develop accuracy, intentionally steadying their state and securing the center in their sights. Thinking is similar. Engaging the target’s outer rings . . . → Read More: Let’s Banish Critical Thinking, Part 3: Reason & Evaluate |
 
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