For many faculty (and students) anything that is not a test or a worksheet that is homework. As digital technologies have become more widely available, projects have included presentations and similar work. In the education literature, however, project-based learning has a very specific meaning. Project-based learning typically begins with a question that is defined by Read More
Category: Teaching & Learning
On Problem-Based Learning
Most scholars and practitioners trace the origins of problem-based learning to changes in medical school teaching in the 1960’s. At the time, traditional lecture was deemed insufficient to prepare physicians for the field which was characterized by rapidly expanding field of knowledge and the emergence of new medical technologies. It was reasoned physicians’ capacity to Read More
Elevator Pitch on the Application of Knowledge
As students experience deeper learning, they frame, understand, and attempt to solve problems as they interact with foundational knowledge. This facilitates their ability to remember what they learned, and they also become more skilled at assessing what they know and what they do not know. Advocates for deeper learning differentiate the use of foundational knowledge Read More
On IT and Learning
In almost all organizations, IT is a support function. Workers use IT to perform business-critical functions and improve efficiency and effectiveness, but—while being critical for business operations—IT rarely is an income center for any business. In schools, this is especially true in schools, as computers are a relatively recent tool in schools, and much effective Read More
Technology Problems vs. Education Problems
My career has been spent in the space between different populations and translating the language of one population into the language of another. The differences in language are largely the result of different types of problems and situations technologists and educators are prepared to manage and spend their time managing. Compared to the social milieu Read More
“Pedagogically Mature” Educators
Young educators are enthusiastic. They spend years preparing: They learn the content they will teach, they learn how brains work, they learn pedagogical theory, and they practice various strategies. Of course, the details of what they learn depends on the specific regulatory agencies to which their teacher preparation program reports, but they learn in classrooms Read More
On Grading on 100-Point Scales
Quantification of knowledge has a dubious history. Stephen Jay Gould’s book The Mismeasure of Man described the disturbing history of intelligence testing in the 20th century, the rocky science upon which it is based, and the on-going unjustified application of it in education and public policy. In this post, I consider the quantification of knowledge Read More
#edtech for #edleaders: Appropriate Design
Schools are places where learning is supposed to occur. Educators, including teachers and curriculum leaders, are the professionals who are responsible for defining what should be taught. They are also responsible for deciding how it will be taught. These comprise curriculum and instruction decisions. While many curriculum and instruction decisions are made for lessons that Read More
Elevator Pitch: Learning Outcomes
Curriculum and assessments leaders recommend beginning lesson and curriculum plans with a list of learning outcomes. What knowledge will students develop and what skills will students develop during the lesson or the unit. Many also advocate for clear and measurable outcome to be articulated. It is reasoned without these, the data deemed necessary for making Read More
Most Favored Pedagogy
Educators have preferences for how they teach. Some argue these arise from the structure of the subject they teach. While that is an important consideration, it is also true that some of that structure is imposed by tradition in the fields and the teachers’ preference for the methods they experienced. Regardless of the age of Read More