Business and politics are human endeavors that are easily measured; the results of business and politics are generally objective and unequivocal. Business measures success by profits, if the profits are sufficient for the owner or shareholders, then the business is judged a success. In politics, success is measured in votes. The individual who receives more Read More
Category: Teaching & Learning
Wikis: A Different Form of Interaction in Online Courses
In education, interaction matters. If you want your students to remember what they are supposed to learn and if you want them to be able to use what you teach them in other situation, then they must think about it with you and with other students. This idea has been featured in this blog previously. Read More
Two Types of Tests
Tests can be understood in one of two ways; they are either culminating events or they are gateway events. Most tests administered in classrooms are likely culminating events. At the end of a unit of study, tests are administered to determine the degree to which the information was retained. After the test, the students can Read More
A Field Guide to Lies
When I was an undergraduate student studying to be a science teacher, one of my goals was to develop scientific literacy in my students. One of my journals from the time records. “I want my students to be able to use science to make decisions.” While I am not exactly sure what I meant by Read More
Creating Things that Matter
Creating Things that Matter is the 2018 work by David Edwards; on the dust jacket Edwards is identified as a creator, writer, and educator. Until this book, I was unfamiliar with the man or his works, and the many examples of his creative endeavors introduced me to field in which I have no experience. Edwards Read More
Teaching in 2020: “Just what should one do as a teacher?”
This seems a reasonable question. One who is entering the field of education should expect that someone who has expertise in education can give a clear and complete answer to that question. Ask any real expert in teaching and learning that question, and you will get an answer that begins with “it depends.” “What exactly Read More
On Being an Educator in 2020
Like many who work in my field, I’ve been thinking (and talking and Zooming but precious little writing) about online learning in the last few months. Here, at last, are a few of my thoughts. To me, one of the issues that is most getting in the way of ensuring students learn is the labeling Read More
Critical Thinking
The question of “what should we teach?” is a perpetual one for educators. Some describe it as a pendulum and believe their job as an educator is to hold the pendulum as the bottom of its arc. Other believe the pendulum belongs on either extreme. Yet others ride the pendulum and just adopt the most Read More
The Assumptions Teachers Make
First, educators make assumptions about the students who enter their classrooms. Sometimes these assumptions are accurate, sometime not. Sometime these assumptions inhibit teaching and learning, sometimes they promote it. These assumptions can be cultural or socioeconomic, reflect expectations regarding prior knowledge and experience, reflect certain values or expectations. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of these assumptions to overcome is that neither the teacher nor the student may be aware of Read More
Elevator Pitch on Teaching and Learning
Ostensibly, teaching and learning are directly associated. Teachers teach what they have planned, learners learn what they are expected to learn; that learning is demonstrated on the tests we administer, everyone leaves the classroom fulfilled. Reality gets in the way of this plan, however. Students do not learn what teachers teach… they learn things other than what was taught… the tests may not even Read More