5 Ways to Help Your Students Become Better Questioners
The humble question is an indispensable tool: the spade that helps us dig for truth, or the flashlight that illuminates surrounding darkness. Questioning helps us learn, explore the unknown, and adapt to change. That makes it a most precious “app” today, in a world where everything is changing and so much is unknown. And yet, we don’t seem to value questioning as much as we should. For the most part, in our workplaces as well as our classrooms, it is the answers we reward -- while the questions are barely tolerated. To change that is easier said than done. How to Encourage Questioning 1. Asking a question can be a scary step into the void. 2. This is a tough one. 3. Part of the appeal of “questions-only” exercises is that there’s an element of play involved, as in: Can you turn that answer/statement into a question? 4. 5. If the long-term goal is to create lifelong questioners, then the challenge is to make questioning a habit -- a part of the way one thinks.
Ways To Cultivate ‘Whole-Class Engagement’
Response: Ways To Cultivate ‘Whole-Class Engagement’ is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. Jim Peterson and William & Pérsida Himmele provide practical suggestions on how to get our students participating more in class more of the time. Here are some excerpts:
Inquiry Learning Ideas for Math and Science With iPads
Digital Tools Laurie Sullivan/Flickr By Sam Gliksman The following is the second of a series of excerpts from Gliksman’s book iPad in Education for Dummies. We tend to split science and humanities as though they were separate branches of life. Today’s interconnected world demands that the doctor, engineer, pharmacist, and scientist increasingly master skills that used to be classified within the domain of the arts. More than any other academic disciplines, science and math draw their meaning by relating to life in the “real” world outside the classroom. Granting students the freedom to inquire and explore makes them the investigators of life’s mysteries. This chapter looks at tools that can be used with the iPad to help you investigate phenomena and collect data. Whether it’s geometry, physics, or chemistry, scientific method starts with research, discussion, and the development of a hypothesis about the phenomenon being examined. Submitted by: Dr. Submitted by: Dr. Related
How to Design Right-Sized Challenges
As teams of high school and middle school students gathered to test a mechanical device they had spent months designing and improving, spectators cheered with the fervor of athletic fans. And for good reason. The national finals of the MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition offers a chance to root for our next generation of engineers and scientists, many of whom are devoting their energy and creativity to designing a better world. It's also an opportunity to learn from the experts about how to imagine a design challenge that hits the sweet spot: relevant to real life, challenging enough to be interesting, and achievable for diverse learners. Connecting with a Generation that Cares This year's design challenge offered students a chance to develop their humanitarian spirit along with their design skills. "We recruit students who may not be excelling in the regular classroom," Coronado says. Making Space for Playful Learning Fine-Tuning a Challenge 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Inquiry HUB
Two classes meet via Skype | DemystifICT
Over the last semester, our school has been participating in a wonderful project called Crazy Crazes organised by Mrs Karen Stadler (@ict_integrator) of Elkanah House in Cape Town, South Africa. Schools all around the globe research the current crazes in their schools and share this information via a wikispace. My year 2 ICT class are slightly younger than most of the participants but I decided to join as the class were studying different countries with their classroom teachers and one of the boys is South African. The project has resulted in a whole lot of learning not only for the students but also for me as I have never used a wiki. I have also learnt to use Youblisher to showcase the students’ work about our town and school and VoiceThread to allow the other classes to hear us singing the National anthem. The highlight was today though when we Skyped Elkanah and shared information about ourselves. Like this: Like Loading...
EdTech 10: From Mindsets to Minecraft
This week’s Top 10 list signals a flurry of EdTech activity from mindsets to Minecraft and MOOCs. Some of our favorite kids (and adults) love Minecraft, so free MOOCs on Minecraft in the classroom and opps to learning coding are right up our alley. Upcoming Events 1. Coming in November, the annual iNACOL (@nacol) conference will have more than 200 thought-provoking sessions and networking opportunities. While you’re at it, register now to join us at the Foundation for Excellence in Education’s (@ExcelinEd) national summit on November 20-21 in Washington D.C. Blended Schools & Tools 2. 3. Digital Developments 4. For the Younger Set 5. Dollars & Deals 6. Smart Cities 7. Teachers & Tech 8. 9. Stem Gem 10. Canvas by Instructure, ExcelinEd, NGLC and Agilix are Getting Smart Advocacy Partners.
Toolkit
Essential Questions These are questions which touch our hearts and souls. They are central to our lives. Most important thought during our lives will center on such essential questions. What does it mean to be a good friend? If we were to draw a cluster diagram of the Questioning Toolkit, Essential Questions would be at the center of all the other types of questions. All the other questions and questioning skills serve the purpose of "casting light upon" or illuminating Essential Questions. Most Essential Questions are interdisciplinary in nature. Essential Questions probe the deepest issues confronting us . . . complex and baffling matters which elude simple answers: Life - Death - Marriage - Identity - Purpose - Betrayal - Honor - Integrity - Courage - Temptation - Faith - Leadership - Addiction - Invention - Inspiration. The greatest novels, the greatest plays, the greatest songs and the greatest paintings all explore Essential Questions in some manner. Why do we have to fight wars?
Instructional Design
Scaffolding helps to build a framework for the learners What is Instructional Design? Instructional Design is defined as “a systematic process that is employed to develop education and training programs in a consistent and reliable fashion” (Reiser, Dempsey, 2007). In addition, it may be thought of as a framework for developing modules or lessons that (Merrill, Drake, Lacy, Pratt, 1996): increase and enhance the possibility of learning makes the acquisition of knowledge and skill more efficient, effective, and appealing, encourages the engagement of learners so that they learn faster and gain deeper levels of understanding In a nutshell, instructional design can be thought of as a process for creating effective and efficient learning processes. While other models are aimed at specific learning processes, such as van Merriënboer's 4C/ID model, which is used when the learners must master complex problem solving. Differences Between Instructional Design and Instructional System Design 1.
