Design thinking, computational thinking, genius hour, and making in the classroom – good, bad, worse. My daughter participates in an improvisational comedy group called “Comedy Sportz”.
They “play” against other teams, but a good time is had by all and the scorekeeping is done with humor. One of the games they play is called “Good, Bad, Worse” where the comedians pretend to be experts on a talk show and take questions from the audience. Each “expert” in turn improvises answers on the spot. Of course the good answers are boring, while the bad and worse answers are outrageous and very very funny.
I sometimes think about this game when people ask me questions about education. The answers I hear in my head range from the enthusiastic, to the skeptical, to the apocalyptic. But unlike Comedy Sportz – the “bad” and “worse” implementations of educational ideas are not funny, just tragic misuses of teacher and student potential. Project-Based Learning By Design. Bill Selak is an elementary music teacher and an adjunct faculty member at Azusa Pacific University and University of La Verne.
He served on the California State Superintendent’s Education Technology Task Force, and is on the EdCampSFBay and EdCampLA planning teams. One project has the power to change an entire class. I teach Video in the Classroom to ed tech grad students. That course has wordy standards like: “Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.” What does that even mean? In a video class, I can take a different approach to standards–what does that look like? The final project for my video class is a five minute educational video. Moving to a project-based classroom creates a more dynamic classroom.
Most assignments, lectures, readings, and smaller projects begin to not only materialize, but also self-organize. Photo Credit: udt_greenberet1123 via Compfight cc. Less Time Teaching, More Time Learning. This is the 11th post in our December series on “Intellectual Curiosity” via George Couros.
George is the Division Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning for Parkland School Division. He believes we need to inspire our kids to follow their passions, while letting them inspire us to do the same. You can find him on Twitter, on his blog, at Connected Principals, or speaking around the world about education. The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is curiosity. –Edmund Burke. Depth of Knowledge - Depth of Knowledge. Promoting Student-Directed Inquiry with the I-Search Paper. Our lesson plans are written and reviewed by educators using current research and the best instructional practices and are aligned to state and national standards.
Choose from hundreds of topics and strategies. More Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. More Teacher Resources by Grade Home › Professional Development › Strategy Guides Strategy Guide Research Basis Strategy in Practice Related Resources The sense of curiosity behind research writing gets lost in some school-based assignments. I teach. I think.: A letter to my students and parents about the 20% Project.
If new technology doesn't simplify your life, change it or dump it.
A little over a year ago our school switched from Moodle to Haiku for our LMS program. I'm really happy with Haiku, and I think many of our teachers are seeing the benefits. The assessments and gradebooks have saved me a lot of time, and I love how well they're all integrated. However, Haiku has one fatal flaw. Designing 20% Time in Education. A.J.
Juliani is a co-founder of Education Is My Life. He currently is a K-12 Technology Staff Developer overseeing a 1:1 initiative. There is a movement happening in education right now. Maybe you’ve heard about it, maybe you haven’t yet. It comes in various shapes and forms but the end result is the same: students learning what they want to learn. Yes, I said it, so let me repeat: Students are learning what they want in classrooms across the world. Designing 20% Time in Education.
Genius Hour Resources. Genius Hour is a time given during the school day to allow students to follow their passions and learn about topics that interest them.
My gifted 5th graders participate in this project, and present their learning when they are ready. This page is devoted to sharing some of the resources I’ve collected over the past two years with anyone else who is interested in starting a classroom Genius Hour. *As of 1/2/14, you can now download all of my current Genius Hour resources in a bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers for $5.
Or, you can still download them separately (for free) by clicking on the links below. My posts on Genius Hour so far (in chronological order from earliest to most recent): The Twenty Percent Project. Next Year Will Be Even Better – Genius Hour Ideas. For many of us, at least in the United States, another school year is over.
Even as we eagerly embark on our rejuvenation journeys for the summer, you might be thinking, as I am, of new ideas for the next school year. This week, I would like to share some of the improvements I hope to make in my classroom for the 2013-2014 school year. What is Genius Hour? - Integrating Technology & Genius Hour: My Journey as a Teacher & Learner. Genius Hour. TheGlobalGeniusHourProject. Geniushour. Genius Hour Reviewed. For several weeks the topic of conversation in our classroom surrounded our trial of Genius Hour.
Students were excited about being given the time and opportunity to pursue topics of interest to them. They LOVED the term - Student Driven Learning! Most students had an idea right away - while others needed time to think and plan. Some students decided to work together while others chose to work independently. Some students would use the computer, while others would use different tools. A Year of Genius Hour – What Have I Learned? The learners in my class of 2017 are geniuses.
For over a year now, these students have had a chance to shape the agenda of their learning, at least part of the time. 20-Time In Education Inspire. Create. Innovate.